Football London

Here's every word the Tottenham Hotspur head coach said on Friday ahead of the Premier League match against Chelsea on Saturday

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank had some good news to deliver in his press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of the Premier League derby against Chelsea.

Spurs are back at home this weekend after three games on the road with the draw in Monaco, a win at Everton and the midweek Carabao Cup exit at Newcastle as they now face a hat-trick of matches now to come at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, kicking off with Saturday evening's Premier League derby against Chelsea.

Tottenham are slap bang in the middle of another injury crisis with a long list of unavailable players but there was some good news as Frank provided an update on various key stars including captain Cristian Romero, left-back Destiny Udogie and winger Wilson Odobert while delivering the latest news on striker Dominic Solanke, midfielder Dejan Kulusevski and defender Kota Takai.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to the head coach ahead of the derby against Chelsea. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

Any players returning? Romero, Udogie, anyone back for Saturday?

Yes, positive is that Romero, Destiny and Wilson are available for selection for the squad.

With the number of injuries, is it fair to say that it's pretty impossible to compete on all fronts?

I like to have a challenge that it's possible to compete on all fronts. If we'd have won, which I still think we're not too far from if you look at the game, then we're into the next round and we compete for it. But there's no two ways about that in general. If you want to compete over 60 games in all, that's tough. But that's part of it. I think it's also fair to say you can see every club is doing rotation in the Carabao Cup. Everyone, everyone, they have to. But not only Carabao Cup, they also do a little bit [in the] Champions League, a little bit Premier League. So that's part of it. And then you try to nail that perfect balance.

Are games like this against Chelsea one of the reasons you joined Tottenham?

Yeah I think you put it quite right. A game against Chelsea, especially a home game against Chelsea, under the floodlights tomorrow is going to be unique and special. I can't wait for it. The players are already looking forward to it. It's a fantastic occasion. We need the fans behind us. I know they do everything they can to try to create even more noise, make it this very difficult place to play. And as I said before, it's between us and the fans. The best clubs, the best teams, they're united, they're together in good times and bad times. We need to perform. We need to create energy. If we can get the energy of the fans, then it's a positive reinforcement. And that's what we need to create tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it.

Fans want to do more for the atmosphere - is it a collective to get things going at home?

Yeah that would be fantastic. That is the plan and the aim. As you said, 5,000 fans travelling on the road Wednesday night. That's incredible determination. We need that from the fans, we need that from the team. I'm so proud of that and pleased with that. At home, I can't see why we shouldn't be able to perform and have a very good run at home. We play maybe the best stadium in the world, definitely the best fans in the world and we know that the sound level in that stadium can be insane. So it's up to us to do that together and that is a collective effort.

How much of an advantage does Micky van de Ven give you defensively and offensively?

I think these days every player needs to both defend and attack and play the ball forward and be good in the set-piece and so on and so forth. Micky, let's start with the ball, very good composure, brilliant left foot, can go long, can go short, standard ball when we need to. Of course his pace is quite unique. Then there's the next, the cool defending in the decisive moments. I think he's doing that better and better. Then there's leadership, then there's how good are you on set-pieces, both boxes. I think he ticks a lot of boxes, it's just continuing performing at a good level week in, week out.

What do you make of Enzo Maresca's time at Chelsea so far?

Yeah of course, Enzo has done an amazing job at Chelsea. First season qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Conference League, so competing in definitely more than one front. Won the Club World Cup and had a decent start to the season. Very impressive, it's very clear what him and his staff want to achieve, how they want to play. It's going to be a nice, good challenge. Another nice, good challenge in the Premier League against a very good manager and a very good team.

Can you take advantage of Chelsea's recent lack of discipline?

I haven't looked into every single red card that they've had of the six they got. Probably different reasons. Probably not only lack of discipline, it can also be coincidence. I don't know, it's about us and the game we can play and we need to perform and be intense with a cool head.

How sustainable is it to maintain the start to season just with away form - do you need to make your home a fortress?

It's clear. I think if you want to achieve something big you need to have a good home form and a good away form. Our away form is very good, our home form I'm quite convinced that when you see at the end of the season that we would have had a good home form. Right now we've played three games home in the Premier League, it's a very small sample, but it's up to us to change it around, which I'm convinced we'll have a very good chance to do tomorrow.

In terms of fixtures, are we getting to a point now, or have we reached the point, where something needs to be done about the football calendar because we are asking players to play too many games?

No, I don't know, but I think definitely we need to look into the calendar and the amount of games for the players, no doubt about that. We say it's impossible to play 60 games, 90 minutes, at high intensity, so you need to find a balance of squad rotation and where you put your chips in terms of where you want to focus, because you can put yourself in between two chairs, but I think we need to look into it.

We love football, all of us, but I think when there's been an international break and then we come back and oooh, start again, a little bit more fresh, all of us, fresh eyes, it's exciting.

I think there's something that we need to look into, I don't know the answer to it, because it's a pretty popular sport and there's a few quid in it, so probably a little bit of demand from the broadcasters.

One person who won't be playing football anymore is a former goalkeeper here, Alfie Whiteman, I know you never met him, but he's retired now and become a director and photographer. If you hadn't been a football manager, what would you have been?

I think I would have been some kind of a teacher, in PE in a school or in a sports school or something like that, I think I probably would have done something down the line of that.

A key part of your team's play is pressing, with the injuries meaning you can't rotate as much, does that compromise how much you ask of your players to press and run?

I think the best thing is if you've a fully fit squad, I think every manager wants that, so you can put the tyres up you want for each game and you can rotate the perfect amount of minutes, so everyone can be fresh, but that's not reality, that's very rarely reality for any manager or head coach, so it's about for each period or each game to find the right balance with everything, but there's no doubt that to play with the maximum intensity doesn't have to be high pressing, you need to play with intensity, every team needs to play with intensity, if they want to compete they can just do it in different ways.

But there's definitely something to look into, no complaints, but now we have two days, two days, two days between games, there's a massive difference to three days, but we will find a way and a lot of times it's just mental, and I think we're still in the early days of the season, so it's less important, but of course when everything accumulates it can be an issue.

Can I just check on Dom Solanke?

We're very aware of when we get Dom back, we hope - touch wood - we have him back and no setbacks, so we are very aware of doing it the right way, so it's going in the right direction, he will not be available before the international break, so that's the status right now.

Two of the longer-term ones, how close is Dejan Kulusevski to getting back on the grass?

That's a good question, he's still not on the grass and we're working very hard to get him fit as quick as possible, I think my message is that he's not on the grass yet.

With Kota Takai, what's the problem, is it the same foot issue?

Quad, and he is about to be training soon.

How hard is it to coach your style with so many players out?

Of course you want especially the key players to be available for as many matches as possible, I think I'll go that far that the availability is probably one of the areas that you need to nail if you want to have success in a season, and especially availability for your top players.

I think that definitely has to have an impact on relegations, Champions League qualifications and championships. I think that Liverpool more or less had no injuries last year, struggling a bit more now. Arsenal had a lot of injuries last year, a little less this year, so that can be the decisive factor at times.

What I would say is that there's two things I think you need to look into. The first thing is that if you can avoid muscle injuries, definitely hamstring, calf, quad, stuff like that, if you can avoid that because of a good gym programme, recovery, the right way to train, the right processes, then I think you're halfway there.

Then there is the contact injuries that you really can't avoid, and then that's a return to play again. So that time from when they got injured to when they come back to training, that's the two bits you need to nail. I think on soft tissue muscle injuries we are quite good, which I'm very pleased with.

Now it's just with, I'm going to say, not odd injuries, but contact injuries and some odd injuries, we need to get the return to play time down.

Spurs' record against Chelsea hasn't been very good of late. I think it's four straight losses, but in particular two of the games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have just been absolutely crazy, I just wondered if you remember watching some of them in recent years?

It's entertaining. We are in the entertainment business, aren't we? I remember the first one. What was that? The 4-1? What was that? The nine-man one? Yeah, 4-1. I remember that one. That was crazy. In the past, some games we were part of that everyone will remember for whatever reason. I hope we'll be part of a game everyone will remember tomorrow when we come out on the winning side.

But it won't be that crazy?

Yeah, you never know in football. So you never know, you never know.

Each of these Tottenham games against Chelsea have a story of their own, those two for Ange, Pochettino's first season it was a 5-3 win which kicked started his reign, how excited are you to write your own story?

Yeah very excited, really looking forward to it and it’s a London derby between two big rivals, there is so much on it and against a very good Chelsea team. It will be a very, very competitive and even game. Under the floodlights, it has got everything to be a top game where you will be on the edge of your seat hopefully if you are a fan and hopefully that is the case. We need to come flying out and get the fans with us. And I am very, very positive about us coming out and performing very well tomorrow.

With Romero, it was this game last season where he came back and got injured and missed three months, how fit is he? Could he have played on Wednesday?

I am very aware of trying to be able to take the best possible decisions. Of course in the end I will get a lot of information from medical staff, performance staff, but in the end it is always on me. If a player breaks down, it is on me. It is not on the medical staff, not on the performance staff, always me. I take decisions, I get all the information and then I have to take a difficult choice or a braver choice or an easy choice, so that is it. If he was fit enough, he would have been involved on Wednesday but he is ready to be involved and let’s see how he is.

With Romero's availability, does it open up the possibility for five at the back?

Yeah, I would say that to have him back opens the door for it. We also have Destiny back, so that is also positive. It was a little more of a challenge against Newcastle where we had a few less options, but I thought we performed well in many areas.

Thomas Frank is holding his press conference on Friday ahead of Tottenham's Premier League game against Chelsea this weekend.

Spurs have brought to an end a spell away of three games on the road with a draw in Monaco, a win at Everton and the midweek Carabao Cup exit at Newcastle with a trio of home matches now to come at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, starting with Saturday evening's Premier League derby against Chelsea.

As it was last season, Tottenham find themselves in the middle of another injury crisis with a flood of unavailable players and Frank will need to provide an update on various key stars such as captain Cristian Romero, left-back Destiny Udogie and striker Dominic Solanke as well as any fresh problems from the 2-0 defeat at St James Park.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to the Dane ahead of the derby against the Blues. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

Hello and welcome to football.london for live coverage of Enzo Maresca's pre-match press conference this morning.

The Chelsea head coach will talk to the media from 10:30am (UK time) this morning as he previews the Blues' Premier League trip to rivals Tottenham tomorrow evening. After defeat last weekend at home to Sunderland in the league, the west Londoners are looking to bounce back.

They will have to do that, however, without Liam Delap after the 22-year-old striker was sent off in Chelsea's win at Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. Maresca was noticeably angry at Delap for picking up two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes, so it will be interesting to see what the Italian's views are a couple of days later.

Tottenham host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday as they bid to respond to Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle

Thomas Frank is poised to issue a Tottenham injury update on Friday ahead of Saturday's highly-anticipated London derby against Chelsea. The Dane currently has 12 first-team stars sidelined meaning his squad is being stretched to its limits.

Captain Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke are edging closer to a return but it's currently unclear whether any of those will be available to face the Blues.

James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remain long-term absentees while Radu Dragusin will be back after the international break to provide a much-needed boost at the back.

Yves Bissouma has just undergone ankle surgery but like Kota Takai, he is yet to feature for Spurs this season. There is also still no timeframe on Ben Davies' return. Wilson Odobert could be back this weekend but Archie Gray is set to miss several weeks of action after picking up a calf problem in the goalless Champions League draw at Monaco.

However, it's not all doom and gloom because Micky van de Ven is poised to return to the starting XI after enjoying some rest in midweek.

There are a few selection headaches that Frank must navigate but Tottenham could still field a very strong team that is more than capable of picking up a result.

The Spurs boss said on Wednesday night at St James' Park that he expects Guglielmo Vicario to be available, so he should return in place of Antonin Kinsky between the sticks.

The back-four currently picks itself with Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Van de Ven and Djed Spence all in line to start.

Joao Palhinha should then be pushed back into midfield alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in the engine room.

Mohammed Kudus is poised to operate from the right flank after starting on the bench at Newcastle, where Xavi Simons was bright.

Simons could feature from the left and there will be some debate as to who should start in the advanced midfield role.

If that's not Simons, Pape Matar Sarr or Lucas Bergvall should get the nod. Sarr has a good record against the so-called Big Six.

He starred in the 2-0 win over Manchester City in August, netted against City in the Carabao Cup last season and scored his first-ever Spurs goal against Manchester United.

This is the kind of game where his energy and enthusiasm, pressing from midfield, could be a valuable asset. Equally, the same could be said of Bergvall's creativity.

In attack, Randal Kolo Muani should be given the chance to get off the mark for Tottenham.

The Frenchman played well last weekend at Everton and he's fresh after starting on the bench at St James' Park where Richarlison did not do enough to keep his place in the team.

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman played one time for Tottenham Hotspur throughout his career with him playing reguarly for the youth teams and a brief loan spell with Swedish side Degefors IF

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman has hung up his boots at the age of 27. The decision came at the end of last season when he was just 26.

Whiteman, who was part of Ange Postecoglou's Europa League-winning squad, had been with Spurs since his youth team days before penning his first professional contract. During his tenure at Tottenham, he had two loan spells - both with Swedish outfit Degerfors - but never really managed to break into the first team and often found himself far down the pecking order.

His limited first-team action prompted him to explore other interests, including acting classes, broadcasting, and photography. According to The Athletic, he anticipated continuing his football career after being released by Spurs at the close of last season.

However, the goalkeeper decided to retire on his own terms over the summer and is now pursuing a career in photography, confessing that he was unhappy as a professional footballer.

He shared: "I signed for Spurs at 10 years old. Then I left school at 16 and went straight into this full-time life of football.", reports the Mirror.

"When I was around 17 or 18, living in digs, I just had this feeling inside of, 'Is this it?' Getting on the mini bus, going to training, doing the Sports Science BTEC and going home to play video games. I realised, 'Oh, I'm not happy here' from quite a young age.

"The stereotype of a footballer is generally quite true. It's the golf, washbag culture. I was that young footballer. I wanted the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all just become a reflection of each other.

"You're a product of your environment. It's the way football is in this country; it's so shut off from anything else. You go to training and then you go home, that's it."

Whiteman further stated: "Football is a short career regardless, even if you do really well, and I knew that I didn't want to stay in it.

"It was about trying to gain experience and be proactive in learning about these things I was also interested in, but mainly because I was enjoying it, and was surrounded by the kinds of people that were doing what I enjoyed as a job.

"They were making things. It was really inspiring."

Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's battle against Chelsea, football.london takes a look at who will be missing for both sides in their Premier League clash

Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea could be missing as many as 15 players between them when they come together in north London.

Thomas Frank's side and Enzo Maresca's team both competed in the Carabao Cup midweek. While Maresca's men progressed into the quarter-finals with a dramatic 4-3 away victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Spurs were dumped out of the competition after a 2-0 away loss to Newcastle United.

However, despite their safe passage into the last eight, where they will face League One side Cardiff City, Maresca was furious with Liam Delap's unnecessary two bookings and subsequent red card in the Midlands. Ahead of the derby this weekend, football.london takes a look at who will be missing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur

Unfortunately for the ex-Brentford manager, Frank will still be missing around 10 first team stars. Archie Gray became the latest Lilywhite to join the injury list, after picking up a calf injury.

He follows Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke on the treatment table. However, Frank did state he expects Guglielmo Vicario to play against Chelsea, after missing the loss to Newcastle.

Initially, it was assumed the Italian was absent for rotation purposes. In his post-match interview, Frank hinted he was injured, saying: "He had a smaller thing that had to be done but he'll be ready for Chelsea."

Unfortunately for Spurs, Wilson Odobert is also a doubt for the match, after picking up a "side strain" recently.

On the Frenchman, Frank said: "Odobert had a side strain unfortunately, that kept him out for this game. Also we need to assess him, but it could look positive for Chelsea."

There also remains lingering doubts about the fitness of club captain and defensive warrior Cristian Romero, who has not featured in the Premier League since the 2-1 away victory over Leeds United at the start of the month.

Chelsea

Maresca's injury list is not quite as long as Tottenham's and Chelsea fans will be relieved. However, he was left enraged by Delap's needless red card against Wolves in the League Cup.

Delap had been missing for several weeks when he came off the bench for his return to football at Molineux. But the summer signing from Ipswich Town got himself sent off with two rash yellow cards, the second of which could have been a straight red card in its own right, in a cameo display described as "embarrassing" by Maresca.

Despite it happening in the League Cup, Delap will be suspended for the away trip to Spurs. This is a huge blow, with the Italian also being without Cole Palmer in the attacking areas.

In defence, his options are also thin with Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill both nursing long-term injuries.

Midfield youngster Dario Essugo is also still injured, while Mykhailo Mudryk is still provisionally suspended after being charged by the Football Association in mid-June with anti-doping rule violations.

In the League Cup, Chelsea were able to make nine changes from the starting eleven which lost to Sunderland, including resting Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. They will be expected to return in north London.

Former England youth international Jordan Chiedozie, who is the son of ex-Tottenham Hotspur winger John Chiedozie, was left with life-changing injuries following a crash on the M27

A woman has been charged following a devastating motorway collision that resulted in Jordan Chiedozie, the son of ex-Tottenham Hotspur star John, losing his leg.

The ex-Bournemouth and Southend United player was struck by a vehicle whilst attending to a punctured tyre on the M27's hard shoulder. Anna Bogusiewicz, 45, faces charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving.

Her case will be heard at Southampton Crown Cout, where it has been scheduled for December 1. The collision occurred on February 1 as Chiedozie, then playing for Hampshire club Bashley FC, travelled home from a match alongside physio Reighan Taylor.

The incident happened on the eastbound carriageway between junctions two and three, where Chiedozie had stopped to inspect his vehicle's tyre. The impact left him with "multiple broken bones and other physical injuries" and he was also required to be put into an induced coma.

Tragically, surgeons were also forced to amputate his leg. Chiedozie, whose father John previously played for Spurs between 1984 and 1988, has recently opened up about the devastating incident.

He said: "I think you just have to [stay positive], you just have to get on with it. If you stay too much thinking of what happened and the past, I don't think it helps with the recovery and being able to get as close as to normal as before, going forward."

In a candid chat with the BBC, he also added: "It takes time, but I'm getting there in terms of recovery - I'm getting better. I've still got a long journey, learning a whole new lifestyle with the prosthetic leg."

He also drew parallels to the tragic demise of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who were killed in a car crash in July, just months after his own accident.

Reflecting on the Portuguese forward's untimely death, Chiedozie said it "put things into perspective" and added: "It's hard to process - you are happy and blessed to be here, but you have still gone through serious injuries."

Since losing his leg, Chiedozie has had to relearn many basic tasks, including walking. Describing the process as "frustrating" he remarked: "It's strange.

"You don't think you'd have to learn stuff again - it's not easy but it's something I have to do. I can't dwell on it. I don't know if it's mental strength, but you just have to get on with it."

In his process of moving on, he also said he intends on finding a way to play golf again. Chiedozie added: "I haven't put too much thought into the future.

"I want to play whatever sports I can - obviously golf is a sport I know I can go to and try and get back to a high level, now football is out of the equation."

Pedro Porro has been speaking in the aftermath of Tottenham's 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle

Pedro Porro has claimed he loved Tottenham's mentality against Newcastle - despite falling short at St James' Park. The Spain international full-back captained the side in the absence of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven but he was unable to inspire his side to victory on Tyneside.

Tottenham had a number of chances in the North East but Richarlison lacked cutting edge inside the penalty area as Thomas Frank's men fired blank.

Still, Porro is refusing to get too down over the defeat as he also paid tribute to the 5000 travelling Tottenham supporters.

He told Spurs Play: “It is first very disappointing for us, for all the fans that come here today in the night on Wednesday fighting for me myself and my other teammates thank you so much for the support.

“A bad result for them, no and for us I think but I love the mentality of the team because you concede a goal in the set pieces this happens in football.

"But we stayed in the game, started the second half and we concede again. The best thing about today is the fans, thank you so much and keeping going on Saturday."

Porro previously called out the mentality of the Tottenham squad in the dressing room after the 0-0 Champions League draw at Monaco.

He felt Spurs were too flimsy on the night after conceding a whopping 23 shots on their goal. The right-back doesn't feel Tottenham performed badly against Newcastle overall, adding: “I think we played well in the first half.

"A little combination with Richarlison maybe we stay with the ball one more second for the last pass or maybe in this moment you need more people in the area, sometimes football is there.

“But I think the most important thing today is the mentality we put everything in on the pitch, you lose this game, it’s disappointing because last season we arrived in the semi final and lost in Anfield but I think for me the other team is good.

“The atmosphere is incredible. This is important for the game but we know we have another game on Saturday in the afternoon and we'll go again."

Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven will both be back to face Chelsea on Saturday. Vicario didn't travel with Spurs to the North East while Van de Ven was an unused substitute, earning some rare rest.

Pedro Porro captained Tottenham on Wednesday night as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup fourth round

On a night Tottenham desperately lacked leadership, Pedro Porro showcased exactly why he was handed the captain's armband by Thomas Frank. The Spaniard persistently fought Spurs' corner with referee Chris Kavanagh after a series of officiating decisions did not go his team's way.

Tottenham, at times, let their emotions get the better of them at St James' Park, however, Porro ushered his team-mates away from the officials, though he was unable to prevent Richarlison from receiving a yellow card after Fabian Schar's opener.

But at full-time, the all-action right-back did once again show that he knows what it means to be Tottenham. Around 5,000 Spurs supporters made the gruelling 564-mile round-trip and they were in superb voice all evening despite the team's lack of cutting edge.

Some will have driven, some will have paid for the train or a coach but one thing is for sure, it's a huge effort to travel the length of the country on a school night on the back of consecutive away trips to Monaco and Everton.

The least Tottenham's players could do would be to show their appreciation after the full-time whistle but Randal Kolo Muani and Djed Spence headed down the tunnel prematurely.

Yes, it was a frustrating night's work and perhaps they were on auto-pilot but that will serve as no excuse to the Tottenham fans that have paid their hard-earned cash to support the team in the North East.

Porro quickly noticed the pair approaching the tunnel and shouted at them loudly, waving his arms to encourage them to rejoin the group.

As you can imagine, St James' Park was hardly quiet particularly after a midweek victory and the stadium announcer was also speaking over the tannoy.

That gives you an indication of how loud Porro shouted and Kolo Muani and Spence did stroll back over and clap the travelling support alongside their team-mates.

It might only be a small gesture but it's something that means a lot to supporters. Showing appreciation only takes a couple of minutes and definitely goes a long way, especially after a defeat.

Tottenham need to keep their fanbase on board because while things are going well in the Premier League, Thomas Frank's side remain inconsistent in all competitions.

You can also be certain that Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario would never have let anyone leave the field without clapping the fans, so it's testament to Porro that he stepped in to maintain dressing room standards on Tyneside.

Here are our Tottenham talking points following Wednesday night's underwhelming Carabao Cup exit at the hands of holders Newcastle

Tottenham have been left to lick their wounds after they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup last night following a disappointing team display at St James' Park.

Thomas Frank made four changes to the side that romped their way to victory at Everton on Sunday but Spurs failed to build upon their 3-0 triumph at the Hill Dickinson Stadium as their first shot at silverware this season went up in smoke.

Headers in either half from Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade inflicted the damage but Tottenham did have their fair share of opportunities to force their way back into the contest.

There will be plenty for Frank and his staff to unpack before Saturday's visit of Chelsea and his ranks have also been depleted by injuries to Wilson Odobert and Archie Gray, respectively.

Football.London dissects several talking points and moments you may have missed following a chaotic evening in the North East.

Simons' fourth official anger

Spurs boss Frank and assistant coach Justin Cochrane were animated throughout the first half because Tottenham were on the receiving end of several dubious decisions.

First Djed Spence was not allowed to get back into position by referee Chris Kavanagh for Newcastle's opener after his boot came loose and Frank later claimed that Spence was actually supposed to be marking Schar, who nodded home Sandro Tonali's delivery.

Tottenham were furious and Richarlison was later booked for his remonstrations. But just before half-time, there was another small incident that left the visitors feeling hard done by.

Xavi Simons let fly and his strike was clearly tipped over the crossbar by Newcastle goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Much to the bemusement of the Tottenham bench, the officials awarded a goal-kick when replays clearly showed that Ramsdale had got a touch on Simons' long-range effort.

Tottenham's players were angry at the break and the half-time whistle came just after the Dutchman's shot.

Simons was rightly aggrieved and confronted the fourth official as he left the field, shouting loudly towards Dean Whitestone: "Wake up!"

Football.London understands Joao Palhinha also waited in the tunnel for referee Kavanagh to fight Tottenham's corner as the squad were unhappy with a number of first-half decisions.

Brennan Johnson sub reaction

When Brennan Johnson was subbed for Mohammed Kudus on 65 minutes, there were cheers from the 5000 travelling Tottenham fans.

Johnson blew hot and cold on the right flank. He nearly created an equaliser in the first half for Richarlison at the back post but otherwise, he rarely troubled Dan Burn.

The Spurs supporters belted out a rendition of "Johnson again, ole, ole" early in the match but it's clear the Welshman has lost popularity in some quarters of the club's fanbase.

While he scored arguably the most-important goal in the club's history in Bilbao, his form has nose-dived since the beginning of the campaign when he netted against Burnley and Manchester City.

The key point is that the cheers were audible when Johnson's name was read out over the tannoy and the reaction did not appear to stem from the fact Kudus was coming on, more so that Johnson was coming off.

He was Tottenham's top goalscorer in all competitions last term, netting 18 times in 51 appearances but he now looks a shadow of his former, sharp self.

The reaction from the Spurs supporters is unlikely to help his morale but he needs to use it as fuel to turn the corner as he can still be a very important player for Frank this season.

Draw annoyance

To add insult to injury, Newcastle later drew Fulham at home in the quarter-finals.

Spurs will not have too many grievances with the defeat to the Magpies as they were not at the races on Tyneside.

But had they seen the job through, a home tie against Marco Silva's struggling Cottagers would have been an enticing reward for their suffering.

Tottenham have not reached a domestic final since 2021 when they surrendered the League Cup to Manchester City at Wembley following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

Last season, they made the last-four of the competition under Ange Postecoglou before being thrashed 4-0 in the second-leg by Liverpool at Anfield.

You can't help but feel that in some respects, this might have been an opportunity missed but Spurs are so light on numbers at this moment in time, it would have been hard to justify Frank selecting a stronger team given how many injuries they're currently battling.

Midfield struggles

So much has been made this season about Frank's devotion to the double Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur midfield pivot.

Palhinha had to slot in as a central defender as Micky van de Ven enjoyed some much-needed rest and the Portuguese was sturdy, as expected, at the back - just like he was against Doncaster in round three.

While Bentancur started against Newcastle, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall failed to take their opportunity with both hands.

Sarr forced a fine second-half save from Ramsdale but was otherwise surprisingly quiet after netting on Sunday against Everton. The same can be said of Bergvall, who had a bright 15-minute cameo at the end of the first half but failed to build on that promise after the interval.

The young duo are evidently top players, Sarr hasn't been helped by his lack of rhythm but Spurs are going to need more from the pair in the forthcoming weeks as they prepare to trade blows with Chelsea, Copenhagen, Manchester United and Arsenal, respectively.

Palhinha and Bentancur can't play every minute moving forward and while Newcastle is always a tough physical battle, Sarr and Bergvall need to provide more quality in the centre of the park if Tottenham are to pick up consistent results.