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Tottenham Get Head Start on Wembley Move

By Ryan Wrenn

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: A come on you spurs banner outside the stadium ahead of the UEFA Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and PFC CSKA Moskva at Wembley Stadium on December 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: A come on you spurs banner outside the stadium ahead of the UEFA Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and PFC CSKA Moskva at Wembley Stadium on December 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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The recent confirmation that Tottenham will indeed move to Wembley next season lends an added importance to Thursday’s match against Gent.

While a brand new stadium awaits them the following season, Tottenham will have to make due with the Football Association’s home field for the 2017/18 season.

This was a move widely expected to happen for some time now. Indeed, commencement of construction around White Hart Lane obliged the team to play their Champions League home matches at the 90,000 seat stadium in the autumn.

If we’re being honest, the results then were not encouraging. Tottenham suffered two defeats at the hands of Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen before eventually earning a win against the weakest team in the group, CSKA Moscow.

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Two main problems confronted Spurs in those matches. For one, the dimensions of the Wembley pitch were not as conducive to Mauricio Pochettino’s style of football at the dimensions at the Lane. The pressing game naturally requires a lot of frenetic movement, and Wembley’s added width made that more difficult from a tactical and a physical point of view.

Off the pitch, Spurs might have also been affected by the cavernous space of Wembley itself. White Hart Lane is rightfully considered one of the most intimidating grounds to come to not just because of Tottenham’s fearsome starting XI but also the cacophony from the tightly-packed stands. Could Pochettino and company really hope for the same atmosphere when 90,000 seats needed to be filled every week?

Thursday’s match against Gent gives Spurs a new opportunity to work on both potential problems. With the Belgian side earning a 1-0 win in the first leg of the Europa League tie last week, Pochettino will demand a performance here. A win would require not just a strong XI, but also tactics that take into account Wembley’s unique layout.

As for the atmosphere, the club already received a boost. It was reported on Wednesday that Wembley will be sold out for the Gent match, thanks in part to the club offered discounted tickets. That will represent almost a threefold increase compared to White Hart Lane, more than enough — in theory — to replicate the intimidating noise of that historic ground.

Next: Pochettino Press Conference: Tottenham v Gent

A win over Gent will ensure that Tottenham have even more opportunities to settle in to their new home ahead of the move this summer. Pochettino might balance that aspect with almost the same weight of success in the competition as a whole.

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