It’s not looking good for Thomas Frank and Tottenham at the moment. His side were in desperate need of a decent result against Nottingham Forest in order to relieve some pressure, instead, Spurs got battered.
Guglielmo Vicario didn’t win any fans over for the first goal when he gave young Archie Gray a hospital pass, allowing Ibrahim Sangare to sneak in and steal the ball before laying it off to Callum Hudson-Odoi, who simply couldn’t miss.
The ex-Chelsea winger got their second too, although if he claims it was intentional, he’s lying. Hudson-Odoi lofted in a cross meant for Igor Jesus, but it completely caught Vicario off-guard and ended up in the back of the net.
Hudson-Odoi turned provider for Forest’s third as he laid it off to Sangare who just whacked it as hard as he could. Simple really.
Pressure rises for Thomas Frank
Speaking ahead of the game, Frank was saying how he wanted a "front-footed, aggressive, brave and offence-minded" performance from his side. This was anything but. Spurs looked bereft of ideas, ending the game with an xG of just 0.33.
Tottenham’s only shot on target came through Gray in the first half, lashing out when he had just made the error that led to Forest’s first goal. Their lack of attacking impetus should be a real cause for concern for Frank and the Spurs fans.
Randal Kolo Muani took it upon himself to try and create something in the second half, dribbling through three Forest defenders, but he had little support, and the attack ultimately fizzled out to nothing. It was the story of Tottenham’s season, really.
Fans continue to demand more from their side, as they should, it just remains to be seen whether Frank will be there to give it to them.
Glimpses of Callum Hudson-Odoi’s ability
The winger was one of the best young players to come through Chelsea’s academy, and the West London club reportedly went as far as turning down an offer of around £70 million from Bayern Munich a few years back.
He’s 25-years-old now though, we can’t be talking about his ‘potential’ anymore, this is it. His two goals and an assist are the obvious highlights, but Hudson-Odoi’s overall performance was one of the best we’ve seen from him this season.
Hudson-Odoi ended him game having created two chances, had seven touches in the opposition box, and two successful dribbles, Pedro Porro simply couldn’t deal with him throughout the game.
It feels like we’ve been waiting forever to see the real Hudson-Odoi. Injuries and inconsistency may have robbed us of an all-time great English winger, but he still has the ability to show up every now and again, like he did here.
A tough afternoon for Archie Gray
In a bid to try and add a little progressiveness to his midfield, Frank has started Gray alongside wither Rodrigo Bentancur or Joao Palhinha, who are both famously slow at moving the ball up field, for the past three games.
His attitude was right, asking for the ball, including in the build-up to Forest’s first goal, but the application wasn’t. His attacking numbers weren’t too bad, he had a good pass accuracy rate of 87%, it was his defensive work that let him down.
Clearly keen to make up for his error, Gray was running about the pitch like a headless chicken, often leaping into tackles and largely being out of position, allowing Forest to play through the middle far too easily.