Thomas Frank found no shelter from the Tottenham storm. Exposed and bedraggled on the touchline in a downpour, he watched his team lose yet again as the home crowd sang for him to be sacked in the morning.
Earlier, with his team a goal down and under pressure at the start of the second half, they had united to sing the name of Mauricio Pochettino. The Pochettino song has acquired the air of a protest song in N17, where supporters pine for days from the not too distant past when they had better players, more flair and adventure and resided at the other end of the Premier League.
There was very little of that on display from Frank’s team against Newcastle. They were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and improved slightly in the second half lacked the power and penetration to take a point from visitors who won for the first time in seven games.
Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey scored for the visitors, either side of an equaliser by Archie Gray.
Spurs pushed for another equaliser, but Newcastle disrupted the game in the closing minutes as they do so well and as Bruno Guimaraes had treatment for what looked like a hamstring pull but might have been cramp, or nothing at all, the crowd turned on Frank.
They sang: ‘Sacked in the morning’ and booed him when he came onto the pitch to shake hands with the officials at the end.
Thomas Frank is under increasing pressure at Spurs after their defeat by Newcastle
Jacob Ramsey swept the ball into the corner after a well-worked moved to score the winner
Archie Gray bundled home to equalise for Spurs but they were level for just four minutes
It was the seventh home defeat of the Premier League campaign, with another injury to the pile and an attendance under 60,000. Pape Matar Sarr and Xavi Simons were shown yellow cards for diving to try to win free kicks in midfield.
Another must win not won for Frank and a damp and dispiriting night all round.
And it will not have passed some Spurs fans by that it unfolded on what was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Danny Blanchflower, their Double winning captain of 1961 and the man who coined the famous quote about the game being about ‘glory’.
Newcastle travelled south with one win in nine in all competitions and a plan to attack Spurs with pace. Anthony Gordon started up front through the middle, flanked by Anthony Elanga and Harvey Barnes, testing full backs Gray and Djed Spence.
Early corners caused Spurs problems. They had to defend nine corners in the first half hour, which drew attention to the fact their aerial power was diminished by the absence of Joao Palhinha, Cristian Romero and Kevin Danso.
Palhinha had been carrying a minor niggle. Frank opted to start with him on the bench and recalled Yves Bissouma alongside Pape Matar Sarr in midfield but was forced to rethink after a feeble first half dominated by the visitors.
Joe Willock fizzed one across the slick turf and narrowly wide from 25 yards. Barnes applied a flick to a low at a cross to force a save from Guglielmo Vicario. Ramsey saw a whistling show deflected wide.
Spurs were static, unable to stitch passes together as they tried to play out from the back. Devoid of confidence with the home crowd turning they sank ultra deep, with all 11 behind the ball, which only infuriated supporters even more.
Sarr collected a yellow card for a dive in midfield, desperate as he was to relieve some of the pressure. They jeered in frustration when Gray turned a safe pass back towards his centre halves instead of playing forward.
Frank’s team had created danger on the break in the early phase of the game. They were unafraid to play long and direct into the spaces behind full backs Dan Burn and Kieran Tripper. Gallagher darted in behind Burn and crossed for Simons, who worked room to shoot but dragged it into the side netting.
The threat faded as Newcastle took control. Not helped by losing speed merchant Wilson Odobert to an injury. Frank already has a casualty list stretching into double figures for senior players and Romero banned.
The only moment of celebration in the first half came when Willock’s goal, an exquisite finish after a pass by Ramsey, was ruled out by VAR for offside. It was the finest margin. A part of his forehead was ruled offside.
Vicario punched the air in celebration when the ruling came through. The goalkeeper’s reprieve was brief though and he had conceded before making it through five minutes of stoppage time to the sanctuary of half time.
For Spurs, the goal summed up the first 45 minutes. Thiaw climbed high to win a header, then fought past Sarr and Gray to win the rebound and tuck it into the net from close range.
Malick Thiaw deservedly put Eddie Howe’s side in front in first-half stoppage time
It was the least Newcastle deserved and as they came out and pushed for a second, with Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin making vital blocks, the home crowd sang for Pochettino. New chairman Peter Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venketasham looked on from the directors’ box.
Finally, there came signs of Spurs stirring into life, sparked by Gray burrowing forward from right back to pick out Mathys Tel at the back post. Tel fired over on the run but there was more aggression and bite to them and the crowd swung back behind them.
Gray levelled in the 64th minute from the first Spurs corner of the night taken by Simons and headed back across goal by Sarr, but parity did not last.
Ramsey restored Newcastle’s lead, a quick-thinking finish, sweeping a short pass from Gordon first time beyond Vicario. Doctor Tottenham did the business for Newcastle. More gloom for Spurs who do not play again until the North London derby on Sunday week. Whether Frank remains in charge remains to be seen.
