Spurs to Wembley - Is this a good move for anyone?

Tottenham today confirmed that they will play their home games during the 2017/2018 season at the home of English football while White Hart Lane is being worked on. Wembley stadium is one of the biggest and most iconic football grounds on the planet and is viewed as a coliseum for the biggest teams to compete for the biggest prizes. The English national side are the only team who have ever called Wembley home, until today. The opportunity for Spurs to play their home games at Wembley is huge for both the club and their fans however, for the newest tenants of Wembley stadium and English football as a whole, is this a wise move?

The North London club are no strangers to Wembley stadium, after playing their European home games their during the current campaign as well as reaching a number of finals and semi finals over the past several years. What is interesting about this is how poor of a record Spurs have had at their adopted home. Since the new Wembley stadium opened in 2007 Spurs have won just two out of a possible ten games played at the national stadium, with just one win there this season during their European run. When you compare that to Tottenham's home record this season, you can see why this may be a huge issue which has been overlooked by the men making the decision. Spurs are currently battling for the title, and they have done this by turning White Hart Lane into a fortress, not losing a single game there in all competitions this season, their only home defeats coming when playing at Wembley. This home record has been paramount in Spurs putting up a serious challenge for the title this season, and it goes back even further then that. After losing at home on the opening game of the 2015/2016 season Mauricio Pochettino's side went undefeated at home throughout the remainder of the campaign, and much like this season their home form helped build towards a very impressive run. With the majority of points won by Spurs over the last two seasons coming from home games, and with next season shaping up to be potentially massive for the club, is it smart to move into a stadium which has seen such poor performances from Spurs during the last decade?

Now this point has less to do with Spurs and more to do with the sides that will have to visit Wembley throughout the season to face them. With Wembley still set to be used to host the EFL Cup final, as well as the FA Cup final and Semi-Finals, is it fair for Tottenham to be playing these massive games at home, should they reach them? Wembley is supposed to be a massive day out for both the club and the fans, and playing in front of 90,000 people instead of the smaller grounds around the country is a test in itself. Which poses the question, is it entirely fair for Spurs to have an entire season's experience playing in front of that crowd in potential preparation for a huge cup tie towards the end of the season? As well is it being unfair to opposing sides, you have to ask yourself, is it right for any side other then England to call Wembley home? As previously mentioned playing at the national stadium is effectively a reward for a very successful cup run, and playing on neutral ground ensures no advantages going to either side during the 90 minutes. For players, the chance to play in the iconic ground is a career highlight, either with their club or after being called up to the national team. With Spurs however becoming an official tenant of the stadium for the next year, will it lose a bit of that sense of occasion a trip to the home of English football has, as every Premier League side is guaranteed to visit Wembley in the next twelve months, regardless of performance of success on the field.

West Ham United. Coming out of the 2015/2016 Premier League season the Hammers were incredibly optimistic about the upcoming campaign, after a very impressive 2014/2015 season and an upcoming move to the Olympic Stadium, renamed simply the London Stadium. On paper this seemed like a brilliant move for all parties, the board and owners got a great deal for the stadium, there are more seats and therefore more fans can see their side play week after week, and the players get the chance to play in a truly incredible stadium, one which, if the previous season was any indication, could be home to some big moments in the coming years. However this couldn't be further from reality. This season West ham have won just 6 games at home in the league, and the performances at home as a whole have been incredibly poor when compared to when they played their home games at Upton Park. Not only have the players struggled to perform at the new ground, the fans have also found the move tough. With a huge running track separating the fans from the action, the drop in atmosphere from last season has been huge, and you wouldn't be surprised if that was a major factor in the poor performances of the players. Despite the incredible facilities and opportunities West Ham now have at their disposal, the majority of true fans and I'm sure even a number of players would have, in hindsight, preferred to have remained at Upton park. The could be a problem Spurs will have to face next season, Wembley might be incredible, but it isn't Tottenham's home. Will the fans be able to provide the same atmosphere in a vastly bigger venue? Will the players settle in and feel at home? Or will they, like West Ham have this season, struggle to turn their new home into the fortress their previous ground had become.

You have to wonder if, when making the decision on their immediate home, the board of the North London club took any of the factors I have just mentioned into consideration. If recent history has anything to tell, it's that moving into a shiny new stadium may be great on paper, but when the whistle blows it is a very different animal. As well as this, was the FA's decision to even make this a possibility ever second guessed, and if not why? Surely I can not be the only one who feels the home of English football, of the oldest federation in WORLD football should be treated as something special and not just the home ground for a local club. We'll see over the next twelve months if Spurs handle the move well, and it might even be a great thing for English football, giving many more people the chance to visit Wembley! And then they can do it the year after as well... and the next two after that... When Chelsea move in for three years starting at the end of Tottenham's tenure. Great.