talkSPORT host Adrian Durham has written Tottenham off in the Champions League before they’ve kicked a ball.
Spurs kick-off against Olympiacos in the early kick-off on Wednesday evening as they bid to upset the form book again after making the final last season.
However, talking on Drive (talkSPORT, Weds, 4.30pm), Durham has said they only got to the final last year because of luck and that they’ve got no chance of repeating the feat.
“Are Tottenham dark horses?” Durham said.
“No, they’re dead donkeys. They’re done in the Champions League already.
“Have you got time to go through the big long list of luck they had in the Champions League last season? They had everyone’s luck last season and then some. They lost their first two games embarrassingly. They got a deflected winner against PSV after trailing them in both games.
“Barca 1 Tottenham 1, they left out Messi, Suarez, Alba… How lucky is that? They got Barcelona away when they’d already won the group. They still trailed most of the game.
“They went through because Inter didn’t beat PSV at home. They missed a sitter. Spurs went through because Inter failed. I don’t think anyone would argue with that.
“VAR cheated Man City out of the Champions League and put Tottenham through.
“They were pathetic in the final. Liverpool didn’t really turn up but they still beat Tottenham. If Liverpool had turned up they would have been annihilated and they wouldn’t have been able to show their faces again. They can’t have that sort of luck again.”
Game of luck or skill?
Where to start with this rant. There’s an element of truth to what Durham has said, but it’s also true to say that there’s always an element of luck in sport.
You don’t win the Champions League unless you’re a great team but it’s fair to say that the best side in Europe doesn’t always lift the trophy.
Can Spurs win it this season?
That’s highly unlikely. The bookies have Man City, Barca, Liverpool, PSG, Bayern, Juventus, both Madrid sides, and Napoli at shorter odds than Tottenham, who have been priced up at 25/1.
If that’s a fair price then they’ve got a 4% shot of winning – certainly better than north London rivals Arsenal. If the tournament was played out 25 times, they’d win it once.
That means that they’ll either need to seriously over-perform or get some serious luck. Even Pochettino has said it will be hard to repeat the heroics of last season.
However, Tottenham have been turned into Champions League regulars by Pochettino. That brings in money and it gives fans the opportunity to see Spurs up against elite teams, with Bayern Munich the strongest team in their group this season.
Pochettino will be breaking down the tournament into manageable chunks. The first step is to get out of the group and Spurs should finish in the top two. Getting something from the game against Olympiacos tonight would be a big step in that direction.