Still ‘Spursy’ or just a team in transition under a new boss?
Tottenham Hotspur’s underwhelming last-gasp draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers was a reminder to Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, if one was needed, that the Lilywhites are still a long way from being totally trustworthy under Thomas Frank.
Here are our Scout Notes from north London.
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WHY FRANK BENCHED PORRO
There was disappointment for 23% of FPL managers even before kick-off as Pedro Porro (£5.6m) was named among the substitutes.
In fairness, it had been coming: he’d started every Spurs match this season, including the UEFA Champions League, Super Cup and EFL Cup ties. Those 90 minutes against Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday were the ‘Buckaroo’ moment.
And, right enough, Thomas Frank confirmed ahead of kick-off that Porro’s benching was due to “rotation”.
“Pedro’s been fantastic for us. Pedro’s a fantastic, important player for us, but it’s about how can we find that perfect balance with a little rotation, a little freshness sometimes. I’ve got three very good full-backs, can I use them in the best possible way?” – Thomas Frank
We’d seen the three-way full-back rotation under Ange Postecoglou in 2024/25, so it looks we’ll be witnessing something similar in the Frank era.
XAVI STRUGGLES
The on-field letdowns were widespread, with the Spurs clean sheet busted, none of their players collecting defensive contribution (DefCon) points, the attack creating little, and a 1%-owned defensive midfielder, Joao Palhinha (£5.5m), grabbing their only goal.
Possibly most disappoitning of all were the performances of Richarlison (£6.8m) and Xavi Simons (£7.1m). The former, in fairness, didn’t really get the service up top.
“It’s also fair to say that especially the first half, we mainly played against a team with 11 players behind the ball which always made it a little bit more difficult. Even Haaland can be eliminated in that situation.” – Thomas Frank on Richarlison’s quiet display
Xavi sympathisers meanwhile will point to the fact that he was again not used his preferred position, instead being deployed on the left. Lucas Bergvall (£5.4m) was in the ’10’ once more, and Xavi owners might have wondered what might have been when the young Swede could only air-kick in the first half when seeing the whites of Sam Johnstone‘s (£4.5m) eyes.
Speaking after the game, Frank seemed reluctant to use Xavi in the hole and pointed out the form of Bergvall, Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.4m) in central roles. You’ve also got Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m), who came off the bench to assist, to throw into the mix in the middle, too.
“I’m very aware that Xavi can play as a 10. He also got in as a 10 against Brighton because that was the third game in a week. That was positive. I think today, when he got in as a 10, it didn’t really work, and that was not only because of him, by the way. I think the whole team was out of sync in the last 35 minutes. Of course, I try to look into what is the best midfield. I think it’s fair to say both Rodri [Bentancur] and Joao [Palhinha] have been very good for us so far in the season, and Lucas [Bergvall] has been fantastic, so you like to keep your players that are a little bit in the flow.” – Thomas Frank
Xavi did create an early big chance for Mohammed Kudus (£6.7m) but other than that, did very little. He was on the majority of corners, at least.
“I think Xavi had some good actions, also carrying the ball forward and they had to foul him three or four times, but there was a lot of situations where he was not as sharp, I think that’s fair to say. I think he would say the same himself. But I also think it’s natural, with coming into a new team, a new league. To find that rhythm quickly is difficult. I also think that we’re very happy with the Brighton performance in many ways, I think the first half was also positive, but that free flow, to have it enough, that we need to keep working on. And then there are just some days where we don’t hit the highest level.” – Thomas Frank
KUDUS COMES CLOSE
Someone who is more at home out wide – on the right, at least – is Kudus, who was Spurs’ main threat on Saturday.
Denied an early goal from that aforementioned Xavi cross by an instinctive Johnstone save, he stung the Wolves’ keeper’s palms again, had a goal disallowed for offside and saw Richarlison narrowly fail to make contact with his deflected cross.
It wasn’t a ‘worldie’ of a performance but he was the brightest spark, at least until Frank made the curious decision to switch him to the left, which dampered his influence.
HAVE WOLVES TURNED A CORNER?
After a 2-0 win over Everton in midweek, Wolves were minutes away from getting their first three points the season.
Much like the victory over the Toffees, it was solid rather than spectacular.
Vitor Pereira stuck with not just his EFL Cup tactics, a compact 4-3-3, but also many of the personnel, meaning benchings for the likes of Jose Sa (£4.5m), Emmanuel Agbadou (£4.5m) and Toti Gomes (£4.4m). Agabdou did come on at the break, at least, as Pereira reverted to a back five.
Santiago Bueno (£4.4m) and Ladislav Krejcà (£4.5m) were really solid at centre-half, the former scoring from a corner.
While it wasn’t a swaggering attacking display, and Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.4m) was among a quiet-ish front three, they did have breakaway chances to finish the game through Jeanricner Bellegarde (£5.3m) and Hugo Bueno (£4.4m).
Not brilliant, but better.
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