A few things: 1. He is Colombian, and in South America, defenders get away with some of the challenges that are routinely bookings or sendings off in the PL. 2. He is only 21 and this is only his 2nd year in top flight European football. The PL is a tough place for a young defender to learn his trade. The forwards are clever and know how to draw fouls and get defenders booked. The last few games, the opposition has clearly targeted him as a weakness in our back line and at times this strategy has been effective (Watford, Southampton, Swansea). 3. The absence of Toby has been a big factor. We looked our best when he was playing in the centre of a back 3 with Toby and Jan either side of him.
IMO, we don't actually have a home field advantage right now. There's research to support that when a team changes home venues, it takes most of a season for the team to regain the benefits of a home field advantage. So, we will get some benefit towards the end of the season. Then lose it when we go to New White Hart Lane, and regain it again towards the end of that season. Here's the thing, while we are unlikely to win the league in the upcoming season, we have a decent chance to win the FA Cup this season because the semis and final will be played in our stadium.
Despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about playing at Wembley, we have an overall record of 11 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats there, and are unbeaten in 10 in the league. A couple of positives about moving to the new ground is that it is in the same spot as the old one, so the players and supporters will be familiar with the surroundings. The pitch size will also be the same as Wembley (105 x 68 m as per PL regulations), which means the players won't have to readapt to a new pitch size.
Home League record 2017-18: W-7 D-4 L-1 GF-26 GA-9 GD +17 Pace to get 39.5 points at home, I think we'll probably do some better, like 45 points. Home League record 2016-17: W-17 D-2 L-0 GF-47 GA-9 GD +38 Earned 51 points at home. (Arguably, similarly strong team) Home League record 2015-16: W-10 D-6 L-3 GF-35 GA-15 GD +20 Earned 36 points at home. (Arguably, weaker overall team) IMO, the evidence is supportive that it's taken some time for the team to find a genuine home advantage at Wembley, and it may not have been in place as of early January. The good news is, if we can stay in the cup competitions, we have a good chance of winning them because of playing on home ground in the semis and finals.
One of the things which was said early, and I echoed, is that the players needed a few games to adjust to the stadium in full (size of pitch, shape of stands, distance of stands from pitch line, etc.). It was clear in the first couple of matches that they struggled, but by home match 3 (Dortmond) they had it figured out (what was clear was the long, cross pitch passes). Since the Dortmond match, in all competitions, Spurs have only lost 1 and drawn 2 at home. And that draw v. Swansea right after Dortmond was more of a hangover match.
Yes, if we get to the semis and final of the FA Cup, they will be played at Wembley (which I hate by the way, traditionally the semis used to be played at neutral venues like Villa Park, Old Trafford and Hillsborough), but they will be neutral site games, which means we will have the same allotment of tickets as the opponent. Historical note: In the 1981 semi-finals we were drawn against Wolves at Hillsborough and drew 2-2 and then won the replay 3-0 at Highbury of all places! Now that was a definite home advantage, because after Wolves got their allotment, the rest of the tickets were gobbled up by the Spurs supporters creating a massive home advantage for us. Wolves never had a chance...