LONDON — A nook kick within the twenty eighth minute, Guglielmo Vicario has gone down with an harm (one a cynic would possibly recommend is to fabricate additional time for his crew mates, given how he betrayed no additional indicators of harm) and Thomas Frank calls the huddle. All 10 outfield gamers descend on their supervisor, who has detailed directions drawn out for his gamers forward of the set play. The 2025-26 season in a nutshell, you would possibly recommend.
Then once more, there’s something particular to Spurs that explains why that one nook felt so completely important that Frank discovered himself in timeout mode. Even that early within the recreation, it appeared obvious that if a set piece did not not supply one thing to Tottenham, then nothing would. When, six minutes later, Moises Caicedo’s ram raid by means of two traces of Spurs’ protection introduced Joao Pedro his opener, this recreation seemed past the hosts. Counterattacks have been devolving right into a string of backward passes, purpose kicks appeared to operate as little greater than a urgent set off for Chelsea. Ingenuity had been sacrificed on the altar of stability.
That’s the way it needed to be when Frank took the helm in the summertime. The crew he inherited was one who conceded 65 targets, who might need suffered fairly brutal accidents however who by the top of Ange Postecoglou’s tenure couldn’t repel a plastic bag on the breeze with out radically compromising “who we’re, mate”. Spurs needed to tighten up, there was no different credible technique to do issues.
And it’s price saying that they’ve been efficient sufficient on this transition interval. Previous to Saturday, they’d ridden the set piece prepare nearly as successfully as any Premier League crew not named Arsenal. For probably the most half the protection has tightened up too, although in the present day it was the profligacy of their opponents that saved the scoreline respectable. Chelsea’s failure to attain a second meant on the last whistle Spurs nonetheless occupied third place within the Premier League desk. If their anticipated targets distinction, handed an almighty battering in the present day, is something to go on you would not anticipate them to carry a spot within the Champions League locations for for much longer but when this crew does enhance it may very well be competing at a degree that was gentle years past them final season.
To make these enhancements would possibly require an acknowledgement from Frank that he has overcorrected on his course. The XI with which he began the match set the tone for a facet who can be up for the scrap however would possibly wrestle to progress the ball into the opposition half. Even when Lucas Bergvall, concussed however completely irate about it, made method for Xavi Simons within the eighth minute, Tottenham did not actually get going. Simons specifically didn’t. He appears too light-weight for the Premier League, too accustomed to having a number of touches earlier than selecting his move. In pursuit of a purpose, Frank selected to hook the summer time’s marquee signing. You could not blame him.
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An excessive amount of of their ball development plan appeared to revolve round Randal Kolo Muani, each profitable his duel and discovering a teammate who is perhaps 15 plus yards away. If and when the ball got here to Mohammed Kudus, he felt compelled to assault on his personal. Most of the time, he was shepherded down blind alleys by Marc Cucurella. Nonetheless, it wasn’t completely clear that Kudus operating himself ragged wasn’t Spurs’ greatest path to purpose. All three of their pictures got here from the Ghanaian. “It wasn’t completely apparent that there was an choice for this crew to use apart from get it to Kudus and hope”
In any case, the issues began deeper than the frontline. Virtually each purpose kick appeared to contain a middle again knocking it quick to Vicario and getting it again, having allowed Chelsea’s forwards into the world. From there, it was both a hopeful ball up the road or a throttling by the opposition press, adopted by a determined ball up the road. It was simple, nonetheless, to see why a midfield of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur was so incessantly being bypassed. Play it as much as them and the ball would simply go backwards.
No surprise the house crowd was grumbling. With considered one of their final possibilities of the sport, Vicario knocked a free kick on midway a number of yards ahead to Djed Spence. Fairly swiftly, he obtained the ball again 20 yards deeper, hoofing the ball aimlessly up the sphere. With Robert Sanchez wanting sturdy below the excessive ball from Tottenham set items, there actually was nothing doing.
An finish output of 0.1 xG is hardly to dare is to do and the boos on the last whistle felt vital, notably the smattering that appeared to observe Frank as he made his well past the South Stand. Will probably be a very long time earlier than this frustration morphs into tangible stress on a supervisor with a observe document of excessive efficiency within the Premier League however this was the one observe of warning that got here together with his appointment in the summertime. The Dane had excelled at constructing reactive recreation plans to ship success for Brentford however when Spurs are a purpose down at house to an amazing rival, their crowd will anticipate them to come back out swinging.
Extra attacking performances like this, and it’ll not matter whether or not or not Frank has eased the issues of the previous. He’ll merely have created totally different points within the right here and now.
