Tottenham Hotspur are set to face with Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, as manager Thomas Frank aims to steer his team back to winning ways. Spurs squandered an opportunity to climb to second in the Premier League on Sunday, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This marks their second loss in the league since Frank took over from Ange Postecoglou earlier this summer. Villa's Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia cancelled out Rodrigo Bentancur's early goal, leading to an unexpected defeat for Spurs. Their fluctuating performances at home remains a significant concern, despite commendable away form this season. They have managed only three victories in 18 Premier League matches at home, although Wednesday's game offers a brief respite as they head to the Stade Louis-II for the Monaco tie.
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In recent Spurs news, Troy Deeney has shared his thoughts on why the team is struggling at home, while Micah Richards and Gary Lineker have been discussing one tweak Frank could make to regain winning momentum. Additionally, the Lewis family have made a new appointment to the board.
£1billion problem called out
Deeney has pointed out that Spurs' state-of-the-art stadium, which cost over £1billion to construct, might be one of the factors contributing to the team's lacklustre performance in north London. So far this season, Spurs have celebrated just one home victory, which was against Burnley on the opening weekend.
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Since then, they have suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves and, most recently, fell to a 2-1 loss against Villa, all on home soil. Deeney said: "Last year, obviously, they were concentrating on Europe, which was the excuse, but what happens is that it starts to bleed into this year.
"Now, you've got to try to stem the tide and try to make it a fortress. The problem is, it's such a nice ground that everyone enjoys going there, so when you have those moments to put the ball in the box and make it nervous, they've got to do that and they've got to kill teams."
When questioned about Spurs' recent home struggles, Frank told the club's official website: "I think it's about looking into the performances. I think we performed well against Burnley, I think we performed well again today. I think we had one very good first half against Wolves and then we had a bad game against Bournemouth."
Regarding the home fans' influence, the Dane continued: "I think the fans were good. I think they helped what they could and I think we, in moments, looked exciting and in moments we could have done a little bit better."
Frank told he's getting it wrong with Tel
Leicester legend Lineker and ex-Manchester City defender Richards have suggested that Frank is misusing Mathys Tel by deploying the Frenchman as a striker. The 20-year-old joined on a permanent transfer from Bayern Munich during the summer window. This came after a loan stint under Postecoglou last season.
Despite ending his wait for a Premier League strike for Spurs away at Leeds, Tel endured a difficult afternoon against Villa. Lineker and Richards believe they understand the reason, suggesting he feels more at home operating from wide positions.
Lineker said on the Stick to Football podcast: "Thought Tel struggled a little to make an impact, and a lot of the times because, obviously, I look at this side of football, when they played a really high line like Villa did today with not necessarily that much pressure on the ball.
"I've said before, I don't mind when players get offside, but he was going so early. He wasn't just offside – he was like five yards offside most of the time. He needs a little bit of work.
"I preferred him perhaps on the left-hand side when I'm seeing him play there. But he wasn't making the natural runs of a striker that understands how to beat an offside trap, which is not that difficult when a team plays such a high line with no pressure on the ball."
Tel has previously declared he operates "somewhere between a number nine and a left winger." Richards, meanwhile, agreed with Lineker.
"Exactly that. I echo your thoughts as well. I like him better off the left," he said. "But in terms of what Thomas Frank was trying to do, there's a clip or an image of him when they got the goal – he was so happy with the way they pressed.
"He wants pace, he wants mobility, and in terms of Tel, he's done alright in recent weeks, but I don't think he's a natural number nine. He doesn't look like it yet, but he's very young and can learn."
Tottenham confirm appointment
Spurs have announced Dan Lewindon's arrival as the club's new performance director. Sporting director Johan Lange released a statement reading: "We are delighted that Dan will be joining us as performance director.
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"He was the standout candidate and brings a wealth of experience across a wide range of team and individual sports, working in high-performance environments with elite athletes.
"Dan also has a strong academic background and his expertise will be hugely beneficial to us as we drive this area of the club with innovative thinking. We look forward to Dan starting."
Lewindon will reportedly oversee the medical, sports science, nutrition and psychology departments across all squads at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He had been employed with the City Football Group since 2022.
Previously he served as lead physio at Northampton Saints rugby club before advancing to senior physio. He has also been involved with the Lawn Tennis Association.