Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle: Exposed and bedraggled Thomas Frank unable to calm Spurs storm as strugglers are outplayed on home turf AGAIN

Thomas Frank found no shelter from his personal Tottenham storm. Exposed and bedraggled on the touchline in a downpour, he watched his team lose yet again as the home crowd sang for him to be sacked.

Earlier, with his team a goal down and under pressure at the start of the second half, they had united to sing the name of Mauricio Pochettino.

It is akin to a protest song in N17, with supporters pining for days from the not too distant past when they had better players, more flair and adventure and knocked about near the top of the Premier League.

Instead, Spurs fans are buckling up for a relegation fight after this damp and dispirited display against Newcastle on a night when West Ham picked up a point and Leeds moved above them.

Frank was defiant afterwards, vowing to fight on, that injuries were to blame and that he was confident he would still be in charge for the North London derby on Sunday week.

But the closer they slip towards the bottom three the more pressure mounts on the board to change the music and, at this stage, there is only one way to do it and it is to change the man in charge.

Jacob Ramsey swept the ball into the corner after a well-worked moved to score the winner

Archie Gray bundled home to equalise for Spurs but they were level for just four minutes

Frank’s Spurs were feeble in the first half, thoroughly outplayed, and slightly better in the second but lacking the power to take anything from visitors who arrived on the back of three straight defeats.

Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey scored Newcastle’s goals, either side of an equaliser by Archie Gray.

Spurs had a go for another equaliser, but Newcastle disrupted the game in the closing minutes as they do so well and as Bruno Guimaraes had treatment for what Eddie Howe feared might be a hamstring pull the crowd turned their ire on Frank.

They belted out: ‘Sacked in the morning’ in unison and those still there at the final whistle booed him onto the pitch as he shook hands with the officials.

It was the seventh home defeat of the Premier League campaign, with another injury to the pile, this time Wilson Odobert who limed off in the first half. They had only two shots on target and an attendance under 60,000.

Pape Matar Sarr and Xavi Simons were shown yellow cards for diving to try to win free kicks in midfield. Only Djed Spence was booked for a tackle. Which suggests priorities might be muddled.

And it will not have passed some Spurs fans by that this latest wash-out came on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Danny Blanchflower, their Double winning captain who died in 1993, and who coined the famous quote about the game being about ‘glory’.

Howe’s plan to attack with pace worked a treat and early corners caused Spurs problems. There were nine Newcastle corners in the first half hour, which drew attention to the fact their aerial strength was diminished by the absence of Joao Palhinha, Cristian Romero and Kevin Danso.

Joe Willock fizzed a 25-yarder across the slick turf and just wide. Harvey Barnes flicked at a low at a cross and drew a save from Guglielmo Vicario. Ramsey saw a whistling show deflected wide.

Malick Thiaw deservedly put Eddie Howe’s side in front in first-half stoppage time 

Spurs were static, incapable of stitching passes together as they tried to play out. Lacking an outlet. Devoid of confidence. The home crowd turned they sank deeper.

They jeered in frustration as Gray turned a safe pass back towards his centre halves instead of playing forward.

Frank’s team flickered on the break in the early phase of the game, but the threat soon faded as Newcastle took control.

The only moment for Spurs to celebrate in the first half came when a goal scorer by Willock, an exquisite finish after a pass by Ramsey, was ruled out for offside after a VAR intervention. It was a ludicrously fine call. Part of Willock’s forehead was ruled offside.

Vicario punched the air when the decision was confirmed. The goalkeeper’s reprieve was as brief as it was ill-judged however and he conceded the opener before making it through five minutes of stoppage time to the sanctuary of half time.

For Spurs, the goal summed up the first 45 minutes. Thiaw climbed high to win a header, then fought past Sarr and Gray to win the rebound and tuck it into the net from close range.

It was the least Newcastle deserved and as they came out and pushed for a second, with Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin making vital blocks, the home crowd sang for Pochettino. Chairman Peter Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venketasham looked on from the directors’ box with stony expressions.

Finally, came signs of Spurs stirring into life, sparked by Gray burrowing forward from right back to pick out Mathys Tel at the back post. Tel fired over on the run but there was more aggression and they were better with Palhinha on in midfield for Yves Bissouma, who was ineffective.

Gray levelled in the 64th minute from the first Spurs corner of the night taken by Simons and headed back across goal by Sarr, but parity did not last long.

Ramsey restored Newcastle’s lead, a quick-thinking finish, swept in from a short pass from Gordon.

Pure joy for the Geordies. More misery for Spurs who do not play again until Arsenal visit on Sunday week. Whether Frank is back on the touchline remains to be seen.