Three thoughts: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 APOEL

1 - Spurs end slump with easy victory

Tottenham put their domestic woes behind them with another impressive European display, beating APOEL 3-0 at Wembley.

The past month has been tough on Spurs since beating Real Madrid, but that didn't seem to bother a second-string eleven eager on impressing.

Mauricio Pochettino said beforehand that the prospect of starting in the Premier League should motivate the players who took to the pitch.

Georges-Kevin Nkoudou started for the first time since January and scored his first goal on these shores late on, whilst Kazaiah Sterling made his professional debut soon after on an evening of positives.

Juan Foyth showed he may not be physically ready for top-flight English football just yet, but did show one of his John Stones-like runs into the opposition half, getting the Wembley crowd off their seats.

Serge Aurier and Danny Rose, the latter of whom was forced off with a facial injury, were largely untroubled but didn't create much either. Their starts likely signal Kieran Trippier's and Ben Davies's on Saturday vs Stoke City.

APOEL didn't quite provide the sturdy defensive shape that Tottenham will face in their upcoming league fixtures, but it'll definitely have provided a confidence boost around the club.


2 - Llorente and Son show their worth

It's taken until December but Fernando Llorente finally bagged his first goal for Spurs.

The Spaniard looked surprisingly sharp and showed a good rapport with Heung-Min Son, combining with him on numerous occasions, eventually culminating in Tottenham's second.

Twelve of Llorente's 16 goals at Swansea came with his head, but he showed neat footwork to control Serge Aurier's low cross before stroking home.

It wouldn't be easy for any striker to compete with Harry Kane, and this has ultimately limited Llorente's playing time. His minutes are scarce and that can of course impact his confidence, so perhaps it's not a surprise that he hasn't impressed for Tottenham until now.

Wembley's sparse crowd enjoyed the opener and gave his a great reception when his name was read out following the goal - maybe he has a future in north London after all.

Just behind him in attack, Son was excellent.

When picking a forward trident, the South Korean is usually the Spurs attacker sacrificed.

However, with Dele Alli in a bad run of form and Erik Lamela returning to the squad, the competition for places could finally heat up.

Son was a nuisance all night, as he usually is when starting, whilst Dele's game was much quieter. He probed without success, he shot without conviction, and his touch escaped him on numerous occasions.


3 - Tottenham qualify with most points in Champions League group stage

Many outsiders tipped Spurs to crash out of the Champions League at the first hurdle for a second year running.

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund looked a daunting prospect when the draw was made in August, but Pochettino's side deservedly qualified as group winners with a game to spare.

A remarkable feat that is in itself, and Tottenham also progress to the last 16 with more points than any of the other 31 sides in this year's group stage.

A gloomy few weeks it's been for the lilywhites, but ahead of the draw on Monday, Pochettino and his men can look back with pride on their European campaign thus far.

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Lloris critical of Tottenham focus

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris says the team needs to see games out following their 1-1 draw against Burnley at Wembley.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side needed to concentrate more, and France international Lloris echoed that sentiment.

"We need to do better, we need the kill the game, a game like today you need to kill," he said.

"We had some few good chances to score but we didn’t do it, the keeper made some good saves too and then yeah, you know.

"Wembley is a different place, it demands more effort in your mind, in your body, and then we need to try and find the right feeling, find the right confidence, so step-by-step it will arrive but yeah we need to make sure that kind of scenario will not happen again.”

However, Lloris was quick to point out Spurs could just as easily have crumbled had the games taken place at White Hart Lane and that the side will adapt to Wembley.

"I think it could’ve happened in White Hart Lane, from the beginning your two home games you didn’t win, you start to lose a bit of confidence, and the same you can feel it in the crowd, you can feel the opponent building confidence.

"And it’s not easy, especially after a season like last one, we were unbeaten, we could’ve played eyes closed, we were fantastic, but the most important is to keep our belief, keep working hard, and it will happen.

“I do think we should have managed the end of the game better, but we cannot replay the game, it’s finished now and we need to think about that and improve individually, improve collectively, and make sure that kind of scenario will not happen again.”

Lloris remained tight-lipped when questioned about the potential arrival of Paris Saint-Germain right-back Serge Aurier.

“I don’t know about that, I don’t know what will happen in the next few days, we will see, it’s difficult to talk about things that are not done yet.”

Pochettino bemoans lack of Spurs concentration

Mauricio Pochettino insisted concentration was the issue and not Wembley as his Tottenham side slumped to a 1-1 draw with Burnley.

The Argentine says his side played well but they were let down at times because of a lack of focus.

"No, it’s not the problem, it’s not a Wembley problem", he said.

"I think if you watch the game because you understand football like me, or more, I think you will see if you review the game again that was a situation that it’s impossible that happened.

"In football if you’re not concentrated and focussed sometime when you’re tired maybe a little bit and you’re not 100 per cent you concede or gave the opponent the possibility to score and how was today and how it was against Chelsea. That was the key."

Pochettino was happy with the general performance and the number of chances his team made.

"I think we play well. The second half we made a lot of chances.

"Like against Chelsea we were much better than them (Burnley). I think we need to find out balance, still the team is showing in some period of the game that we are missing, or we are lacking concentration in different situations.

"In football you know you pay when you are not focussed for 95 or 100 minutes, or until finish the game. It’s the end of the game. 

"I think that is the key, try to improve individual and collective."

He went on to say people cannot use Wembley as an excuse.

"If you remember the games that we play against Burnley at WHL, it was always very tough. Because the way that they play is very tough to play.

"I think Wembley helps a lot to break the defensive line, to score a goal, to create the chance. And we cannot complain. I think we need to stop.

"If some people are thinking about that, they need to stop. We have the responsibility to do better, to try to win. And the way that today we concede the goal, I cannot tell you, it wasn’t the problem with Wembley.”

Looking at the transfer window, Pochettino was very confident in getting players in before the deadline.

Three thoughts: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Burnley

Spurs's Wembley woes go on

Tottenham once again failed to live up to the occasion under the arch.

An infamously poor Wembley record has cast a shadow over the club for a long time, and there was a nervousness in all corners whenever Burnley were on the ball, from the players to the fans.

The likes of Heung-Min Son, Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier never managed to settle into the game.

It was generally a game of failed diagonals and rare vertical passes; the Clarets kept to their game plan, and Spurs couldn't crack it.

Fortune appeared to favour the brave, with Tottenham's pressure paying off early on after the break.

Dele Alli poked home from a corner, and the relief was tangible inside the bowl of Wembley stadium.

The flame that burned so brightly at White Hart Lane has long since been extinguished, and Spurs need a spark to ignite in the borough of Brent if they're to challenge for the title again.

As the game went on, each Spurs attack looked more deadly, but a second goal never came.

Harry Kane had plenty of chances, including a clear one-on-one, to break his annual August dry-spell, but the penny just wouldn't drop for the club's vice-captain.

Right at the death, Spurs were made to pay as Chris Wood netted on his Premier League debut.

Tottenham's next match at Wembley is against Borussia Dortmund, and although the Bundesliga side are more likely to come out at Spurs, they'll have to be more pragmatic and efficient in order to take the points and not be met with boos again.

Burnley strike it lucky again

An opening day victory at Chelsea shocked the world, and Burnley again took points from last season's top two.

The Clarets never really threatened until the latter stages of the game, but they knocked on the door when Spurs looked at their most vulnerable, eventually finding an equaliser.

They lack another dimension without the pace of Andre Gray, but in Wood, signed from Leeds United last week, they have added arguably their biggest goal threat to their arsenal - Pochettino's side were the first to feel the force.

The need for speed

Another persistent problem that remains for Tottenham is their desperate lack of pace.

If Kyle Walker and Danny Rose were starting every game at Wembley, Spurs might have won more games than they already have. The full-backs are crucial to Pochettino's system - they provide the creativity that isn't present in the middle of the park.

However, one has long since departed the club and the other's future is up in the air.

Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies are good full-backs, but that's the extent of it. They have decent delivery and aren't too suspect defensively, but they don't have the speed and attacking impetus to warrant being first choice at club with ambitions as big as Tottenham's.

Perhaps what's more concerning is it appears to denting the confidence of their teammates. On a number of occasions did Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen decide against feeding them the ball in advanced positions as they weren't even attempting to get on the overlap.

The imminent signing of Serge Aurier will certainly solve the issue on the right-hand sidee, but until Rose returns, there'll continue to be a gaping hole on the left channel.

Why Tottenham should stay away from Serge Aurier

It’s been a long time since a player as well rounded as Toby Alderweireld has sported the lilywhite of Tottenham Hotspur. Arguably the best defender in the Premier League and amongst the finest in Europe, the Belgian has a skill-set beyond the needs of his position, and this extends to his off-field antics.

On Wednesday, Alderweireld shared a piece from The Times about Southampton’s player liaison officer, Hugo Scheckter, coming out to the squad as gay. It’s warmed the hearts of the Spurs faithful, and even Saints fans who turned their back on the centre-back when he chose a move to North London were respectful.

By now you’re probably thinking: 'Sean, we’re three paragraphs in, why are you talking about Toby Alderweireld?' Coincidentally, Toby’s public response has come at a time where Tottenham have been heavily linked to signing a player – Paris Saint-Germain right-back Serge Aurier.

So how are the two matters linked? In truth, it probably is what I just called it, a mere coincidence. But the timing is nonetheless impeccable.

Aurier is a notorious figure in the French capital. He was found guilty of assaulting a police officer in September 2016, narrowly avoiding a prison sentence (but being denied a visa into the country for PSG’s match with Arsenal). That wasn’t the first of Aurier’s offences, though.

Earlier in the year, Aurier was involved with a live-stream using Twitter’s sub-service, Periscope. During it, he insulted and personally attacked several team-mates and Laurent Blanc, who was manager at the time. Notably, he called Salvatore Sirigu gay, Blanc ‘a faggot’, and said that “he takes everything”, before further asserting that Blanc gives oral sex to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Of course, such words are going to cause a storm, and Aurier acted cowardly in the immediate aftermath, insisting the person in the video wasn't him.

The excuse didn’t wash though, and Aurier released a statement apologising to his peers and coach. Notably, he didn’t apologise for his ‘colourful’ choice of words, and I sense this was deliberate.

What Aurier said was inspired by hate. He was deliberate and aggressive with his vocabulary. His prejudices could not be more obvious if he's voicing them on a public broadcast, and even saying 'sorry' once would not be enough to cover it.

As far as football ability goes, Aurier is a fine right-back. He would be the strongest in that position at Spurs, and has the potential to surpass Kyle Walker. But I can’t stress enough how bad signing a player who harbours these blatant prejudices would be.

People have been pushing for the Ivorian’s signing on the basis that he would improve the team, that ‘as long as he plays well he can do what he likes’. I emphasise the term ‘team’, because although his footballing qualities are evident, it’s his personality that would be a negative for the club.

Football isn’t just about eleven blokes having a kick-about, it’s not even just about winning – if it were, we wouldn’t invest our lives and a good chunk of our income on the clubs we love.

Our club was in crisis in 2013-2014, and it wasn’t just about what was happening on the pitch. Tottenham finished 6^th with 69 points, their fourth highest tally in the Premier League era. There was, however, a clear divide within all corners of the club. The fans, the players, the people upstairs, none saw eye-to-eye. It was a shambles, and we’ve come a long way to improve every single aspect of this club.

Those who felt the pain and suffering of that time era, yet want to sign Aurier, are hypocrites. Tottenham’s reputation will be in tatters, and even speculation regarding a potential transfer has divided the fan-base. The club is in danger of falling away again.

For the better part of a decade, Spurs fans have spent plenty of time sticking it the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool for their religiously vile backing of players regarding racism. Again, any of us who contributed to that but advocates Aurier’s signing is a hypocrite.

There’s probably a select few arguing that the players in question, John Terry and Luis Suarez, helped their clubs massively, and that if a key player of ours was involved in such an incident that we’d back him too. That’s wildly inaccurate. If Harry Kane came out with a racist statement tomorrow, I’d want him out. Simple as.

Maybe people don’t care about the incident because it doesn’t directly impact them, which is pathetically ignorant. Would the core of our fan-base want to sign Aurier if he was racist about white people? Probably not, so why ignore his sexual prejudices?

As I’ve already alluded to, I’d rather lose with morals than win without them. Is that such a bad thing? Is defending a homophobe the hill you want to die on?

Again, some are bound to be questioning me as a football fan, but who’s really in the wrong here, someone who is homophobic, or the guy who’s condemning him?

Young people make mistakes, footballers are no different, I get that. But I’d say that a guy who knows he has an international following making disgusting comments about his co-workers and employers purposely on a live-stream is more than a mistake, and maybe even unforgivable, especially when his apology was lightweight.

There’s an attitude regarding homophobia in football that needs to be addressed. Far too many are dismissive of the issue, and the longer it manifests, the more toxic the sport will become. The BBC produced a documentary on the issue recently, and I urge all to watch it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08z2jpc/ad/gareth-thomas-v-homophobia-hate-in-the-beautiful-game

People throughout the game are picking and choosing when discrimination is acceptable. I was sat right in front of Gary Lineker at the Linford Christie Stadium last year when, in an interview with the Guardian last year, he dismissed Jamie Vardy’s racist comments in 2015.

“I think it depends on how you say it and when you say it,” said Lineker.

No, Gary. There are no excuses for racism. Ever.

If a man as respected in the game as Lineker is spreading this sort of message about discrimination, what does that say?

Some of my closest friends are part of the LGBT community, I went with one of them to Pride in London last month. In February, I was attacked for wearing rainbow laces in support of the movement. I will continue to valiantly support them, and that extends to this ordeal. Spurs LGBT have said they’ve contacted the club to let them know their thoughts regarding any potential deal.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are reaching the pinnacle of their footballing history – it’s not worth risking that for a homophobic right-back.

Brent Council threatened with legal action following Wembley decision

Brent Council have been threatened with legal action in light of their decision to grant Tottenham Hotspur use of Wembley Stadium.

The Premier League club’s approval to host 22 extra full-capacity games at the national venue was subject to intense protesting from local residents.

Denise Cheong of Wembley Champions previously said how little faith she had in the council, and says a ‘plan b’ post committee task force has been set up to help with the issue.

She said: “Brent residents and businesses and their visitors will suffer if the uncapped games go ahead.

“The Wembley Champions task force arranged a meeting with senior people at the Council because we prefer a peaceful outcome.”

However, Cheong insists Wembley Champions will fight if need be for what they believe is the right decision.

“We do not want to use our ‘plan c’, which is legal action against the Council with our caseload of evidence dating back to 2015.

“We hope to be able to reach an amicable solution so we are no longer ‘at war’. It’s very exhausting for us little people having to fight for our rights to a better quality of life.”

Wembley Champions are not the only ones upset by Brent Council’s decision.

Tanya & Paolo Di Paolo, residents of Wembley Central, claim that the council have ignored environmental and social concerns.

"It will have a severe impact on their quality of life and the ability to enjoy the local amenities,” they said.

"The traffic levels in Wembley on a day to day basis are already at choking point this will make it worse. When built this stadium was intended to be a green stadium - adding to pollution levels makes this a joke.

“When job opportunities are used as a reason to increase events , this is not relevant as staff are predominately not local and are supplied by numerous agencies. 

"Ignoring the two requirements on the initial planning sets a dangerous precedent and would show that councillors suit themselves against the will of the electorate. If this application is passed all local residents can do is vote against those who passed it. 

“We feel that this will then open the door for another 1 or 2 years of hell with a Chelsea residency while their new stadium is built."

Another local group, Park Lane Residents Association, claim they were not even contacted by Brent Council regarding the decision.

"We at Park Lane Residents Association did not receive any communication from Brent in connection with the planning application associated with the extra games at Wembley Stadium for Tottenham Hotspur." 

Brent Council are also accused of a lack of transparency by a member of South Meadows Ltd, a local business.

"We never received consultation documents, I mentioned that in my objection as well.

“Not surprisingly my sister who has never objected to anything and lives in Sudbury received consultation documents for the stadium. However, as she has objected to this, I'm guessing she's never going to receive anything in the future again." 

Tottenham recently announced they have delayed a decision on their use of Wembley Stadium next season until they are sure about whether their new home will be ready for the start of the 2018/19 season.

If they stay at White Hart Lane next year, they will have to re-apply to host the necessary full-capacity games at Wembley.

Brent Council have declined to comment on the subject furthermore.