Three Things Tottenham Should Do To Overcome Their Wembley Woes
Spurs’ Wembley blues seem to continue, following a scoreless league outing against Swansea City this weekend. The last season’s runners-up are yet to register a single domestic win at the historic stadium where they are playing their home games this term due to the ongoing renovation work at White Hart Lane. They lost to reigning champions Chelsea, and failed to secure three points against Burnley following a late equaliser from Chris Wood.
Although they grabbed a massive Wembley win against Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League group stage encounter, the North Londoners could not build the momentum due to their futile outcome against the Swans.
The season has only started and it will be too early to draw a conclusion. However, Mauricio Pochettino will be sweating over their home run, particularly against the opponents whom his side should defeat in order to challenge for the title.
Wembley might not be the most favourite hunting ground for Tottenham, but they do not have an alternative. So they need to step up and shake off all disappointments to constitute an excellent home run like last campaign, which saw them come so close to conquering the Premier League title.
A few things, meanwhile, need to be sorted out if Spurs wish to bounce back after such a slow start and make Wembley a fortress.
Formation
Pochettino, the young Argentine gaffer is yet to decide his formation – he has tried out a ‘back three’ and also a usual four-man backline at times. The delay in decision is jeopardising their fluency in attack as well as team chemistry. ‘Back Three’ is such a formation that needs right players in the right slots.
But the gaffer is experimenting too much, especially in the left wing-back role where he fielded attacker Heung-Min Son against the Swans despite having Ben Davies available for selection. Again, they fielded a ‘back four’ against Burnley which ended all square at Wembley. Pochettino must stop experimenting in such crucial outings and come up with a settled formation from next game onward.
Squad Rotation
Spurs had a set of regulars who were extremely consistent the last term and earned them a lot of acknowledgments following their persistent outputs throughout last campaign. But the manager has opted to rotate his players this term due to their participation in four major competitions that includes prestigious UEFA Champions League tournament where they had a miserable experience last season.
Like changing formations, rotating key players is a major reason behind their inconsistency as the players are struggling to find the same rhythm as last campaign. Pochettino must select his best available XI for the home games so that they regain their confidence and start an impressive Wembley run.
Seniors Need to Step Up
Spurs have a youthful squad consisting the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son, Eric Dier and many more. But a few of their seniors need to step up following a few average and erroneous outings. Hugo Lloris conceded a silly late goal against Chelsea that eventually saw them suffer an unforeseen defeat. Moussa Sissoko has failed to impress so far whereas Mousa Dembele, the Belgian midfield general, is yet to regain his form.
Spurs are enjoying a great away run with victories over Newcastle United and Everton. But without replicating the same at home, they will never be able to reproduce last season’s excellence. Pochettino, as well as his players, must work on these concerns to sort out their Wembley woes.