Tottenham have found it tough to beat the bus at Wembley this season; unfortunately, it is something they are going to have to get used to.
If Tottenham Hotspur fans have been concerned at the manner of their Wembley performances so far this season, Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Championship strugglers Barnsley will have done little to set their minds at ease.
On paper the two teams couldn’t have been any more different. Though Tottenham had a couple of inexperienced youngsters in their side, there were still several internationals on display for the side, while Barnsley have found themselves down in 20th position in the second tier.
Nevertheless, the Tykes came to Wembley – where they have had some success in recent years – and put up an admirable defensive performance. It may have been parking the bus – 25 shots for Spurs to 4 for the visitors proves that – but they certainly did it efficiently and in line with the idea that it was their ‘cup final’.
And it followed on from similar wholly committed performances from Burnley and Swansea – a pair of clubs who have previously struggled to make a mark in visits to White Hart Lane.
As Tottenham struggled to break down Barnsley, who caused one or two moments of concern from set pieces and on the break, it was clear that such performances from visitors to Wembley are to become a regular occurrence – especially from so called weaker teams.
It is telling that Mauricio Pochettino’s only home win – and only time they scored more than once at Wembley – this season has come against Borussia Dortmund, a side who were happy to play an attacking game and leave Spurs space to play into.
Even against Chelsea, the Blues adopted a defensive shape and asked Spurs to come at them.
It may end up being that only the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid afford Pochettino’s side a more attacking opponent.
Tottenham are going to have to get used to the vast majority of teams coming to Wembley and sitting back, pushing the initiative on to the home side in a more extreme way than they experienced at the Lane. Pochettino may well be tackling this in training, setting his attacking players up against a larger number of defenders, and in tight spaces.
Spurs need to find a way of getting past the various busses that are going to arrive at Wembley this season.
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