Tottenham can still make September special
By Ryan Wrenn
It’s possible to identify distinct phases of Tottenham’s seasons under Mauricio Pochettino.
The first phase, of course, is a sluggish start. August just doesn’t seem to agree with Tottenham. Injuries, suspensions and bedding in new players have all slowed Spurs out the gate for the past few seasons.
Pochettino consistently manages to pull out of that early slump with memorable results in September though. And this season has proved no different.
First came the 3-0 result away at Everton. Looking at the Blues now, just two weeks later, this result admittedly looks slightly less impressive than it did at the time. Ronald Koeman’s side are truly struggling early on this season, and Spurs were one of the biggest beneficiaries.
That win was followed just days later by an unexpected and thoroughly deserved 3-1 result at Wembley Stadium over Borussia Dortmund.
Spurs needed that result not only to start their Champions League campaign out right, but also to help dispel the absurd notion that the team somehow can’t adapt to the environs of their temporary home.
Thanks to a loss to Chelsea and a last minute draw conceded to Burnley, talk after August was that Spurs were suffering under a Wembley curse. The suggestion hiding just beneath the surface was that a season away from a proper home ground might spell disaster — or at least mundanity — for Pochettino’s nascent project at Tottenham.
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A commanding win over Dortmund wasn’t entirely enough to obliterate that narrative however. To really drive the point home, Spurs would need to earn a third consecutive win when Swansea came to visit last Saturday.
The 0-0 draw that followed felt like a return to the mire of August, where Spurs simply didn’t look like the same team that finished last season so strongly. It was a performance short on ideas and long on frustration.
The stubborn Barnsely team that Spurs met midweek in the EFL Cup third round only deepened Spurs mini-crisis. After a typically roaring start to September, the club seemed to be stalling out.
Saturday’s match against West Ham thus takes on a dual importance. Vengeance for two consecutive losses away at their London rivals takes center stage, but Pochettino will also be anxious to get the story straight once again. A punishing win at London Stadium would thus correct two lingering worries simultaneously.
A visit to Cyprus to take on APOEL doesn’t look particularly intimidating, but Pochettino will know that no result can be taken for granted in the Champions League. He will rotate his squad almost certainly, but it will still be strong enough to keep pace with Real Madrid in Group H.
Finally, on the last day of the month, Tottenham travel to newly promoted Huddersfield. David Wagner’s surprise package is level with Spurs on points after five Premier League matches, so they — like APOEL — cannot be mistaken for pushovers. Spurs would do very well to come out of that visit to Kirklees Stadium victors.
None of these matches, of course, offer yet more chances at redemption at Wembley. They are the types of games that Spurs need to be winning if they are going to challenge for the title again this season though, and Pochettino might be grateful that they’re all coming in September.