Tottenham Hotspur played and defeated what is expected to be a very good Villarreal team in the Champions League on Tuesday evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Yet while the result — 1-0 win thanks to a 4’ own goal from Villarreal keeper Luiz Junior — was indisputably good, the football was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly easy on the eye. Spurs struggled with their press, their passing, and their chance creation, and it’s fair to say that on another day that same performance results
in at minimum a dropping of points, if not a loss.
Thomas Frank is aware of this, and says it’s a work in progress. Speaking to the press after the match, Frank said he was pleased with the defensive solidity against the Yellow Submarine, but admitted the offense wasn’t where it needs to be.
“I thought it was a big win. In any competition it’s good to get three points and get a good start. I’m happy with that. I’m happy with the clean sheet. I’m happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game. They were a good team I really admire.
“Obviously, offensively, we struggled on the day to create something against a good team. They also defended very well, which we knew in the 4-4-2 structure. They were very aggressive. When we were on the day, I think, they needed the highest level in terms of touch, passed and decision-making, and they nailed that.
“Then it was a very even game that we edged in the end. What I like is that our foundation is strong. Now we are four games won, three in the Premier League, one in the Champions League, and we have four [clean] sheets, which is massive.
“Obviously, we are building the offensive structure more and more. Xavi Simons has just come into the club. It’s fair to say he and Djed need a little relationship, of course, to get going.
“No complaints, it’s just natural. I think there was a spell in the second half where we decided to give the ball away every single time we had it. We gave the ball away, let’s bring it back. Oh give it away, let’s bring it back. Of course, it’s a little bit easier to sit here with a smile, but of course, at that level, we will raise of course.”
One of the things I quite like about Frank in the short time in which he’s been in charge of the club is, well, his frankness (or Frank-ness, if you will). Ange Postecoglou always kept to the same message — we have our principles, sometimes we didn’t rise to the level of my expectations, but we keep working and will try again. Frank’s comments show a forthrightness that is as refreshing as Ange’s press conferences were after Antonio Conte. He admits that the offense wasn’t very good against Villarreal, admits that this is a work in progress, and looks to small areas of positivity within a structure that did not execute very well on the highest stage in European football.
And that’s fine. Read between the lines and you’ll get the sense, as others have suggested, that Frank was most concerned at first with establishing and maintaining a defensive solidity, something that due to injuries (and maybe somewhat Postecoglou’s tactics) was missing for much of last season. If you’re an optimist, that suggests that Frank will bring the offense along in time, but that it might take a while for things to click and for players to excel in new roles.
Frank seemed to hint at that when asked specifically about Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons progressing the ball in wide areas of the pitch against Villarreal.
“Yeah, I think actually we got some good runs from Lucas [Bergvall] and Pape [Matar Sarr] on the sides. When we were a little bit deeper, I think that worked okay. I think it was too few times that we got it high enough and got played a run and produced the crosses we wanted. That was probably the thing that didn’t edge enough throughout the game.
“But there were actually quite a few situations where we got both to Kudus and to Xavi where we didn’t produce what we should.”
That’s a little frustrating to people, myself included, who look at the style of football under Frank in his first five games in charge and don’t see the free-wheeling attacking football the club is supposed to be known for. I also watch matches like last night, where Spurs seemingly couldn’t pass their way out of a paper bag, and then look at the squad construction and wonder where that passing and creativity is going to come from if not from the January transfer window.
However, we also know Frank is a coach who has a track record of developing players, both young and established, into their best selves in the structure he sets out for them. Hopefully that kind of development will persist into this season at Spurs — despite the early good results, it feels a little like Tottenham are riding the lightning. They’ve gotten some good results from some not very good football already this season, and you wonder whether that’s sustainable.
Frank, however, seems optimistic that the football will turn around.
“This team, these players, we will score goals. There’s no doubt of that. I know we only scored an own goal today, but we will score goals, I’m not in doubt of that. I think the big thing was that we needed to defend better. So we worked very, very hard on structure, key principles, recovery runs. Doing the tough job, that gives you a top opportunity to win games, and we proven that so far.”
