Despite beginning the current league campaign in understated fashion at White Hart Lane this term, the 2015/16 domestic season has so far proven rather encouraging for all the buoyant Spurs fans out there, especially as Tottenham Hotspur seemingly have what it takes to win the league title at this particular point in the proceedings.

Next up for Mauricio Pochettino and his ever impressive Spurs outfit are Borussia Dortmund however, in a match that could easily send Spurs out of the Europa League knock-out stages in unceremonious style.

The North Londoners go into the fixture with a 3-0 deficit to climb, and although Tottenham aren’t entirely incapable of seeing off their German opposition tonight, such a task remains something of an uphill battle.

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So will Pochettino live to regret fielding an incredibly weakened team last time out against the formidable Bundesliga giants, or will Tottenham’s likely early exit from the Europa League prove a necessary sacrifice it what could ultimately turn out to be a title-winning campaign down at White Hart Lane this term?

Although no genuine football fan seemingly wants their team to give up on a certain fixture before a ball has even been kicked out on the pitch, perhaps Mauricio Pochettino was arguably left with little choice but to send out his second-string team against Borussia Dortmund last week.

Tottenham’s young up and coming stars will have learnt significant lessons last time out at the Signal Iduna Park, the Europa League itself hardly represents the most prestigious accolade for Premier League sides to look back on with fondness in the modern era, and Spurs will possibly never receive a better opportunity to land the league title than what has been presented before them this season.

Mauricio Pochettino simply has bigger fish to fry in the eyes of some Tottenham Hotspur fans, for although European football remains an important aspect of where Spurs want to see themselves in the not too distant future, the 2015/16 domestic campaign could simply provide a leg up in status that most Tottenham fans have arguably never even dreamt of before…

However, now that one aspect of this specific discussion has seemingly been addressed, perhaps it’s now time to look at what the other – potentially more profound and meaningful – side of the coin has to offer…

If Spurs aren’t interested in going toe-to-toe with one of the European game’s most successful club outfits in recent memory, in a tournament that is still considered largely significant outside the of the Premier League, then what does that mean exactly for Tottenham’s overall reputation?

When Pochettino first announced his distinctly weakened starting XI last time out against Dortmund, it was a move that couldn’t help but feel presumptuous, questionable, and even slightly arrogant on the surface. Although most Spurs fans would likely point towards Tottenham’s upcoming league concerns as an adequate excuse for their manager’s recent actions, it was also a decision that completely overlooked all the travelling fans on the night – and there is ultimately no getting away from that.

Yes, Tottenham Hotspur must arguably focus upon the league above all else right in the here and now, but seeing as Pochettino’s side were due to come up against the less than mighty Aston Villa in-between both respective fixtures with Dortmund, such ill-conceived justification doesn’t really hold up in the end.

If Spurs are saying that their first team personnel can’t cope with a handful of prestigious mid-week fixtures as well as trying to assert their dominance in the Premier League itself, then maybe Tottenham Hotspur simply aren’t worthy of becoming deserving champions of England.

What was the point of seeing out the lengthy and often tiresome nature of the Europa League group-stages if Mauricio Pochettino was ready to throw in the towel so easily later on down the line?

Although anything could still take place on the night, Spurs will likely see their European quest come to a rather uninspiring end this evening, and even though most Tottenham fans would probably forget the whole event in its entirety should their side eventually win the league in 2015/16, the decision to field a severely weakened team against Borussia Dortmund was a move most ‘big-clubs’ simply wouldn’t even consider carrying out.

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