Mauricio Pochettino has demanded more credit for Tottenham because of their ‘special’ circumstances – building a new stadium and having less cash than their rivals.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
During Arsenal’s stadium build they were constantly criticised and no special circumstance was ever granted to them because they were building a stadium. Nor did Wenger ask for it.
Even now, as people discuss the club, it rarely gets mentioned. In fact, on Sunday Supplement this weekend, journalist, Rob Draper, chief football writer at the Mail on Sunday, actually asked ‘what had happened that there was such a stark difference between Arsene Wenger’s first ten years at the club and his second?’.
Let’s see. Stadium build? Roman Abramovich changing the face of football? Sheikh Mansour?
Speaking after his side got a lesson at Anfield, the Spurs boss, said, “We are fighting. If you compare Tottenham with the other sides competing for the top four, you should say: ‘Wow, Tottenham deserve a lot of credit for where they are now.’
“The club is in a special situation, building the new stadium and there are many things which are important when you analyse the team.
“We are in a different project to Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. We are a club fighting for the Premier League with different tools in a different project.
“We will see if we can cope. It is important that our project is long-term and we can see if we can cope with all the competitions now.”
Tottenham are able to build their stadium with the benefit of the whopping new TV deal in place. They are also getting assistance from the taxpayer – £28m from the Mayor of London’s regeneration fund and £13m from Harringey Council.
It’s not our fault if their new development will cost more than twice what Arsenal paid just 10 years ago. The Emirates cost £390m to build. Spurs are expected to pay £790m by the time theirs is completed, including the development of the surrounding area. The stadium alone will cost around £400m with 568 extra seats so that it has more than Arsenal.
I wonder if they know that the Emirates has been constructed in such as way that it can be expanded? 100,000 is the reported max capacity. That, I think you will find, is a little bit more than 60,000.
Tottenham were first granted planning permission for the ground in 2011 for a 56,250-seater. This was changed in 2016 when they finally managed to get the money together.