For the fourth straight match, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank left top summer transfer Xavi Simons to rot on the bench. Well, he did bring Simons in for the final minutes to run around, which is customary, and it may not be a coincidence that Spurs then went on to draw the match, even though the Dutchman didn't have a direct impact on the point.
In the preceding three games, Spurs lost quite handily, and they were clearly missing the attacking spark and creativity Simons can potentially bring. Now, truthfully, there's been very little of the spark, especially lately, but that's largely down to Frank isolating Simons with nobody to connect with, and when he has actually brought in players like Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, and Randal Kolo Muani to start regularly as superior options, that's been when he has discarded Simons.
To every single person affiliated with Tottenham, the answer with SImons is obvious. Frank has to play him. Even if he isn't performing optimally and even if he has a quiet game, he has to keep on playing him. The investment and long term benefits of having Simons firing on all cylinders are too great to ignore and simply throw away.
Xavi Simons should be the future of Tottenham
Let's face it, Simons has more of a future at Tottenham than Frank and means more to the club than Frank. There is more money tied up in him, and he can impact the team more than a manager can. Simons has shown it in the past at his other stops. It is, thus, Frank's job to get the most out of Simons and to actually coach him, rather than have a 60 million pound player toiling away while the team continues to hemorrhage points in the table.
Going forward, the priority needs to be for Tottenham to give Simons minutes and opportunities to shine. Spurs finally started playing Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall regularly in midfield, and those are players Simons can benefit from combining with. Likewise, Randal Kolo Muani has proven to be a considerable all around upgrade on Richarlison at striker, and clearly Simons will be able to do more damage linking up with the more active and accomplished Kolo Muani at striker.
Frank cannot keep barring Simons from the starting lineup. Spurs signed him to be a focal point of the team, just like Mohammed Kudus is on the right flank. There should be no choice in the matter for Frank, other than for him to choose how he changes his tactics to get the most out of the young star.