Abysmal home form, lack of attacking plan and incident with Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence put spotlight on Frank after wretched night against Chelsea
Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea was a night that Thomas Frank will find hard to shake
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As the full-time whistle went and the boos rang out around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the words of Dejan Kulusevski sprang to mind.
In a letter to the Tottenham fans written for The Players Tribune last year, he reflected on nine-man Spurs' 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in Ange Postecoglou's first season in charge, when they persisted with a line so high it was nearly back to Seven Sisters.
Kulusevski recalled: “You didn’t boo us. You didn’t whistle us. You applauded us. You understood what it meant. Yes, we had lost a game. But we won in life.”
Two seasons on, Spurs lost another game but this time drained the life from their fans. A 1-0 defeat to Chelsea was far more than their performance deserved on a wretched night.
Spurs have lost ten of their last 12 matches against Chelsea but this was a new low. Their total xG of 0.05 is the lowest they have recorded in the Premier League since records began.
Spurs were booed off after their dismal 1-0 defeat to Chelsea
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There was no semblance of an attacking plan beyond aimless long balls towards the isolated Randal Kolo Muani or hoping Mohammed Kudus could beat three men. Spurs trailed for an hour and managed two shots in that time.
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It was a night that Thomas Frank will find hard to shake. Regardless of how Spurs respond against Copenhagen and Manchester United, this defeat will not be forgotten.
The Spurs supporters will not tolerate such insipid football. Frank is a fairly reactive manager, setting his teams up to nullify the opposition's strengths rather than focusing on his side's own.
There was already a section of the fanbase unconvinced by the style of play this season, for all results have been generally good, and a performance so bad against such bitter rivals will have more making their mind up.
Frank has been keen to point out that the team are adapting without the key attackers from last season and there is no doubt that injuries to Dominic Solanke, Kulusevski and James Maddison have had an impact.
However, Spurs' squad should still be capable of much more in attack than they currently are. Frank's hope is that players returning from injury will transform the team, but if performances like this become the norm he will not be there to find out.
Frank's authority was also seemingly questioned after the match. Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence both went to march straight off the pitch but Frank told them to instead go and applaud the fans.
Joao Pedro scored only goal as Spurs suffered their worst night under Frank
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The Dane then stood motionless glaring at the pair as they ignored him and continued down the tunnel. Frank played down the incident but it was a terrible look, particularly considering Van de Ven wore the captain's armband.
Spurs' home form is abysmal, with three wins from their last 19 Premier League home matches. Frank ahead of this match called for the fans to bring the noise against Chelsea. The music was stopped five minutes ahead of kick-off to allow the atmosphere to build organically and there were pyrotechnics to go with a Frank-narrated montage.
The effort was made by the club and the fans for this to be a defining moment for the Frank era. That could yet still prove true in a very different way than intended.
With the atmosphere increasingly agitated, the Spurs players appeared to shrink. Too few of them showed for the ball and there was no bravery, no confidence.
A dreadful first-half showing should have been followed by a performance with purpose after the break but Frank got no response out of his side. The Spurs boss spoke of the lack of intensity after the match and it is a huge concern that he could not rouse his players in the circumstances.
A stoppage-time free-kick saw Spurs load the Chelsea box, but instead it was taken short, played back to Guglielmo Vicario and eventually launched straight to Robert Sanchez. That was the cue for more boos and they intensified at the full-time whistle.
Spurs sit fifth in the table but results are now more in line with what the eye test has been suggesting. Of their five Premier League wins so far, four are over teams 15th or lower. A 94th-minute equaliser scraped a point against winless Wolves.
Defeat to Chelsea and in that manner on home soil was the lowest point of Frank's reign so far. These are still early days, but Manchester United, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle all loom in the next month. It could quickly become a long road back.
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