Fixture fiasco

If top of Mauricio Pochettino’s New Year’s resolution list was ‘spend more time away from the family’, 2018 is already off to a fine start.

The big football fixture computer has seen fit to cough up two games in 48 hours for his Tottenham side this week. A jolly across the border to Swansea tomorrow night, before a no-doubt riotous encounter with West Ham at Wembley on Thursday.

You wonder if ‘try not to burn out by February‘ was one of his resolutions, too. On that front he mightn’t be so successful.

Rotation, rotation, rotation

Squad. Rotation. They’re the buzzwords of the day. We’re often told there’s a steep drop-off from Spurs’ first-team stars and their understudies. There’s no comparing Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente, and Christian Eriksen’s deputy is, whoever happens to be in that day.

As a result, Pochettino tends to plumb for his strongest eleven at every possible turn. Even in the meaningless Champions League group game against APOEL last month, the former Southampton coach didn’t quite trust his squad enough to let Dele Alli have the night off. Despite him looking exhausted in the winless four-game streak that preceded.

Pochettino’s hand will be forced, however. It seems unthinkable that any Tottenham player will get a full 90 minutes in both games. As much as he’d like to assume that Harry Kane was some kind of indefatigable goal robot, Llorente will have to give him a breather at some point.

Old Swans

And what better occasion than against his former club? The heartless gods of football dictate that the Spaniard will likely score at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow. Even with the inch-thick layer of rust that must be encasing Llorente by now, you’d bank on him doing the business in Wales. What bottom-of-the-table sides need more than anything, is one-time heroes turning up to rub their noses in it.

Even if Kane has recovered from illness, you’d hope Llorente would get his chance to play the villain.

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Elsewhere in this delicate balancing act. Spurs’ fullbacks rotate neatly enough. Serge Aurier and Danny Rose saved for the theoretically tougher fixture with West Ham, while Erik Lamela could also be held back for our London rivals. There’d be no finer game to cap off his gradual integration into the team, than a hectic city derby. He’ll be in his element.

There’s even talk of Victor Wanyama making his long-awaited return this week. If not in the League, then the FA Cup tie with AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

Things slowly falling into place for Tottenham.