As Thomas Frank made the long walk to Turf Moor’s corner tunnel at half-time, the verdict from the Tottenham fans was delivered by way of traditional and unoriginal verse.
‘We want Frank out,’ they sang.
Briefly they stopped in order to clap some of their players from the field but it was a temporary reprieve. And that’s how football works. Give the players a pass and blame the manager.
It’s understandable, to a degree. Tottenham have been nowhere near good enough in the Premier League and they were flawed here. They had control of a game for 45 minutes and they had the lead. Yet they almost lost. Only a 90th minute diving header from Cristian Romero saved them.
Whether it’s enough to save the manager remains to be seen. Frank is due to take his team to Frankfurt in the Champions League this week and if they win that they will be in the last sixteen. That would represent an achievement and give the club a financial filip too.
But Frank is running out of time, for sure. Here, his team were impressive in the first half and led through Micky van der Ven. But a goal from Axel Tuanzebe on the stroke of half-time changed the whole flow and feel of the game. And when Burnley went on to lead through a goal from substitute Lyle Foster, nobody was really surprised.
Frank is running out of time, for sure. Here, his team were impressive in the first half but a goal from Axel Tuanzebe on the stroke of half-time changed the whole flow of the game
Frank’s players deserve credit for the fact they didn’t give in. There is spirit, there. But with important attacking players missing with injuries, there is a bluntness about them in the final third. Despite impressive performances here from players like Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, it’s perhaps telling that the two goals came from central defenders.
Certainly Tottenham’s first half domination had been complete up until the moment Burnley scored in the 45th minute.
Frank’s team had been more urgent, more ambitious and played with more energy. They had created chances too.
Much of the danger came down their left when Djed Spence and Simons were particularly influential. Twice, for example, Simons eased inside to draw fouls close to the edge of the penalty area and twice Pedro Perro stepped up to come close. One shot hit the side netting while the second was saved by the Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Burnley were playing with three central defenders as they tend to do against the better teams but here it almost read like a statement of vulnerability. It did give Scott Parker’s team some solidity through the middle and for a while Tottenham struggled to make inroads.
But by the time they scored they had been knocking on the door at increasing volume.
Odobert – once a Burnley player of course – tested Dubravka from distance in the 37th minute and the Burnley goalkeeper touched the ball behind. Then, from the corner, Dubravka saved low from Odobert again and somehow managed to block the follow up from Conor Gallagher.
That was a superb piece of reactive goalkeeping from the Slovakian but it soon counted for little as from the next corner, Burnley couldn’t clear their lines properly and Van der Ven despatched a well controlled falling volley in to the corner from 15 yards.
Tottenham had control of a game for 45 minutes and they had the lead. Yet they almost lost. Only a 90th minute diving header from Cristian Romero saved them.
That should have given Tottenham some control. Burnley had not been in the game and may have been sunk had Odobert done better than shoot straight at Dubravka after playing a one-two with Simons four minutes later.
As it was Burnley somehow went in at half-time level after Kyle Walker delivered a beautiful cross from the right and Tuanzebe was allowed to move between two statuesque Spurs defenders to volley in from six yards.
That is the kind of thing that happens when you are in a bad run and Frank must have felt rather glum about it all as he delivered his half-time team talk. What mattered now, though, was how Spurs responded in the second half.
Certainly it was a different game from this point on. Where it had been an exercise in control from Tottenham, now it was open and stretched. It had an edge. It was a contest. Spurs continued to have more of the ball but now looked desperately vulnerable to Burnley’s counter attacks.
Twice Burnley’s former Chelsea striker Armando Broja got in down the left. In the 48th minute, Van de Ven made up an enormous amount of ground to block on the slide and then – just after the hour – Broja was away again and this time Spurs ‘keeper Guglielmo Vicario got just enough on it to save.
In between those moments Tottenham fashioned their own big chance as Dubravka saved Dominic Solanke’s header from close range. This was Solanke’s first league start of the season and he really should have scored.
Spurs were still the better side in terms of possession but all their self-assurance had gone. They struggled to find a was through Burnley’s massed ranks – there was not enough movement from the Tottenham attacking players -and when they lost the ball they were simply too open.
Parker’s decision to replace Broja – who never looks like a natural goal scorer – with Foster seemed sensible when it arrived in the 69th minute. It paid off within minutes.
Parker’s decision to replace Broja – who never looks like a natural goal scorer – with Foster seemed sensible when it arrived in the 69th minute and it paid off within minutes
It was another Jaidon Anthony who created the space on the edge of the Spurs area as his dummy and turn took Van de Ven out of the game. And when his short pass inside found Foster, Burnley were in business. Vicario did well to save the first shot with his foot but when the ball came back to Foster the goal gaped. Destiny Udogie -a half-time replacement for Porro – did his utmost to clear the follow-up shot but could only help it in to the net.
Frank was now staring down the barrel. ‘We want Frank out’ was one brief cry from the away end while the chant of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ may well have been coming from that section too.
Ultimately, his players stood up for him. Whether a draw at a team in the bottom three counts as credit in the bank remains to be seen but at least Tottenham didn’t fold.
They kept pushing and moments after the excellent Simons struck the bar with a rising shot in the 89th minute, Spurs hauled themselves off the floor. Tottenham worked the ball left to right and when Simons crossed, Romero dived to head superbly in.
So this wasn’t a disaster for Frank but nor was it the positive afternoon it could and maybe should have been. At the end, it was clear the views of the Tottenham support hadn’t changed.
