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Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 – Where does Thomas Frank go from here? Has Jacob Ramsey finally arrived?

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Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 – Where does Thomas Frank go from here? Has Jacob Ramsey finally arrived? - The New York Times
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Spurs have slipped closer to the Premier League’s relegation zone after another home defeat, 2-1 to Newcastle United, at a wet and miserable Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Eddie Howe’s side began brightly, frequently getting in behind the Tottenham defence on the right flank. Such was their territorial dominance that they won nine corners before the break, the most by any Premier League side in a first half this season.

Spurs’ recent injury problems worsened after half an hour when Wilson Odobert went down after a midfield challenge and had to be replaced by Mathys Tel. And just as it looked like the home side had survived another poor first half — after a Joe Willock goal was ruled offside by the narrowest of margins — Newcastle deservedly took the lead just before the half-time whistle, Malick Thiaw reacting quickest after his initial header had been saved by Guglielmo Vicario.

There was no immediate response after the break from Spurs either, but they did slowly grow into the second half and equalised via Archie Gray just after the hour mark. But parity was enjoyed for just a few minutes, Jacob Ramsey’s well-taken goal — his first for Newcastle — put the visitors back into the lead, one which they held fairly comfortably for the remainder of the game.

Jay Harris, Chris Waugh and Mark Carey analyse the key moments from the game.

What does this defeat mean for Thomas Frank?

Newcastle have underperformed this season, but they are still a difficult team to beat. It is the limp and uninspiring performance that should be the biggest cause of concern for Spurs.

In the opening 10 minutes, they created a couple of decent chances down the right wing by releasing Odobert and Conor Gallagher into the space behind Dan Burn.

Spurs failed to grasp those opportunities, though, and for the rest of the first half, they struggled to progress the ball in central areas. Newcastle trapped them and it was no surprise they took the lead through Thiaw. Spurs had been warned when Willock netted shortly before, but was ruled offside.

Spurs were poor at the beginning of the second half until the game opened up and became chaotic. They threatened on the counter but took the lead through Gray’s volley after a Xavi Simons corner. It has been a regular theme of this season that Spurs perform well in the second half. The games become transitional, and that comes with a lot of risk. Ramsey’s winner came from Gallagher losing the ball when Spurs were on the attack.

It is another damaging defeat for Thomas Frank and the divisions within the squad were on full display. Tel threw his hands up when Yves Bissouma passed the ball backwards to Radu Dragusin. Vicario went mad at his defence when Newcastle scored their second. Frank was a constant raging ball of energy on the touchline, screaming at every decision that went against his side. Pape Matar Sarr and Simons both being booked for simulation was another sign of the desperation within the ranks. The supporters groaned when Vicario flapped at a corner.

The worst part for Frank was the reaction from the crowd. They booed at half-time and full time and chanted the name of their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs have an extended break until they face Arsenal on February 22. If there is a time to pull the trigger and bring in a replacement or an interim head coach, it would surely be now.

Jay Harris

How significant is this win for Howe?

Using Howe’s own (pre-match) word: “Massive.”

Given Newcastle are labouring through a run of seven away fixtures in eight across all competitions, the relief at recording a victory after five winless outings (and three straight Premier League defeats) was palpable.

Crucially, Newcastle also recorded only their third top-flight victory on the road this season. In fact, it was only their third away win in 16 Premier League games, stretching back to April. Following back-to-back defeats on Tyneside against Aston Villa and Brentford, claiming the three points that lifted them back into the top 10 felt critical.

What’s more, Newcastle have dropped a Premier League-high 19 points when leading. Once Spurs equalised, it appeared as if that unwanted record was going to be extended. To have shipped more points against a team as bad as Spurs, who have only won two home games all season, would have further dented confidence.

Instead, with Newcastle travelling roughly 9,300 cumulative miles during this brutal stretch of away fixtures — this was the fourth of those seven on the road — both Howe and the team required this fillip before going to Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The travelling fans chanted “Eddie Howe’s black-and-white army” and, at least for now, the external noise may quieten, even if internally there is no genuine pressure on the head coach.

Chris Waugh

Why were Spurs so bad?

Spurs have switched between a 3-4-3 system and 4-2-3-1 formation over the last few weeks. Due to their mounting injury crisis and Cristian Romero’s suspension, Dragusin and Micky van de Ven started together at centre-back for the first time since September 2024.

They frequently recycled the ball before passing it to Sarr or Bissouma. The duo seemed incapable of playing progressive passes and finding Dominic Solanke or Simons in dangerous positions.

Djed Spence returned to the starting XI after missing two games with a calf injury and struggled. The England international had to cope with the dual threat of Anthony Elanga and Kieran Trippier. It is no surprise Newcastle’s opening goal came from a move down the right. Willock was afforded far too much space and time to swing a cross into the box.

This is the problem with Spurs. No matter what combination Frank tries, nothing seems to work. The only player who emerged with any real credit is Gray. He has performed impressively at right-back over the past couple of weeks while coming up against Bryan Mbeumo and Harvey Barnes. He drove Spurs forward at times and combined well with Gallagher, but they needed more help.

The most damning thing you can level at Spurs is that there does not appear to be any patterns to work the ball into a good area. Attacking fluency is good, but the movement of each player feels too ad hoc for their team-mates to know what action is coming next. When you have such unpredictability, it is difficult to build a coherent foothold in the game.

Jay Harris & Mark Carey

Why Newcastle utilising the right flank made sense

Sometimes it can be tricky to work out what a manager’s tactical instructions might be when their team takes to the field.

But within minutes of kick-off, it was crystal clear where Howe had asked his Newcastle players to target. Spence deputised at left-back for Tottenham once again, and winger Elanga was keen to ensure he had a difficult evening upon his return — making persistent runs on the right flank and having plenty of success with the support of the overlapping Trippier.

Newcastle had 46 per cent of their attacking touches down the right third of the pitch in the first half, which was the fourth-highest share in an opening 45 minutes for Howe’s side this season. With Simons failing to provide the requisite defensive cover for Spence, Newcastle continually had an overload on that side of the pitch in the first half — and it was little surprise that their opening goal came from the right flank.

After Bruno Guimaraes underlapped Elanga to get to the byline, the ball was eventually worked back to Willock, whose cross was eventually bundled in by Thiaw. With 13 open-play crosses being the joint-most that Newcastle have had in a first half, you could not say that the opening goal was not coming.

Mark Carey

Has Ramsey finally arrived as a Newcastle player?

At the 27th attempt, Ramsey finally has a goal involvement for Newcastle.

The 24-year-old joined from Aston Villa for £39million ($53.2m) in August, and he, like Elanga, has been criticised for failing to make an immediate impact. They were supposed to be ‘Premier League-ready’ additions, yet both have had their individual travails since moving to Tyneside.

Ramsey was hampered by an early ankle injury, which stunted his progress and integration into the team, but in recent weeks, the midfielder has visibly grown in confidence and influence. He is composed on the ball, wins possession well, and usually makes good decisions.

With the out-of-form Sandro Tonali omitted for only the second time in the last 15 matches, Ramsey and Willock provided energy and industry in midfield, with Guimaraes deployed as the No 6.

It was Ramsey’s precise and perfectly executed early ball through to Willock, which almost opened the scoring for Newcastle, but he was denied an assist by the narrowest of offside calls.

The summer signing was then influential during the build-up to his winner, playing it inside to Barnes, who laid the ball off to Gordon. Ramsey darted in from the left wing and into the area, where he finished brilliantly first time across Vicario.

Insiders have always been confident that Ramsey would prove to be an excellent signing for Newcastle. Belatedly, he is justifying that conviction.

Chris Waugh

What did Frank say?

“I understand the fans’ frustration,” Frank said in his post-match press conference when asked about the “sacked in the morning” chants. “We are in a position we don’t want to be in and we are working very hard day and night to change.

“I also think it is a situation now the club has been in, it’s fair to say, for almost two years and at the end of last season as well clearly a pattern that we struggle to manage Europe and the Premier League. It’s something me, the team, the club, the players we need to learn to do even better physically and mentally to deal with that.

“And part of that of course is the 11 injuries or 10 plus a suspension plus another one today which of course doesn’t help in a situation like that.”

Asked if he will be in charge for the Arsenal game, Frank added: “Yeah, I’m convinced I will be.”

Pushed whether he is convinced he is the right man for the job, he continued: “1,000 per cent sure. I am also 1,000 per cent sure that I never expected us to be in a situation like this with 11 or 12 injuries on the back end of this and what we’ve been facing, but I know when you need to build something and need to get through things, you need to show unbelievable strong resilience.

“I understand the mechanism in football, no doubt about that, but there are a lot of studies that it is not the right thing to do.

“We of course understand we’re not in a good situation, but with everything in life you need to stay calm, keep doing it and keep going.”

And on Odobert’s injury, he added: “I hope it’s nothing too serious, but I don’t know what it can be.”

What did Howe say?

Speaking to TNT Sport after the game, the Newcastle boss was delighted. “It was a good performance from us. Really strange game because I didn’t think we deserved to be level when we were. Tottenham scored against the run of play and then really big credit to the lads because the game could have gone away from us. But we responded really well and scored the second goal and thankfully defended the last few minutes really well.

“We’ve played really well. We’ve had a number of shots, a number of chances throughout the first half. We hadn’t scored but we dominated. Joe Willock’s offside goal is really harsh. The lads have had to do it the hard way and full credit to the mentality of the group, the feeling, because we’ve had it tough in recent weeks. That game could have got away from us but we didn’t allow it to and I felt we fully deserved to win.”

Howe was pleased with the impact of two summer signings during the game. “I was delighted for Malick, he’s played really well for us. He’s been an ever-present. He’s been really strong in his performances and scored some really important goals for us. That was a massive one because he showed the desire to get to the ball first and a cool finish. He’s been outstanding, JJ (Ramsey) has played really well in recent weeks and Elanga played really well.

So I always say with the transfer market you have to be patient, wait and see how the players settle in and show their best form. I felt it was a promising night in that respect.”

What next for Spurs?

Sunday, February 22: Arsenal (Home), Premier League, 4.30pm UK, 11.30am ET

What next for Newcastle?

Thomas Frank ‘convinced’ he will be in charge of Tottenham vs. Arsenal: ‘We only get through this together’

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Thomas Frank ‘convinced’ he will be in charge of Tottenham vs. Arsenal: ‘We only get through this together’ - The New York Times
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Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank is “convinced” he will still be in charge for their next Premier League game against Arsenal on February 22.

Spurs suffered their 11th defeat of the season on Tuesday when they lost 2-1 at home to Newcastle United. Frank’s side have reached the last 16 of the Champions League but have failed to win a top-flight game since they beat Crystal Palace on December 28 and are now only five points above West Ham United who occupy the final relegation spot.

Spurs supporters booed at half-time and full-time against Newcastle while they also chanted “you’re getting sacked in the morning.” In the second half when Newcastle were leading 1-0, they sang the name of their former head coach Mauricio Pochettino who led them to the Champions League final in May 2019.

Spurs have an extended break before they host their north London rivals Arsenal. Frank was asked if he would still be in charge for the visit of the league leaders in 11 days.

“Yeah, I’m convinced I will be,” Frank said. “I understand the question and I understand it’s easy to point on me but I also think it’s never only the head coach or the ownership or the directors or the players or the staff. It’s everyone.

“If you do something right, you build something that can last. Of course we are not in a top position now. Everyone knows, directors, ownership, myself, what position we are in, what we need to improve and what we need to do better. That is what we are working very hard on.”

Frank spent nearly seven years in charge of Brentford before he replaced Ange Postecoglou at Spurs last June and signed a three-year contract. The 52-year-old was asked after the defeat to Newcastle if he was still convinced he was the right person to manage Spurs.

“1,000 per cent sure,” he said. “I’m also 1,000 per cent sure that I never expected us to be in a situation like this with 11/12 injuries on the back end of this and what we have been facing. But I know when you need to build something and you need to get through things you need to show unbelievable strong resilience.

“It’s fair to say a few before me up here, not only for Tottenham but other clubs, have lost their head many times. I think you need to have a calm head, carry on, keep fighting. Keep doing the right thing, make sure we stick together because you can only get through this together and that is the board, that is the leaders, that is the staff, that is me, that is the fans, we will only get through this together.”

Spurs’ lengthy injury list includes first-choice full-backs Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. Wilson Odobert is the latest name to be added to that list after he landed awkwardly on his left foot in the first half against Newcastle.

Thomas Frank vs Eddie Howe: The flaws Spurs and Newcastle are struggling desperately to fix

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Thomas Frank vs Eddie Howe: The flaws Spurs and Newcastle are struggling desperately to fix - The Athletic - The New York Times
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Six Premier League managers have already fallen with just over a third of the 2025-26 season remaining. Results this week could well shape how many more go before the campaign ends in May.

Newcastle, for example, are winless in five after Saturday’s chaotic home defeat to Brentford, leaving them 12th, and closer to the relegation zone than the top four. Tottenham are yet to win a league game in 2026 despite encouraging European form.

Both Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe and his Spurs counterpart Thomas Frank have risen to their current posts by merit, leading clubs into the Premier League for the first time in their respective histories, over-performing on smaller budgets and reduced expectations, before making the step up to Champions League teams. In the case of Howe — the fourth-longest serving manager in the English top flight, who ended a 56-year trophy drought last season — he turned Newcastle into a Champions League side for the first time since 2003 when he secured qualification two seasons ago.

Tonight (Tuesday), the two teams face each other at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a game that feels freighted with significance. At the weekend, Howe said he was “not doing my job well enough” and that this evening’s game was “massive”; Frank, similarly, has admitted Spurs are “desperate” for wins.

Just what is going wrong at both clubs, and where can this critical fixture be won and lost? The Athletic drills into the data to find out.

Wayward finishing and the search for creative spark

On paper, this is a clash between two of the most evenly-matched sides in the division; both have scored 35 Premier League goals this season, while Newcastle have conceded only one more than Tottenham with 36.

Digging into the underlying numbers, however, suggests that today’s visitors have generated enough goalscoring opportunities to expect to outscore the north Londoners by 12 goals, with only Arsenal and Manchester City allowing fewer expected goals (xG).

As we can see from the visualisation below, Newcastle have been the fifth-strongest team in the top flight according to their expected goal difference, a metric that is a solid indicator of team performance. Yet, through a combination of poor finishing and clinical opposition counters, they have been dragged down the table to lie closer to teams both much weaker in attack and leakier in defence than they are.

Howe has pointed to his team’s statistical underperformance throughout the season, watching on as his boys miss big chances at key moments in games and throw away leads, having already dropped 19 points from winning positions after 25 of the 38 games. Their second-half display in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City last week, in which they spurned two huge chances via Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, was a source of particular frustration.

Newcastle have cycled through different options at centre-forward in an attempt to remedy the situation. Summer signing Nick Woltemade has faded following his fast start, the Bundesliga import struggling to cope with the physicality of Premier League defenders and failing to get into the box often enough. Wissa has not looked sharp after an injury lay-off that delayed his Newcastle debut until December, while even Anthony Gordon has been trialled through the middle. Will Osula brings high-intensity running from the bench, but not consistency in front of goal.

It all means that Newcastle have been more reliant on set pieces, with six of their nine Premier League goals in 2026 arriving from dead-ball deliveries. Howe needs more production from his finishers on the break.

Spurs, on the other hand, simply aren’t creating enough to merit more than they’ve achieved in attack. No team have over-performed their expected goals figure by more, a charge led by goalscoring centre-backs Cristian Romero and Mickey van de Ven, who have popped up with towering headers and snap-shots from knockdowns and set pieces.

Season-long (so far) injuries to the squad’s most gifted technicians from open play, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, have not helped. But there are well-documented issues with progressing the ball through midfield which have yet to be addressed, meaning that Frank’s side are similarly dependent on set pieces to get the ball close to the opposition goal.

Injuries… and lots of them

When it rains, it pours, and Frank has particular reason to curse his luck after a summer switch from Brentford.

Alongside his sidelined creators mentioned above, a January thigh injury to Mohammed Kudus cut off Spurs’ most reliable supply line up the pitch — a winger who is adept at receiving long passes with his back to goal and bringing others into play. The player responsible for almost half those searching forward passes to the Ghanaian, Pedro Porro, has also missed the past three games with a hamstring strain.

Kudus’ injury and the return of Destiny Udogie prompted a tweak to the system, as Spurs switched to a back three to allow their left-back to push on. There have been positive signs — width from those wing-backs has allowed both Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert the freedom to drift inside, a role that has particularly suited Simons. Dominic Solanke’s return up top has also helped the ball to stick, with more opportunities for those creative No 10s to pick up the ball in advanced areas.

As we can see from the passing network against Burnley last month, both Simons and Odobert were involved from inverted roles, while January signing Conor Gallagher is given freedom to make late runs beyond the last line with Yves Bissouma in a holding position.

Again, injuries have limited the effectiveness of the new shape. Porro was replaced momentarily by Djed Spence, who has since been covered for by Archie Gray, a midfielder who is not so natural when it comes to bombing down the line and whipping in crosses.

On the opposite flank, Frank confirmed that Udogie will be out for “four to five weeks”, leaving few options to play that left wing-back role. With Romero also suspended after his red card at Manchester United, there are even fewer options at centre-back, with midfielder Joao Palhinha already filling in there.

Frank may have to return to a back four for the visit of Newcastle.

Even when progress looks to be made, availability forces his hand.

Vulnerability to counter-attacks

No team have conceded more xG from Opta-defined fast breaks than Newcastle this season, and the weekend’s 3-2 defeat by visitors Brentford made those defensive deficiencies alarmingly clear.

Howe’s side are not afraid to commit players forward for quick attacks, but there is a lack of organisation and the ability to recover, particularly when Sandro Tonali ventures from his anchoring midfield role.

In the below sequence from that match, for example, Tonali takes over from Jacob Murphy and carries the ball into the box, but sees his cutback intercepted by Vitaly Janelt. In frame two, we see Murphy and Joe Willock left exposed, with four black-and-white shirts inside the penalty area as Brentford look to move forward with speed.

Igor Thiago provides the out-ball, bringing a long pass under control and spinning to find Michael Kayode, one of two Brentford players who have raced through midfield and left markers behind. Kayode eventually found Dango Ouattara, who pulled one back to Mathias Jensen, and he won a penalty that Thiago scored from to put Brentford 2-1 up.

The second half presented another example, after Howe replaced midfielder Willock with winger Elanga in an attacking half-time switch.

Once again, Tonali is out wide with Elanga on the overlap, but the Italian’s pass towards Wissa is intercepted.

Only Bruno Guimaraes has stayed back in midfield, and the Brazilian is on hand as the ball pops out to Jensen. However, winger Harvey Barnes is not alert to the lay-off, allowing Janelt to receive it and then drive away, leaving six Newcastle players in his wake.

The irony is that Frank’s preferred play-style from his days at Brentford — hitting hard and fast on the break and isolating his centre-forwards against defenders with long passes — would hurt this Newcastle side in their current state.

At Spurs, however, particularly at home, the manager has struggled to balance the demand for attractive, possession-heavy football with incisive attacking play, leading to a situation in which his team are usually less effective when playing in front of his own fans.

It presents a fascinating, must-win contest for both sides, with gaping weaknesses on either team there to be exploited.

Radu Dragusin has been given an unlikely Spurs lifeline – they need him to grab it

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Radu Dragusin has been given an unlikely Spurs lifeline – they need him to grab it - The New York Times
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Only a few weeks ago, you might have wondered whether Radu Dragusin would ever get back in the Tottenham team.

He returned from an 11-month injury absence on December 28, coming on for the final minutes of the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. It was a special moment for Dragusin, with his family in attendance at Selhurst Park. His team-mates were delighted for him, Micky van de Ven pushing him forwards towards the away end to receive their applause.

But it was also clear that competition for places at centre-back was fiercer than ever. Van de Ven and Cristian Romero were, of course, the first-choice pair and would start almost every game unless one of them was rested.

Kevin Danso arrived after Dragusin’s injury and had effectively replaced him as the solid, reliable back-up to the two big-name centre-backs. With Joao Palhinha able to fill in there too, it felt as if Dragusin might have a long wait to get back into the team.

There was loan interest in Dragusin from Italy during the January window. The attraction would have been understandable. He had barely played for a whole year. If he had sat on the bench for the second half of this season too, it would have been 18 months since his last real run of games. But Tottenham’s position was firm: they did not want to let Dragusin go. So he knuckled down, kept working, and in the last few weeks his circumstances started to change.

First, Van de Ven picked up what Frank only described as a “minor” injury, which ruled him out of the games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Manchester City the week before last. Then Danso, the first replacement, sustained a rare big-toe ligament injury in Frankfurt, ruling him out for weeks. Suddenly, Spurs were down two centre-backs. And so Dragusin was brought in for the visit of Manchester City on February 1.

Starting out on the left of the back three — this was his first start since January 2025 — Dragusin struggled at first. He never looked comfortable when Rayan Cherki ran at him for City’s first goal. Dragusin’s clumsy clearance led to City scoring their second. But in the second half, when Romero had gone off and Spurs had moved to a back four, Dragusin looked more comfortable, physically standing up to Erling Haaland as Spurs rescued a very creditable point.

On Saturday, Spurs went to Old Trafford, with Van de Ven back in the team, taking Dragusin’s place. But after Romero was sent off for tackle on Casemiro, Dragusin was needed off the bench and he played more than an hour as Spurs tried to stay in the game. Now that Romero is out for the next four games — Newcastle United, Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace — Dragusin will surely be needed again and again.

If Frank decides to stick with the back three on Tuesday night, and given Romero and Danso are both out, the obvious thing would be to have Dragusin, Van de Ven and Palhinha. The only alternative would be to start Archie Gray or the returning Djed Spence at centre-back instead, but Frank has not done so yet this season, and those two will most likely be needed at wing-back.

Clearly, the next few weeks will be pivotal to Spurs’ season, as they try to scramble together enough points to stop having to look nervously over their shoulder in March and April. And Dragusin, having been an almost-forgotten man for almost all of 2025, could now be integral to it.

It feels like another age now but, right up to the moment when Dragusin ruptured the ACL in his right knee, he was hugely important to Tottenham’s fortunes. He started 21 out of 22 games between October 30, 2024 and January 26, 2025. In the one game that he did not start — Chelsea at home on December 8 — he came on for Romero after 15 minutes. And given the injuries to Romero and Van de Ven that dominated last season, Dragusin played most of those games alongside either Gray or Ben Davies. And the ACL injury only came when Dragusin replaced Van de Ven at half-time of a Europa League dead rubber against Elfsborg.

It was a long road back to the first team for Dragusin. He has always been obsessive about gym, food, diet and sleep, even by the standards of modern footballers. His only real hobby is chess. During the course of his rehab, he had to be even more disciplined. When the rest of his team-mates were out partying to celebrate the Europa League triumph last May, Dragusin was still making sure to be back in the gym first thing the next morning. He always pushed himself as hard as he could. Less than 10 months after the injury, he played 45 minutes of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient. James Maddison, recovering from ACL surgery of his own, was there to cheer his team-mate on, so impressed with the way he has fought back to fitness.

It is two years now since Tottenham convinced Dragusin to leave Genoa for north London, and to turn down Bayern Munich. He has had some good moments and some bad ones since then, with obvious upsides and downsides to his game. But the next few months could turn out to be his most important at Spurs so far. Which is not something that people would have predicted until very recently.

Tottenham relegation odds: Spurs still outsiders to go down despite struggles

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Tottenham Hotspur are in trouble. How much trouble is open to debate, but there’s no denying this season has been a disappointing one for the north London club. So disappointing, in fact, that some are now questioning if it could end in relegation.

There were mitigating circumstances — such as Cristian Romero’s second red card in 10 matches — behind Saturday’s defeat to Manchester United. Nonetheless, this extended Tottenham’s recent run of dismal form and dropped them closer to the bottom three.

Thomas Frank’s team have won just two of their last 16 league games, stretching back to October. They are just six points above West Ham in 18th place, who are showing signs of a resurgence.

Of course, Spurs finished 17th last season, just one place above the relegation zone. However, Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City were so historically bad that it never felt likely Tottenham would suffer the drop.

This season, though, the competition is stiffer. While Wolves and Burnley are as good as gone, just six points separate West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Spurs.

At 2/5, the Hammers are still priced as the most likely of this group to go down. Forest are priced at 10/3, reflecting the form of a team that has lost five of their last nine Premier League fixtures.

Last Friday’s win over Forest at Elland Road boosted Leeds’ hopes of staying up, but their price of 17/2 still reflects a team fighting for Premier League survival.

Tottenham’s price of 10/1 suggests they should have enough in the tank to accelerate away from danger, but this hasn’t happened yet. In fact, Frank’s side are being caught by some of the teams below them.

At their current pace (1.16 points per game), Spurs are on course to finish the season on 44 points. Never before in Premier League history has a team with such a high tally been relegated.

The problem for Tottenham is that 58.6 per cent of their total points so far came across the first nine fixtures of the season. Since then, they have averaged just 0.75 per game. At this pace, Spurs will finish on 38 points (38.75, to be exact).

Historically, the survival rate for teams that finish on 38 points or more stands at 80 per cent. That percentage rises to 90 per cent for teams with 40 points or more.

Several underlying metrics suggest Tottenham deserve to be fighting relegation this season.

Frank’s team are ranked only 17th for expected goals (xG) with only Wolves, Sunderland and Burnley ranked lower. Spurs are also ranked 13th for ‘big chances’ created over the course of the season and touches inside the opposition box.

Injuries have been a major factor in these struggles. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have missed the entire season, while Dominic Solanke has only recently returned to full fitness.

Destiny Udogie’s injury against Manchester United means Spurs are currently without 12 senior squad figures. Conor Gallagher arrived in January to bolster the squad, but this wasn’t enough to plug the gaps in Frank’s line-up.

Only two teams (Arsenal and Manchester United) have scored more set-piece goals than Tottenham this season. This is something Frank has been able to carry over from his time as Brentford boss. The Bees were a menace from corner kicks under the Dane.

From open play, though, Spurs have been seriously lacking, averaging just 10.9 shots per game, ranking them behind relegation rivals Crystal Palace, Forest and Leeds.

Romero and Micky van de Ven are Tottenham’s joint-second top scorers in the league this term. Both of them are centre-backs, and Romero is now suspended for the next four games following his red card at Old Trafford.

Were it not for their respectable away record, Tottenham Hotspur would be in even deeper trouble, with the north London outfit losing just four of the 13 games they have played on the road this season.

At home, Spurs have won just twice all season and have kept just two clean sheets in 12 games. It’s little wonder booing has become part of the matchday experience at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Newcastle United and Arsenal could add to Tottenham’s troubles at home in the only two fixtures they have left in February.

Tottenham’s Champions League form has afforded Frank and his players some much-needed respite this season, but their Premier League showings are a huge cause for concern.

European success wasn’t enough to keep Ange Postecoglou in a job last summer, and many supporters have already made up their minds that Frank isn’t the man to take the club forward.

This sense of malaise will deepen further if Spurs get any closer to the bottom three. Six points is a reasonable cushion, but it’s still far too close for comfort.

Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie out for ‘four to five weeks’ – Thomas Frank

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Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie out for ‘four to five weeks’ – Thomas Frank - The New York Times
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Destiny Udogie has been ruled out for around a month after suffering a hamstring injury.

The Italy international pulled up in the second half of Spurs’ 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday and limped off the pitch. He was replaced by 19-year-old full-back Souza, who was making his debut after joining Spurs from Brazilian side Santos in January.

Udogie will be unavailable for Tottenham’s game against Newcastle United on Tuesday evening but Djed Spence should return after recovering from a calf injury which forced him to miss their last two fixtures.

Spence is capable of covering Udogie at left-back, although may be needed on the right, with Pedro Porro also currently sidelined.

“Unfortunately Destiny has a hamstring injury so he is out for the next four to five weeks,” head coach Thomas Frank said in his press conference on Monday.

This is the second time this season that Udogie has suffered a hamstring problem. He missed seven games across December and January before he was an unused substitute in a 2-1 defeat by West Ham United on January 17. The 23-year-old featured against Burnley and Manchester City before going down at Old Trafford.

He did not play in the first two games of the campaign due to a knee injury and has only started eight top-flight matches this season, making 13 appearances in total.

Frank said it was an “ongoing” and “long-term process” to improve Udogie’s robustness.

“It’s a combination of different things, gym work, recovery, training, managing, game load and all of that,” the Dane added.

Frank also said that Dejan Kulusevski is having a meeting with a consultant this week about his knee injury and he “doesn’t know” if the attacking midfielder will feature this season. Kulusevski has not played for Spurs since last May after undergoing surgery on his right patella.

Defender Kevin Danso is still “weeks away” from being available due to a foot injury.

James Maddison, Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur are also out, while captain Cristian Romero will serve the first of a four-match suspension against Newcastle after being sent off in the first half of Saturday’s game.

How far away are Tottenham from catching up with the WSL’s elite?

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How far away are Tottenham from catching up with the WSL’s elite? - The New York Times
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Olivia Holdt hesitates. The Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder’s touch is heavy. Against Chelsea, it is fatal. It is another missed chance, number 15, if you are still counting, with less than 10 minutes to go.

It is worth counting: Bethany England’s fizzed header, Holdt’s effort off the woodwork inside 15 minutes, Signe Gaupset’s myriad attempts inside the box before half-time, Cathinka Tandberg’s glancing header in the final 15.

“Against those teams at this level, you need to take advantage of those moments,” said Spurs head coach Martin Ho after their 2-0 Women’s Super League (WSL) defeat by Chelsea. “We didn’t.”

Ho’s voice dripped with disappointment at the fact. The same disappointment permeated the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at full time and was evident on the faces of the Spurs players in their post-match huddle.

The facts are conflicting.

Spurs’ record is 13 defeats from 13 matches played against Chelsea in the WSL, the worst run of any one team against another in England’s top flight.

Yet a gap of just four points separates Chelsea in third and Spurs in fifth, widened from the one point that stood between the pair in the hours before Sunday’s kick-off. Spurs still have matches against Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United to come. Win them and they could yet be back in the Champions League conversation.

But the reality is that of the 50 matches Spurs have played against the WSL’s top four (Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United) since their promotion to the WSL, they have won two, drawn five, and lost 43.

Those baked into the Spurs fabric know the drill: when a ripple of triumph looks within reach, when Spurs look on the brink of breaking into the upper echelon, the floor melts into a river of lava. Everything conforms to muscle memory. The drawing board beckons, talking about phase one of the evolutionary cycle again as they invariably fall away.

This was the case under previous manager Robert Vilahamn, who led them to a first domestic cup final in the 2024 FA Cup and a sixth-place WSL finish (the second-best in Spurs’ history) in his first season, only for the walls to cave in by the following February. Then, Spurs embarked on an astonishing tailspin through the WSL table from sixth to 11th, a 10-game winless run that ended in tears on the pitch at Everton’s Walton Hall Park after a 1-1 draw, for the simple fact that the season was finally over.

Such a disintegration seems implausible for this iteration of Spurs under Ho, a project that seems to have finally evolved from its mushy underbelly into a clear and steadfast vision.

The first half against Chelsea demonstrated the distance travelled since Ho’s arrival in July from SK Brann.

The reverse fixture between these two sides in October was a familiar one-sided battle of attrition, edged by Chelsea’s 27 shots, 66 per cent possession, and 68 touches in the Spurs box (Spurs, by comparison, registered just five touches in the Chelsea penalty area).

Sunday’s opening stages were an entirely different affair. The home side were front-footed and dynamic, individual players clearly improving technically thanks to work from assistants Adam Jeffrey and Lawrence Shamieh over the past four months. Spurs registered just over 1.5xG by the time Keira Walsh smartly knocked her shot into the ground and past goalkeeper Lize Kop following a corner.

Ho described the goal as a “suckerpunch”, so too Chelsea’s second, as Alyssa Thompson punished Spurs for a momentary lapse in defensive judgement.

Yet it was telling of Ho’s mental transformation of Spurs as a team that those in the stadium did not flee to the exits. His side have come back to claim all three points from losing positions three times, their most comeback wins in a WSL campaign. They have yet to lose back-to-back matches all season, a stunning shift from a team that endured a 10-game winless run last season.

Much of that boils down to Ho. He is known to watch a match back twice on the night of a game — once non-stop with commentary, then once with a notebook. On the walls of the training ground, signage has been erected listing obligatory standards for both players and staff, from cultural behaviours to more specific actions, such as timeliness. One member of staff jokes that upon seeing Ho, there is a sudden impulse to salute, not out of fear, but out of sheer pride in the project.

The impact on the squad has been swift. As early as September, Tandberg spoke openly about Champions League aspirations. At that stage, Spurs had only defeated Everton (currently ninth) and West Ham United (now 10th).

It was easy, then, to file Tandberg’s sentiments as the delusion of the uninitiated, even if Tandberg is a self-described Spurs faithful. Since Liverpool’s 2014 WSL title victory, a combination of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have finished in the WSL’s top three every season barring two, when Manchester United claimed second and third in the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons respectively. Excusing those two flickers of broken hegemony, the WSL’s highest echelon has been an unassailable strongbox, a figment of the rest of the table’s imagination. For all the annual hope that the competitive scales will finally even out, have any of the prevailing winds really shifted in the past four years?

The answer is no, and while Spurs are arguably putting forth the most enthralling case, Sunday was a critical reminder that work remains to be done.

“I’ve said this before and people may see it as negative, but it’s not, it’s realistic,” said Ho, who has overseen draws against Arsenal and Manchester United this season but is yet to register a win against a top-four side.

“In seven months, you can’t change a team that’s finished 11th to be competing in the Champions League.”

The steps to do so, however, are being taken. The appointment of former Arsenal chief Vinai Venkatesham as CEO last season has been invaluable. Three times Spurs have broken their club record transfer fee — for Tandberg, Toko Koga, and most recently for the January signing of 20-year-old Norway international Gaupset. Over the past two seasons, Spurs have added more members of first-team coaching and academy staff, as well as staff dedicated to communications and commercial operations on the women’s side.

“It comes down to more experience,” Ho said. “More experience in the group, across the club in infrastructure and foundation. You then need to evolve and build your squad every year. We have work to do. These players want to be in the Champions League. I do. The club does, but you have to take the right steps. We’re a little bit short at the moment, but I have no doubt in the future we’ll be there.”

Is it time for Tottenham Hotspur to move on from Cristian Romero?

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Is it time for Tottenham Hotspur to move on from Cristian Romero? - The New York Times
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Everybody recognises Cristian Romero is one of the best players in Tottenham Hotspur’s squad.

His passing range is sublime and his aggression, when it is under control, rattles strikers. The centre-back has won the World Cup and back-to-back Copa America titles with Argentina. Romero’s partnership with Micky van de Ven was the bedrock of Spurs’ success in last season’s Europa League.

The 27-year-old has bailed them out on multiple occasions this season, including when he scored stoppage-time equalisers against Newcastle United and Burnley. However, it is an uncomfortable truth that he is the villain as often as he is the hero, and head coach Thomas Frank must privately regret giving him the captain’s armband.

Romero’s red card for a foul on Casemiro in the 29th minute of Tottenham’s defeat to Manchester United on Saturday ruined Frank’s game plan.

Buoyed by last weekend’s second-half performance in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City, Spurs showed flashes of promise before their leader was sent off. Pape Matar Sarr and Xavi Simons picked up the ball in dangerous areas, Dominic Solanke dragged Harry Maguire out of position, and Destiny Udogie kept flashing crosses into the box.

Romero created trouble for himself by trying to turn on the ball with his backheel just outside the penalty area while under pressure from Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha. He wildly swung at the loose ball and caught Casemiro’s left ankle. It is a moment that perfectly encapsulates Romero’s playing style. He is capable of producing moments of beauty, but they can, and often do, end disastrously.

Sections of the fanbase might love Romero for his public criticism of senior figures and sang during the game: “Romero is right, the board is s***e”.

But he is setting a poor example to his team-mates.

He has been sent off six times since he joined Spurs from Atalanta in August 2021 — initially on a season-long loan before it was made permanent for around £42million ($57m) the following year — more than any other Premier League player in that period.

This is the third time Romero has been suspended this season. He missed November’s defeat to Fulham after accumulating five yellow cards, and the following month received a red card in stoppage time against Liverpool for kicking out at Ibrahima Konate. Richarlison had just scored, and all of the momentum was with Spurs, but Romero’s dismissal shattered their chances of finding an equaliser.

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel, which reviews refereeing decisions, judged that he should have been sent off in both games against Brentford for fouls on Brazilian forward Igor Thiago. Romero’s latest disciplinary issue means he will miss four matches, including the north London derby against Arsenal on February 22, at a time when Spurs have a long injury list.

Udogie came off in the second half at Old Trafford after pulling up while running down the left wing. Van de Ven is the only first-choice defender who is fit, and this was his first appearance since missing two games with a groin injury. Frank is low on options for Tuesday’s fixture against Newcastle.

Romero does not have the tactical or emotional discipline required to be an effective captain. He is too erratic and prone to making rash decisions. How many times after making a mistake does Romero ignore tactical instructions and charge up the pitch in desperation to score a goal or wipe out an opponent? Archie Gray, 19, showed more maturity against United in the way he man-marked Bryan Mbeumo.

Maybe Romero was the perfect vice-captain under former head coach Ange Postecoglou because his fiery on-field persona balanced the calmness of Son Heung-min. After Son left in the summer to join MLS side Los Angeles FC, there was no obvious alternative apart from Guglielmo Vicario. Nobody could blame Frank for giving Romero the armband.

Tying him down to a new long-term contract felt like a significant victory following interest from Spanish side Atletico Madrid. If the opportunity to sell Romero arises in the summer, Spurs should seriously consider cutting their losses and reinvesting the money in a more reliable defender. Frank has spent the past week defending Romero’s behaviour on and off the pitch. Could you imagine Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk or Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva behaving in the same way?

When Frank was asked about Conor Gallagher before Spurs faced Manchester United, he described the midfielder’s character as “unbelievable”. “He is a player who can build a top culture going forward,” Frank said. “His work-rate and how he can carry the team on his back, more or less, though it’s not only about one player.” If Spurs had tried to sign Romero from another club in the winter transfer window, would he have passed their personality checks?

Maybe we should not have been shocked by Frank’s comments on Friday that he had “no idea” if Romero would remain with Spurs next season.

It was a slighty out of character admission from the Dane, who regularly spoke about his desire to keep key players, including Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen and David Raya across his six-and-a-half-year spell with Brentford.

Frank said he was not going to take the captaincy from Romero, who apologised to his team-mates and the coaching staff, but they must be frustrated. Spurs have not won a top-flight game since December and started positively against United.

With defeats, injuries and suspensions piling up, Tottenham’s domestic campaign is spinning out of control.

They are only six points above the relegation zone following West Ham United’s victory over Burnley. They are level on points with Leeds United and Crystal Palace.

Frank took encouragement from the way his side kept battling against United when it would have been “so easy to crumble”, yet this was their 10th defeat of the campaign.

Instead of helping them, their captain is making the situation worse and will now not be available until Spurs travel to Liverpool on March 16.

Man Utd 2 Tottenham 0 — Is this turning into a good season? Frank’s situation? Has Romero lost his hero status?

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Man Utd 2 Tottenham 0 — Is this turning into a good season? Frank’s situation? Has Romero lost his hero status? - The New York Times
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Michael Carrick won his fourth game in a row as Manchester United’s interim head coach, his side overcoming Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Both teams had an impressive start to the game before Cristian Romero was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Casemiro in the 29th minute. The hosts took the lead just nine minutes later, with a well-worked corner ending with Bryan Mbeumo putting his side ahead.

Spurs did improve at the start of the second half, but United were unfortunate not to be given a penalty for a challenge on Harry Maguire when a corner was delivered into the box. They also had a goal disallowed for offside when Matheus Cunha fired past Guglielmo Vicario in the 67th minute. However, it would not matter, as Bruno Fernandes met a cross to nudge the ball into the back of Vicario’s goal and wrap up the win.

Here, The Athletic’s Carl Anka, Jay Harris and Conor O’Neill break down the key talking points from the game.

Is a bad season turning into a good one for Man Utd?

The 2-0 victory now makes it four wins in a row for United under Carrick, with the club now holding the Premier League’s longest winning streak at the time of writing.

Wins over Manchester City and Arsenal were earned from hard work, counter-attacks and some excellent long-range shooting. Last week’s victory over Fulham was a little more nervy than expected, but the team got themselves through.

It was during the pre-season tour of America that Mason Mount offered European qualification as the aim for 2025-26. He would not elaborate if he meant Champions League or Europa League football. Ruben Amorim was also non-committal when asked which anthem he intended his team to listen to during midweek games next season. It was only under Darren Fletcher that someone explicitly stated United could qualify for the Champions League. The fact that the caretaker manager did it following defeat in the FA Cup third round raised eyebrows. How could this side go from what was looking like another historically relevant low point to a top-five league position?

Yet here we are, four matches later, and things are looking good. Casemiro was afforded a standing ovation when he was substituted off in the 87th minute for Manuel Ugarte. He is one of several players who look reinvigorated by the change in coaching staff.

Carrick even found time to give Tyler Fletcher his United debut late in stoppage time. United are playing with courage again. Academy players are getting game time in a way they had not earlier in the season. And United are winning football matches again.

The Stretford End closed things off by offering “oles” with every completed pass United players made in the Spurs half. A bad season is turning into a good one. Carrick and his coaching staff have done well to turn things around.

Carl Anka

What does this result mean for Frank?

Before Tottenham’s trip to Old Trafford, Thomas Frank was clutching onto the positives of a four-match unbeaten run, even if that included an underwhelming draw against Burnley. Last weekend’s second-half comeback against Manchester City to earn a point should have been a confidence boost, but it was wrecked by Cristian Romero’s actions on and off the pitch.

Spurs have not won a game in the top flight since December, and their performance in the first half before Romero’s red card offered encouragement. However, Frank is left to pick up the pieces once again and must be wondering how this job seems to become more difficult with each passing week.

This is probably one of the rare occasions in the past couple of months when Frank’s tactical approach is not to blame, but not many people will care about that. This was their 10th defeat of the campaign, and it was further compounded by another injury to Destiny Udogie, who had only just returned from a hamstring injury. With Djed Spence still recovering from a calf injury, Spurs might be without both of their left-backs when they host Newcastle United on Tuesday. That is a squad-building issue, and the blame needs to be pointed at the recruitment department, including sporting director Johan Lange and the recently departed Fabio Paratici.

Things will probably only get worse for Spurs, as they face Arsenal after Newcastle. Frank needs to find a way to survive, but his resources are stretched thin, and the faith from fans is lacking. For the second season in a row, under a different head coach and executive board, Spurs find themselves in a crisis of their own making.

Jay Harris

Has Romero diminished his hero status at Spurs?

Spurs fans called Cristian Romero their “rebel leader” this week after his latest online outburst directed towards the club’s senior figures. Thomas Frank had to navigate a tricky press conference on Thursday, where he was asked 25 questions linked to the defender’s conduct. Frank confirmed Romero would remain as captain and insisted the issue had been “dealt with internally”.

Spurs needed a commanding performance from the Argentina international to move on from a distracting week, but what they got was the complete opposite. In the opening stages at Old Trafford, the away fans started chanting, “Romero’s right, the board is s***e.” Twenty minutes later, they were shaking their heads in frustration at his latest red card, which will rule him out of their next four games, including the north London derby on February 22.

Romero was tussling with a couple of Manchester United players just outside his own penalty area when he tried to chop backwards on the ball instead of clearing it. It proved to be a fatal mistake as he turned and wildly swung at the loose ball before crunching into Casemiro.

Referee Michael Oliver immediately sent Romero off. It looked harsh at first glance, but replays showed he caught the Brazilian on his ankle.

Romero’s red card ruined Frank’s game plan. Spurs played well in the opening half hour, especially when they worked the ball out wide to Destiny Udogie, but winger Wilson Odobert was sacrificed for Radu Dragusin. Within a few minutes of Romero trudging off the pitch, Bryan Mbeumo gave the hosts the lead.

Since Romero made his Spurs debut in August 2021, he has been sent off more times in all competitions — six — than any other Premier League player.

Romero has saved Spurs on multiple occasions this season, but it is time to accept he is the villain as often as he is their hero.

Jay Harris

Did United react well to the red card?

Romero’s dismissal did not guarantee a positive result for United. It was in late November that Everton managed to score and win at Old Trafford despite playing with 10 men for more than 80 minutes.

Amorim earned criticism following that defeat, with many asking why he continued to adhere to a conservative 3-4-3 that saw his centre-backs get the ball in the final third more than his best attackers.

Fast forward to the present day, and United, now under Michael Carrick, wasted no time in piling on the pressure. Romero was sent off in the 29th minute and Mbeumo had put his side 1-0 up in the 38th.

The goal came from a familiar source; Bruno Fernandes would deliver a corner from the left that would find Kobbie Mainoo at the near post. Mainoo would flick the ball back towards the edge of the penalty area, where an unmarked Mbeumo would hit a curling shot into the bottom corner.

Scoring from a corner or a free kick has become the go-to method for breaking down teams that look to defend deep in 2025-26. It is now 15 set-piece goals for United this season, a record only bettered by Arsenal.

The opening goal kept a weakened opponent in a vulnerable position — and put the hosts into a strong one.

Carl Anka

Was there any reason to worry about United’s set pieces?

When United’s former set-piece coach Carlos Fernandes departed alongside Ruben Amorim last month, some supporters feared the team might lose the edge they had developed from dead-ball situations. Those concerns have proven emphatically unfounded.

Last week, Casemiro opened the scoring against Fulham with a header from a free kick, and today, Mbeumo added United’s 15th set-piece goal of the season, converting from a corner. That is the second-highest total in the Premier League, bettered only by Arsenal (17), and this was arguably the pick of the lot.

With Bruno Fernandes standing over the corner, Kobbie Mainoo darted from the centre of the goal towards the near post. Fernandes picked him out with a low, driven delivery, which Mainoo deftly flicked from near the goal line into the path of Mbeumo, who was unmarked on the edge of the penalty area. Mbeumo’s sweeping finish was a deserved reward for a well-rehearsed, aesthetically pleasing routine.

It was clearly developed on the training-ground, and at half-time, Michael Carrick credited his backroom staff for devising the routine, singling out Jonny Evans. There has been plenty of upheaval at United this season, but their ingenuity from set pieces has been a comforting constant.

Conor O’Neill

How well did United’s front four work together?

Even before Romero’s dismissal, United’s front four combined well and threatened. They almost struck inside the first minute, after Mbeumo flashed an effort wide from inside the box after Bruno Fernandes played him in.

United lined up with Mbeumo as the centre-forward, Fernandes operating as the No 10, and Amad Diallo and Matheus Cunha deployed as the right and left attacking midfielders respectively.

Those positions were only rough guidelines, with Carrick affording them the freedom to rotate across the pitch, which is reflected in the player’s touchmaps below. Diallo stuck most rigidly to this position, but he, too, popped up on the other flank on occasion. Just before the red card, Bruno instructed him to swap positions, as they looked to target the space behind the full-backs.

Those rotations helped pull apart Tottenham’s defence, but it was the quality of the front four’s combination play that gave United real potency. Their interplay was synchronised, built on quick, one-touch passing and an instinctive sense of where the other three would be.

Amorim’s system had been notorious for its rigidity. Carrick has loosened the reins in attack, and that freedom has already begun to pay dividends.

Conor O’Neill

What did Carrick say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What did Frank say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for United?

Tuesday, February 10: West Ham (Away), Premier League, 8.15pm UK, 3.15pm ET

What next for Spurs?

Where is Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski?

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Where is Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski? - The New York Times
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Tottenham Hotspur had the chance to bring three players into their Champions League squad on Friday, refining their list ahead of their two-legged last-16 tie in March.

Conor Gallagher came in, quite naturally, given Spurs just bought him from Atletico Madrid last month. So did Mathys Tel, who started the league phase outside the squad, came back in to replace the injured Dominic Solanke, before dropping out again. And the third place went to Radu Dragusin, the back-up centre-back who has just returned from almost one year out with a knee injury.

But there was no place back in the squad for either of Spurs’ two long-term injured creative midfielders. Neither James Maddison nor Dejan Kulusevski — neither of whom has played one competitive minute for Thomas Frank — were included in the list. Which means that any return to action this season will have to be in the Premier League, rather than in Europe.

This has Spurs fans wondering when they will see those two players again. And while Maddison has spoken at length about his recovery from surgery after his anterior cruciate ligament injury last August, less has been known about Kulusevski’s long recovery from knee surgery of his own.

The main issue that Kulusevski has faced is that his has been an especially rare and unusual knee injury. Rather than a more conventional ligament injury, Kulusevski injured his right patella during the Premier League match against Crystal Palace on May 11 last year after a collision with Marc Guehi.

Kulusevski was playing that game in part because he was still recovering match sharpness after six weeks out with a stress fracture in his foot. Quite understandably, he wanted to be at his best for the forthcoming Europa League final 10 days later. But the injury meant that he needed an operation — one he later called “knee patella cartilage surgery” on Instagram — on May 14.

One week later he was on crutches in Bilbao for the final, shuffling around the touchline as far as he could in celebration.

But it was also a mentally challenging time for Kulusevski. He is obsessed with football and being a footballer. Everything in his life is geared towards that. He had never had a long-term injury before, had never been out for more than six weeks. And now he found himself recovering not just from a serious injury, but a rare one too. It was difficult to accept.

At first Kulusevski was focused on setting specific targets for his return to action. But those targets kept being pushed back further and further into the future. There was private optimism, even in October, that he could still be back by the end of 2025. Given the complexity of the injury, it has taken more time than anyone expected back in May for Kulusevski to be ready.

So Kulusevski has decided to change his mindset. He is no longer thinking directly about specific targets for his return. Doing so invites more pressure, and the possibility for disappointment if the target is missed again. Instead, Kulusevski is now focusing on taking one day at a time, not looking too far ahead, but working as hard as he can every single day. He is motivated by trying to keep increasing the intensity of his training every single day. And he is determined that when he comes back, he will do so in peak physical condition. The worst thing would be to come back and not be ready to compete.

Quite naturally Spurs fans want a definitive answer on when one of their club’s most important players will return. Kulusevski was one of the best players under both Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou. But not all injuries and recoveries come with that degree of certainty. And Kulusevski was unfortunate enough to get an atypical injury.

Kulusevski is trying to focus on his daily work, rather than external pressure. But to an extent external pressure is unavoidable. There was plenty of interest in Sweden when he invited Graham Potter — the new Sweden national team manager — into his box for Spurs’ 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund last month.

Sweden have their World Cup qualification play-offs next month: Ukraine on March 26, and if they win then either Poland or Albania in Solna on March 31. It will be a huge moment, and would be Kulusevksi’s first World Cup were he to reach it. But the clock is ticking if Kulusevski is to make it. It is a sign of his importance to the national team that he has not yet been ruled out.

His club manager Frank — for whom he is yet to play — has generally not said much about the long recovery process. But at his press conference on January 8 he did go into more detail than before about his recovery.

Frank revealed that the priority was “to remove the pain in the knee”, and that Kulusevski had an injection to that end around the turn of the year. And that within a few weeks, if it had settled, it would be possible to assess his comeback. Kulusevski’s reaction and potential return to the grass is still being assessed.

Frank also admitted that it was a “complicated injury”, but said how much faith he had in Kulusevski to overcome it, “If there is one person that can accelerate that, it is Dejan,” Frank said. “He’s a top pro and has a top mentality.”

Kulusevski is having to be patient. And so, too, are Spurs fans.