Tottenham Hotspur Schedule about to Get Tough and Busy
By Aaron Coe
When Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester City Saturday, it kicks off a stretch of 13 games in 43 days, which can help define how successful not the season will be.
The holiday period is great for fans with all the games as the calendar year comes to an end. However, the burden on the players is incredible and last year, Spurs lost a few players – including Moussa Sissoko and Harry Kane – over the holidays to long term injuries. This season, the schedule is full and difficult, leaving Spurs in a position to either set themselves up for a big year or leave themselves with a lot of questions in the middle of a long season. So, what does the next six weeks have in store for Spurs?
Premier League Matches
Nine of the 13 matches Tottenham will play over the 43 days are in the Premier League. Given Spurs are currently second in the league after eight matches, thus dreams of a title are not completely crazy. However, title talk is also far too premature at this point not yet a full quarter of way into the season. Frankly, title talk at the end of this 43-day stretch would still be early, but if Spurs are as close to first as they are now, it would not be crazy talk.
The reason it would not be crazy talk at that point is Spurs would be nearly half-way done with their season, with 17 of 38 matches in the Premier League played. Just as importantly, the matches will have come and been won against some of the toughest competition Spurs will fact all season. Over the next six weeks Tottenham play the teams currently ranked 5th, 8th, 3rd, 1st, and 9th (Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Leicester City, and Wolverhampton) in the table and that does not even include Manchester City (10th) or Arsenal (11th).
It will not be until the end of the year, when Tottenham face Fulham on December 28, that Spurs will again face a true bottom half club. Even Fulham is a London Derby, which adds to the tension and will be the 4th London Derby Spurs play in the next six weeks, including the North London Derby with Arsenal the first Saturday in December. Then Spurs close the run with a visit from Leeds, who can clearly score a lot of goals, so expect fireworks on January 2.
Basically, if Tottenham can still be in the top couple spots as they are now and within a point or two of first as they are now, sure we can start thinking about the title, as Spurs will have earned the right to be part of the conversation. However, there is a TON of Premier League football between now and then, so the focus should rightly be on Manchester City and the game at hand, not where things might be if, because if gets us nowhere, focus, gets us points and wins. To get those points and wins, Spurs will have to earn them