It is rarely wise to read deeply into pre-season fixtures. Especially the opening one. Yet when it is the first game for a manager at a club, the temptation is there. How can it not be? The initial glimpses offer the outline of the plan.
Thomas Frank got his Tottenham tenure under way with a 2-0 win over Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday afternoon. He played different XIs in each half and the goals came early in the second period from Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic. For the latter, it represented the gloss on an eye-catching first appearance.
With the chair, Daniel Levy, looking down from the directors’ box, flanked by the technical director, Johan Lange, whose profile is fast on the rise, Spurs had too much for their League One opponents, who are also at the start of a new era, Rob Couhig having taken over as the owner after the turbulent tenure of Dai Yongge.
The stadium was sold out, with the 3,000 or so visiting Spurs fans keen to proclaim themselves as “champions of Europe” after May’s Europa League triumph. Expect to hear that on repeat in the coming months. There was plenty to pick over.
How did Frank set up?
The short answer was in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but Frank is all about flexibility and there were a number of takeaways, particularly in possession. He started with Mikey Moore on the left wing but the teenager was given the licence to drift inside to connect with the No 10, which at the outset was another youngster, Alfie Devine. This created the space for Destiny Udogie to push high up from left-back, with Spurs building in a back three. On the other wing, Brennan Johnson played high and wide. Of the central midfield pair, Rodrigo Bentancur sat and Pape Sarr pushed up at times. The approach with the ball was similar after the interval, although this time it was the right-winger, Mohammed Kudus – on his first appearance after signing from West Ham – who roamed inside, allowing the right-back, Djed Spence, to overlap. Out of possession, Spurs broadly pressed in a 4-4-2, with the No 10 squeezing high.
What was notable in terms of personnel?
Frank brought a 26-man squad and there were notable absentees – above and beyond the injured Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin plus James Maddison, who is only part-training with the squad after an injury of his own. Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel were given additional leave after their involvement in the European Under-21 Championship and did not travel, Frank preferring that they stayed at Hotspur Way to train in the morning. Richarlison did likewise. The striker was involved with Brazil up to the second week of June and he is taking care with his return in light of previous injury problems. As an aside, Richarlison is understood to be keen on staying at Spurs; only if something exceptional showed up would he consider leaving. Kota Takai, the new Japanese signing, was not in Reading. He has a minor contact injury.
Any sign of the Frank set-piece effect?
It was certainly striking to see Spurs practise corners and free-kicks on the pitch about 20 minutes before kick-off, with all the outfield starters defending the deliveries from the youngster George Abbott, who would be an unused substitute. Attacking them were members of Frank’s coaching staff. He enjoyed great rewards on set pieces at Brentford and the early signs here were positive, both goals coming after corners from Kudus. The taker in the first half had been Pedro Porro. The opener followed a header by Vuskovic for Lankshear to nod home from close range and the second came after Kudus crossed low for Vuskovic, Reading having withstood the first phase of the move. There were no long throws, albeit there were minimal opportunities for Spurs to try one.
Vuskovic makes his mark
The towering 18-year-old Vuskovic, who played the second half at right centre-back, with Micky van de Ven to his left, agreed to move to Spurs from Hajduk Split in September 2023. There has been a lot of noise about his potential, a lot of expectation as he starred on loan at Westerlo in the Belgian top flight last season where he weighed in with seven goals. What an impact he had. The Croat had already clattered into one challenge and just about got away with a play-out-from-the-back move when he teed up Lankshear’s goal. His finish for the second was a beauty, a first-time left-foot drive, low into the far corner after Kudus’s pass. The Danish manager is blessed with centre-halves. Behind Cristian Romero and Van de Ven, he has Kevin Danso, Dragusin and Takai. Vuskovic would not be short of loan options if he were to sense he will not get the minutes he needs; Hamburg would be one in the Bundesliga. He wants to play at Spurs.
Kudus is the real star
If it was easy to be drawn in by Vuskovic, it was impossible to ignore Kudus. Yes, it was only League One opposition, but the £54.5m new boy wowed with his sharpness and balance, his work in tight spaces, the impression he gave of always being in control of the ball and the situation. There was an explosion up the wing that led to a big chance for Jamie Donley, some lovely spins and time-buying feints, and the overall feeling that he seriously enjoyed himself.
