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Tottenham to play Carabao Cup match at MK Dons

By Barrett Rouen

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Danny Rose of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Bet365 Stadium on April 7, 2018 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Danny Rose of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Bet365 Stadium on April 7, 2018 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham have been given permission to play their grudge match return match against Watford at MK Dons’ stadium.

Though the match is not in the Premier League and in the Carabao Cup instead Tottenham’s match against Watford should be perceived by the club as a little bit of a grudge match.  The team needs to make sure that it makes an impression and washes away the stench of their previous performance against Watford regardless of the competition that it’s in.

The frustrating and embarrassing part of all of this is that Tottenham will need to play what should have been a home match for them away at MK Dons because their new stadium will not be ready.  The safety concerns that are troubling the stadium have already delayed it’s initial September 15th opening until possibly November.

Tottenham had originally planned to be out of Wembley by this time and so other dates and events have been booked for England’s national stadium.  This confusion is, unfortunately, a bit of egg on the face of nearly everyone involved with the club.  Transitions like this though difficult are meant to be carried out seamlessly so as to best preserve the competitive nature of the team and the atmosphere for the supporters.

In a year in which Spurs are pulling for the title, it is an unnecessary and ridiculous distraction for the club to have not knowing where it’s going to play.  The sense of homelessness for the club isn’t a positive thing and the stadium must be finished as quickly as is humanly possible.  It’s impossible to tell what the effect of this will be on the team but it certainly will be felt by the supporters.  It will, however, without a doubt throw off the general training and pre-match routines that the players undergo.

Stadium MK is over 80km from White Hart Lane.   By car, it is more than an hour drive and with public transport, that time rifles up to almost two hours.  One of the things that Spurs can generally count on is a fabulous atmosphere at home and this certainly will make that a lot harder.  It is unfortunate that due to poor planning and follow through the brunt of this mishap will be felt by the supporters who do deserve far better treatment.