On Saturday 18thAugust, Tottenham will face off against newly promoted Fulham in what will be their final game at Wembley Stadium whilst their home stadium was being redeveloped. There is no doubt Tottenham have been one of the rising forces in not only the Premier League but the world in recent years.
Manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has worked wonders with Spurs, but they now need to deliver a trophy. With England captain Harry Kane heading the line, the future is certainly bright.
How have Spurs performed at Wembley and will moving stadium affect their performances? Also, how has this affected teams in the past?
For the year ending June 2017, Tottenham Hotspur announced a record revenue of £306.3 million. This puts them in the top tier of clubs in the world and it is only set to grow with the new stadium as the club now must be considered in the elite bracket. The Betfair Premier League odds for a top four finish has them at 8/11 which will be more than expected amongst fans. They are also in at 16/1 to lift the title, though this will be a struggle looking at the strength in depth of the defending champions’ Manchester City’s squad.
How did Spurs perform at Wembley last season in comparison with the previous year at White Hart Lane? Tottenham had built nothing short of a fortress at White Hart Lane which all but lifted them to a second place finish in 2017. They finished unbeaten at home, winning 17 games and drawing two in comparison to winning 9 of 19 away games. Following this they moved to Wembley for last season and were again successful, finishing in third place.
There were certainly worries amongst fans that this move could result in a big decline for Tottenham as they had struggled at Wembley in the past. Their fears did not come to fruition as they performed very well, winning 13 of their 19 home games with four draws and just two defeats.
This statistic itself shows that the move did not have as much of an impact as expected. With the move back to White Hart Lane, and the continued improvement of the side, these are exciting times for Tottenham and they are likely to be challenging for the title again. The new stadium could be the top modern day stadium in the world which is further evidence of the rise of the club. The video below covers the attributes of this in more detail.
https://youtu.be/yge4k7s4QIQ
There have also been several other Premier league sides in recent times that have followed this trend of under-performing at their new stadium following their move. These are:
- Arsenal – who had an average points total at Highbury of 2.37 which went down to 2.05 following their move to the Emirates
- Manchester City – when at Maine Road they had an average points total of 1.53 which reduced to 1.26 following their move to the new Etihad stadium
- Southampton – in the final year at The Dell had an average home points total of 1.84 which fell dramatically to 1.37 following their move to the St Mary’s
- West Ham – had strong home form at Upton Park with their last year at an average of 1.89 points that dropped badly to 1.32 at the London Stadium which continues to be a problem for them.
This all shows that it is very difficult for any team to transition effectively to a new home the following season but one that would be expected. Tottenham are set to move back to the new and improved White Hart Lane against title rivals Liverpool on the 15thSeptember. They will be expected to hit the ground running and turn the new stadium into a fortress as it was in the past. These are exciting times for the fans ahead of the forthcoming season.
