The Tottenham and Rennes match will not be rescheduled, so where do Tottenham supporters stand on the UEFA’s pending decision about what happens next?
The entire situation is pissing a lot of people off. And who can blame them. With Spurs’ Europa Conference League future hanging in the balance, supporters look to UEFA to show a semblance of compassion. That, however, is optimistic thinking.
Tottenham took the right course of action in trying to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. The club should be rewarded for their behaviour. Instead UEFA might condemn Spurs to an early exit from Europe’s third tier competition.
If Spurs had more than 13 healthy players at their disposal in the lead up to the Rennes match, UEFA could very well decide against the Antonio Conte’s men.
That thinking, however, is flawed. Since the outbreak came to light, Spurs have seen a number of players pop up with positive results over the course of the last week. Who knows what could have happened had Spurs allowed the match against Rennes to continue as planned. Instead Spurs, in theirs and their oppositions best interest, made a stand.
Rennes should have taken the higher ground and commended Spurs decision. Instead the French outfit, like a petulant child, had a tantrum and made it almost impossible to find an amicable solution. Inflexible in trying to find a date to reschedule prior to the Dec. 31 deadline, Rennes have done their utmost in trying to seal Spurs’ European fate.
Tottenham are at fault for not cementing their place in the next round earlier. There is no question Spurs must shoulder some of the blame. This conundrum, had they not unravelled against minnows Mura, would have never come about.
Neither Rennes or Vitesse are willing to show Spurs good faith, a bitterly disappointing scenario considering the current state of the pandemic. Spurs should not be punished for their wholesale attempt at trying to slow the spread of the virus. And UEFA, regardless of whether Spurs had the required 13 healthy players to play the match, should take that into account when they make their final decision, expected at some point before Monday’s draw for the next round.
How do Spurs supporters feel if eliminated from ECL?
There are a bunch of Spurs supporters who couldn’t care less if Spurs are eliminated from Europa Conference League proceedings. In fact, a number of those supporters would prefer it. Seen as a Mickey Mouse competition, countless Spurs supporters are fed up seeing their side risk injury and health for an inferior competition. Tottenham are involved in four competitions, and the Europa Conference League is seen as superfluous, unnecessary, even counterproductive.
However, there are schools of supporters who oppose that notion. Many are concerned about how a premature exodus would negatively impact Spurs’ coefficient, primarily used to rank the clubs for seeding purposes (Club Ranking). Though I doubt Antonio Conte is too concerned, with everything else going on, about Spurs’ current coefficient ranking.
There is another side of the argument: regardless of the competition’s unfulfilling nature, it represents a chance for Spurs to win a trophy. At this point, after 13 years without winning one, does it really matter what trophy Spurs win?
Even with terrible matches away at Vitesse and Mura, Tottenham, if they advance, would still be considered one of the favourites to win the Europa Conference League. But at what cost?
Spurs, considering the current Covid-19 crisis, lack of depth within the squad and the congested domestic fixture list, are already stretched incredibly thin. The priority, as always, is securing a top four spot in the Premier League, which Spurs have every chance of achieving under Conte’s guidance.
Regardless of which side of the fence you sit, it would be a travesty to see Spurs prematurely forced out of the competition on what would be an unfair, arbitrary ruling by UEFA’s decision makers.
Where you do you stand on Spurs’ current European quagmire?