Football London

Thomas Frank is holding his press conference following Tottenham's 2-0 victory against Brentford on Saturday in the Premier League.

Xavi Simons made an impact on his first start in five matches with an assist just 25 minutes in. The Dutchman raced onto a ball over the top from Pedro Porro before cushioning a pass perfectly across the six-yard box into Richarlison's stride to fire home.

The 22-year-old then underlined why he should have been starting games previously with his first goal for Tottenham. The midfielder lost the ball initially but won it back in his own half and ran all the way to the Brentford box and slotted it inside the left-hand post.

The hosts had further chances in the second half with Caoimhin Kelleher called into action on a numerous occasions. In all they had 15 shots, with seven on target, but couldn't add to their first-half strikes.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Frank after the win. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Here are our Tottenham Hotspur player ratings after their victory against Brentford on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League

Tottenham beat Thomas Frank's former employers Brentford 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League and here are our Spurs player ratings.

The draw at St James' Park was the fourth game in a row in which Tottenham have failed to register a shot on target in the first half. Xavi Simons did not start any of those four matches and Spurs had not won a single one of the nine matches the £51million Dutchman has been named on the bench for instead of the starting line-up.

Frank finally put the 22-year-old midfielder back in the line-up ahead of Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray in the midfield and it proved to be the spark Spurs needed.

Xavi soon made an impact with an assist just 25 minutes in. The Dutchman raced on a ball over the top from Pedro Porro before cushioning a pass perfectly across the six-yard box into Richarlison's stride to fire home.

Xavi then underlined why he should have been starting games with his first goal for Tottenham. The Dutchman lost the ball initially but won it back in his own half and ran all the way to the Brentford box and slotted it inside the left-hand post.

Spurs had further chances in the second half with Caoimhin Kelleher called into action on a numerous occasions. In all they had 15 shots, with seven on target, but couldn't add to their first-half strikes.

Here are our Spurs player ratings from the match:

Guglielmo Vicario

Big cheer when his name was read out before kick off in the team. Saved from Thiago early in the game and didn't have anything else to do. Swept up well to keep the clean sheet. 7

Pedro Porro

Played a lovely ball over the top into Xavi's run for the opening goal. Never stopped running, defending well and getting into the Bretford third at the back post to keep them occupied. 8

Cristian Romero

His seventh yellow card in 15 Premier League game came for a wild first half lunge which was almost a scissors tackle. Otherwise he was superb, cutting out so much. The captain made a great tackle to stop Thiago right in front of goal before celebrating and then having a go at Kudus for a bit of showboating on the halfway line that led to a quick throw and Brentford breaking for the chance. 8

Micky van de Ven

Got better and better as the game wore on, with an inch-perfect sliding challenge to stop Thiago scoring on the hour mark. Dominant for most of the game with his pace and power. 9

Djed Spence

A solid first half gave way to a really strong second period with plenty of threat going forward. Still needs to improve his crossing, although he did find Sarr with a low ball late on. Had a chance himself when he seized on to a loose ball but was denied by Kelleher. 8

Rodrigo Bentancur

Started the game with a loose bit of control while running with the ball but improved hugely as the game wore on and a lot of Brentford's movement in the middle came to an end with him. 7

Archie Gray

Launched into a string of strong sliding tackles in an energetic, tidy display. Picked up a yellow card in the 76th minute for a mistimed challenge. Looked to move to the left of a back three late in the game. 7

Mohammed Kudus

Had the beating of his man constantly, had one shot saved but also lost the ball a number of times including with a bit of showboating that got him a rocket from Romero after it led to a Brentford chance. Had the ball in the net but Odobert was offside. A reasonable performance but he could be some much better with a clinical edge. 7

Xavi Simons

Back in the team and was instantly linking up the midfield with the attack in the central 10 position. Fired a shot over in the first 15 minutes before cushioning a perfect pass for Richarlison's goal. Then netted his first goal for the club after initially losing the ball in his own half before winning it back and race up the pitch to slot the ball inside the left-hand post. Involved in everything good that Spurs did in the second half as well. Got the full 90 minutes into his legs and was still creating openings late in the match. 9

Randal Kolo Muani

Worked hard down the left and beat his man on a few occasions while also pressing high up the pitch. Another thankless performance without much to feast on himself. 7

Richarlison

Had an early shot blocked in the Brentford box by Romero. A loose touch on 23 minutes allowed Brentford to break for a Thiago chance. He made up for it just two minutes later with his fourth goal in six games, firing home Xavi's pass on the run. Held the ball up well in the second half and set up Xavi for a second half chance. 7

Subs

Joao Palhinha

Straight into the action with some big challenges and progressive passes. 7

Wilson Odobert

Showed plenty of endeavour after coming on but was offside for Kudus' ruled out goal and hesitated during a late break when Spurs could have added a third. 6

Pape Matar Sarr

Could have got Spurs' third only for the ball to get stuck under his feet, giving time for Kelleher to set himself. 6

Kevin Danso

The Premier League has explained why Cristian Romero was handed a yellow card instead of a red card during Tottenham's clash with Brentford on Saturday.

The Spurs captain found his way into Rob Jones' book 31 minutes into the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - as the result of clumsily fouling Igor Thiago from behind. However, due to the nature of the challenge, VAR briefly put the game on hold as they examined the footage further for a "dangerous" tackle.

In the end, Jones' decision to hand the Argentine defender a yellow - rather than a straight red - proved correct, with officials upstairs dubbing the tackle as "reckless."

Taking to X to clear up the decision, the Premier League Match Centre wrote: "The referee's call of yellow card to Romero was checked and confirmed by VAR - with it deemed a reckless challenge."

It comes as Romero was the hero for the Lilywhites during Tuesday night's match against Newcastle United at St James' Park.

After a goalless first-half, Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring for the hosts with a pin-point curler into the side-netting early into the second period.

Thankfully for the visitors, though, Romero was quick to square matters, getting the better of Dan Burn in the Magpies' area with a diving header to meet Mohammed Kudus' cross.

Newcastle were then awarded a penalty as a result of Rodrigo Bentancur holding Burn during a corner, up the other end of the pitch, with Anthony Gordon stepping up to clinically convert.

While Newcastle then looked to run out 2-1 winners on home soil, fate had other plans for the match. That's because Romero clawed back a point for Spurs late into stoppage time with an acrobatic bicycle kick, which bobbled and bumbled past a floundering Aaron Ramsdale.

It comes as Spurs headed into the second-half of their clash with Brentford with a 2-0 advantage over the Bees, owing to goals from Richarlison and Xavi Simons.

Up next for Thomas Frank's side is a Champions League match vs Slavia Praha at home on Tuesday, December 9. Spurs then return to Premier League action on the road to Nottingham Forest come Sunday, December 14.

Here's the Tottenham team that Thomas Frank has selected to his old side Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon

Thomas Frank has named his Tottenham team to face his former employers Brentford on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

Spurs stopping their losing run with Cristian Romero's 94th-minute overhead kick snatching a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday night. Now Frank must get the north London side winning again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to start to turn around that woeful run of just three wins in 21 Premier League matches, stretching back to last year.

The draw at St James' Park was the fourth in a row in which Tottenham have failed to register a shot on target in the first half. Xavi Simons did not start any of those four matches and Tottenham have not won a single one of the nine matches the £51million Dutchman has been named on the bench instead of the starting line-up.

Finally the 22-year-old midfielder is back in the line-up and will be hoping to improve his run of Spurs winning six of his nine starts. He starts with Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray in the midfield.

Micky van de Ven and Joao Palhinha were given a rest on Tuesday night but only Dutchman comes back in. Djed Spence starts 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 left-back was fine. The Italian is not in Saturday's matchday squad.

Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani both start up front with Mohammed Kudus as Frank makes five changes to his line-up.

Here's the team Frank has selected:

Thomas Frank welcomes his former side Brentford to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs look to get their Premier League season back on track.

Spurs managed to snatch a last-gasp point at Newcastle with Cristian Romero's dramatic 94th-minute overhead kick securing a 2-2 draw in a stadium that has only brought pain in recent years. However, Tottenham's own home has brought very little joy for the beleaguered fans with just three wins in 21 Premier League matches, stretching back to last year.

Now Frank must work out how to beat his old side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and start to turn around that home record but also poor recent form both home and away. He must also get his team creating chances again as 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.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is at the game in N17, which kicks off at 3pm, covering everything that happens from the build-up, the match and the press conference afterwards. Scroll down for his latest updates from the Premier League clash.

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.