Coming into the Premier League battle between London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, many fans assumed that Spurs coach Thomas Frank would go with an all veteran midfield trio in the game with Conor Gallagher eligible to debut upon his signing from Atletico Madrid.
Well, Tottenham did start Gallagher in his first possible game, but instead of starting Joao Palhinha as the defensive midfielder alongside him with Xavi Simons up top as the No. 10, young Archie Gray drew another start over Palhinha at the base of the midfield next to the incoming Englishman.
It was a surprising vote of confidence in a young player, and although Frank has been giving Gray more starts that he deserves in recent weeks, many assumed Frank would go with the more defensive veteran in the Portuguese international.
Archie Gray deserves better
But just as Tottenham's embattled manager brought the fans a brief pleasant surprise, the pleasantries with Gray lasted a meager 45 minutes. Because despite the fact that Gray was excellent and even battling in the tackles one one one as good as Palhinha would have, Frank hooked him off for no legitimate reason.
Instead, he brought in one of his veteran favorites of a different ilk, getting Yves Bissouma, of all people, back in a match upon his return from injury. Bissouma actually was not bad, but the fact that Spurs took Gray, a much better player in the present and future than Biss, is absolutely ridiculous and only further headlines the cluelessness of Frank as a coach.
It was not the only substitution mishap from Frank in the game, as he would later sub off Mathys Tel - his best attacker in the game - instead of the hopelessly useless Randal Kolo Muani at striker. But it was a wild sub to make at the half that further undermines the trust that the young players will have in their manager who should be on the verge of a sacking.
What makes it all even worse is the fact that Gray was probably the best player on Tottenham Hotspur in the first half of the matchup, holding the midfield together with tight ball progression and dogged defensive work to win possession.
Archie Gray has certainly earned more starts for Tottenham, and on this day, it is quite evident that if given the choice, he should be starting over the newcomer Conor Gallagher, too. But as long as Frank is still manager, you cannot trust Spurs to play the best men for the job either.