Almost two years ago, Tottenham Hotspur fans were singing their manager’s name as they trudged out of this same fixture against Chelsea — even after a 4–1 defeat. Back then, it was all about “Big Ange” and his thrilling chaos. Fast forward to Saturday night, and the mood around north London couldn’t be more different.

Thomas Frank’s Spurs were booed off at both halftime and fulltime after a lifeless 1–0 home defeat to Chelsea — a performance that felt every bit as stale as the scoreline suggested. When the whistle went, Frank tried to applaud the fans; a few of them sent something rather less polite back his way. Meanwhile, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence ignored their manager’s calls to stay on the pitch, heading straight for the tunnel instead.

“Of course, the players are frustrated,” Frank said after the game. “They want to win, they want to perform. You have to stay consistent in good times and bad. It’s a lot more fun when you’re winning, I can tell you that.”

Pressed on the Van de Ven–Spence situation, Frank played it down:

“That’s one of the small issues. They’ve both been good this season. Everyone’s frustrated — that’s normal.”

Under Postecoglou, Spurs’ defeats used to come with a sort of madcap charm — goals, drama, and a sense that something daring was in the works. Under Frank, there’s just… noise. And boos.

Tottenham stayed third in the table after this loss, technically ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, but that’s where the good news ends. The real concern was their sheer lack of attacking spark: an expected goals (xG) total of 0.05, the lowest in any of their 504 Premier League games since records began. In other words, they created virtually nothing.

“That hurts massively,” Frank admitted. “I’ve never managed a team that created that little. Never. We’ll look closely at why — because everything is connected.”

Tottenham had just three shots all game. Chelsea’s João Pedro punished them in the 34th minute after two sloppy errors playing out from the back, and only Guglielmo Vicario’s sharp saves kept the score from getting ugly.

There are reasons behind the boos. Some fans still resent losing Postecoglou after last season’s Europa League triumph, even if the league form collapsed. Others point to an injury list that includes Maddison, Solanke, and Kulusevski, and a summer window that saw Spurs miss their first-choice targets before scrambling for Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani.

They also lost Lucas Bergvall early to concussion — the right call, even if he protested to continue. Simons replaced him and again looked like a player trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces.

It’s been over a year since Tottenham looked truly comfortable here. Four wins in their last 20 league home games tells its own story. Even the club tried something new pre-match — skipping the usual flashy montage to let the crowd build its own noise. It didn’t help.

Set pieces drew the loudest frustration. Poor deliveries, misplaced passes, and free kicks straight into Robert Sánchez’s gloves turned irritation into fury. When Spence launched the final ball hopelessly forward in stoppage time, the boos were deafening. With Daniel Levy no longer in the firing line, that anger found new targets — the team and the man on the touchline.

For Chelsea, Moisés Caicedo was immense, winning possession twice in the buildup to Pedro’s goal. Manager Enzo Maresca was glowing in his praise afterward: “Right now, him and Rodri are the two best defensive midfielders in the world.” Chelsea’s win lifts them to fourth — a familiar sight in a stadium where they’ve enjoyed success for decades, once cheekily dubbing the old White Hart Lane “Three Point Lane.”

Tottenham hoped this new era would erase those old habits. Instead, they’ve stumbled right back into them. Frank’s task now isn’t just about results — it’s about rebuilding belief, one restless home crowd at a time.