Tottenham Hotspur had a miserable day at the office losing 2-1 at home to Fulham. The game spotlighted bad jitters and exposed poor team chemistry. The match played out at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium. Frustrated fans lashed out with aggressive protest, particularly at goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. There were significant decisions from Fulham-born Brentford manager Thomas Frank to anoint, and the visitors’ gameplan proved fruitful with a blistering performance.
Tottenham’s leaky backline continued to have issues in the opening minutes, as they gave up an early opener to Fulham’s leading scorer. Going into the match, Frank had made four changes from the North London derby. Tactically, he connected Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray in midfield. The Spurs’ starting XI that night was Vicario, Porro, Van de Ven, Danso, Udogie, Bergvall, Gray, Palhinha, Kudus, Richarlison and Kolo Muani. They weren’t able to hold up against the initial barrage.
Early Mistakes Set the Tone
It was a rough beginning for Spurs as the game opened. In the sixth minute, Guglielmo Vicario performed an egregious howler that was rightly subjected to instant revulsion. His mistake was lapped up by Kenny Tete, who fired Fulham in front within three minutes of the start.
Things got even worse for the young Spurs when Harry Wilson made it 2-0 to Fulham soon after. Wilson’s brilliant effort went in after Vicario was again out of position after the original mistake.
Notorious for his frankness, Thomas Frank made no apology for his side’s lacklustre display, visibly angered that his team had escaped an improved performance. He stated, “This result leaves us in a place where we have lost another game. Every game has a single story; this game we lost in the first six minutes. We just need to keep working.”
A Frustrating Evening for Tottenham
Even with a spirited comeback attempt after the break, it was one of those days where Tottenham never really got going. Mohammed Kudus managed to score a powerful goal 14 minutes into the second half, giving Spurs a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, that lead was not enough to mount a full comeback against a clinical, organized Fulham team.
Frank pointed to the hurried approach of his side’s first half display, saying that they looked anxious from the very start. “It was always going to improve from last season,” former player Michael Dawson remarked, reflecting on the expectations surrounding Tottenham this season.
Vicario bore the brunt of the fans’ ire as he was booed every time he touched the ball. Frank defended his counterpart, stating, “I didn’t like that our fans booed at him straight after and a few times he touched the ball. They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you are on the pitch.”
Fulham’s Determined Display
Fulham’s win was a significant step forward in their season. Manager Marco Silva couldn’t have been prouder of his team’s effort and resilience. “I’m very proud of the boys. We have been really speaking about the games on the road and all that stuff, so it was very important for us to win,” Silva expressed after the match.
Frank’s choices to stay faithful to his starting XI returned blended results. He is deservedly titled the best developing club coach for what he has achieved with Brentford in recent years. Now, he goes to the difficult task of restoring Tottenham’s fortunes.
With his even shorter tenure as Spurs’ coach, Frank admits he’s going to need some time to implement his vision for improvement. He was adamant that is still the realistic ambition for Tottenham this season, even after their recent malaise.
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