There are two ways of looking at Tottenham's shell-shocked performance beside the Norwegian Sea on Tuesday night back in the small town of Bodo.
Firstly, it was nowhere near the professional, physical display Spurs put in at the Aspmyra Stadion in May. On Monday night at his press conference, Thomas Frank had done everything to distance himself from that 2-0 win four months ago while stating that no parallels could be drawn.
However, in the same room the next night after the game, the Tottenham head coach referred back to that previous victory three times.
On one of those occasions he said: "I think it's also fair to say that we didn't touch the ball in the first half last [season] either, and it was still 0-0 at that half. I think they were slightly better today in the first half, Bodo, so I think that's more respect to them."
Slightly in this instance would be like saying it had been a slightly long wait for Tottenham to win a European trophy the night before they lifted that one in Bilbao.
For Bodo were so much better than Spurs that one of the greatest mysteries of this season might just be how the scoreline was indeed 0-0 at half-time as a penalty was missed, another unmarked effort from eight yards was sent over the bar and Tottenham spent much of their time run ragged by the hosts' attacks.
In contrast, Bodo barely threatened Tottenham's goal in either half back in May against a visiting side that bullied them throughout with their physical play.
The second way to look at it though is that this Bodo/Glimt side are far better than they are given credit for and their home record in Europe is dominant. Spurs' win in May was an outlier at a stadium where many have come and failed.
So regardless of how fortunate Spurs were to escape with a draw, they still managed to come away with something few have managed and that's a promising sign regardless of how it came.
Under Ange Postecoglou, when Tottenham stank so did the result. Under Frank so far, when the performances haven't clicked - and it's still very early days in him imprinting his ideas on the squad - they have at least grabbed a point or three - the Bournemouth game aside.
football.london asked Frank if with so many games and some key injuries in attack, he was having to throw together starting line-ups and might not yet have worked out the right blend, balance and formula.
The Dane thought for a moment before saying: "I think that's too early to judge, in my opinion. You can say we didn't play our best first half today, but I made it very clear from the beginning I have a big respect for Bodo, and everyone should have for what they do and what Kjetil Knutsen is doing.
"I think it's also fair to say that it went quite well against Wolves in the first half, so I know that's a bigger perspective. I think it's overall, you can say with a lot of games, that go-to starting XI you like to find at a certain stage, that's something I'm looking into, which is normal. New coach, new players, and we still need to do a little bit of rotation."
So in essence, Frank didn't agree but kind of did. A key miss for him has been the unavailability of Dominic Solanke.
The striker and the club have finally had to give in to undergo a minor procedure that is expected to fix his ankle problem and keep him out only for a few more weeks, with the international break eating up the bulk of it.
If you're looking for differences to May, Solanke was one. Not only did the England international score but he provided an outlet for Tottenham to get up the pitch, either through his hold-up play or his dribbling.
That day Richarlison played on the left of the attack, meaning the Premier League side had two physical threats up top.
This time the Brazilian played up on his own through the middle and looked like a man who has been playing far more football than his body has been used to over recent years. His workrate has dipped accordingly and so has his hold-up play. It was like kicking a ball against a wall at times for his team-mate only it would bounce to Bodo players.
Richarlison was not alone in being far less impactful than in May. Brennan Johnson offered nothing other than the second half shot that Rodrigo Bentancur turned into the net, only for a Micky van de Ven shirt pull to result in it being ruled out.
What was also disappointing was the Wales international's efforts, or lack of, in the physical aspects of the game.
One in particular came on 32 minutes. Bodo/Glimt were awarded a penalty which came after Johnson barely attempted to jump for an aerial challenge. That meant a free header for the defender to guide it unhindered where he wanted and Frederik Andre Bjorkan was played in wide on the left of the Spurs box where Rodrigo Bentancur's late lunge brought him down.
Johnson and the Uruguayan's blushes were spared though when Kasper Hogh blazed his penalty into the net, only it was the netting hung high over the crossbar to prevent the ball from flying out of the stadium and into the road behind.
Pedro Porro was another who had a very different game to last time out in the little coastal town. He did contribute again at the attacking end of the pitch, this time hitting the right-hand post with a free-kick and then curling in a great cross for Van de Ven to head home late on and kickstart the comeback.
However, in defence the Spaniard had already been given a torrid time by Jens Petter Hauge. The Bodo number 10 finally grabbed the goal the hosts deserved on 53 minutes when he cut inside from the left, turned Porro inside out and curled a shot into the far corner of the net.
Twelve minutes later, Hauge again left Porro dizzy in his wake before smashing a low shot into the bottom right corner.
Frank was asked whether the plan had always been for the Premier League side to give up so much of the possession to the Norwegian side in their 8,270-seater stadium. and try to hit them on the counter.
"I think that was what we wanted. Hopefully also you saw that we went high pressure sometimes. It was not that we never went high pressure," he said. "So the plan was both to go into the high pressure, which we did on several occasions, and also succeed with those situations, and then there were times when we were a little bit more banked in.
"You know, exactly that we were four months ago, because they're very, very good at what they're doing. And then I think the counters should have been a little bit better, but I think the main bit was that when we were on the ball, we threw the ball away too quick."
Frank's subs at least made a difference. Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha and Archie Gray all made a direct impact while Destiny Udogie added some much-needed balance.
Xavi drove through the centre of the midfield constantly and ensured Bodo had something more to think about.
"He’s a really good player. He can create a lot of special things. I think you saw today he came on and did really well," Van de Ven said of his compatriot. "Most of the time he plays you can see the creativity he has on the wing, even if he plays there."
Kudus caused problems with his twisting and turning runs and curled in a great cross that the inconsistent Wilson Odobert headed against the crossbar.
Palhinha added some bite after the midfield trio of Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall had been overrun.
Nineteen-year-old Gray again showed that he can get into good positions as an eight and it was his run into the box and shot that the keeper could only push against Bodo defender Jostein Gundersen and the ball bounced back into the net to spare Spurs' blushes.
Gray will be pushing for a start against his boyhood club Leeds on Saturday and like Bergvall, a run of starts in his favoured position could be what kicks the £40million youngster on at Tottenham.
Gray is seen as a potential future leader and Frank has named one such player for the now in his leadership group. Van de Ven took on the armband after Cristian Romero missed the trip to Norway following a contact injury against Wolves.
The 24-year-old Dutchman was named skipper ahead of Guglielmo Vicario, Porro and Bentancur, who football.london reported this week is close to agreeing a new contract with Tottenham.
While the defence was all at sea at times - Bodo is a coastal town after all - Van de Ven was trying to lead the way with his drives up the pitch and his headed goal was something Frank has challenged him to do more of from set pieces, although this one was again a second phase effort.
The Dutchman did lose his head once with a lunging tackle when running back later in the game and there was that shirt pull that was as subtle as the bright yellow Bodo flags that hung off every other house in the town.
Overall though he led the team when he needed to and it was a role the young defender will grow into as Frank admitted that his leadership group is almost ready to be announced.
"Yes, I have made a decision [on the group]. I haven't told the players yet, and that will be on Thursday. So I made the decision, but it's probably pretty obvious he will be [in it]," said the head coach.
"He has impressed me a lot as a player, but also as a communicator on the pitch, and a little bit of show of character. I think he was good today."
The Dutch defender was unaware of his inclusion in the leadership group when asked after the game in Bodo.
"I don’t know about that, he hasn’t mentioned that yet, but it was a proud moment for me to lead the group out in a Champions League game," he said. "It’s a moment you dream of when you’re a kid. I’m happy I could help the team and we got the point.
"To be honest I went into the game the same as I always do. It’s not like there is some extra pressure on you. I just did what I needed to do and tried to help the team as much as possible."
This was a game that Tottenham managed to scrape through and it was more evidence that while Frank has options galore in some positions, in others he is light. The return of Solanke and Kolo Muani should give him the strikers he needs but there is a dangerous reliance on Xavi for creativity.
Spurs will be without James Maddison for much of the season if not all of it and Dejan Kulusevski could be back in December, or earlier if the Swede recovers as quickly as he often does, but he will need months to be fit and sharp again.
Anyone who saw the graphic image he posted on Instagram of his patella operation will know exactly what he needed to have done, which was the point no doubt. Even when fit Kulusevski will provide some creativity but he is not an out-and-out playmaker like Xavi and Maddison.
Maddison cost Spurs £40miilion and Kulusevski £34million if you're including the loan fee for the first 18 months. That's £74million worth of creativity that is unavailable to Frank for a long time and it's been an issue for Tottenham for years, becoming too reliant on one person for their creativity.
Lose Xavi to injury, as is likely as he adjusts to the pace and power of the Premier League, and there will be more dull and difficult nights for Spurs.
A perfect show of intent for the Lewis family would be to back the north London club they own in lining up another playmaker for January 1 and a top class left winger to ensure there will be none of the creativity-shorn problems that dogged the end of last season.
Vivienne Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher, two of the powerful figures behind Spurs, were in Bodo this week, watching the U19s beat their counterparts 6-0 on Tuesday morning and then the first team unable to do similar late that evening.
The duo joined Spurs' CEO Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Lange for a walk alongside the Norwegian sea after a pre-match lunch that afternoon and it was another public appearance amid three expressions of interest in a takeover this month, the latest from the American consortium headed up by DJ turned tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick.
Earick has proved to be a colourful character on social media since the news broke of the approach he was heading up. His consortium are reportedly planning to bid £3.3billion for the club and provide an additional £1.2billion in transfer funds for Frank.
The group has until October 24 to show whether that's actually the case, but it does put pressure on the Lewis family to show the backing to come that has been stated by sources close to them and also publicly by Venkatesham.
Those sources maintain the family have zero interest in selling the club to anyone and their presence once again across a long day in Bodo did not scream out owners who are looking to head out the exit door.
While he was not on that walk by the sea, Fabio Paratici was in the Norwegian town, having fresh from being handed an 18-month suspended jail sentence by an Italian court following a plea deal for the well-documented activities at Juventus.
His presence was another sign that the club's former managing director of football is still expected to eventually return from his consultancy role into a more official position again despite that sentence and Daniel Levy's departure.
Together as a unit, the Lewis family, Venkatesham, Lange and Paratici have the opportunity to push Tottenham up the ladder both in terms of transfers, the wage structure and the quality at Thomas Frank's disposal.
It is still early days in the Dane's reign but the need for extra creativity in his squad is clear. Strong foundations will prevent defeats, with just the one this season, but the fans will need to enjoy what happens at the other end if they are to keep coming back to watch.
Tottenham faltered and fell after their last European final appearance in 2019. Now with new people in charge at all levels, there's no better time than to learn from others' mistakes of the past and create something far more exciting than what was served up in that little town by the sea on Tuesday night.
