As Antoine Semenyo received a pass on the edge of the Tottenham Hotspur box in second-half stoppage time, opening an angle to go for goal, the rest felt inevitable. The Ghana international, who looks set to move from Bournemouth to Manchester City after rebuffing Spurs’ interest, set the ball out of his feet and fired a wicked right-footed shot into Guglielmo Vicario’s bottom left-hand corner.
Many of the travelling Tottenham supporters, who were urging their players to find a winner of their own moments earlier, headed towards the exit. The rest stayed long after the final whistle. Some applauded the team and head coach Thomas Frank after the 3-2 defeat, while a few seemed to exchange stern words with players, including Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro. It was an ugly end to a game that might have finished differently.
“I haven’t seen that situation (with the fans and players), that’s one thing,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “I think it’s fair to say everyone in Tottenham, players, staff, fans, everyone, it’s a tough one to take today.
“I think hopefully everyone can see how hard we worked to get everything in the right direction. And I think overall the performance was good, especially in the second half, in a game where we deserved to get more. That is extremely painful to be part of, so of course people are frustrated, I’m frustrated, so that’s natural.”
The breakdown between the supporters and the coach is nothing new. An image of Frank holding a disposable cup with Arsenal branding ahead of Wednesday’s match only added fuel to the fire. When questioned about that incident after the game, Frank argued it would be “extremely stupid” to intentionally and publicly drink out of an Arsenal cup as a Spurs coach who is “not winning every single football match”, but it was a mishap which has widened the divide for some fans.
On reflection, the festive period offered an opportunity to re-energise the Frank era halfway through its first season.
It started perfectly with a win at Crystal Palace, where the players demonstrated some of the steel and nous shown on the way to the Europa League final win last May under the Dane’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou. Brentford three days later was a forgettable draw, but one, against a team in form, that could have been chalked up as a hard-fought point were it followed by better performances and results in the coming matches. But with a point against a Sunderland team affected by players being on Africa Cup of Nations duty and now defeat by Bournemouth, who were winless in 11 matches before a timely visit from Doctor Tottenham, Frank’s tenure has never felt so lifeless.
And yet, in Frank’s view, it could have been so different.
“It’s very tough to sit here right now and we haven’t got anything out of overall a good performance,” he said. “We started well, got up 1-0, conceding two goals on second-phase set pieces. Especially the second one, we needed to do much better. But I really liked the character in the team and from the players. They gave everything.”
Mathys Tel, starting in his preferred position of left-winger for the second game in a row after impressing against Sunderland, responded to Frank’s faith with a brilliant goal inside five minutes. Naturally, he tired in the second half and his influence waned, but it was the 20-year-old’s most complete and best performance in a Tottenham shirt since signing 11 months ago. His opener ended a 592-minute wait for a goal from open play, setting Spurs ahead again. But, in similar circumstances to Sunday, Frank’s side failed to control the game from a winning position.
After a spell of pressure, Bournemouth equalised through Evanilson, who headed home a Marcus Tavernier cross from the right in the 22nd minute. Fourteen minutes later, Spurs conceded in almost identical circumstances, this time with Eli Junior Kroupi getting the crucial touch.
Joao Palhinha’s 78th-minute equaliser briefly gave them hope of a positive result, only for Semenyo to score that 95th-minute winner.
The result leaves Spurs 14th in the Premier League table, six points off Brentford, Frank’s previous club, in fifth. Incidentally, that New Year’s Day draw with Tottenham is the only blot on an otherwise perfect five-game run for the west Londoners, who have picked up 12 points from the 15 available. In different circumstances, overturning a six-point deficit with 17 games to play might feel achievable, but in Spurs’ current state, where defeats come far too easily, a further slip down the table could be as likely.
Back-to-back league matches against West Ham United and Burnley, two of the bottom three, this month appear to be the final chance to push towards achieving their dwindling European ambitions, before a daunting fixture list in February and March.
So, with their Premier League season collapsing into insignificance, Tottenham’s route to revival may be through the cups.
Champions League success is a dream, but the FA Cup third-round tie at home against Aston Villa on Saturday offers a welcome change of scenery and a chance to restore pride.
Frank’s record in that competition is underwhelming, but after a hopeless festive period, cup success at the weekend appears to be the only immediate hope of bridging some of the gap between him and a furious fanbase.