Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 2-1 FA Cup exit defeat to Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday night, as Thomas Frank and co exit the cup early.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa.

Tottenham will not win trophies in back-to-back seasons

Spurs may have enjoyed their greatest moment in 17 years last time out under Ange Postecoglou when they lifted the Europa League trophy, but that is unlikely to be repeated this season under Thomas Frank. While Tottenham remain in the Premier League and Champions League, the former is an impossibility, while the latter would mark one of the biggest upsets in history.

As the old Postecoglou saying goes: “I always win things in my second season,” but will Frank even make it far enough to find out if the same rings true for him in North London?

Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel need to start every game

With Brennan Johnson sold, Mohammed Kudus out injured, Dejan Kulusevski still not back, and now even Richarlison facing a spell on the sidelines, Thomas Frank simply must give Tel and Odobert a run of games. The Spurs manager has rightly pointed out that no player has made the left-wing position his own this season, but it would also be fair to say that few have been given an extended go at it.

Due to a mixture of a severe lack of options and some lively form, it appears the French U21 duo will now be Tottenham’s starting left and right wingers for the coming weeks. The first half will fizzle out in the abyss of poor Spurs performances this season, but the second half was sharp, direct, and dangerous from both Tel and Odobert. Was it a flash in the pan, or something to build on?

Joao Palhinha thrives when surrounded by Tottenham creativity

Despite being a permanent fixture in the opening games of the season, Joao Palhinha has largely been an option off the bench for the past few months under Thomas Frank. However, with injuries to Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and more, it appears likely that the on-loan Bayern Munich man will be a regular for the coming games. In the first half, the game completely passed the experienced Portuguese midfielder by, as he chased Aston Villa shadows and struggled to turn possession into progression.

But the thing people need to remember is that creativity has never been Palhinha’s strongest trait. We are talking about one of the best tacklers in the Premier League – an aggressive brute who will run through a brick wall to win the ball back and kickstart a counterattack. That only works if he has in-form creative plays to pop the ball off to after robbing possession. In the second half, we saw that time and time again. Crunching Palhinha challenge followed by Simons, Odobert, or Tel driving up the pitch. A fully-functioning Tottenham should play to Palhinha’s strengths in midfield, instead of putting the emphasis on him to create chances from deep.

Xavi Simons dropped a little deeper tonight for Spurs

For many of Xavi Simons’ games since joining Tottenham, the Thomas Frank system has funnelled the ball away from the Dutchman. Coming into the game against Villa, Spurs had only attempted 11 through balls all season, which tells you all you need to know about the lack of creativity down the centre of the pitch. Instead, fans have been forced to watch Tottenham recycle the ball out wide, run down dead ends, and hoof the ball long to no one in particular.

During these games, Simons has also been guilty of allowing himself to become a passenger. When you think of the top creators in world football, they don’t let that happen. Of course, Simons wants to receive the ball in the number 10 position, one killer pass away from goal. But after a dismal first 45, he switched up his game this evening and dropped deep to take control of his own performance. What followed was a series of damaging driving runs through the heart of the Aston Villa midfield, leading to attacks, chances, and… even through balls!

The Tottenham fans desperately want to get involved

A lot has been made of fan altercations and post-match booing at Tottenham in recent weeks, but tonight was an example of what Spurs fans really want. After all, what are supporters meant to cheer about when paying £100 to watch that first half against Villa? As soon as Tottenham came out and actually fought for every loose ball in the second half, while throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of aggressive, attacking football, the fans roared into life.

A 60,000-person crowd is like an engine; it needs some kind of fuel to get going. 45 minutes in a defeat to Aston Villa will not fully mend a rather broken relationship between the fans and the squad, but it definitely seems to have kept Thomas Frank in a job for another week. A 4-0 defeat this evening, and that may have been different.

• READ MORE – Tottenham player ratings vs Aston Villa – 4/10 for ineffective midfielder as Spurs exit FA Cup

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