MAURICIO POCHETTINO has been dealt a major setback this week as Tottenham’s hopes to resize the playing surface at Wembley were undone, with the Premier League stating that all pitches must be the same size.
The London club will play in Wembley from the beginning of next season and had planned to reduce the size of the pitch to replicate the one in White Hart Lane.
Pochettino has employed a rigorous high pressing game since taking charge in 2014, with the larger playing surface in Wembley not suited to their style of play.
In 2015 the Premier League introduced regulations that all pitches must measure 100m x 68m, with three grounds – Stamford Bridge, Goodison Park and Anfield – given leniency because of their age and when they were built.
Wembley’s dimensions are currently 105m x 69m so the club may have the size reduced to meet current standards.
However according to The Times a meeting of 20 Premier League chairmen informed the club that special provisions would not be given to them to make the reductions any smaller, as Tottenham attempt to build on last season’s second place finish which featured a record points tally of 86.
Despite winning 26 from 38 games in 2016/17 Pochettino’s side finished runners’ up to Antonio Conte’s Chelsea as the London club continue their search for a first league title since 1961.
Tottenham played five games in Wembley last season, winning just once, as they prepare to spend a year at the national stadium while their own new £800 million home is completed next year.
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