Thomas Frank’s first return to Brentford since leaving last summer ended in an underwhelming draw as his Tottenham Hotspur side were unable to find a creative spark in a game of few chances.
After victory at Crystal Palace on December 28, Spurs were hoping to register back-to-back Premier League victories for only the second time this season and the first time since August.
Archie Gray had their best chance of a drab first half at the Gtech Community Stadium but his header was blocked.
Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt forced Guglielmo Vicario into a diving save midway through the second half but, in truth, neither side really offered much threat for long periods.
Spurs would have moved above Brentford and up to eighth with victory, but instead they are 12th at the halfway point in the league season.
Elias Burke and Jack Pitt-Brooke analyse the main talking points.
Why were Spurs so underwhelming again?
The 1-0 win at Crystal Palace four days ago eased immediate pressure on Frank, but sections of the fanbase remain divided about the head coach. The lack of development in turning Spurs into an exciting team to watch is the main complaint, and the performance at Brentford showed few signs that he is any closer to achieving that aim.
Marrying the desire to play attractive football with a solid defensive foundation is not easy. In fact, possibly only league leaders Arsenal and the recently improved Manchester City are convincing in both departments.
Frank is also dealing with injuries to star creators Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, while Xavi Simons — the record summer signing who was brought in to help address their creative issues — is suspended. And with Lucas Bergvall also on the physio’s table, a glance at the bench made clear how limited his options are at the moment.
Still, Tottenham were second best for much of the game, with Brentford looking much more assured in possession. Even the Brentford support remarked on their opponents’ performance, singing “boring, boring Tottenham” in the second half, a chant which the travelling support later joined in with.
Frank will be pleased with another clean sheet in front of a home support which adores him, but a performance like that will not have earned him much more favour within Tottenham followers, some of whom booed when he went over to acknowledge them after the full-time whistle.
Elias Burke
How did Gray do in a more advanced role?
Gray was Tottenham’s standout player in December, establishing himself for the first time under Frank as a consistent starter.
He has spent most of that period playing as part of the midfield double pivot, and opened his account for the club against Palace from that position.
But after Bergvall went off injured near the hour mark at Selhurst Park, Frank shifted Gray into the No 10 position, where he provided an extra body in midfield and allowed Wilson Odobert to thrive ahead of him.
With Bergvall still out injured and Simons unavailable after he was sent off against Liverpool, Gray brought in the new year playing as the No 10 from the start.
He might have added to his tally in the opening minutes, firing a curling shot from the edge of the box which was blocked by Brentford defender Nathan Collins. While he was neat in possession, he was on the periphery for most of the first half, but went close again shortly before half-time, heading a Richarlison pass goalwards, only for Collins to clear his effort away near the line.
Those nearly moments were his most notable contributions in an attacking sense, with the 19-year-old defending well in the second period but ultimately failing to contribute with the ball.
Elias Burke
What did this game tell us about Spurs’ January plans?
The travelling Tottenham fans spent more of the evening singing about former players than the current team, which is perhaps understandable given what the XI on the field served up.
One of the players whose name they sang was Brennan Johnson, who is on the brink of a move to Crystal Palace after two and a half years in north London.
Clearly Johnson still has a special place in the hearts of Spurs fans after his winner in the Europa League final in Bilbao last May. But his departure — and the bluntness of Spurs’ attacks here — indicate the importance of the January window.
The front line of Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison and Odobert never caused Brentford any problems. And with some of Spurs’ best attacking players still out injured — Dominic Solanke, as well as Kulusevski and Maddison — it is patently clear they need upgrades this month. Especially with last season’s top scorer Johnson on his way out of the club.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
What did Frank say?
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Frank said: “I think the positive is that we’re going here against a very good home team that you need to respect with the results they’ve done where they’re beating Liverpool, (Manchester) United, Newcastle, (Aston) Villa, drawing with Chelsea and keeping them on that low amount of chances. They had seven shots in total. I think that’s a very, very strong defensive performance.
“The back four did excellent, the whole team did excellent, especially Micky (van de Ven) and (Cristian) Romero did very well with (Igor) Thiago and Kevin Schade up there. So that’s a positive. I think the amount of unforced errors is the biggest negative, I would say.
“And that’s the bit where you can make too many mistakes on unforced technical errors that then take out eight, maybe nine good half-transitions where you’re not getting into good positions. And then when we were up there, we lacked the cutting edge on the day.”
On boos from Spurs fans: “You’d prefer everyone is happy and we’re winning 3-0… I think we have to play with Archie as a 10 — or I decided to do that — and we did a little bit different at the end of the game. That’s just step by step, we do those things. I’m very confident we will make it fluent and better and score enough goals. But with the amount of games and limited training times and the right offensive players available, that’s part of it, it’s no problem…
“I’m not really reading anything on social media, or articles or all that. I watch the team. I’m very aware that we are not where I want us to be. Very aware.”
What next for Spurs?