Last season, Tottenham Hotspur achieved a grand second-place finish in the Premier League, but also waved goodbye to their legendary stadium, White Hart Lane. The club is in the middle of building a new stadium adjacent to the old stadium, which will be a mighty 61,559 seater.
However, trouble looks to be on the horizon for Spurs, as they have to spend the 2017/18 campaign at Wembley, a stadium that they've notoriously struggled in.
At the end of July, Tottenham finished the complete deconstruction of White Hart Lane, in which they played their home games for 118 years. Throughout the entirety of the building process of the new stadium, the club has been streaming a live feed from various vantage points as well as updating their time lapse images multiple times per day for their fans to enjoy.
As of the second week of August, the new stadium has three sides of the bowl constructed with the last, which would face the old ground, underway. Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy says that: "Our stunning new stadium design and wider scheme will deliver an unrivalled fan experience and significant community benefits."
With their new stadium on the way, Spurs have to play their home games at Wembley this season, so they'll be aiming to enter their new home on a high, and hopefully with a new trophy.
Tottenham had to play a number of their home games at Wembley Stadium in the Champions League and Europa League last season, and they've had a few cup games there since its opening in 2007. In total, Spurs have just two wins, one draw, and nine losses in all competitions at Wembley.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that the size of the Wembley pitch can be a contributor to a team's struggles there, which could very well be true to Tottenham. The Wembley Stadium pitch measures 105 by 69 metres, or 7,245 square metres, whereas White Hart Lane only comes to 6,700 square metres, so their usual high-pressing, overload attack tactics become harder to implement with more space.
Despite coming second in the league last season, still boasting the vast majority of their very strong and talented squad, Spurs are 10/1 to win the league in the football betting, but 8/11 to come in the top four. Tottenham's poor form at Wembley will have influenced the lack of backing by the bookies, as well as their lack of summer transfer business.
With an incredible team and a top manager, there's no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur will be up with the best teams in the Premier League next season. They will have spent pre-season adjusting their game and learning to play on the bigger pitch to hopefully overcome their Wembley woes.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino anticipates his players rising to the challenge of playing at Wembley: "We are ready, and we are excited, we will try to win the Premier League. It is another challenge to make Wembley our home, but we are very positive about next season."
Spurs look set to take another big step forward in their quest to cement themselves in the top-four this season, regardless of where they're playing. Then, in 2018/19, they'll get a brand new stadium to wreak havoc in.
