Playing for 90
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Five reasons Tottenham are in fifth place

By Rucker Haringey

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Kamil Glik of AS Monaco beats Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur to the ball during the UEFA Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and AS Monaco FC at Wembley Stadium on September 14, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Kamil Glik of AS Monaco beats Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur to the ball during the UEFA Champions League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and AS Monaco FC at Wembley Stadium on September 14, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) /

5. Champions League football

Every Tottenham fan is overjoyed at Spurs’ involvement in Champions League football this season, but their participation comes at a cost. Playing against such elite competition takes a lot out of a squad and certainly has taken its toll on Pochettino’s squad.

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In particular, the opening loss to Monaco put Spurs under an immense amount of pressure. Firstly, the emotional toll of losing in front of such a large contingent of home fans certainly deflated the squad’s morale. There was so much hype in advance of the match, losing to a seemingly inferior Monaco squad certainly was tough to take.

Perhaps more importantly, losing their first home match meant Tottenham couldn’t afford another slip up. Pochettino had to field strong lineups in subsequent Champions League matches. That prevented him from rotating the squad as he might have liked.

The taxing effects of Champions League football have certainly been enough to cost Spurs a single point. It’s an unfortunate side effect of playing in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

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