Udine, Italy – As dem dey talk, ‘no be every time person go catch big fish, sometimes na small one go still chop.’ This story unfold on a hot evening when Tottenham Hotspur, under new boss Thomas Frank, nearly hold the Super Cup trophy, but dem just manage to see am waka go away.
For the fifteenth minute of excitement, Tottenham dey shine like diamond, leading PSG 2-0. Fans dey sing praises, “Omo, we fit service these Parisians today!” But lo and behold, as the clock dey tick, dem come dey play like dem no know wetin dey ground. PSG catch them off guard comot all joy wey de don plant.
‘I think we played a very good game against one of the best teams in the world,’ Thomas Frank talk. Na so e dey cham, like say him dey upbeat about di performance. E need to highlight the good things wey dem do for 80 minutes. But as dem sabi, na the last five minutes sometimes dey tell you wetin happen for party!
The first half be like say dem load inside two baskets, but somebody forget to tie am well. Spurs dey deadly for set-pieces, omoh! All those dead balls wey dem gree score. Na real football wey dey make sense – next level strategy.
But wey the pressure come peek its head, all the potwe’weh wey dem cook, dey scatter. Frank go need take dem back to training ground soon well-well. E fit no easy, but e get hope for the squad, still dey build im own thing from scratch.
Frank try a new 3-5-2 formation, unlike di old style wey dem dey use. Dis one gree show some sense. E mean say di man sabi wetin e dey do. But as PSG come dey press for dem face, you fit see say dem dey quick to lose composure. Imagine five minutes left and you dey make mistakes like say na pickup game for village.
Dem say control dey important. But who control control dey run away from dem? Frank gree talk about set-pieces because na wetin make dem shine last season for Brentford. For this match, dem really show weight for dead balls – dem fit manage score via corner kicks and free kicks; na dem still fit make tactical adjustments go fit kill the game.
But dem life still dey show signs of weakness. If dem no buy some new players before di window run out for September 1, dem go need to prepare for faili fada. With James Maddison and Heung-Min Son dey absence, the pressure don dey make wetin dey available seem light.
Just as dem dey take dis match go last minute, ex-Spurs dem dey lament. ‘This match na one wey we suppose don finish well.’ Aaron Lennon no dey laugh as e dey make dem realize five minutes no dey be lifetime o.
Frank dey plan to make the necessary moves, looking for reinforcements as dem dey link with players like Savinho from Manchester City and Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. If dem fit sign quality attackers and centre-back before di window waka close, e go be serious matter of celebration.
For those wey still dey ginger Tottenham, dis one dey speak loud – there’s still room for improvement. But anytime dem dey play top teams like PSG, you know say dem must make dem defensive play sharp and not just depend on juju magic. Na wetin fans dey expect!
