Football London

Tottenham host Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what will be a reunion with his former club for Thomas Frank

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega has called for Thomas Frank to ‘resign’ should Spurs lose against Brentford this weekend.

Spurs host the Bees on Saturday (3pm kick-off) in what is the first time that Frank will come up against his former club since leaving in the summer.

The move has not yet been as successful as the Dane might have hoped. Spurs currently sit in 11th place in the Premier League table and are winless in their last five league games, losing three.

A loss against Brentford will see the away team overtake Spurs in the table. Going into the game, both sides sit on 19 points from 14 games.

Frank has been criticised for some of the performances and results this season. But he has now been sent a clear message.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Vega said: “You need big balls to manage Tottenham.

"Thomas Frank is a politician, a diplomat, a yes man but he is not the person to say, 'this is me, this is my way'.

“That shows in the dressing room. When you are changing the players and the system every five minutes, players feel insecure especially when the crowd is negative. This is not a stable base. And I'm not sure he has the respect of the players.

“Tottenham is complex, the recruitment has been a disaster for years and now we are paying for it. And then comes a guy from Brentford, and it looks like the stage is too big.

“If they lose at home to Brentford he should resign. That would show me he has balls.”

Having spent nine years with Brentford, Frank is looking forward to a reunion with his former club, but his concentration will be on earning all three points for his current side.

“Yeah, I think of course it's a little bit more special for me because I've faced Brentford where I've been for nine years. That's almost a quarter of my life,” he said in his pre-match press conference .

“I had a fantastic time there. I enjoyed every second of it. There's a lot of people I will see on Saturday that I haven't seen for a long time. I used to see them every day more or less.

“So that will be special. Of course as well it would be not true not to say that and it is very true. But today it's been a preparation against the team.

“Players I know very well of course, small tweaks to what you could say I used to do. But a lot of the identity is the same in many ways which make it difficult in many ways. But when the whistle goes it's all about getting three points and winning.”

Here's the Tottenham Hotspur team that we reckon Thomas Frank will select to face his old side Brentford on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League

Thomas Frank must now turn to his only playmaker as Tottenham look for goals against his former employers Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Spurs ended their recent hat-trick of defeats by grabbing a last-gasp point at Newcastle as Cristian Romero's 94th-minute overhead kick secured a 2-2 draw. Now Frank must work out how to beat his old side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and begin to turn around the dismal home form which has brought just three wins in 21 Premier League matches, stretching back to last year.

The match at St James' Park was the fourth in a row in which the north London outfit have failed to register a shot on target in the first half. It is perhaps no coincidence that Xavi Simons has not started any of those four matches because Frank's side have a remarkable record that they have not won a single one of the nine matches the Dutchman has been named on the bench instead of the starting line-up.

Yet Frank continues to be cautious with the 22-year-old. He has praised his efforts in training this week so perhaps this could be the chance for the £51million summer signing to come back into the starting line-up and try to help the hosts create some much-needed chances and give the fans some attacking football for their money.

Micky van de Ven and Joao Palhinha were given a rest on Tuesday night and both are likely to come back into the side, while Archie Gray could also return if Frank decides to rotate the midfield completely.

Djed Spence is due a start and Destiny Udogie did appear to be limping late in the midweek game even if Frank told football.london after the encounter that he thought the Italian left-back was fine. The Dane could also decide to rotate some players in the attack in order to find some goals with Brennan Johnson, like Udogie, appearing to struggle to move effectively before he came off.

That could give Wilson Odobert a chance to return to the starting line-up, while Richarlison and Mathys will also be looking to start up front after coming off the bench against Newcastle.

Here's the team we reckon Frank could select:

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach has been speaking about his £51million summer signing and the upcoming January transfer window

Thomas Frank has no doubt that Xavi Simons will flourish at Tottenham Hotspur and has spoken about the club's aim in the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old playmaker arrived in N17 after the club had failed in moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze, and the Dutchman walked through the door in a £51million deal from RB Leipzig at the end of the summer transfer window but has not started a match for almost a month.

Xavi has two assists and no goals to his name in his 18 games so far but Tottenham have won six of the nine matches the Dutchman has started, while in stark contrast they have not won a single game he has been named on the bench for since he arrived, albeit some of those encounters were away against Arsenal, PSG and Newcastle.

Frank and Spurs come up against Brentford on Saturday afternoon and the mobile playmaker who flourished under the Dane, Mikkel Damsgaard. The 25-year-old recorded 11 assists and two goals last season and was intrinsic to Frank's high pressing style of play and the Tottenham boss believes Xavi can take on that role for him now.

"Yeah, definitely. That's one of the reasons why we got him here. I think he's got a very big potential to be that playmaker. How can you say? Creator but also finisher," he said. "I think he's very good at finishing, very good at scoring goals and arriving in the right areas. I have a big belief that he'll be very good for us.

"But it's like with anything, we like it to be like this, to make it work. Sometimes you come into a club where everything is smooth, everything is working, no problem, boom, you step in. Even that, you can see, compared with what we have seen at Liverpool, also coming into a champions [team], and it's not that easy all the time.

"All the time it takes a little bit longer. But as long as the player trains well, keeps the right attitude, keeps doing the right thing, step by step, we will see him flourish. I'm not in doubt of that. Just because we're always so good to judge him now, but probably after a year or two, oh, how good is he? Now everyone is talking about Damsgaard. He did two seasons before he really flourished in the third one."

Frank is still looking to build connections with his players after just four months at the helm as that will help strengthen the lines of communication for what he wants them to do.

"I'm a big believer in terms of trying to create a relationship, a professional relationship with the players. That's how I work. So it's the same with Xavi, with Mathys [Tel], with Brennan [Johnson]," he explained. "It's all the players, how do we get it working? And also with which players, where do we find the right position for them? So that's a constant development."

The Dane admits that he still doesn't know his best XI among the long-term injuries to James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.

"I think that's fair [to suggest]. I’ve got an idea of quite a few positions. I also think there’s competition so not that easy all the time to say, 'OK, it’s jut those 11' because you need more than 11 players but normally you see most teams when they are finding their strongest team it will be those nine players all the time, and maybe change two. Or maybe sometimes it's 10," he said.

"It's a combination also with the amount of games and that rotation, so definitely for the rest of the season if we do well in the Champions League there will be rotations but it will be closer and closer until you see the main nine or 10 players that we go with."

One position in particular has seen numerous players used and that is the left wing. with nobody nailing down that spot since Son Heung-min's departure to LAFC in the summer. Johnson, Xavi, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani have all been used in that position and in the recent home defeat to Fulham, nobody played on the left. Frank was asked if Spurs could look to sign a new left winger in the January transfer window.

"I think we look at not every position, but we're prepared in every position to see if there is something we can do to improve the squad," he said. "I think we always look into that. Right now, we just focus on doing everything we can to find the one that can take the next step. Plus, we always need more than one that do it to help the team, because there are starters and there are finishers."

Frank admits he has felt the extra weight of pressure since joining Spurs compared to what he faced at Brentford for almost nine years.

"Definitely, definitely I’ve felt that. It hasn’t surprised me because I knew that was the difference when I walked into it," he said. "But like anything else, you don’t know it before you're standing in it. Like really know it. So now I know it so 'ok, it’s like this, hmm'. Then we deal with it.

"I think the biggest difference obviously now is the amount of games, I think that’s the biggest thing. The short turnaround. Of course I experienced it during Covid, we had 21 games in a row, that was Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday and so on. We had two spells of 2-2-2, with a lot of travelling, that’s heavy.

"The ability also to think and nail the message, nail the team and all that bit, how you create a team that should be more and more in sync when maybe it’s not that easy because you need to rotate a bit and do those things. That's the challenge. That's the biggest difference."

So could Frank remain at Tottenham for almost a decade as he did with the Bees if he guides the north London club through this sticky period?

"Everything is possible. Ask me now and nine years is a long time. I've said it from the beginning, every action, everything I do is with two pathways," he said. "One, we need to win tomorrow and the day after and day after but everything is with a long-term vision.

"If you don't build anything with a long-term vision then I don't believe you are a top club. It shouldn't be 'oh we survived one more game' then there are pragmatic choices along the way, injuries, form. Bit by bit we will try to get closer to being a well-oiled engine that's impossible to stop."

Tottenham are putting the finishing touches to their new-look hierarchy after a few months of major change at the north London club

It has been a major period of change at Tottenham Hotspur in recent months and new faces continue to arrive at the Premier League outfit.

A string of long-serving members of the hierarchy have either departed or are in the process of leaving the north London club. The most high profile was chairman Daniel Levy, who left the club in September as Spurs' owners, the Lewis family, made the decision to modernise the structure at the top of the organisation. That came after a wide-ranging and in-depth internal review of the club which sparked a huge number of changes.

Levy's exit after 24 years at the helm came soon after the departure of his long-time advisor and executive director Donna Maria-Cullen. Tottenham's chief football officer Scott Munn had only been at the club for two years when he was placed on gardening leave in June. The Australian still remains on that gardening leave, with no formal announcement made by the club, but reports in Italy in recent months have linked him with a switch Serie A side Parma.

The man at the top of Tottenham now is chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, who has so far proved a popular appointment within the club, with part-time support coming from non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and a board that comprises Jonathan Turner, newcomer Eric Hinson and Matthew Collecott, the club's operations and finance director, who is now the only remaining long-serving member of the board.

After more than a decade at the club, Rebecca Caplehorn is set to depart her role as Tottenham's head of administration and football governance following the closure of the January transfer window. Capelhorn's wide-ranging duties also included transfer and contract negotiations as well as working on behalf of the club with various governing bodies like the FA, European Football Clubs (formerly the ECA).

Some of those duties will be passed on to the incoming director of football operations within their remit, which will also include football administration as well as women's football, training centre operations and player liaison. The recruitment process for that newly-created role is currently being undertaken.

That newcomer will support Spurs' joint sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici. Paratici has returned after his period as a consultant to concentrate on the current players including contracts, the transfer market plus the loans and pathways department, while Lange is focused on overseeing performance, the club's scouting network and Tottenham's academy.

There will naturally be crossover in both men's remits as they look to support head coach Thomas Frank, who himself is a relatively new face after taking over from the sacked Ange Postecoglou in the summer.

The changes continued in the club's medical department with director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies both departing after only a year in their posts. Spurs moved last month to appoint Dan Lewindon, from the City Group, to replace Brett as their new performance director, while Michael Cooper was promoted to head of sports science in September after four years as a first team physical performance coach.

Away from the football side of the club, there have also been new appointments to bolster Spurs' revenue and in turn spending power, allied to the recent injection of cash from the Lewis family, driven by Vivienne and Charles Lewis along with the former's son-in-law Nick Beucher, with more backing expected in that regard.

Adam Gardiner is set to join Tottenham in the new year as the chief marketing officer, joining Venkatesham in making the trip across the north London divide after almost six years at Arsenal. He will lead the development of the Spurs brand, marketing and strategies to improve engagement with the fans through content.

Another new face set to arrive in January is Alex Scotcher to manage Tottenham's sponsorship team, as part of the restructuring currently being undertaken under chief revenue officer Ryan Norys. Scotcher worked for a spell with Norys at Italian club Roma as their chief commercial officer and will now make the move to north London to follow his former boss.

Scotcher arrives from US-based agency network Elevate, who helped secure the naming rights to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for Everton and have worked this year with Valencia to do the same for their new home. Spurs are yet to announce a naming rights sponsor for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium six years after its opening, having found unexpected financial benefits from promoting their own brand through the current name.

Norys, who replaced Todd Kline, now at Chelsea, last year, remains the main figure tasked with securing any sponsorship and commercial revenue across the club and stadium. The primary focus for that department is currently believed to be securing a new lucrative front of shirt sponsor to take over from AIA when they switch to become training wear partner from the 2027/28 season.

Another new face within the club is Kate Miller after Spurs appointed the ECB's chief communications officer to a similar role with them in September. Her new wide-ranging remit will include a strong focus on improving the relationship and communication with supporters and stakeholders.

There has been an incredible amount of change at the club in recent months and after decades of being run in a very particular way, Tottenham Hotspur now has a lot of fresh new voices plotting the way forward.

Frank expected to provide injury updates

Thomas Frank is expected to provide updates on a host of players at 3pm including long-term absentees Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.

Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson were also spotted moving gingerly towards the end of the draw with Newcastle.

Kota Takai and Radu Dragusin have recently been involved in behind-closed-doors friendlies and could be edging closer to a return.

Romero leads by example against Newcastle

Cristian Romero showed his teeth last time out, reigniting his age-old feud with Bruno Guimaraes. The Tottenham captain salvaged a crucial point for Thomas Frank's side at St. James' Park on Tuesday night with two brilliant efforts.

Romero rubbed salt in the wounds of the Magpies midfield, mocking his celebration after he scored a bicycle kick in stoppage time. Following the full-time whistle, the Argentine had a second bite of the cherry.

He directed a few words at Guimaraes, igniting a brawl in the middle of the park. Mathys Tel had to hold Romero back as he and the Brazilian went back and forth...

Frank looks to transform Tottenham fortunes

Tottenham will hope to get back on track when they lock horns with Brentford in north London on Saturday afternoon. The Lilywhites have failed to win each of their last five games across all competitions, and they've only recorded two victories since the end of October.

Spurs have only lost to the Bees once since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2021. While this bodes well for Tottenham, ironically, Thomas Frank happened to be in charge.

This weekend, the Dane will face Brentford for the first time...

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to football.london's coverage of the Tottenham Hotspur pre-match press conference. Thomas Frank will be with us in just a moment.

It's time for a new episode of our podcast Talking Tottenham with our Spurs correspondents Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor

One Tottenham player in particular was left frustrated at points during the 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday night in the Premier League.

Spurs came from behind twice with goals from captain Cristian Romero cancelling out Bruno Guimaraes 71st minute strike and Anthony Gordon's penalty in the 86th minute. The Spurs centre-back proved to be the visitor's best attacking player on the night with a diving header and an overhead kick grabbing the point at St James' Park.

While he had to take the game by the scruff of the neck, one of Spurs' attackers had tried to do the same only for his team-mates to fail to notice what he was doing.

Brennan Johnson returned to the starting line-up for the first time in almost a month and he caused Tino Livramento problems, both in getting past him on a couple of occasions and also his runs off the ball in behind the Newcastle defence.

The Wales international made a string of well-timed sprints off the ball only to find Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus more inclined to repeatedly pass sideways between each other. The runs in behind Newcastle's big defenders might just have been the perfect way to cause them problems had anyone actually passed to the 24-year-old, who also made a crucial goal line block from Livramento's shot in the second half.

Johnson has scored 22 goals for the club in the past year or so and has proved his ability to make well-timed runs into the box to find the net, however on this occasion none of his team-mates looked to get the ball to him when he set off.

Johnson's performance was among the topics our Spurs reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor discussed in the latest episode of their podcast Talking Tottenham.

Thomas Frank could be forced to leave out some of his most important players when Tottenham Hotspur lock horns with Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur could be without as many as six players when they face Liverpool later this month. The Lilywhites will host the reigning Premier League champions in north London as they each look to make up ground in the race for European football.

Thomas Frank and Arne Slot enjoyed promising starts to the season, leading their respective teams to the top of the table. But, as the fixtures began to pile up, Spurs and Liverpool lost their grip on the UEFA Champions League qualification places.

They have each had spells in the bottom half of the table, battling for fourth and fifth place against the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton, Sunderland, and Manchester United. The clash in a couple of weeks could prove decisive by the end of the campaign, so Tottenham will be determined to snatch points from Liverpool.

However, Spurs could face the Reds without as many as six players. Micky van de Ven, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, Kevin Danso, and Richarlison have each been shown three yellow cards so far this season.

If either of them is to be booked against Brentford on Saturday and then Nottingham Forest the following weekend, they must serve a suspension. Premier League rules state that players who receive a total of five yellow cards over the first 19 games are given a one-match ban.

Cristian Romero has already been cautioned six times. After missing the 2-1 defeat to Fulham due to suspension, he marked his return with a yellow card inside the opening half an hour on Tuesday night.

If a player is booked 10 times across the first 32 Premier League matches of the season, then they will be suspended for two games. While Tottenham were eliminated from the Carabao Cup back in October, it is worth noting that yellow cards issued in the English top-flight do not carry over to domestic cup competitions.

With so much at stake, it would be a nightmare if Frank were to face Liverpool without either of the six aforementioned players. The Dane knows exactly how important a place in the Champions League means to a club like Spurs.

Speaking to reporters at St. James' Park on Tuesday night, Frank reflected on the dramatic 2-2 draw to Newcastle and its impact. He said: "Yeah, I think it's hugely important.

"I think the PSG performance was good. I think the team gave everything against Fulham. It was just a nightmare game in some ways because you're down 2-0 after six minutes, and then keep going and also get something out of it.

"But that's the only way forward, we know that. If you're a tough runner, there's only one way, and that is to work hard and keep going. And the team did that very well today."

Slot will be under just as much pressure, if not more, to deliver a performance when Liverpool face Tottenham. Before the clash against Sunderland, the Reds had only won two of their previous eight games in the Premier League, losing the other six.

Newcastle United were controversially awarded a penalty during their dramatic 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park on Tuesday night

Everything you need to know about Newcastle's controversial penalty against Tottenham

What happened: In the latter stages of the clash at St. James' Park on Tuesday night, Newcastle United won a corner. Rodrigo Bentancur was marking Dan Burn at the back post, and moments before the cross was delivered into the box, the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder began to grapple with the Magpies defender.

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Once the ball had been kicked into play, Burn put his arm ahead of Bentancur as he prepared to thrust himself into the air for a header. While Spurs ace's head was tucked beneath the limb as his opposition ran forwards to meet the pass.

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In doing so, Bentancur impeded Burn's ability to play the incoming ball. The Tottenham midfielder wrapped his left hand around the Newcastle defender's back as they fell to the ground in a heap.

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The controversy: Many believe that Bentancur had fouled Burn before the ball was in play, meaning Newcastle should have retaken the corner. Once the ball was in play, the Magpies defender had the Spurs midfielder's head tucked under his arm, which some supporters on social media described as a 'headlock'.

On-field decision: Thomas Bramall did not award Newcastle a spot-kick.

The Video Assistant Referee decision: Paul Tierney and Paul Hussin reviewed the call from Stockley Park, and after much deliberation, they sent the on-field referee to the pitchside monitor.

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Final decision: Bramall watched back the incident and overturned his initial decision of no penalty. Announcing the verdict, he said: "After review, Tottenham number 30 makes a holding offence at the back post and clearly does not look at the ball. My final decision is penalty kick."

Pundit opinion

Rio Ferdinand slammed the match official on social media. The Manchester United legend wrote: "Disgraceful decision to reward #NUFC penalty… whoever controlling the VAR should be ashamed + the ref then reviews and should be also. Well done Newcastle."

Jamie Carragher described the decision as 'harsh'. Speaking from the gantry at St. James' Park while on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, the former Liverpool defender said: "I do feel the penalty award was really harsh.

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"I do understand he wasn't looking at the ball, but at the end it was the sheer power of Dan Burn, who is so much bigger and stronger than him... Burn was almost putting him on the floor."

Meanwhile in the studio, Micah Richards said: "Not looking at the ball fits the criteria but there is not enough holding there. Burn is just too strong for him - Bentancur holds him for a while, but now Burn is all over Bentancur.

"The referee made a really good decision in not giving it, then [going to the screen] puts doubt in his mind. Holding but not sustained, it's not enough."

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Jamie Redknapp added: "Burn isn't even complaining. We see this week in, week out. If that is the threshold and penalties are going to be given, no problem, but we want consistency."

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Jonathan Woodgate likened the challenge to that of a martial arts bout. The former Tottenham and Newcastle defender said: "Dan Burn climbed all over him. It's like a heavyweight UFC fighter against a featherweight."

football.london stance: Newcastle should not have been awarded a penalty. Once the ball is played, neither Bentancur nor Burn commit a foul. They're grappling, but that's just part and parcel of set-pieces. Of course, it doesn't look great, but the Newcastle defender is just trying to physically impose himself om the Spurs midfielder.

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Son Heung-min left Tottenham Hotspur this summer to join Los Angeles FC, but the South Korean club legend is set to return to north London next week as Spurs play Slavia Praha in the Champions League

Son Heung-min will have the chance to say his final farewell to Tottenham Hotspur fans as the Lilywhites face Slavia Praha in the Champions League.

The South Korean star enjoyed a legendary 10-year stint in north London before joining Los Angeles FC this summer in a deal reportedly worth around £20million. But the 33-year-old is now set to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium come Tuesday, December 9, to say his final farewells to fans of the club.

An announcement on the official Spurs website on Wednesday, read: "Heung-Min Son will return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since leaving the Club to bid farewell to our home fans at our UEFA Champions League fixture with SK Slavia Praha on Tuesday 9 December.

"Our legendary former captain, who led the side to Europa League glory in Bilbao in May, announced his departure in August during our summer tour in his home nation of South Korea, playing his final game in a Spurs shirt in front of a sold-out Seoul World Cup stadium in front of his adoring Korean following.

"Having then made the move straight to Los Angeles FC in the MLS – where he scored an impressive nine goals in 10 games before exiting the competition at the Play-Off stage in defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps on 23 November – Sonny has chosen the Slavia fixture as his opportunity to return to London and say his goodbyes to the Spurs faithful."

Son will take to the pitch before the team-walk outs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday, and will have the opportunity to address the supporters who grew so fond of him over the years. Further details and timings are set to be announced ahead of the Champions League encounter.

Elsewhere, work has commenced on a mural to the forward on Tottenham High Road, which will be completed by the Champions League clash between Spurs and Slavia Praha. The design was chosen by Son himself, and is being created by Murwalls - who created the iconic artworks of Ledley King and Harry Kane.

Speaking about his return, Son said: "When I announced my difficult decision to leave Spurs in the summer, it was in Korea and I never got a proper chance to say goodbye to fans at the stadium.

"Now I am so happy because I am going to come back to London on 9th December, for the Champions League match, and be able to tell the Spurs fans in person just how much their support and love over 10 years has meant to me and my family. It will be emotional, but it's important for me and the Club that this happens.”

It comes as former Spurs team-mate, James Maddison was quick to react to the news of Son returning to north London for one last dance under the bright lights. Taking to Instagram to share a post of the announcement, he wrote: "Be there or be square," with a white love heart emoji.

Meanwhile, fans of the Lilywhites were also quick to lap up the news online. One social media user wrote: "Incredible. Sonny is the King. Build the statue," while another added: "Son Heung-min, the eternal legend captain who can never be forgotten."

It comes as Spurs staged a remarkable comeback on Tuesday evening to achieve a draw against Newcastle United in emphatic fashion. Thomas Frank's side found themselves trailing in the second-half of the encounter thanks to a pinpoint effort from Bruno Guimaraes.

Skipper, Cristian Romero was quick to equalise however, getting the better of Dan Burn to meet Mohammed Kudus' cross into the centre of the box and nod home past a floundering Aaron Ramsdale. Rodrigo Bentancur was then spotted holding Burn in his own area during a corner by VAR, as Tom Bramall awarded a penalty to the hosts, with Anthony Gordon stepping up to convert clinically.

Here are our Tottenham talking points after their dramatic 2-2 draw at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Tuesday evening

The plans for Tottenham's dramatic point at St James' Park were hatched as much on the trains heading up to Newcastle as they were on the training pitches.

Thomas Frank had needed to do some damage repair with the Spurs fans after Saturday's latest home defeat to Fulham and those boos towards Guglielmo Vicario and the team, with the former prompting the Dane to label those who did it as "not true Tottenham fans".

The 52-year-old clarified on Monday that he was referring to those who mocked the Italian goalkeeper by sarcastically cheering the next time he kicked the ball out of play, as he should have done during that sixth minute error at the weekend.

He insisted that "Tottenham Hotspur is nothing without the fans" but his weekend words still stung with those Spurs fans who shell out their money and travel around the country and the world following the club to every corner.

The truth is that many of the hardy and beleaguered away supporters on the trains heading up to Newcastle on Tuesday agreed somewhat with what the Dane was saying. They felt the boos at half-time and full-time were justified by what they have to pay each week to be served up poor performances, but that the singling out of Vicario was wrong and many had not taken part in that. Some had spoken out against it in the stands as it happened.

Vicario's parents are often amongst the travelling faithful and have been taken in by the fans as two of their own, which only compounded the feeling for some that those moments on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium did not sit right.

There was a resolve on Wednesday to show Frank exactly what true Tottenham fans are like, with chants being prepared on the trains about their loyalty, and the 3,000 who made the trip showed exactly that from high up in the stand inside Newcastle's noisy home.

Few grounds across the country can match the Magpies' stadium for noise and atmosphere when it gets going, yet that band of Spurs supporters who had made the 280-mile trek could be heard throughout as they often can at stadiums around the land.

When Vicario made an early low save from Lewis Miley, the Tottenham faithful seized the opportunity to sing his name repeatedly to the tune of the old 'Antonio, Antonio' chant for Conte.

The support worked. Vicario is a strong character regardless, but he pushed on and made four saves during the game to help Spurs to their point. He could do little about Bruno Guimaraes' curling shot in the 71st minute nor Anthony Gordon's powerful penalty 15 minutes later.

The Italian media have linked Vicario with a move back home with Inter Milan known admirers of the international goalkeeper. The weekend's events had only intensified those links as an escape route.

However, there was a heartfelt moment between Vicario and the travelling support after the game. The keeper, who had apologised for his mistake after Saturday's game, applauded up to them in thanks for their chants and they sang his name in response. Bridges had been built and mistakes had been forgiven.

Pedro Porro had also drawn criticism from the fans after the Fulham game for his performance, his angry reaction afterwards and his defence of Vicario while using that Frank term 'true Spurs fans'. On Tuesday night, the Spaniard also came over to applaud up at the supporters and repeatedly put his hand to his heart.

The away section were note perfect throughout and at the final whistle they belted out a loud and true rendition of 'We love you Tottenham, we do' in answer to any suggestion that they were not playing their part.

"I think our fans, exceptional, travelling, 3,000 up here, the way they supported us throughout the game, singing, we also heard them singing and praising Vic throughout the game. That's togetherness," Frank told football.london.

"You could hear them here and it's a difficult place to come as away fans and be loud enough but we could hear them. They put so much effort into it, matched the effort from the team and that togetherness drove us forward and it gave us a more than well-deserved point."

On the pitch, Spurs just about played theirs. While the football was rarely better than in other recent domestic games, at least the team showed fight and character, something that was lacking in the derbies of previous weeks.

St James' Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham over the past couple of seasons. In fact it's been the scene of a few horror shows and this current Eddie Howe side came into the encounter off the back of seven wins in nine matches.

Newcastle are a team of giants with the likes of Burn, Woltemade and Thiaw and they constantly peppered Tottenham's box with deep crosses, corners, long throws and free-kicks to the back post. They sent 40 crosses in total into the visitors' area and it required the returning Cristian Romero and the impressive Kevin Danso to repel many of them.

Vicario was also proactive in punching or catching some of them. Some Newcastle fans appeared to take exception to that with the Italian having to report to the referee that he had been struck by thrown objects twice on the back of his legs. The official passed that on to the stadium's staff.

Spurs showed resilience if not attacking fluency. It was a fourth game in a row in which they failed to record a shot on target in the first half and in the end, Romero's two goals were the only efforts they did send between the sticks from their eight shots.

Newcastle in contrast had 19 efforts with seven on target and, four months into the job, Frank is yet to find the system or line-up that gets the best out of his attacking players.

Brennan Johnson returned to the starting line-up for the first time in almost a month and even though he was on the left, he showed more directness to his play than those who have filled the role before him.

He caused Tino Livramento problems, both in getting past him on a couple of occasions, including with one run and early low cross into the six yard box that was cut out at the last moment, but also with his goal-sniffing runs in behind.

The Wales international made a string of well-timed sprints behind the defence only to find Porro and Mohammed Kudus more intent on repeatedly passing sideways between each other.

Johnson also made a crucial goal line block from Livramento's shot in the second half.

Frank has often bemoaned losing the goals of Son and Solanke from his line-up this season, but he's often chosen to leave out the man who has scored 22 goals for the club in the past year or so.

Johnson appeared to leave the pitch a little stiffly in the 77th minute. Hopefully that was not another injury to add to Tottenham's list this Spurs' season but the coming days will tell.

Alongside Johnson, Randal Kolo Muani showed his ever-improving fitness with a performance full of running and pressing if not rewards, while Kudus continues to provide moments of what he can do amid otherwise decidedly mixed play.

The Ghana international provided a pinpoint cross for Romero's first goal and a dangerous low ball for Lucas Bergvall's first half backheel over the crossbar, but otherwise he was sloppy with his play, including a couple of needless moments of ball juggling on the edge of his own box that put the Spurs defence in danger when he lost possession.

Nobody in the Premier League has more than his five assists though, with Bruno Fernandes managing the same.

Bergvall played as a 10 in what was often a 4-2-3-1 formation and worked his socks off. The teenager Swede has a current fascination with backheels - which is mostly working for him - and he probably should have done better with the first half effort that flicked up over the bar.

Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur worked hard behind him without progressing the ball forward much and it was only with the introduction of Xavi Simons, the £51million summer signing benched for the fourth game in a row, that the ball finally started getting sent into the Newcastle box more regularly.

At the other end though, with Johnson off the pitch, so the responsibility of trying to at least put off the towering Dan Burn from set pieces fell to Bentancur. The Uruguayan and the 6ft 7ins centre-back tangled from a late corner, both seeming to jostle with each other and the Newcastle man fell with little contact despite Bentancur's arms both being spread out wide rather than around him.

After a VAR check referee Tom Bramall was sent to his monitor to look at the incident and to the roar of the home crowd, he announced the spot kick. It was a harsh decision to penalise the Tottenham midfielder and Gordon duly slotted home his first Premier League goal since January.

"It's very disappointing to concede because for me it's never a penalty," Frank told football.london. "Even speaking to some from Newcastle, who didn't think it's a penalty. We need the consistency, because that penalty, that would be given two times a game. I think the referee's call on the pitch nailed it, and VAR can only be if it's clear and obvious."

After the game Romero, or certainly whoever runs his X account, retweeted Rio Ferdinand's post which said: "Disgraceful decision to reward #NUFC penalty… whoever controlling the VAR should be ashamed + the ref then reviews and should be also. Well done Newcastle."

In the end it was left to Romero to save the day and become Spurs' best attacker. The suspended Argentine was missed against Fulham, even if he had not been at his best against PSG.

The Tottenham captain loves to linger up front after a set piece and he showed exactly why in the game's final stages. First he got in front of Burn as expertly as his old team-mate Harry Kane would have to dive and head the ball past Aaron Ramsdale in the 78th minute.

Then came his 94th minute moment of magic as he fell to the floor under a tangle of bodies from a Mathys Tel corner as Ramsdale punched the ball up in the air. The 27-year-old reacted instantly though, leaping to his feet, running back and spinning around before launching into an overhead kick to send the ball bouncing through a string of astounded Newcastle players and into the far corner of the net.

It was Romero's first Premier League goal since August 2024 against Everton, and his first away goals since September 2023 at Burnley. According to Opta, it was also the first time Romero has scored more than once in a game in his 199th appearances in Europe's big-five leagues.

After scoring Romero ran to the left of the goal, cupping his ears to mimic Guimaraes' celebration earlier in the game, continuing the duo's spat that had included the Brazilian grabbing his throat in the summer 'friendly' in South Korea.

"The perfect bicycle kick, hit the shin, aiming for the bottom corner!" joked Frank afterwards. "Let's start by praising Cuti, I think he deserved that for all of the top performance, defending, on the ball, coolness, calmness, duels. And then getting up there and scoring two goals.

"I think the bicycle kick will most likely get a little bit more praise, but I think the header is more exceptional, the way he does that is better than many strikers."

Romero pointed to his international captain as his inspiration for that last-gasp leveller.

"I train every day with Leo Messi in the national team and I watch him. It's a beautiful goal," he said.

"It's very important [to get a point]. In the last three or four games, the team knows it's not been good enough. Today, the mentality to play like this, altogether it's a difficult time, but especially in this game, I love the mentality."

Frank admitted that big players like the proactive World Cup winner are crucial in clutch moments like that.

"We can set everything up nice tactically with good principles and all that and try to do it, and that's the foundation and hopefully we can make a great team, but you know sometimes it's decisive actions from key players and Cuti definitely did that today," said the Dane.

Romero and Guimaraes renewed acquaintances after the final whistle, the Brazilian irked by the Argentine's mocking celebration and throwing a couple of two-fingered salutes his way.

It looked set to spark into something more problematic for the Spurs captain as the two started to go head to head.

Then out of nowhere came Tel. The young Frenchman helped Romero with his corner and again the 20-year-old was on hand to aid his skipper by swooping in and pulling him away from the angry Brazilian.

Vicario also ran across to make sure the centre-back was taken well away from the provocation and Tel's involvement may well have proved vital for Romero, who was growing more and more agitated.

For Romero was already on a yellow card and had just returned from a suspension for accumulating five bookings. A second yellow card and the ensuing red for any physical confrontation could have proved rather problematic in terms of missed games.

In the end Romero was saved from himself as he had saved Spurs from themselves. They picked up a point on a night when many were fearing the worst.

Frank's celebrations when Romero's overhead kick hit the net said it all. This was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but it was the kind of dramatic fightback that forges the spirit to move forward.

"I think it's hugely important. The PSG performance was good and I think the team gave everything against Fulham. It was just a nightmare game in some ways because you're down 2-0 after six minutes," he said.

"But then you keep going and get something out of it [today]. But that's the only way forward, we know that. If you're a tough runner, there's only one way, and that is to work hard and keep going, and the team did that very well today."

Saturday brings Frank's old side Brentford to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Dane has plenty of love for his former employers but he would like nothing more than starting to turn around Spurs' wretched home form at their expense.

The coming days bring back-to-back home games with the Champions League clash with Slavia Prague in midweek, which marks the return of Son Heung-min to say a proper and emotional goodbye to the club he served with distinction for a decade.

The South Korean star netted nine goals in 10 games for LAFC before their MLS season came to a close with a play-off defeat and while the time was right after the Europa League triumph for Son to seek a fresh challenge, Tottenham could have done with his quality in the final third this season.

Despite the familiar faces who will greet him on Tuesday, the former captain will find a different Spurs team to the one he left. Whether that is a good thing still remains to be seen.

Frank is striving to prove it can be in the long run if he's given the time and patience that few Tottenham managers are allowed.