Although Tottenham Hotspur turned in a significantly better performance against PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday night, they didn't win either. And it isn't exactly difficult to be a lot better than losing 4-1 to Arsenal in an all time cowardly performance.
So while Thomas Frank and Spurs did mount a response against the reigning Champions League winners, the Danish manager still has a lot of work to do before he can say he was won back even half of the good will he completely tossed in the bin after the debacle in the North London Derby.
There are so many sticking points with Frank as Tottenham manager that he needs to address, and one of them that he didn't address against PSG - and only exacerbated - was the rough start to life for Xavi Simons at Tottenham.
Thomas Frank has left Xavi Simons isolated
A truly special player in European football and league play for both PSV and RB Leipzig, Simons was a can't miss signing that the Spurs front office did brilliantly to seal over rivals Chelsea, and yet Frank has turned him into a shell of himself.
When on the pitch, Simons has been isolated in the middle of the formation with nobody to link with or feed off of, as Frank has left him to die with his horrid attacking tactics. But that's even if Simons gets on the pitch, because Frank has been benching him in important games.
Once again, Frank cast Simons aside against PSG, meaning he benched him against both Arsenal and PSG in arguably the two most high profile back to back fixtures of the entire 2025/26 season. It's quite the statement made by Frank, who almost seems to have a personal vendetta against the new signing bubbling under the surface
Even in press conferences, Frank takes little shots about how Simons isn't integrating enough, but it's so hard to shine when a manager takes away your biggest strengths - and takes the ball away from your feet when your biggest strength is carrying the ball and driving at opponents. But when your coach prefers to clog up the pitch and play negatively, then starting someone the fans want to see succeed who plays the opposite like Simons becomes a problem.
Tottenham supporters have to be fed up with how Frank is treating their biggest signing of the summer. Simons is capable of a lot more than what Frank is allowing him, and it's decisions like this that could eventually prove to be the former Brentford man's undoing.