Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their preseason campaign with a comfortable 0-2 win over League One side Reading in Thomas Frank’s first match in charge of the club.
With Spurs utilizing completely different XI’s in each half, it was the second 45 that made the difference. New center back Luka Vuskovic was central to both: the first, a Will Lankshear header from a Vuskovic flick-on of Mohammed Kudus’ corner; and the second, a brilliant first-time finish at an angle from Kudus’ cutback.
Here’s my top ten talking points from Spurs’ first outing under Thomas Frank.
1. 4-2-3-1 the way forward?
As I predicted in my piece yesterday, Spurs lined up in a familiar back four shape; however, the buildup structures were significantly different, with a clear double pivot in midfield to form a 4-2-3-1, rather than the 4-3-3 seen last season. Out of possession, though, there were a number of similarities to Ange-ball, with two banks of four and Alfie Devine as the #10 pushing up alongside Dominic Solanke in pressing the opposition defenders (Jamie Donley and Will Lankshear in the second half).
2. Lopsided structure
In another plug for my Frank-tics piece, we saw in Spurs’ attacking phase a 5-5 structure: five pushing forward in attack, five hanging back. One of those five deeper players was Pedro Porro, who was often aligned with the center backs in a shape that almost created a back three and allowed the Spaniard to utilize his passing from deep. On the other side, Destiny Udogie pushed forward to support the attack and provide width, with Mikey Moore on the left wing often coming narrow into almost a second #10 role. Things were slightly more even in the second 45, but hints of the asymmetry remained, this time with Spence pushing forward on the right and Mohammed Kudus cutting in.
3. Devine intervention
Alfie Devine spent the last season on loan in the Belgium top-flight with new Spurs defender Luka Vuskovic, and playing at that level has clearly helped him. Able to cover a club-trained spot in Europe this season, Devine was bright in the first half, showing clever movement to get on the ball and vision and technique to quickly shift the play forward whenever he received possession. He worked hard in the press as well, something that will have impressed Frank. One to watch through preseason.
4. Porro clattered
Normally preseason matches are played in a more relaxed manner, with players tending to not go in for fifty-fifty challenges due to risk of injury in a non-competitive match. Mark O’Mahony clearly didn’t get that memo, going in both high and late on Pedro Porro as he looked to make a run down the right wing. It would have been a borderline red in a competitive match, and was bad enough for the referee to brandish a rarely-seen preseason yellow. O’Mahony was involved in a poor tackle on Vuskovic in the second half too; a coming together that in a regular match would have certainly seen him depart the pitch for a second caution if he hadn’t seen red for the first incident.
5. Crosses, crosses, and more crosses
One thing that’s clear about life under Thomas Frank is that possession retention holds less value than just getting the ball forward. The late stages of Ange-ball were characterized by endless passing across the top of the box, but we saw today the squad willing to quickly put the ball into the mixer, so to speak. This was especially prevalent in the first half, where Spurs played a number of crosses into the box – unfortunately to no avail.
6. Mass changes
Thomas Frank embraced the friendly nature of this match, and rather than structuring his substitutions to reflect a match situation, only used one sub window: the half-time break. The Dane rotated his entire XI at the interval, sending out a brand-new side to outwork his tactics. This unfortunately meant a small handful of the matchday squad didn’t get to see the pitch: Brandon Austin, Ashley Phillips, George Abbott, and Yang Min-hyeok all remaining on the bench for the duration.
7. Vuskovic vertical
Spurs’ young, Croatian center back is a physical monster, and was one of Westerlo’s top scorers in the Belgian League last season due in large part to his ability in the air on set pieces. This was made clear on Spurs’ first goal, with Vuskovic leaping high to flick Kudus’ corner on to Lankshear. He showed more strings to his bow with a brilliant, raking finish from the top of the 18-yard area for Spurs’ second, making me wonder if we are sure he is actually a center back… doubts put to rest as he followed those two moments up with a critical goal-line block to prevent Reading scoring (Vicario probably had it covered, but let me wax lyrical here for a moment).
8. Preseason rust
It can take time for players to get back into the swing of things following the break, especially one that was probably filled with more celebration than most after Spurs’ European trophy. That was clear on the pitch, with some of the highlights of last season struggling in this match. Son Heung-min, Lucas Bergvall, and Mikey Moore all ranged from bright to brilliant last season, but were clearly still shaking off some cobwebs in this match. Thankfully, there’s plenty of time before the season proper starts.
9. A goalkeeping conundrum?
Much like in Ange-ball, Thomas Frank prioritizes deep build-up, with the goalkeeper an integral part of that structure. Antonin Kinsky looked right at home in the first half, comfortable on the ball and pinging passes around the pitch; but his counterpart, Guglielmo Vicario, less so, with the contrast between the two stark. Vicario struggled at times to find his players, with his diagonals often drifting out of touch and long balls forward sent without much of a target. Where Vicario is worth his weight in gold, however, is his shot stopping: a late, sprawling dive and strong wrist preventing Reading from getting on the scoresheet, something we’ve not seen with Kinsky. Could the Czech keeper usurp Vicario this season? Possibly, but I think it’s unlikely.
10. Kudus debut
New signing Mohammed Kudus was bright on his debut, involved in both goals and showing his dribbling quality on a number of occasions. I was impressed by his passing as well, with a couple of switches of play I wasn’t aware were part of his game somewhat of a surprise. He has an ability to get out of tight spaces that is unparalleled in this Spurs squad, and I’m intrigued to see what he brings to the Lilywhites this season.
Screw it, we’re gonna win the league.
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