Tottenham and their home ground jinx.

Once again, the strong Tottenham team lost to a mediocre opponent at home. Fulham – one of the weakest teams in the Premier League when playing away. Why do Tottenham always fail at home?

I only scored 5 out of 21 points.

Prior to the last round of matches, Fulham were one of only two teams without a win away from home in the Premier League this season (the other being bottom-placed Wolverhampton). Luckily for Fulham, they were playing away at Tottenham! In all six of their previous away games, Fulham had only managed to earn a single point. But when they visited Tottenham, Fulham scored two goals in the first six minutes and secured all three points by the end of the match.

Tottenham have often lost at home this season.

Photo: AFP

Leaving aside Wolverhampton's weakness (almost certainly relegated, with only 2 points after 12 rounds), Tottenham would be bottom of the Premier League table if ranked by home record. They have only won one game at Tottenham's ground, earning 5 points out of a possible 21. That's the points total for a relegated team.

There would be nothing remarkable about this if Tottenham were just an average team. However, they are one of the English representatives currently conquering the Champions League. In the Premier League, Tottenham's first away game of the season was a highly convincing 2-0 victory against Manchester City. Tottenham is one of the most successful teams in English football today, if only considering their away performances.

What's even more puzzling is that Tottenham's "habit" of losing at home isn't unique to this season. It's been like this for a long time. In the last 12 months, Tottenham have only managed a mere 3 wins (in 20 matches) at home.

Could it be the fault of Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium, inaugurated in 2019? Tottenham fans are now reminiscing about the glorious days at their old White Hart Lane stadium. Compared to the magnificent, modern new stadium with a capacity of 62,000, White Hart Lane, with its mere 36,000 seats, is quite small. Yet, it was there that Tottenham intimidated even the strongest opponents. In their final season at this stadium (2016-2017), Tottenham earned 53 points – out of a possible 57 – in the Premier League!

CREATIVITY IS MY WEAKNESS

According to commentator Danny Murphy, a former Tottenham player, the midfield and manager Thomas Frank's uncreative playing style are major reasons for the problem. The lack of creativity in the midfield means fewer opportunities for the forwards, and consequently, the forwards lack confidence when they do get a chance to shoot.

Murphy said: "When playing away, Tottenham can patiently wait for counter-attacks or opportunities from set pieces. They find it easier, focusing better on maintaining their formation when the opponent is busy keeping possession and building up play. Tottenham are inherently a very difficult team to beat, so they are well-suited to playing away. However, when playing at home, Tottenham have to build up play more, and they struggle against opponents who play defensively. The lack of creativity from Tottenham's midfielders then becomes apparent."

Tottenham only had 2 shots on target in their last match (the same number as... the visiting team Fulham's goals). Their average for the entire season isn't much better (20 shots on target in 7 home games). In their recent 0-1 home defeat to Chelsea, Tottenham's xG (expected goals) was almost zero – the lowest since Opta introduced this important metric. The fact that Tottenham's attack struggles with rare and difficult shots speaks volumes about their low efficiency in creating chances. This means the midfielders lack creativity.

The pressure factor – with Tottenham's home crowd doubled – is also worth noting. Last weekend, Tottenham fans once again booed and jeered their team – especially targeting the "poor" goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tottenham-va-noi-am-anh-san-nha-185251130210631676.htm