Tottenham Hotspur supporters had at least a hundred reasons to despise Thomas Frank as their manager, but one of the biggest was his treatment of Mathys Tel, And if Igor Tudor continues to bench Tel, he can kiss his behind goodbye potentially faster than he thinks.
In watching Tottenham suffer 4-1 and 2-1 losses to Arsenal and Fulham that may as well have both been 10-0 defeats, Spurs supporters have to be wondering if there really is any difference between a team coached by Frank and one managed by Tudor. While Tudor is refreshingly honest about the problems at the club and is not a company back scratcher like Frank, his track record nor his recent results at Spurs seem to indicate that he is any better of a coach.
For some odd reason, Tudor started a front three of Xavi Simons on the left and Randal Kolo Muani on the right, playing them both out of position while Mathys Tel rotted on the bench again. And lo and behold, when he hooked those guys off for Richarlison and Tel, they changed the game and literally created the one goal and shot at redemption Spurs had to make it 2-1.
Mathys Tel needs to play
Tel was, by far, Tottenham's best player on the pitch after he came in and the only competent attacker in the match. How often have we seen that this season? Tel repeatedly gets told to sit on the bench for no reason, then comes in and saves everyone's behinds or sparks in a close defeat, only to then be relegated to the bench behind players with half of his talent, effort, and form.
There is no question that Tel means more to this club in the short and long term than hired mercenary Kolo Muani, and he is in better form and a much better fit on the left wing than Xavi. Tel puts so much effort into every minute he plays, and, honestly, the only real critique you can have of the former Bayern Munich star is that he tries too hard at times.
Most teams would kill to have a young talent who loves the club as much as Tel does, and it says a lot that he nearly left the club in the winter due to a lack of playing time before the World Cup but is still working this hard for the team. If Tudor can't find a way to play this guy, then he really is just as bad as Frank and can get the sack, too.