There has been precious little to be positive about at Tottenham Hotspur this season.
In the same pre-season game Son Heung-min, a bona fide club legend, pulled on the club’s shirt for the final time, James Maddison, arguably his successor as the face of the club, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury that will keep him out for most, if not all, of the campaign. After that, there were bright sparks against Paris Saint-Germain and in the August wins over Burnley and Manchester City, but since then, the results, performances, and atmosphere around Spurs have largely been dire.
After the 0-0 draw away at Brentford, a performance so poor it would typically rank among the worst of the season had there not already been at least three worse already, boos were directed towards Thomas Frank. The expression of frustration was not so much about the result as about the protracted lack of ambition and invention by a side seemingly content to play boring, marginal football decided by box scrambles and set pieces.
Against Sunderland on Sunday, for Frank to have any chance of easing the pressure on a fanbase that seems to be losing patience, they needed to be significantly better. And from the opening whistle until play resumed in the second half, they were.
Tottenham came out flying, with Mathys Tel, starting his first league game since the 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in October, registering a shot on target within 20 seconds. Tel seemed symbolic of a rejuvenated side, joining in with a rampant forward press from the left wing that frequently disrupted Sunderland’s attempts to play short from the goalkeeper, creating chances from high turnovers.
In defence, Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero were dominant, stepping ahead of their markers and intercepting ground passes, before playing forward quickly and slicing through the Sunderland midfield. Tottenham’s midfield was improved, too, with Rodrigo Bentancur snappier in the tackle and more accomplished in possession than in recent games. Beside him, Archie Gray demonstrated his athletic and technical potential.
Most surprisingly, Ben Davies, given his first start of the season, opened the scoring from a set piece, and Tottenham fans went into the half-time break having seen their most dominant first 45 minutes in the league since the opening day win against Burnley. While Sunderland improved in the second half as Tottenham retreated, there were opportunities for the home side to extend the lead on the counter-attack.
In Frank’s view, their failure to make the most of their chances was their downfall.
“I think the big headline is we didn’t score the 2-0 goal,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “We didn’t kill the game off: 2-0, then we are out of sight. We gave nothing away throughout the game.”
But against a Sunderland side significantly weakened by absences due to the Africa Cup of Nations, the game was there for Spurs to win, and they let it slip. Minutes before Brian Brobbey burst through the Spurs defence to find the equaliser, Sunderland fired a warning sign through midfielder Enzo Le Fee, who fired a header off the post. Spurs continued to invite pressure and were eventually, and predictably, punished.
“We have one bit where they do a top bit of play, and then it’s 1-1,” Frank said. “So for me, it was the 2-0 goal we lacked at. I think the first half was very good. I think we were totally dominant. Second half, not as dominant, but we still get into some very good situations, have some good counter-attack situations where we need to get more out of it. You can’t rely on, in the Premier League, just to win 1-0.”
After a first half that promised so much, the Sunderland game ended in a similar fashion to Brentford: with an underwhelming point and boos directed towards a coach who has lost the faith of many match-going fans. And unless Spurs invest in top talent in the January window, there’s little to suggest a convincing half of football every few matches can translate into something more consistent.
It’s symptomatic of the stark contradiction at the heart of the club. Tottenham play in the best football stadium in the country (maybe the best in the world) but the product on offer is mediocre. The expectation when fans pay for one of the league’s most expensive season tickets in one of the world’s most expensive cities is a premium offering, with brilliant attacking players thrilling the senses.
Dejan Kulusevski, Maddison and Dominic Solanke are three fine players but none have been available. Frank currently has three players who might expect to play regularly for the rest of the big six: two centre-backs and one right-back. Carrying the expectations of a ‘Big Six’ club with a mid-table squad is why many believe Frank’s job is among the most challenging in English football. This does not make the standard of performance any more acceptable, but it’s the sobering reality.
It begs the question of how under par this Spurs season truly is. Should a team missing three of their most established players be in the mix for the top six? Is the team available to Frank any better than most of the clubs around them, particularly when adjusted for the additional demands of the Champions League?
These are surely the considerations of the Lewis family and the club boardroom as they continue to back a coach who hasn’t yet demonstrated he’s the man for the job.
As he looked to the bench for somebody to score the crucial second or put their foot on the ball in midfield and ease the pressure, there was little to choose from. Ironically, Brennan Johnson, who started his first game for Crystal Palace at the same time, may have been that choice — though he likely will have come on earlier for the injured Mohammed Kudus. For the lack of options, or Frank’s failure to make do with what he had, Spurs crumbled.
The question is: how much of that, and a season which is falling into irrelevancy, is his fault?