Hotspur HQ

Tottenham ended their losing run in remarkable circumstances at Newcastle United, as Cristian Romero's brace earned Spurs a 2–2 draw at St. James' Park.

Thomas Frank's random lineup generator chucked up another belter on Tyneside, with the Dane once again leaving Xavi Simons on the bench, bringing Brennan Johnson back in out of nowhere, and opting to give Micky van de Ven a rest.

Playing under the lights at St. James' is hard, and Frank's primary ploy of punting the ball into the general vicinity of Mohammed Kudus was initially no match for the savvy and aggressive hosts. It was all Newcastle early, with Spurs struggling to bypass the halfway line, and Lewis Miley ought to have handed the Magpies the lead before Joelinton hit the post with a fine effort.

Spurs' start was bleak, but as was the case in the Carabao Cup tie, we grew into the contest towards the end of the first half. Finally winning first and second balls helped, while Lucas Bergvall and Kudus supplied some attacking inspiration. Still, it was the fourth Premier League game in a row without a first-half shot on target.

Newcastle's early second-half storm was just about weathered, and spells of actual possession relatively near Aaron Ramsdale's goal offered hope that Spurs may well get something from this game.

And somehow, we did. Was it anything Frank did? Not really. Newcastle's second goal was unjust, a nonsense penalty, and even though the hosts were probably the deserving winners on the balance of play, there was a sense of justice being earned when Romero shinned an overhead kick past former Gunner Aaron Ramsdale.

A point, but what does it all mean?

Newcastle 2–2 Tottenham player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario (GK): 6.5/10 – No clean sheet, but bounced back well from Saturday. Safe hands throughout.

Pedro Porro (RB): 5.5/10 – Struggled one-on-one all night, no matter who was out there. But, I thought he defended the back post pretty well.

Cristian Romero (CB): 8/10 – What. The. ****

Kevin Danso (CB): 7/10 – There was some good emergency defending on display from Danso, but some of his work on the ball was awkward at best. Still, Van de Ven's presence wasn't sorely missed.

Destiny Udogie (LB): 5/10 – Pretty messy from the left-back, who didn't venture forward all that much and struggled to combined with his teammates.

Continued on the next slide...

With the fans beginning to turn on Thomas Frank, the new Tottenham Hotspur manager is attempting to save face. Publicly, he's denying that this is the case, vastly underestimating that only a small percentage of Spurs supporters are changing their minds about his ability to manage this football club.

At the same time, everything else he is saying points to a manager desperately trying to change his perception and save face, as opposed to, you know, actually managing the team better and winning some games. The lack of leadership emanating from Frank at the top is bleeding into the players, with supposed leaders like Guglielmo Vicario and Pedro Porro playing poorly, yet blaming teammates openly and not realizing why the fans are so unaccepting of their beyond putrid performances.

In his latest attempt to try and make himself look better, Frank didn't just hearken back to last season and throw Ange Postecoglou under the bus, he pretty much threw his current crop of attacking players to the wolves, too.

Thomas Frank is full of excuses

He said, via The Spurs Express, “We are coming from a season where we finished 17th and did fantastically to win the Europa League. Now we want to compete in both places, which is natural and will take a bit of time without the normal front players, the four front players who scored the only goals.”

Yes, the injuries to Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski 100 percent hurt. And so did losing Son Heung-min to MLS without a replacement on the left wing. Every Spurs supporter recognizes this. But Tottenham didn't leave Frank hung out to dry completely, and they honestly gave him more transfer support that much bigger managers like Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho got in years passed.

Mohammed Kudus, Randal Kolo Muani, and Xavi Simons all joined Spurs this past summer transfer window and have been successful players in European football. Kudus was a top player for West Ham and has been excellent for Spurs this season. Simons was a superstar for PSV and RB Leipzig, yet Frank does not even try to get him involved and has gone as far as to bench him in the last three games.

And then Kolo Muani has come on really strong recently since becoming healthy, notching three goal contributions against parent club PSG. Last season, he was great for Juventus and before joining PSG, he was one of the top strikers in Europe at Eintracht Frankfurt.

These are three very talented players, and by saying that Frank has lost so much talent from last season and that's why his team stinks, he's throwing these guys under the bus by not even acknowledging the players he has gained. Head to head, Kolo Muani is better than Solanke, Kudus is better than Kulusevski, and Simons is better than Maddison.

Or, at least, they should be comparable. Frank couldn't get the most out of these three so far, and what makes anyone think he could do the same for the others? Frank is not being a real leader here, and he needs to take a long look at the man in the mirror before making flimsy excuses.

The common theme with Thomas Frank at Tottenham Hotspur this season has been a new manager with no ideas, no ambition, and no willingness to give the young players a chance. Spurs supporters cannot help but feel they were sold a false bill of goods with Frank from Brentford, as he has done literally the opposite of everything the fans were told he would do when management hired him to replace the popular Ange Postecoglou.

Whereas Big Ange brought a European trophy, Frank looks like he's putting Spurs on a trajectory to finish just as poorly in the Premier League while playing less attractive football and coming nowhere close to bringing home real silverware.

Frank's mistreatment of Xavi Simons has been the big topic of discussion over the past week, as he benched him in three important games - which Spurs roundly lost. But Simons's situation has shrouded another young player getting snubbed - and one who had actually been playing well.

Mathys Tel has a lot of promise

Mathys Tel was signed permanently from Bayern Munich after showing enough individual quality and love for the badge in six months last season en route to a Europa League trophy. This season, Tel has taken his lumps, but after getting flak from both fans and Frank, he scored important goals in a win over Leeds and a draw against Manchester United.

A striker or left winger, Tel has outplayed several attacking teammates this season, including Richarlison. And yet Frank has continued to start the horrendous Richy, eschewing Tel completely, even after his strong performance against a top club in Man United.

Tel has not started for Tottenham since a poor showing against Aston Villa, which was a follow up to his goal and brilliant display against Leeds. As with Simons, Tel is a case of Frank discarding a young player completely at a sign of struggle, neglecting the fine work he did previously.

Like Simons, Tel is a great athlete and technician who has legitimate world class upside, which is more than can be said about the majority of Spurs attackers right now. He needs games. Yet instead of giving him chances to grow on a team that is losing anyway, Frank is giving him scraps to feed on - one minute here, 10 minutes there.

It's so hard to build a basis and to get young players to buy in when this is what you are doing as a manager. Tel has done everything right in terms of fighting adversity, backing the manager, and working hard for the team. And Frank rewards him via punishment. It is far too cruel.

It has been pretty close to a disastrous start to life at Tottenham Hotspur for Xavi Simons, whose tenure at the club began promisingly with some nifty chances created and touches, especially in the smaller games like the League Cup outings.

But over time, fans began to sour a bit on Simons's overall lack of an impact in games. Yet the fans themselves have never turned against Simons or wavered in their belief that the attacking midfielder, who was a special talent for two very good clubs in PSV and RB Leipzig, will turn it around and play at a top class level for the Lilywhites.

It seems, then, that the only person who is giving up on Simons is Thomas Frank, and he doesn't even have the guts to admit that's exactly what he is doing. Frank has now phased Simons completely out of the starting lineup in three straight games, and, predictably, Spurs have been no better off in any of these matches, losing all of them.

Tottenham have lost every game without Xavi Simons

Spurs were blown out by Arsenal last weekend 4-1, they could not beat PSG in a 5-3 Champions League defeat that everyone saw coming, and then they completely soiled themselves against a perfectly mid Fulham team 2-1.

Off the bench, Simons showed more spark than a few of his attacking teammates, and as much as Frank yammers on and on about how tough it is for the young Dutch star to adapt to the Premier League and writes it off as that's the reason why he isn't playing, any fan with some modicum of logical thinking can poke holes all over that.

Look, if the problem with Simons is adaptation, then you, the coach should be helping him adapt. That is literally your job and what you are paid to do. Spurs invested in Simons, who has stood out everywhere he has went, and all of a sudden we are supposed to believe he can't crack it in the Premier League. Well, who could look good sitting behind Richarilson and dealing with Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha lumbering along on the ball?

Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke has appeared in just three games during the 2025/26 season thus far, all of them off the bench. Spurs have not featured the English forward in a single game since he got 12 minutes on Aug. 23 against Manchester City.

In late September, Tottenham told everyone that Solanke had underwent a minor surgery on his ankle, and because it was termed as a minor, clean up procedure by head coach Thomas Frank, Spurs supporters were assuming Solanke would be back any time now.

Well, it's been two months later, and Solanke seems no closer to returning than he was back then. Sometimes, we hear updates from Frank about how Solanke is a week or two away, about how he is close, about how he is training. And because Spurs fans know better than to believe anything and have seen how injuries have ravaged the squad to the point where minor absences become lengthy spells on the sidelines, they knew to expect the worst with Solanke.

Dominic Solanke is gone with the wind

But it's getting ridiculous at this point. Solanke has played a grand total of 31 Premier League minutes this season - none since the end of August. He is missing in action, and with Richarlison pretty much the same - except, you know, he's actually on the pitch - Spurs are entirely reliant on Randal Kolo Muani, who finally recovered from the deadest of legs, to carry the striker position.

Spurs spent a record 65 million pounds on Solanke two summers ago. He was critical in the Europa League win, yes, but aside from that, Spurs have very little to show for their investment in the all around forward.

Tottenham fans are pushing for answers now from the club as to what is really going on with Solanke. If he's supposedly been close to a return weeks ago and if the procedure was only a minor one, why, then is he still out? Why has he only been able to play 31 minutes? Why was he able to return in August to start the season after last season's injury, only to get knocked out again in September?

Solanke should be an important part of a Tottenham squad that is very, very thin at the forward positions, including the No. 9. He is nowhere to be found, and Spurs are going to have to address this soon; fans are starting to wonder what is really going on here and if they will ever see Solanke out there again this season.

There's no room for respite for Thomas Frank's slumping Tottenham, with a tough Premier League away day on the horizon.

The current situation is bleak and only darkening, with a trip to Tyneside hardly what this Spurs team needs right now. But hey, at least St. James' Park is a long, long way away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

We've already been beaten at Newcastle's imposing ground this season, with the Magpies prevailing in a Carabao Cup tie back in October. We can only hope for an alternate result in midweek, because three points would be absolutely huge for Frank, given the current situation.

The manager's team selection is continuing to come under scrutiny, and here's what he could opt for on Tuesday night.

Predicted Tottenham lineup vs. Newcastle

Guglielmo Vicario (GK) – Despite his egregious error at the weekend, there hasn't been much talk of Antonín Kinsky coming into the team. The Czech goalkeeper had a bit of a nightmare on Tyneside in the cup tie.

Djed Spence (RB) – Pedro Porro certainly didn't endear himself to supporters at the weekend, but that's not the reason why Frank is likely to take him out of the side. The Spaniard has been ever so disappointing in recent weeks.

Cristian Romero (CB) – Romero was poor in Paris, but his absence is always hard-felt, and that was the case again on Saturday.

Micky van de Ven (CB) – The Dutchman was pretty powerless to stop Fulham more misery upon the Lilywhites on Saturday, and he'll have his usual partner back for Tuesday's game.

Destiny Udogie (LB) – Isolated down the left on Saturday, we can only hope that there's a reversion to the left-sided dynamics that brought success against Leeds United back in October.

Pape Matar Sarr (CM) – João Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur have emerged as net negatives, so if I'm Frank, I'm trusting the energetic and more fearless youth.

Lucas Bergvall (CM) – Bergvall can be the great unifier in such murky times. The Swede has had a stop-start season so far, partly because of a concussion, but we've continued to enjoy glimpses of his talent.

Mohammed Kudus (RW) – It'd be great to see more of Kudus in shooting zones, with the Ghanaian shunted out wide and tasked with crossing the ball into the box. His strike on Saturday proved that he has more to offer as a goalscorer.

Xavi Simons (AM) – Xavi performed pretty well at St. James' in the cup, and Frank simply has to bring him back into the side on Tuesday. This team cannot merely rely on second balls, set-pieces and Kudus.

Wilson Odobert (LW) – Frank hasn't given the "connections" he once banged on about time to grow. Odobert was blossoming nicely with Xavi and Udogie down the left, but we've barely seen them together in recent weeks.

Thomas Frank may have shown more attacking verve with his tactical plan against PSG in the Champions League mid week, but the overall response from Tottenham Hotspur after their loss to Arsenal last weekend was nothing short of shameful.

Spurs lost 2-1 to Fulham on Saturday night, getting off to the wrong start by falling behind 2-0 within 10 minutes. At no point in the subsequent 80 did Spurs look like turning it around, and both the lineup selection and overall tactical game plan from Frank were horrid.

As the boos rained down on Frank, nothing was done to adjust the proceedings. And after the game, all Frank could do was get all high and mighty about who is and who isn't a "true" Tottenham fan. Frank seems to vastly underestimate just how many Spurs supporters are turning against them, and the rumor mill continues to swirl with indications that the players are beginning to turn on him, too.

Thomas Frank is losing the plot

It's no wonder why, too. Frank just doesn't get it, and every time he opens his mouth, it sounds more and more like he still thinks he's at Brentford where being in the mid table and drawing teams is good enough for Tottenham. Well, it's not.

After the loss to Fulham, Frank made inane remarks again, almost celebrating the fact that his team could have drawn the inferior side, via Last Word on Spurs, ”I think we was more cool, created more, scored a good goal, created opportunities and we could have got a 2-2 draw.”

Although this may seem like a small thing to pick on that Thomas Frank said after the game, it's not as much of a throw away line as it seems. Frank is basically saying that he thought Tottenham played better, that the level they showed was acceptable, and that potentially getting a draw out of this game would have been good enough for him.

That's atrocious. Every single time Spurs play poorly and lose or draw a team that is worse than them, Frank acts as if everything is OK and Spurs were just unlucky. But you can't be unlucky if you are getting outplayed and not winning almost every single time you are out there.

When Tottenham Hotspur signed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig in the last transfer window, it was considered a real coup. Simons is only 22, but he also already has experience playing for Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, and the Netherlands.

Simons was also linked with all the top clubs, including Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Chelsea, before heading to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, he has not lived up to expectations at his new home.

The Dutchman has so far played in 17 games for Spurs, without scoring and making just two assists. It is unfair to judge him on these stats, as he has only completed a full 90 minutes once for Thomas Frank's side. That came in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James' Park in the EFL Cup.

Many of Simons' appearances have been as a substitute. This included a 30-minute cameo in Tottenham's 2-1 loss to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday night.

What has Thomas Frank had to say about Xavi Simons?

Frank has been quoted on The Spurs Web saying, "There is a reason why we have Xavi here. I think he is a very good player. He has trained very well. It is not the first time a player has stepped into the Premier League and needs a bit of adaptation."

This is a fair point, as many players have shone in the Bundesliga but have struggled in the Premier League. Florian Wirtz, who Liverpool bought for £116 million from Bayer Leverkusen, is another example of this.

The difference between Wirtz and Simons is that the Liverpool player is still being given a chance to impress. Spurs did pay less than half of what the Reds paid for their recruit from the Bundesliga, £51.8m for Simons.

Simons' only goal involvements this year for Spurs came in a 4-0 win against Copenhagen and a 3-0 victory over West Ham United. The Danish side is not the most challenging of Champions League opposition, whilst the Hammers are in a relegation battle this campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur are sinking further and further into the abyss of incompetence. After losing 4-1 to Arsenal in a North London Derby that can never be repeated again and will be discussed with derision and laughs by the Gunners ofr years to come, Spurs followed that up with a 2-1 defeat that cemented home Thomas Frank's complete lack of progress or a tangible response in the Premier League.

At mid week at least, Frank did make some changes, and one of the most important was giving center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur a Kane-like (yes exactly, the OTHER famous Kane) Big Boot to the face out of the starting lineup. Instead, Spurs have been rolling with Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. And as literally any semi knowledgable Spurs fan would have told you and predicted correctly, Spurs look ten times better with the young midfielders in the lineup.

Now, Bentancur did get a good 30 minutes to run around at the end of the Tottenham loss to Fulham in order to try to make something happen. And, spoiler alert, Bentancur did not, in fact, make anything happen for Spurs on Saturday night.

Rodrigo Bentancur is not offering anything

If anything, he somehow buried himself further on the roster and made every single Spurs supporter in the crowd wonder just why in the heck upper management rewarded him with a new contract just weeks into a season that was already going poorly. And now, Bentancur is somehow even worse, yet Spurs are on the hook to keep paying him.

While Bentancur did create a couple of chances, the rest of his game was a reminder of why he is untenable in the starting lineup these days. He was completely overrun by the Fulham midfielders and defended like a man made out of plastic straws. Bentancur folds and flies away with the slightest breeze, he literally ducks out of shots, and he cannot control games because he is not present enough off the ball or incisive enough on it to do so.

As a progressor with the ball at his feet? Forget about it. Bentancur does not have the athleticism or verve to take and beat defenders to the next level; he's certainly not half the player that Gray and Bergvall already are in this regard.

It was only 30 minutes, but it was 30 minutes too long and more than enough time for Tottenham fans to double down on their opinion that Bentancur, when he is on the pitch, is one of the biggest things wrong about the club in the Frank era.

Losers of three straight, Tottenham Hotspur followed up their historically poor showing in the North London Derby last weekend with another listless performance against their local rivals, falling 2-1 to Fulham. Thomas Frank's early tenure as Tottenham boss is already at a crisis point, as fans are turning on the horrid product they are force to consume every time the Lilywhites stain the field.

There are, however, a few players distinguishing as bright spots who deserve to don the prestigious white kit and who are showing much more fight amidst adversity than the rest of their colleagues. One of those players is Randal Kolo Muani, who isn't even a permanent member of the Tottenham roster.

On loan from PSG after a fine few months at Juventus, Tottenham and Fabio Paratici swooped in at the last second on transfer deadline day to bag the French veteran striker. And boy are they glad they did, because Kolo Muani makes Richarlison look like a cardboard caricature of a striker by comparison whlie Spurs are still missing Europa League hero Dominic Solanke.

Randal Kolo Muani is the answer

Not only did Kolo Muani cement himself as the answer at striker with all three goal contributions in a 5-3 loss to PSG at mid week in the Champions League, but he also played well against Fulham on Saturday night in the return to the Premier League when just about everyone else on the team hopelessly stunk.

Kolo Muani had his usual nifty touches and smart passes on the ball, and he was the only player looking to actually get shots off and do some incisive damage to the defense. More importantly, he was the one guy showing real fight out there and using his brains and brawn to try to turn the tide of the game.

It's so important for Tottenham to find and value players who are willing to put in the work and show some grit for the badge. They have a lot of players like Pedro Porro and Guglielmo Vicario who are passing the buck and blaming teammates while showing no real effort, and then they have players like Rodrigo Bentancur who look like straight up cowards out there.