Thomas Frank continues to get it wrong at Tottenham in Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha verdict
Thomas Frank is already starting to grate on Tottenham fans.
Spurs drew 0-0 with Monaco last time out as the French side dominated for large spells in the Champions League.
Negativity has followed, especially after Tottenham lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in their previous Premier League outing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Frank has come under scrutiny at Tottenham for his team selections, leaving supporters in North London baffled.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha continue to be selected together, raising many questions about Frank.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha don’t work together
Palhinha has had a positive start to life at Spurs after joining on a loan deal from Bayern Munich late in the summer.
The Portugal international has slotted in well in N17 and has become a virtual ever-present under the Danish head coach.
The ex-Fulham man has often featured alongside Bentancur, but it is fair to say that their inclusion has scuppered the Lilywhites in recent weeks.
He scored against Aston Villa, and the Uruguay international looked promising in certain areas, contributing 12 defensive actions.
Similar things can be said of Palhinha, as he provided 16 defensive contributions across 90 minutes in North London.
The issue is that they registered just six passes into the final third between them against the Villans, which accounted for just nine per cent of their accurate passes.
This fact has negatively impacted Xavi Simons as he has been left without the ball without a punchy passer in behind him.
Many fans want to see this double pivot be put on hold, but it seems clear that Frank is against this idea.
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What has Thomas Frank said about Bentancur and Palhinha at Tottenham?
It seems clear to many that the use of this double pivot is hampering the Spurs’ ability to get at teams and create clear-cut chances.
For all the money spent on Simons, he really needs to start impacting games.
The issue is that at the moment, the Netherlands international is being hampered by the lack of risk-takers behind him.
It doesn’t look like this is going to change, as Frank seems happy with what he’s seen from the duo based on his most recent comments shared by The Standard on 24 October.
He said: “I think it’s always team effort, how we construct a team. In the end, it’s my final decision, of course.
“It’s a collective effort in terms of how we want to build up or how we want to create chances. I think both of them are more than capable to help the team.“
This is far from a good look for the Dane, who may soon face pressure from Tottenham supporters even if his side is in a healthy league position.
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