Tottenham going places under Frank

Tottenham striker Richarlison (2nd L) is mobbed by teammates after scoring against Burnley/HANDOUT

One thing is for certain: Tottenham are going to be much harder to play against under Thomas Frank than his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.

The Spurs’ opening game was an easy introduction for Frank, as it is difficult to see how Burnley will not struggle this season.

It could easily end in disaster for them again, as it did during their previous 12-month stint with the elite under Vincent Kompany, when they were unable to prevent being beaten week after week.

I sympathise with the Burnley supporters, but I cannot see things improving.

Postecoglou had his supporters at Tottenham, but, quite honestly, Frank is an upgrade on the Australian. Spurs are already more organised and carry a better structure in their formation. Many will say “yes, but that was only Burnley”.

However, last season Tottenham were beaten at home by Ipswich and Leicester City and look what happened to them.

Frank has already made a massive impact on the Tottenham team. Can you ever remember Richarlison playing better, even in his Everton days?

The Brazilian, who signed for Spurs and promised so much but delivered so little, is suddenly rejuvenated with two goals and one of them a crowd-pleaser with a bicycle kick.

There was none of the Richarlison moods and tantrums about how unfairly he is treated, always complaining and feeling sorry for himself.

It is all down to Frank’s clever but genuine man management in training. Players feel he is their best friend, their protector and almost a father figure. Richarlison responded to that.

Tottenham are going places this season and their fans are growing in confidence.

Gyokeres and Sesko find the Premier League tough

I pointed out some weeks ago that scoring regularly in the Portuguese Primeira Liga for Sporting Club is not the same as starting in the Premier League, where the quality of play is much higher.

Sure enough, Arsenal’s new signing Viktor Gyokeres endured a painful debut in front of the travelling supporters at Manchester United and was withdrawn after 54 minutes to loud jeers and boos from the terraces.

Some of the supporters were Arsenal fans but the home crowd were also booing because the striker chose a move to the Gunners rather than United. He could find his touch again but it is going to be a tough challenge for Mikel Arteta.    

During his 60 minutes on the pitch, he created no chances, did not make any shots on goal and managed only 21 touches of the ball. Only three were in the opponents' half.

Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko, signed from RB Leipzig, was marginally better but he also found that even with a 6ft 5in frame, you don’t push the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes around. He found it difficult to make an impression despite one decent header and another weaker one.

Arteta was forgiving after the match and protected Gyokeres, saying it would take time but he will settle in well and produce the goals in the long term.

He put an arm around Gyokeres in the dressing room as he delivered a congratulatory pep talk to his players after their victory. But Arsenal supporters are not that forgiving with Gyokeres as they demand results this season and life at the top of the Premier League is going to be a tough battle.

Arteta stage Eze coup to leave Levy gutted

Arsenal moved late Wednesday evening and sealed a £60m deal for Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze to leave Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy disappointed.

The Spurs’ chief had spent the earlier part of the week negotiating to buy the player with Palace chairman Steve Parish. Arsenal was Eze's preferred destination.

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank took a different view to Levy and is already looking in the direction of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and  Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.

Sunderland back with a bang

After a long wait for top-level football, Sunderland supporters had a lot to cheer about as the Black Cats opened their Premier League campaign with a warning to opponents that they are here to stay and are not easy prey at the Stadium of Light. With an almost unheard of coach, Regis Le Bris, Sunderland issued a note of caution as his team look down on the rest of the Premier League this week, second only to Manchester City and level with Tottenham.

Eight new names appeared on Sunderland’s team sheet. Their 3-0 victory over West Ham sent the Black Cats faithful into full song but gave Hammers’ coach, Graham Potter, a giant headache at the beginning of the season.

United must sign a top-level goalkeeper

Do Manchester United need a new goalkeeper before the transfer window closes? Unquestionably, the majority of supporters I talked to at Old Trafford on Sunday voiced a unanimous “Yes!”.

With Andre Onana not even in the squad against Arsenal, the job of protecting the United goal went to Altay Bayindir and it was his error that gifted Riccardo Calafiori the chance to head in the Gunners’ winner. Bayindir looked uncertain, hesitant and weak.

The answer could lie with two of the world’s top keepers. PSG’s Euro 2020 winner, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Aston Villa’s Argentine World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez are available and have been linked with a move to United. The keepers are dominant in the goal area; they are big characters, big personalities and command respect. Ruben Amorim needs to push his board of directors and his recruitment team one more time to bring in a solid goalkeeper because, although United are tipped to do well this season with a refreshed squad, the clock is ticking for the manager and early-season failures will definitely see him shown the exit door.

Goals galore, Woods is on fire again

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo told us before the match against Brentford that Chris Wood would be scoring regularly again this season after working hard with him in training to improve his sharpness. Sure enough, two goals against Brentford, including a fifth-minute effort which had the City Ground supporters on their feet, was his team’s fastest goal in their Premier League history. It is the third successive season the striker has scored with his first touch of the ball.

Facts from Day One of the Premier League

Voted PFA Footballer of the Year this week, Mohamed Salah extended his record as the player with the most opening day goals in the PL as he netted again against Bournemouth in extra time.

Erling Haaland has now scored the most Premier League goals under Pep Guardiola’s guidance in 98 games. He helped himself to another two last weekend against Wolves to take him two clear of Raheem Sterling’s time at the Etihad Stadium.

Only Fulham and Crystal Palace did not include any new players.

James Milner became the only player born in the 1980s to feature in the opening game of the season. He came off the bench in Brighton’s 1-1 draw with Fulham and now needs only 14 more appearances to equal Gareth Barry’s 653-game record.

Guardiola backs Ederson

Pep Guardiola has his fingers crossed but is optimistic Manchester City can hold onto his world-class goalkeeper Ederson. The Brazilian’s future is unresolved and is a target for the Turkish side, Galatasaray. He was not included in the matchday squad against Wolves because of a stomach bug, which was confirmed to me just hours before kick-off. Many supporters and media sources thought he had pretended to be ill to force some progress on his move to Turkey. However, that is not true.

City’s interest in PSG’s 26-year-old keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is reliant on whether or not Ederson stays at the Etihad. Pep says he wants to keep Ederson. He said, “He is my player. He is our player. He is our player from our six Premier Leagues in seven years. He won the Champions League and he won us the game in Madrid in the semis and in the final.”

On Saturday, Pep played his new signing, James Trafford, who gave a good account of himself and third-choice keeper Stefan Ortega was confined to the bench as back-up but Pep will give him game time while the situation with Ederson continues.

Bournemouth buy Liverpool’s Doak

Liverpool have banked over £200m during the transfer window. On Tuesday evening, they completed the sale of Ben Doak to Bournemouth. The Scotland international changed clubs for £25million and Liverpool have included a buy-back option, which is smart business given that he is still only 19. Doak made 10 appearances for the Reds. Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola says he now has the option of playing Doak on the wing or as an attacking midfielder. He cleared his medical over the weekend and was arranging accommodation in the south coast seaside town on Thursday.

Fulham still need to bring in players 

Fulham coach Marco Silva says his club have been passive in the transfer window and he needs at least one more forward, a creative player and an upgrade defensive midfielder. They are trying to sign Shakhtar Donetsk winger Kevin to strengthen their forward line.

One player who impresses me whenever I watch him is Calvin Bassey. This utility player can adapt to wherever Silva wants him to play.He is as solid as a rock. Still only 25, Calvin has become more of a silky smooth player since arriving from Ajax for £19million. His aggressive rough edges have been ironed out.

Challenging road ahead for Brentford

I have been saying all summer that Brentford would struggle this season after losing their strongest assets. Coach Thomas Frank went to Tottenham, goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen, Bryan Mbuemo to Manchester United, captain Christian Norgaard joined Arsenal and Yoanne Wissa is likely to leave. He did not play last weekend and has deleted all references to Brentford on his social media platforms. That has left the Bees cut to the bone. In the Premier League, that’s akin to the kiss of death. New rookie coach, Keith Andrews, Brentford’s former set-piece coach, will not last five minutes if their lacklustre performance in the 3-1 defeat to Forest is a sign for the season. His appointment surprised everyone; his sacking will not if things do not improve. He has little quality in reserve to experiment with or rotate his players.

Hammers’ vice-chairwoman Brady supports Potter

West Ham United’s vice-chairwoman Baroness Brady has voiced support for head coach Graham Potter despite the club’s disastrous start to the season, losing 3-0 to Sunderland. 

She said: “I spent a lot of time with the manager and the squad in America on the pre-season tour. The spirit among them is fantastic and I know that they’ll be disappointed...”

Potter has won only five of his 20 matches since taking over in January, with five draws and 10 losses. The club finished 14th last season. 

Brady continued: “Graham is a forward-thinking manager. He’s calm under pressure. He’s very detailed in his approach. He is a great man-manager of players.” 

She hinted that Potter is not under any immediate threat and he retains the confidence of the club hierarchy — for now, at least.

However, when 3,000 supporters leave before the end of a match, you know there is trouble ahead. Everyone at the club and on the terraces were so excited when Potter arrived but that support is slowly disappearing. The problem is that fielding players, such as new signing Mads Hermanson, who appears to have forgotten how to cope with headers and shots, and defenders who cannot defend, is going to make this a very painful season if Potter cannot perform some magic.

Keepers to be penalised for holding on to the ball

Supporters are often frustrated with the time it takes for a goalkeeper to distribute the ball upfield — often deliberately, as a time-wasting tactic. A change in the law will see them punished and a corner awarded to the opposing team if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds.

Previously, goalkeepers gave away a free kick for holding onto possession of the ball for too long. At the UEFA European Under-21 Championships, this new law was implemented after being agreed upon by the International Football Association Board last year. It’s now in use in the Premier League as Burnley’s Martin Dubravka found out when he held onto the ball for more than he is allowed, giving away a corner.

Referees will, in future, raise a hand to show a visible five-second countdown to signal that the keeper has reached his maximum time for holding onto the ball.

Referees often ignored penalising a goalkeeper because of the difficulty of managing the previous punishment of an indirect free-kick, which gave an unfair advantage to the opponents.