Thomas Frank may have been vindicated. Sadly for him, he was beaten in the process. Under Frank, Bryan Mbeumo scored 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last season. When the Dane joined Tottenham, he hoped to lure Mbeumo across London with him.
Instead, Mbeumo joined Manchester United, and with a certain inevitability, he, along with Bruno Fernandes, duly scored in their 2-0 victory over Spurs. He has struck home and away against Tottenham this season. Spurs also targeted Eberechi Eze, who went to Arsenal and got a hat-trick against them. That may be the story of Frank’s Tottenham, a tale of what might have been. A defeat shaped by the first-half red card of his captain, Cristian Romero, for a lunge at Casemiro, worsened his plight. Frank’s detractors may suggest he is hapless. He can certainly look luckless.
