Should Tottenham Hotspur Scrap the Europa League to Focus on the Premier League?
Even the most deluded Tottenham Hotspur supporter understood that claiming their side were Premier League title challengers at the beginning of 2015/16 was far-fetched.
Chelsea looked unassailable, Manchester City had spent over £135 million, not discounting the usual suspects like Arsenal and/or Manchester United either—but none of that quartet has captured the moment.
If guaranteed the EPL's fourth spot in August, Spurs fans would have taken the deal and met 2016/17 with UEFA Champions League football, feeling content and possibly gloating.
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Seven months later and expectations are changed. No longer is Champions League football the mission. For all intents and purposes, the nine-point gap between the north Londoners and fifth-place West Ham United is a punched ticket with nine fixtures remaining.
The new mission for head coach Mauricio Pochettino is not third or even second place, but (adjusted for their brilliant season and stumbles of perceived favourites) the Premier League title.
Never winning the Premier League, one must travel back to the days of muddy pitches and "old-school footballers" to find their last title. Names like Bobby Smith, Cliff Jones, John White, Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay would be found in 1960/61 when Spurs claimed the double, winning both the First Division and FA Cup.
Fifty-five years later, 2015/16 might be the club's best chance to win their third English crown. Never finishing better than fourth in the Premier League era, the table appears set for Tottenham, with only Leicester City's improbable run standing between them and the elusive piece of silverware.
Pochettino seemed to recognise this when faced with Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Europa League's round of 16. A relevant trophy without question, but Spurs placed their league duty above European competition in the first leg and were ripped apart at the Westfalenstadion 3-0.
The return leg at White Hart Lane is now a question mark.
Despite its merit, the Europa League is a burden on the clubs that comprise it. The Thursday-Sunday schedule is monstrous for teams attempting to compete on two (or possibly three) fronts. Dortmund know their chances of winning the Bundesliga are slim thanks to Bayern Munich's dominance, so they can put everything they have into the knockout competition.
Tottenham do not enjoy that comfort.
The plan to reverse their 3-0 deficit would likely be keeping a clean sheet, then scoring three goals and playing extra time. That scenario shatters many vital pieces before Sunday's match and three goals (married with a clean sheet) does not provide assurances of advancement, just a 30-minute extension.
Following Dortmund, Pochettino's men play host to Eddie Howe's Bournemouth on Sunday. The Cherries appear destined for survival—currently on a three-game winning streak—but they have not reached the all-important 40-point mark; the Premier League newcomers will scrap for every available point.
Should the north Londoners risk three vital Premier League points in attempting to get past, arguably, the Europa League's best club? The answer is an emphatic "no."
This is not to suggest capitulation—stranger things have happened and effort should be displayed (if only for England's European coefficient)—but crucial members of Tottenham's first team should be rested.
If we take the somewhat arbitrary stance that generations are 20 years: Almost three full generations of Spurs supporters have no idea what winning England's highest honour feels like—for one of the Premier League's seven largest clubs to own that distinction is fairly grim.
European glory would be fantastic, but not at the expense of their first league title in 55 years. Seeing as BVB essentially made Pochettino's decision for him in Dortmund, the best he can do is recognise the opportunity and save his squad for the season's final push.
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.
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