International breaks are always an ideal opportunity for head coaches to pause for thought.
Thomas Frank has notched up 10 competitive games in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout — 11 if you include the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain — and it has been a steady start for the head coach.
Spurs sit third in the Premier League with 14 points from the opening seven games. Four points in their opening two Champions League fixtures is also not to be underestimated, even if their 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt fell below expectations.
For Spurs fans, there is still a sense that more potential can be unlocked from this side in the coming months, particularly in terms of their potency in open play going forward. It is worth having a frank discussion — or rather, a Frank discussion — on how Spurs can improve in attack.
The contrast from the dogmatic style of Ange Postecoglou is well-established by now. Frank is a known pragmatist, intelligently adapting and tweaking his setup depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, while still trying to impose his own ideas on the game.
That was abundantly clear when comparing Spurs’ first two competitive games against Champions League holders PSG and recently promoted Burnley. In the former, a careful, risk-averse approach saw Spurs set up with a 3-5-2 system to thwart the creative threat from Luis Enrique’s side and congest central areas, with Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Matar Sarr forming an excellent, combative midfield trio.
Against Burnley, Frank’s side were far more considered in their possession, using goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as an auxiliary centre-back at times when building up, as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Sarr formed Spurs’ progressive midfield three.
Frank’s midfield has been a great source of debate in the early weeks of this season. Bentancur and Palhinha have been selected most often so far, but there is often a lack of variety or creativity when moving the ball through the thirds.
In certain games, there is a desire for a solid defensive foundation in the middle, which requires Bentancur and Palhinha’s skill set, with Spurs’ victory over Manchester City being a good example. However, in games where the onus is on Frank’s team to take the game to the opposition, there is a feeling that both are not required at the same time. There have been instances where ball progression has been notably lacking from midfield in the opening weeks.
Sarr and Bergvall’s energy and late runs into the box are more preferable against weaker opposition to disrupt the back line. Meanwhile, Xavi Simons is still settling into Premier League life, but has largely operated as a left-winger in his opening appearances.
Playing Simons as a No 10 against Leeds did seem to add more balance to Frank’s side in possession; it was a midfield that had a solid defensive foundation while having enough creativity in the other direction.
In mitigation, Spurs have built a squad that does possess the players to link the midfield and attack, but with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski injured for the coming months, there is a need for more midfield players to be braver when progressing the ball.
Direct, long balls that bypass the midfield have been lucrative, but when looking across the opening 10 games in all competitions, there has been evidence of Spurs horse-shoeing possession from side-to-side too often, hoping that one of their wide players — namely Mohammed Kudus — might come up with some magic.
Frank’s side are not turning possession into chances at a rate they would like to. It is early on in the season, but 34 per cent of Spurs’ possessions have ended in a shot so far this campaign — which represents their lowest rate since 2018-19.
Attacking options have also been limited by injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani. Richarlison is a willing worker at the top end of the field, but lacks the requisite dead-eye finishing to shoulder Spurs’ goalscoring burden. Mathys Tel will take confidence from his goal against Leeds last weekend, but he too has plenty of room for improvement in his game before he can be considered an undroppable attacker.
There has been a reliance on Kudus to be the main creative threat in the opening weeks, with the Ghana international holding width on the right flank, willing to run in behind or receive the ball to feet before cutting inside onto his stronger left foot.
He is so often a release valve for opposition pressure with his unpredictability and fleet-footedness on the ball — shown by his 60 take-ons being more than any other Premier League player this season.
Kudus’s first goal against Leeds was just reward for his efforts in recent weeks, but Spurs need more balance on their left-sided attack. As well as the searching crosses from Pedro Porro, there is a notable skew in the direction that their chances are coming from.
Frank has plenty of options on the left side of attack, including Simons, Kolo Muani, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert, but none offer the same quality that Kudus offers from the right.
Simons’ early games on the left saw the Netherlands international often drift inside to receive the ball to feet, which is hardly surprising given that his best qualities are operating between the lines and finding pockets to create for players ahead of him.
The return of left-back Destiny Udogie has been crucial in providing more balance going forward, with his overlapping and underlapping runs offering more natural width than the deputising Djed Spence.
The early connection between Udogie and Simons has been promising, and it looks like there will be more understanding of each other’s games as the season progresses. Against Wolves, Udogie makes an excellent overlapping run on the outside of Simons, but the 22-year-old decides to ignore the run and drive into a congested area before being dispossessed.
There was a very similar scenario against Leeds. But this time, Udogie’s run is found as Simons attracts bodies towards him before releasing the ball to his left-back in space.
Spurs do not have a left-sided player of the profile of Kudus, but the network of Simons, Udogie, and Odobert proved to be a creative outlet on Saturday, as they consistently overloaded that side of the pitch.
It is the age-old difficulty for a club such as Spurs, whose size suggests that they should be imposing themselves on the opposition in every game. An ability to adapt between games is positive, but there should be more occasions where the opposition is more worried about the threat of Frank’s side than the other way around.
Frank has instilled a greater solidity and resilience in the side that looks to be an excellent foundation for long-term success, but those attacking tools will need sharpening in the short term.
In the absence of some key players until the new year, greater creativity might be required in more ways than one.