There was an extraordinary moment just before kick-off here when Thomas Frank strode 20 yards on to the pitch and applauded all four corners of the stadium. The Tottenham head coach was applauded back by the Brentford fans because he will always be a hero to them. His work over a near seven-year period as their manager has seen to that.
But what of the followers in his new gig, which began when he said farewell to the Gtech last summer? It is safe to say the jury remains out after this driest of January performances had the supporters in the away enclosure adapting a barb they have historically reserved for Arsenal. “Boring, boring Tottenham,” they chorused in the 85th minute.
Frank’s problem over the first half of the Premier League season has been the dearth of creativity in too many games and it was the case once again. Spurs offered next to nothing as an attacking force; it was as if they did not believe they could make chances let alone score and the frustration of their fans boiled over upon the full- time whistle – shortly after a weak Richarlison cross to no one had led to howls and the flinging of arms into the sky.
Now there were boos and it was all horribly edgy when Frank and the players gathered together and thought about going over. No quick fixes, he has stressed. It feels as though could be plenty more angst in the coming weeks.
Brentford shaded it. They were the more forceful, proactive team, certainly in the second half; the point felt like a bad one for them even though it did not dent their fine home record under Keith Andrews. In the final analysis, they stayed above Spurs in the table.
Frank, who continues to grope for the answers, was asked whether the fans understood the situation or needed to be more understanding. “That question is very difficult for me to answer, going off a few boos after the game,” he said. “As I say, I’m not really reading anything on social media or articles or all that. I watch the team. I’m very aware that we are not where I want us to be. Very aware.”
Frank will always cherish what he achieved at Brentford – the promotion from the Championship; the manner in which he established the club in mid-table Premier League respectability; how his team repeatedly out-performed their budgets. He could be glimpsed on one of the big-screen montages prior to kick-off before he made his sortie on to the turf.
Frank’s mission was complicated by his being without eight players for various reasons – nine, if you included Brennan Johnson, who was left out of the squad as he closed in on a £35m move to Crystal Palace. The Spurs support would sing their song for him.
Kevin Schade had the ball in the net for Brentford after a sixth-minute corner only to be flagged for offside and Andrews’ team pressed with intent at the outset. They tried to ask questions of Spurs with their movement in midfield.
The Spurs fans wondered where the X factor might come from. Frank had felt his selection problems bite most strongly in the central midfield positions, Lucas Bergvall the latest absentee with what the club believe is a minor injury. The head coach does not seem to like João Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur as a pairing in front of the back four but he had no option but to use them. Archie Gray, the only other available central midfielder, was asked to play as the No 10.
Gray had hesitated in the early running when well-placed, eventually seeing his shot blocked and Spurs’ only real flicker before the interval came on the half-hour when Richarlison returned a deep Palhinha cross for Gray in the middle. His header hit Nathan Collins and Richarlison volleyed the rebound past the far post.
Brentford did not create much themselves in the first half but they pushed after the restart. Keane Lewis-Potter swiped at a low cross – the connection was not there – while Vitaly Janelt worked Guglielmo Vicario with a header from Jordan Henderson’s cross. In between times, Cristian Romero got away with a misjudged last-man tackle on Igor Thiago. The Spurs captain missed the ball and then seemed to handle while on the ground. He also missed Thiago and yet he surely served to get in his way. Andrews said it ought to have been a red card.
When the Spurs support chanted again for Johnson in the 70th minute, it was easy to get the wistful vibes. Where was the runner in this team to get in behind, to stretch the opposition? It was a tough watch; too many unconvincing touches from their players and unforced errors, not enough cohesion. Frank talked up the clean sheet and defensive solidity. It is not enough.
Gray shouted in vain for a penalty on 57 minutes after a risky lunge from Schade but Spurs never looked like scoring and their fans knew it. Richarlison had a late shot and it was the definition of tame. The consolation for Spurs was that it was not worse. It might have been had Thiago not lifted high after good work by Michael Kayode in the 69th minute.
