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A Tottenham Hotspur manager’s lot is so rarely a happy one. In record time, Thomas Frank has gone through the gamut of his predecessors, from hope to disappointment to what now looks like hopelessness. Demolition by Arsenal had already put him on a sticky wicket. A decent midweek showing in Paris, amid another defeat, had barely increased his credit rating. Defeat to Fulham, a team with an away record as miserable as Spurs’ home form, only intensified the pressure. Frank being appointed by the departed stewardship of Daniel Levy is to be noted; fresh ownership regimes tend to be trigger happy with the managers they inherit.
Should such a decision be made, and it still seems a premature outcome considering Frank made slow starts at his previous clubs, Marco Silva, linked previously on a couple of occasions, would be a live contender. By six minutes in, Silva was cavorting on the sidelines with his Fulham staff. His team were 2-0 up, and the home fans were baying for blood. By the final whistle, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium emptying, the mood was even lower, Frank’s outlook even bleaker.
Fulham did the damage early. Following neat skills from Samuel Chukwueze, Pedro Porro and Archie Gray tied in knots, Kenny Tete was given space and grace to score, via a deflection off Destiny Udogie. Two minutes later, Guglielmo Vicario’s mis-kick from way outside his own area, the Italian heading out on a wholly unscheduled safari, was diverted to Harry Wilson by Josh King. Wilson guided his lob beautifully, the keeper stranded, home fans up in arms. As Frank raged on the sidelines, Chukwueze, making an impressive first start, hit a post; where Tottenham were disastrous, Fulham were in devastating form.
Their manager’s risk-taking attacking style has usually cost them away from home; Fulham’s previous haul from six away games had been the point collected on the opening day at Brighton; Spurs’ last win at home came that same weekend. For Tottenham, it was kryptonite, though so is every other visiting team. Long balls proved as dangerous as short and Chukwueze was sent clear by a Bernd Leno punt. It took Micky van de Ven’s speed to avert further disaster.
Tottenham’s attacking play was unconvincing. In Paris, there had been the promise of a partnership between Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani, far less so in London. Spurs were static. They left the field at half-time with boos rattling the rafters. They would return to a half-empty stadium, fans paying high prices appearing to favour staying warm rather than more of the same. Those of an xG persuasion would have noted a score of 0.07 for the first half.
When Calvin Bassey had to block a Kolo Muani shot, there were signs of life from Spurs, those in the giant stand offering tacit encouragement. There was even applause when Kolo Muani headed a Porro cross wide. Fulham, perhaps mindful of their previous travel sickness, began to retreat, and Mohammed Kudus’s goal, smashed with his right foot, Leno’s response unconvincing, set up 30 minutes to save the match, and very possibly Frank.
On came Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Rodrigo Bentancur, and Tottenham chances piled up, Raúl Jiménez clearing off the line from Lucas Bergvall’s flicked header. Fulham attempted to kill the clock and take the sting from opposition whose renewed strength of purpose was curbed by a lack of coherency. Who would assume responsibility?
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The answer was that nobody could, the revival mission flagged in tandem with the spirits of the home fans. Frank, such an inspirational figure at Brentford, has found little constituency at Spurs.
