The Spurs manager has employed a very specific tactic when facing Newcastle United at Brentford in the past.
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Tottenham Hotspur will face Newcastle United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in an enticing fixture drawn following the victory over Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday evening.
Thomas Frank’s side progressed to the next round of the competition with the 3-0 triumph over the League One side in front of home support. The Magpies won 4-1 over third tier outfit Bradford City took book their place in the fourth round as they look to retain the cup.
Spurs met Newcastle United during pre-season, when they played out a 1-1 draw at the start of August. Frank is yet to face the Tyneside club in competitive action with the first league meeting in the calendar for the start of December.
Tottenham Hotspur to face Newcastle United in Carabao Cup
The former Brentford manager has gone up against Newcastle United ten times as a manager, but has won just two of those matches. Frank has lost seven as Bees boss, drawing one. His last win over the opposition came in December 2024 with a 4-2 triumph at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Frank has been positive when talking about the work of Eddie Howe at St James’ Park but, in 2023, acknowledged implementing a specific tactic to try and counteract the work of Howe’s coaching staff. Brentford did go on to lose that match 2-1 with Joelinton and Alexander Isak on the scoresheet for the Magpies.
Speaking after the result, Frank said: “We also, on purpose, were a little bit more active towards the fourth official today. Again, we’re talking about consistency. We know that Newcastle have the strategy. Jason Tindall always speaks in the fourth official’s ear throughout the game. We just have to be aware of that.”
Eddie Howe on Magpies ‘dark arts’
It remains to be seen whether Frank employs the same tactic on his trip to St James’ Park with Tottenham Hotspur for the cup tie. Howe was unfazed by Frank’s words at the time.
He said: “I don't even know what the dark arts are. If someone could explain that to me, that would be great. I've said many times we just do what we can to try and win, but always within the rules of the game.
“It shouldn't have an impact on referees. They should just referee the game as they see it.
“As I say, someone has to sit down and explain the dark arts. Erik [ten Hag] made his comments quite clear about time-wasting, but we don't want that in any game. We want to try and impose ourselves, have a quick game, and have the ball in play. United's critics have pointed to the club’s ball-in-play statistics. I understand the statistic that our ball is in play the least, but that could be due to a number of reasons, not us slowing the game down.”
In other news, Tottenham ready to battle Newcastle United for 'robust and present' Bundesliga star.