{"id":7532,"date":"2017-09-19T18:56:15","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T22:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=7532"},"modified":"2017-09-19T18:56:43","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T22:56:43","slug":"the-wembley-curse-isnt-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2017\/09\/19\/the-wembley-curse-isnt-real\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wembley Curse Isn’t Real"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much has been made in the media over\u00a0Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>‘s supposed\u00a0“Wembley curse”.\u00a0Spurs have only recorded\u00a0three wins in their last\u00a0ten outings at the historic ground, and\u00a0an\u00a0erratic start to the campaign has only seen the team win only once in all competitions at Wembley at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

With the club set to spend at least one season there while their new stadium is built, the pattern of poor results at Wembley needs to stop very soon. Whether there is some kind of ‘curse’ hanging over Spurs, however, is another matter entirely.<\/p>\n

The Real Causes of Poor Results<\/h2>\n

Tactics<\/h3>\n

Tottenham have so far approached Wembley in the exact same manner in which they played at White Hart Lane. The majority of opposition defences have deployed a deep block at the back which has only allowed them to score twice in three league matches. Compare this to last season, when Mauricio Pochettino’s side\u00a0had the best offensive and defensive records in the league.<\/p>\n

Last year’s excellent league campaign was largely down to the performances at White Hart Lane, where Spurs picked up 53 out of a possible 57 points. At Wembley, meanwhile, they have been far too cautious in their approach.<\/p>\n

More beauty, less beast<\/h3>\n

One of the main characteristics of Pochettino’s Tottenham has been the high pressing game, but\u00a0it is much harder to maintain this style of play\u00a0at Wembley, which has been shown by how\u00a0much less effective the home side have been in executing it. Whenever they win the ball high up the pitch it creates an abundance\u00a0of chances, but without this option being available all the time,\u00a0Spurs look short of creativity.<\/p>\n

Pochettino still insists on playing\u00a0two defensive-minded midfielders, usually some variation of Eric Dier, Mousa Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 and Moussa Sissoko. All of these players are more renowned for their power and strength than their technical ability, and this is having an effect on the team’s ability to create chances.<\/p>\n

One player who does possess this ability is English midfielder Harry Winks.\u00a0Over the summer, Pochettino compared the youngster to Andr\u00e8s\u00a0Iniesta<\/a>,\u00a0and his ability to take on players in the middle of the park and thread through balls has been sorely missed. Winks has rarely featured so far this season, easing\u00a0back into the side following his injury lay-off. He will need to feature on a more regular basis soon.<\/p>\n

Team selection<\/h2>\n

Pochettino has been accused of disrespecting opponents, and\u00a0Sunday’s draw with Swansea proved to be the latest example. Serge\u00a0Aurier, Ben Davies and Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 were all left out of the starting XI, and it seems that the manager was looking to rotate the team slightly under the impression that his side would still be able to break the opposition down. He was mistaken.<\/p>\n

Kieran Trippier has started every league game at Wembley so far this season, predominantly at right wing-back.\u00a0He is a very good right-back, but\u00a0he is not suited to the wing-back role. The days of Kyle Walker bombing down the wing are a distant memory and as he prefers to not risk taking on opposition\u00a0full-backs,\u00a0Trippier usually passes back or forces one of the\u00a0midfielders out of position to help him out. When this happens, potentially\u00a0three players are doing\u00a0a job which\u00a0Aurier can do on his own.<\/p>\n

The one game Aurier has started at Wembley,\u00a0Spurs won against Borussia\u00a0Dortmund. When\u00a0the Ivorian\u00a0came on against Swansea he changed the game and provided the outlet Trippier could not. In the dying minutes, he even had a big penalty shout turned down by Mike Dean.<\/p>\n

Silence the doubters and end the Wembley curse<\/h2>\n

The media latching onto the “Wembley curse” myth is no surprise, but the poor results have been caused by other factors and it is time for the players and manager to string enough results together end the discussion about it altogether. If Pochettino implements a more attacking and brave approach to games and takes every league game seriously, then\u00a0the ‘curse’\u00a0will be a distant memory.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>