Tottenham Are Well Set To Deal With Their Future
Tottenham Hotspur have been making waves in the Premier League after coming so close to a title last season, only to falter at the end. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have once again been a top side in England. The Lilywhites sit second in the League standings, 10 points behind Chelsea who are clear front-runners for the title.
The league title, while still in the realm of possibility, seems a far reach for Spurs, given the form Chelsea are in and their relatively easier run-in to the end of the season. But the fans will take a second-placed finish, especially considering the fact that they will be trumping local rivals Arsenal, who have been struggling in recent weeks and find themselves out of the Champions League spots in the sixth place.
Finishing above the Gunners will no doubt be a huge statement from Tottenham as they emerge out of the lingering shadows of their neighbours.
Off the field too, Tottenham are making huge strides in the right direction. The construction of their new stadium is well underway and is set to be ready for the 2018/19 campaign. The stadium will have 61,000 seats, almost double the number at the White Hart Lane which has just over 32,000 seats, and slightly more than the capacity at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The unnamed stadium will also have a single-tier stand just 5 metres away from the goal line. It has also been said that the single-tier stand will be the largest in the country with 17,000 seats.
The construction of the stadium is believed to leave the club in a financially tight situation for a few years.
Why Tottenham Are Better Equipped Than Arsenal To Deal With Financial Restrictions
Arsenal went through a similar phase in the previous decade, when they moved to their newly-constructed Emirates Stadium from Highbury back in 2006. The total cost of the construction cost them somewhere in the range of £390 million. However, the move rendered the Gunners into smaller players in the transfer market, as they could not afford to invest heavily in recruitment.
This has been cited as one of the biggest reasons for Arsenal not being able to win any silverware for a prolonged time. Arsene Wenger constantly kept losing his big name stars, but never dipped into the market to get marquee players to the Emirates. The club lost influential stars like Robert Pires, Ashley Cole and Thierry Henry around the time of the move to the new stadium. But the inability and the unwillingness of Arsene Wenger to spend heavily in the transfer market left the club with many players who were nowhere near the level to represent the club of the stature of Arsenal.
And there are fears among several sections of supporters that Tottenham too could go through a similar phase following their move to the new stadium.
But things look bright for the Lilywhites and their future looks much more secure. Pochettino has managed to get some of the best young talents in England in his ranks and has tied them down to long-term deals at the club. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker, and Danny Rose – arguably the best players in their positions in the Premier League, have all signed a new long-term contract with Tottenham over the past year, along with the talented Eric Dier and promising youth prospect Harry Winks. Things look good for a long future in North London.
In addition to the exceptionally talented English spine, the likes of captain Hugo Lloris, the creator-in-chief Christian Eriksen, midfielder Mousa Dembele, left-back Ben Davies, defensive mainstay Jan Vertonghen all inked new contracts not very long ago and look set to carry Tottenham into their new era. And if reports are to be believed Vertonghen’s centre-half partner Toby Alderweireld is next in line for a new deal.
By doing this, Tottenham have made sure that all their best players are tied down with the club for the foreseeable future. Effectively their strongest first-team squad will remain intact for the coming seasons. And even if a player wishes to move on in the near future, the club will be under no pressure to sell whatsoever, owing to the long-term contracts and as a result could get the transfer fee of their desire.
The Verdict
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is a shrewd operator and has displayed great planning and forethought into the development of the club. As Tottenham gear up to enter into what looks like an increasingly promising future, they will do so with the sound knowledge that they have a strong and talented squad, headed by one of the brightest managers in Pochettino. Their illustrious neighbours may have struggled through the transition, but Tottenham look well-equipped and better prepared as they go about to take over the bragging rights in North London.