Tottenham Hotspur were completely lacking in creativity and enterprise against Bournemouth, but Thomas Frank has insisted that he is very confident about one thing despite his side’s struggles against the Cherries.
The afternoon began very positively for Spurs, with the new signing Xavi Simons being presented to the home fans ahead of kick-off.
It is fair to say that Tottenham could certainly have done with the help of Simons against Bournemouth as they hardly created any chances of note until late on, and registered just one shot on target.
The new Spurs number seven would not have been particularly impressed with what he saw from his new teammates, and Spurs fans will be thanking their stars that his signing was completed before this horrid performance.
Thomas Frank admits Tottenham’s attackers struggled against Bournemouth
The workmanlike midfield three of Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr struggled to progress the ball, with their limitations being exposed.
While the Lilywhites did look marginally better when Lucas Bergvall came on, the performance showed just why desperate Frank was to sign an attacking midfielder.
That Tottenham boss was bullish that his side would not defend as badly as they did against Bournemouth too many times, and he also conceded that his forward players had off-days.
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When asked if the performance was proof that Tottenham need to add another creative player to their squad, the Dane responded (via Football.London): “It’s fair to say we didn’t defend as well as we should have and we have done in the first three games. That, I am quite confident we will come back to defend well again, but that could have helped massively.
“The creativity, yes, that’s why we signed Simons to have an extra offensive player, but I also think on the day, with all due respect to our offensive players, none of them hit a high level, and that happens sometimes. I’m very aware. I don’t want to say it’s okay, but it’s natural.”
Tottenham are expected to add to their attack
It has been widely reported that Spurs want to add another winger to their squad before the window slams shut, and on the back of that performance, it is easy to understand why.
Kudus had an off day, and Johnson on the other flank is simply not going to provide penetration or go past his man in one-v-one situations.