Tottenham Losing Wednesday Might Be Best Possible Outcome
By Ryan Wrenn
Tottenham make one final trip to Wembley on Wednesday to face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League — and the team and fans alike might be hoping for an unexpected loss.
The mechanics of such a counter-intuitive aren’t all that tricky. Were Tottenham to have won or even drawn matches against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, they might be hoping for a win to seal their position in the next stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
As it stands, though, a win or a draw in London on Wednesday will ensure another spring spent in the Europa League. This would make the sixth consecutive such season in the competition’s knockout rounds. Contrary to UEFA’s intentions, such an opportunity holds little value to a team like Tottenham.
The Europa League exists to celebrate the also-rans of European club football. For Azerbaijani or Cypriot teams it’s a chance to play under the bright lights of big stadiums and have it all broadcast on international TV. For bigger clubs like Tottenham, the competition’s paltry monetary pay-out and lack of prestige aren’t worth the trouble of having mid-week matches.
As much could be read between the lines of any Tottenham manager for the last half decade. Qualification usually comes as a result of the club only narrowly missing out on a much coveted Champions League berth. That it would happen again here after Spurs finished third last season only sours the possibility even further.
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Which leads us to the pivot point of this whole European campaign. On Wednesday Tottenham will have a chance to decide their own fate for the latter half of the season.
With Tottenham on four points and CSKA on three, a loss on Wednesday would put Mauricio Pochettino’s side on bottom and thus ensure that the Europa League is avoided. A win or a draw, and their progress is confirmed.
The benefits of staying on and competing in the Europa League are real enough. The pay-outs per round aren’t as robust as the Champions League, but money is money. Plus, due to recent rule changes, the winner of the final in May is automatically entered into the Champions League qualifying rounds for the 2017/18 season.
There are much more immediate, guaranteed benefits of not being obliged to participate in the Europa League knockout rounds though. Tottenham could focus on the Premier League and hope that a lack of mid-week games betters their chances on the weekends. Arsenal and Manchester City might be pressing on in the Champions League, but they won’t be as fresh week to week as a unburdened Tottenham side.
Chelsea and Liverpool have both reaped the benefits of missing out on European nights in the first half of the season. They are able to name largely unrotated sides, permitting a level of consistency their Premier League competition aren’t capable of reaching.
With the race for the Premier League title especially tight this year, Pochettino and company might thoroughly enjoy being finally free of the Europa League for the final months of the campaign.
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Achieving that dream is tricky however. Tottenham can’t simply tank this match against CSKA Moscow. Not only would that go against the spirit of the game of football, but it would also hurt England’s UEFA coefficient. If every English team in danger of Europa League qualification tanked, then the Premier League might eventually find itself short that fourth Champions League place.
What Pochettino can do is field a rotated squad — with Manchester United coming up on Saturday, he has plenty of reason to do so — and hope that CSKA simply wants it more. As long as the Tottenham team that takes to the pitch plays to the best of their ability, there is no shame in winning or losing.