Hugo Lloris suggests Tottenham could’ve won a Premier League title if it wasn’t for one decision.
It’s been more than 15 years since Tottenham last won a trophy, but they’ve had some close calls in that time.
Spurs have played in multiple cup finals in recent years including a Champions League final, while they were Premier League runners-up back in the 2016/17 season.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham looked ready to kick on and become potential champions, but in 2017/18, Spurs fell some way short.
Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Hugo Lloris has been discussing Spurs’ title credentials around that time, and he’s suggested that Spurs were ready to win the Premier League, but their momentum was halted due to their temporary move to Wembley away from White Hart Lane.
Lloris eventually left Tottenham for LAFC in 2023.
Hugo Lloris questions Tottenham Wembley move
Lloris raised the question, what could’ve happened if Spurs stayed at White Hart Lane for another year.
The goalkeeper believes that Tottenham were getting closer and closer to winning the league, and he pondered whether Tottenham could’ve won the league if they stayed at White Hart Lane for another year.
“My big question, and I say it in the book, is what would’ve happened if we had to stay one more year at the old White Hart Lane, you know? Because when we left this stadium, I think we were more ready than ever to compete for the Prem. But we had to move to Wembley and to adapt to a new stadium and try to make it like our own stadium,” Lloris said.
“But it was not the case. And this difficulty, we managed to keep the consistency. We managed to stay in the top four and to qualify for Champions League.
“So it was still positive, you know? But the only miss that we can feel is probably the trophy. We had three finals that we didn’t win.”
“I think this group of players, and Mauricio at that time was ready to win. Then you don’t know in football, it’s so unpredictable. But this feeling that we had, staying unbeaten at home for the whole season, we were getting close, but it’s part of the story of the club.
“There was a decision, and it was part of the evolution of the club, moving to a bigger stadium. And I think today all the Spurs fans are so proud of this stadium. It’s just one of the best football stadiums of the world.”
“Did you realise quite quickly when you had to play temporarily at Wembley that even though you had that great team, which, like you said, was ready to win, that it was going to be harder for you to do that there?” Lloris was asked.
“We started to drop points really early, and those points can make the difference at the end of the year, especially at home. At home, you just want the perfect way, and we lost time to find reference. You know, White Hart Lane, before we left, was kind of a fortress.”
Tottenham’s record at Wembley
Lloris is right about Spurs’ form dropping off at Wembley.
Indeed, Tottenham were way worse at home in the 2017/18 season than they were in the 16/17 campaign.
However, even if Spurs went perfect at home that year, it wouldn’t have been enough to win the title.
Let’s not forget, this was the year Manchester City won the league with 100 points, and Spurs had very little margin for error in this season.
Lloris seems to have plenty of regrets about his time at Tottenham, and failing to win a trophy appears to weigh heavily on the Frenchman.
Lloris recently criticised Daniel Levy’s lack of ambition before the 2019 Champions League final, and it would appear he can’t quite get his head around why his Spurs team weren’t able to win trophies.
