Tottenham Hotspur fans have been left furious at Thomas Frank’s second-half substitutions against Aston Villa, especially the withdrawal of the goal scorer, Wilson Odobert.
Spurs are out of the FA Cup in the third round for the first time since the 2013/14 season after being beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa.
Fill in the blank: Tottenham’s current best attack is ____________ + ____________ + ____________ + ____________ +
The North London club produced a frustrating performance in the first 45 minutes as Morgan Rogers and Emi Buenida put them two goals ahead.
In the second half, it was a very different story as Spurs showed great fight to bring the game back to 2-1, with the likes of Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons all showing great promise.
However, substitutions just seemed to kill the team’s momentum, and the Lilywhites fell at the first hurdle in the FA Cup.
Tottenham fans fume at Wilson Odobert’s withdrawal vs Aston Villa
The pressure continues to mount on Thomas Frank at Tottenham following the club’s exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Aston Villa.
The Danish coach’s team showed great fight in the second half; however, he opted to bring on Dane Scarlett and Dominic Solanke for Tel and Odobert, which appeared to kill the team’s momentum.
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Tel and Odobert on the wings looked like a strong combination, with the latter scoring the goal to get Spurs back into the game.
The French U-21 duo looked to be dragging the Lilywhites back into the game, but they were taken off, and fans have taken to social media to express their frustration at the manager.
One fan said: “I think we could have won if we had subbed off Gray instead of subbing off Odobert when needing a goal.”
Fill in the blank: Tottenham should ___________ Thomas Frank after losing to Aston Villa…
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“Seems to be a frustrating tactic he keeps deploying. We were getting at them with Odobert, Xavi and Tel behind a striker. He should have stuck to it,” added another.
A third supporter said: “Maybe just maybe he could’ve let the players who were trying on the field. Odobert and Tel were doing great at the wings.”
There was yet more frustration aimed at Frank’s subs: “Players showed up in the second half, and then Frank took Tel and Odobert off and killed us going forward.”
Finally, another added: “Frank ruined the game with his subs. Tel and Odobert were getting the best of their full-backs, and Muani was starting to play better.”
The issue Frank has right now is Tottenham’s growing list of injuries, with Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison recently joining the list.
Xavi Simons was the best player on the pitch during Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Xavi Simons was almost certainly the best player on the pitch, with the Dutch international showing promising signs of showing.
The attacking midfielder completed 30 of his 32 passes and won six duels in total, highlighting his desire to drag the team back into the match.
The 22-year-old has missed the last three games due to suspension, but he showed Spurs what they have been missing.
Frank must now persist with Randal Kolo Muani, Odobert, Tel and Simons as his attacking four moving forward.