The stadium myth..

[Navin R Johnson]

Also, whilst the players may not believe there is a problem, the fans do. The atmosphere at Wembley is awful - part of that is because it's an absolutely terrible football stadium almost deliberately designed to suck noise and atmosphere out as much as possible, with truly bad acoustics - and part of it is that a good 60% of the crowd at any time are extremely uncomfortable and/or nervous there, and it's hugely obvious.

It's the absolute opposite of White Hart Lane with the enclosing, deafening noise and a raucous crowd extremely confident of being able to beat anyone and everyone. It bleeds confidence into the players and Wembley does the exact opposite.

There are no clubs in Europe who consistently fill a stadium of this size or could if they have one. If we charged the same price as leading German clubs we'd add between five and ten thousand to the gate, but Levy has another way of looking at the world.

But some of the whinging is pathetic, who gives a toss if you can't get a signal or someone sitting next to you is from Enfield or Seoul?bif your Spurs get behind the team and look forward to the new stadium and the transformation it will bring.

I guess that's aimed at me, all I wanted to do was share my thoughts on the matchday experience, I thought the club set a lot of store on what we think.

 

[cliff jones]

I guess that's aimed at me, all I wanted to do was share my thoughts on the matchday experience, I thought the club set a lot of store on what we think.

you did. You're not writing to the Club though, you're giving an opinion on the experience, on a fans forum.

I think the point of going is to support the team and watch the football. We should have three points more, and some fans are frustrated and focusing on Wembley as a major factor, or other peripheral issues. I clicked a couple of times on BBC's live football coverage to see how many more Liverpool had scored, during the drinks breaks, but if the pages hadn't loaded I wouldn't have been pissed. Just frustrated at how Poch and the players allowed us to be Burnleyed.

 

[RicOfPeace]

I didn't want to admit that there's a problem playing at Wembley but there obviously is. Could cost us too 4 this season. Maybe we should have gone to MK.

Agreed maybe we should have gone to MK the crowds wouldn't be so big but we'd have our most hardcore support going so we'd actually have an atmosphere

 

[dimiSpur]

There is an element of truth to the "curse" but I do not think it's so much a curse as it is a psychological issue. As soon as we scored yesterday you could see the players itching for the game to just end and to finally get away with a win at Wembley.

Cast your minds back to when Poch first arrived and we shipped late goals at the beginning of the season. I remember us conceding two late goals in one early home game at the Lane. After that you could see that in the last 5-10 minutes of games we were visibly anxious and twitchy. We saw out one or two games and it was a thing of the past.

The same thing will happen at Wembley. We didn't play badly against Burnley and we should have put the game to bed before they equalised. On another day we'd have got the 2nd and perhaps a 3rd and 4th after that and we'd be talking about how wonderful life is at Wembley.

We knew Wembley wouldn't be the fortress WHL was, so I don't get why we are so shocked now that it's proving not to be the home it's not. But we will be OK there, of that I'm sure. Not WHL form, but good enough. We just need to ensure our away form improves on last season's and we can still take CL football in to the new WHL.

 

[Shadydan]

Still going for this in the predictions thread:

Hard to call, I think we'll have a slow start like last season because of injuries and Wembley but I think by November we'll start to fire providing we have a healthy squad. Reckon we could get top four and if we win a trophy that would be great.

 

[E17yid]

Still going for this in the predictions thread:

So only 2-3 more months of shit results. By that time we'll be way off the pace.

I'd have ripped your arm off for 4th and no trophy at the start of the season so hope you're right.

 

[Shadydan]

So only 2-3 more months of shit results. By that time we'll be way off the pace.

I'd have ripped your arm off for 4th and no trophy at the start of the season so hope you're right.

I think we'll pick up results but in terms of us hitting our stride and turning teams over I don't think we'll do that until November so we'll be up there or thereabouts IMO.

 

[Navin R Johnson]

you did. You're not writing to the Club though, you're giving an opinion on the experience, on a fans forum.

I think the point of going is to support the team and watch the football. We should have three points more, and some fans are frustrated and focusing on Wembley as a major factor, or other peripheral issues. I clicked a couple of times on BBC's live football coverage to see how many more Liverpool had scored, during the drinks breaks, but if the pages hadn't loaded I wouldn't have been pissed. Just frustrated at how Poch and the players allowed us to be Burnleyed.

I don't think you got the gist of my point, I wanted to contact the club and the stadium regarding the abysmal sound quality and couldn't due to the lack of signal. I think you were too quick to dismiss people as pathetic rather than take on board their points. My matchday experience is inferior to when we were at WHL, I don't think it's pathethic to want to raise that with the club at the time.

 

[E17yid]

I think we'll pick up results but in terms of us hitting our stride and turning teams over I don't think we'll do that until November so we'll be up there or thereabouts IMO.

I honestly don't think we'll ever hit our stride at Wembley. I don't see us smashing teams 4/5-0 like we did at WHL. Hopefully we make up for it on away days.

 

[spursfan77]

Still going for this in the predictions thread:

Well, we'd all take that now wouldn't we.

 

[cliff jones]

I don't think you got the gist of my point, I wanted to contact the club and the stadium regarding the abysmal sound quality and couldn't due to the lack of signal. I think you were too quick to dismiss people as pathetic rather than take on board their points. My matchday experience is inferior to when we were at WHL, I don't think it's pathethic to want to raise that with the club at the time.

No mate I do get the gist but just don't agree the acoustics or signal issues amount to the conclusion you reached in your post. If the team continue to give away late goals, under-achieve etc it will indeed amount to a clusterfack, but never Wembley itself. No family or friends want to be there either, but it's a necessity.

Once I tuned my ears in to Mickey H's fading wearsiders lilt I understood him, by the way.

 

[cliff jones]

Still going for this in the predictions thread:

but you're already wrong, in that you can't really claim our slow start is down to injuries, or even Wembley, can you? We have a couple of injuries, par for the course, one to a player who'd rather leave, the other who contributed almost zero last season, and Wembley didn't make Hugo or Trips fack up costing us three points in total, or make Kane miss the host of chances he already has (his August record twas ever thus, though).

Now if you said it was because of not freshining the squad up with quality new faces till the last week, I'd have been tempted to buy that- but that would make you guilty of smearing the name of the Great Leader, and condemn you and your offspring to a life in the salt mines.

 

[Shadydan]

but you're already wrong, in that you can't really claim our slow start is down to injuries, or even Wembley, can you? We have a couple of injuries, par for the course, one to a player who'd rather leave, the other who contributed almost zero last season, and Wembley didn't make Hugo or Trips fack up costing us three points in total, or make Kane miss the host of chances he already has (his August record twas ever thus, though).

Now if you said it was because of not freshining the squad up with quality new faces till the last week, I'd have been tempted to buy that- but that would make you guilty of smearing the name of the Great Leader, and condemn you and your offspring to a life in the salt mines.

With Rose and Lamela out and Wanyama not being fit you cannot indefinitely say that we would have won or lost those matches, what you can say is that we'd have a better chance in those matches especially as Rose would add more pace and dynamism the attack and Lamela will add another option off the bench...and we already know what a fit Wanyama brings so the point still stands.

Also in regards to Wembley, it's pretty obvious that the players need to get used to the stadium, if we would have played those matches at WHL, I don't think we'd be losing and drawing against Chelsea and Burnley respectively.

It's just like you can't guarantee that freshening up the squad with new faces and getting them in early will bring instant success on the pitch, the funny thing is that I could have taken your exact same argument you came back at me for and apply the logic to your argument in regards to signing players early, it's just a nonsense fallacy perpetuated by those blinded by the shiny new toy syndrome and those who seem to lack any foresight whatsoever.

 

[cliff jones]

With Rose and Lamela out and Wanyama not being fit you cannot indefinitely say that we would have won or lost those matches, what you can say is that we'd have a better chance in those matches especially as Rose would add more pace and dynamism the attack and Lamela will add another option off the bench...and we already know what a fit Wanyama brings so the point still stands.

Also in regards to Wembley, it's pretty obvious that the players need to get used to the stadium, if we would have played those matches at WHL, I don't think we'd be losing and drawing against Chelsea and Burnley respectively.

It's just like you can't guarantee that freshening up the squad with new faces and getting them in early will bring instant success on the pitch, the funny thing is that I could have taken your exact same argument you came back at me for and apply the logic to your argument in regards to signing players early, it's just a nonsense fallacy perpetuated by those blinded by the shiny new toy syndrome and those who seem to lack any foresight whatsoever.

if it's a nonesense fallacy then it's surprising all managers and coaches subscribe to it- even if some qualify their words with the usual cant compete with them/we have a different model/sell to buy mantras.

Anyway, good luck with your prediction, hope you get it right in the end.

 

[slartibartfast]

I think the biggest issue with Wembley isnt our players mentality its the mentality of the opposition. Teams like Burnley etc are going to be well up for it. For some of these players its the only time they'll ever play there so they're gonna be well up for it. Its their cup final. Something to tell their grandkids. Can include some managers in that as well. Financially and to appease the season ticket holders it had to be Wembley. Football wise MK would have been much better choice imo mainly for reasons stated above.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

It's 5metres longer FFS, there is no way that is an issue. Not too mention every away pitch is the same.

It's about 450sq meters bigger. That's a fair amount of extra space to cover over 90 minutes

 

[Shadydan]

if it's a nonesense fallacy then it's surprising all managers and coaches subscribe to it- even if some qualify their words with the usual cant compete with them/we have a different model/sell to buy mantras.

Anyway, good luck with your prediction, hope you get it right in the end.

I'm sure we would subscribe to it if we were owned by a Sheikh or an Oligarch, I suspect we wouldn't give a flying fuck...about extortionate prices, agent fees, wages, add-ons etc...

 

[SpursDave88]

I think the biggest issue with Wembley isnt our players mentality its the mentality of the opposition. Teams like Burnley etc are going to be well up for it. For some of these players its the only time they'll ever play there so they're gonna be well up for it. Its their cup final. Something to tell their grandkids. Can include some managers in that as well. Financially and to appease the season ticket holders it had to be Wembley. Football wise MK would have been much better choice imo mainly for reasons stated above.

It's rubbish though. As if teams weren't up for it at WHL or Old Trafford or any of the other big team grounds.

 

[cliff jones]

I'm sure we would subscribe to it if we were owned by a Sheikh or an Oligarch, I suspect we wouldn't give a flying fuck...about extortionate prices, agent fees, wages, add-ons etc...

Poch does, he's said it enough times.

 

[Shadydan]

Poch does, he's said it enough times.

I'm not denying that, I suspect Poch would love to get players in early and so would Levy, but we live in realities and live in a world where players cost extortionate amounts who are incredibly overpriced so we need to be smart.