Since becoming Tottenham Hotspur head coach this summer, Thomas Frank has reminded everyone at the club of the value of set pieces.
Following on from Ange Postecoglou, who disparingly compared them to rugby scrums, Spurs’ efficiency and ingenuity from corner kicks is a significant reason why they are sitting third in the Premier League. Defender Micky van de Ven, who bagged the first brace of his professional career in the 3-0 away win to Everton on Sunday, is Spurs’ leading scorer this season, with all four of his goals coming from or shortly after a set piece. But they’re also among the best in the league at defending them.
Frank and set-piece coach Andreas Georgson approach dead-ball situations as if it were a science, paying attention to every detail, zone and player to maximise their chances of success. The moment the structure, developed and refined in training, has a piece missing, the arrangement can collapse — which is precisely what happened for Newcastle United’s first in a 2-0 defeat on Tuesday night.
Leading up to the decisive corner, the referee allowed Djed Spence to take his boot off and adjust his laces around 10 yards from Sandro Tonali, who was setting up to take a corner kick. It was not the first time the England international had issues with his boots in the first half, attempting to alter them on multiple occasions during brief stoppages, suggesting there may have been an issue with the fit from the opening whistle.
With jeers becoming louder from the home support at St. James’ Park, and having given Spence over 40 seconds to adjust the boot, referee Chris Kavanagh signalled to Tonali to take the corner. The Spurs defender was still on the floor. As Tonali began his short run-up, Spence had yet to get back into position. By the time Fabian Schar had powered his header past Antonin Kinsky in the Spurs goal, Spence was around five or six yards from the position he assumed in the previous defensive corner.
“I feel it’s harsh on Spurs,” pundit Jobi McAnuff, who played for West Ham United and Crystal Palace among others over a 21-year professional career, said on British broadcaster Sky Sports.
“He’s playing an important part in terms of where that ball is going to be delivered. That is where Djed Spence would be. I feel like the referee should have given him a little bit more time to get in. I know there’s going to be an argument against that.”
Immediately after Schar put Newcastle in front, Frank directed his frustration towards the fourth official. He later confirmed Spence was responsible for marking the goalscorer.
“I think the first was a mistake from Chris (Kavanagh), the ref, because he didn’t allow Djed time to come back in, which he clearly should have done,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s supposed to mark Schar, who scored. So I think that was the first mistake.
“It’s very, very rarely I comment on any decision, but this we need to comment (on) because it was completely common sense.”
In this age, where set pieces seem to reign supreme — 19 per cent of all goals in England’s top-flight this season have been scored from corners (45 of 241), the highest share in Premier League history — does Frank have a point? There is no rule that Kavanagh violated in giving Spence time to get into position, and it would be plausible to suggest that the 46.5 seconds (timed by Sky) it took for Spence to sort his boot and get back into position was more than enough.
But in the interests of fair play, Newcastle, who have scored four goals from set pieces this season in the league (one fewer than Spurs), may not have been entirely pleased if the proverbial boot was on the other foot. In a game settled by fine margins, the referee’s decision to wave play on left Spurs at a significant disadvantage. This was punished by Eddie Howe’s side.
What few can dispute, however, is that Tottenham were deservedly beaten on the night. Before Schar profited from the breakdown in Spurs’ set-piece structure, Newcastle had already sliced through their defence from open play on several occasions.
It took Newcastle’s opener to wake them into action, but there were moments in the aftermath where Tottenham’s forwards and midfielders connected in a way they have struggled to do for much of the season. In the 4-4-2 structure, which occasionally resembled the 4-2-2-2 popularised by the Red Bull football group, it’s perhaps no surprise that Xavi Simons appeared to come alive, receiving the ball in pockets and showing glimpses of the talent fans were anticipating when he arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer.
As inverted No 10s, Simons and Lucas Bergvall were involved, fluid and as likely as anyone to create a moment of magic — something that has been lacking from Spurs in open play for much of the season.
“I think the way we played the game in how we built from behind in phase one and especially in phase two, I think we controlled the game much more,” Frank said. “I think we had some short connections in the middle of the pitch. I think we found Lucas (Bergvall) and Xavi (Simons) in good positions. I think it was one of our better offensive performances of the season. It was not like we created 500 per cent chances, but we created some really big chances.”
Unfortunately, Guglielmo Vicario was not around to deliver an inspired performance to keep them in the game, with backup Kinsky at fault for Newcastle’s second, which ultimately killed the tie and Spurs’ hopes of adding another trophy to their cabinet.
But Spence and Spurs have left with a lesson that might prove as valuable moving forward: make sure your boots are tied and snug before you step onto the pitch.