Thomas Frank facing uncomfortable Tottenham truth and the one transfer that got away from Spurs

It would be daft to be overly cynical so soon into Thomas Frank's Tottenham tenure but the travelling Spurs faithful in Monaco did not have much to shout about all evening at Stade Louis II.

The reaction of hardcore away supporters, who pay top money to follow their club over land and sea, is usually a good yardstick when trying to decipher the true mood and feeling of any fanbase.

It was all rather flat at times on Wednesday evening and there were even a few audible groans when the odd Tottenham attack amounted to nothing, particularly in one instance when substitute Xavi Simons turned back and squandered the chance to launch a promising second-half counter.

But dig deeper than that and it's apparent there is a growing sense of frustration regarding recent performances, both of which have been rather bland following the conclusion of the international break.

Frank is an excellent communicator and undoubtedly a smart, flexible, forward-thinking coach that has already overseen great success in the Premier League with Brentford.

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But this Tottenham project is arguably on a different stratosphere to what he has previously experienced in west London at the Gtech.

For starters, Spurs are the reigning Europa League champions and there was huge optimism that their historic triumph in Bilbao could prove to be a significant turning point in the club's history.

Prior to his bombshell exit, Daniel Levy publicly claimed he now wanted Tottenham to realise their full potential and push to win the Premier League or Champions League, respectively.

At Brentford, Frank largely enjoyed a full week of preparation and training prior to domestic matches and now he is having to juggle European fixtures.

It's a difficult balance and challenge he'll have to navigate and following his Monaco heroics Guglielmo Vicario made it clear the team were struggling to combat the congested fixture list.

Additionally, supporters online have raised concerns over several of Frank's press conference comments. Following the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, the Dane insisted the match had panned out the way he had expected.

It was a narrow affair, won by two long-range strikes from Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia but the reality is, Tottenham should never have allowed the game to escape their grasp. Optically, it was a loss that appeared entirely avoidable.

After the 2-2 draw at Bodo/Glimt it was put to Frank that Spurs had dominated their Norwegian opponents on their own patch in May in the Europa League semi-finals.

This time around it was of course, a different story. Frank again acknowledged that he was not overly surprised to see this season's contest play out differently as he noted Bodo were more aggressive in duels. The harsh reality is that Spurs supporters are unlikely tolerate this line of analysis forever if results do not improve or at least, become more consistent.

Furthermore, the Spurs boss did not appear to be overly concerned that Monaco had 23 attempts on Tottenham's goal on Wednesday as it was effectively, a one-off.

But if it wasn't for Vicario's resilience between the sticks, they could have been left red-faced and on the receiving end of a brutal, morale-sapping beating.

It's undeniably a tough month ahead with fixtures against Everton, Newcastle, Chelsea, Copenhagen, Manchester United and Arsenal on the horizon and Spurs cannot approach any of these games lightly. Confidence levels are already low and Frank needs to rally his troops and showcase why he is the right man to drive Spurs forward. He has it within his repertoire.

The signing that escaped Tottenham

It was hard not to be impressed by Maghnes Akliouche's performance against Tottenham in midweek. Most of their endless waves of attacks seemed to go through the talented French gem, who is a hub of creativity.

Spurs were well aware of his quality earlier this summer when he is understood to have featured during recruitment discussions.

Nobody knows whether Tottenham were prepared to move but Monaco wouldn't have sold anyway as they'd already green-lighted Eliesse Ben Seghir's switch to Bayer Leverkusen.

They lent more in the direction of Como's Nico Paz and eventually landed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig having already brought Mohammed Kudus to the club from West Ham.

Kudus has nailed down the right-wing spot but Akliouche is definitely capable of operating centrally as a No.10, even though he primarily features from the right.

If they were willing to push the boat out on another forward signing, though it's highly likely they would favour signing a left-winger more than any other position at the top end of the pitch, Akliouche should definitely be strongly considered.

There is so much potential and he already looks like a superstar in the making. When asked by Football.London whether he'd be keen on a Premier League move in the future, he admitted he'd be open to playing in England. We also understand he is already learning the language, which certainly bodes well for the future.

Youth stars continue to soar in UYL

Football.London attended Spurs U19s 4-2 win over Monaco at the Ligue 1's side's training ground and Wayne Burnett's side were rather impressive. Not just technically but they also had to show mental toughness to record their third straight UEFA Youth League victory.

Athletic Club, Chelsea, Club Brugge, Real Madrid and Barcelona have also claimed maximum points but this Spurs youth side is littered with hungry talent.

Luca Williams-Barnett featured as an attacking midfielder and showed flashes of brilliance while left-back Harry Byrne, who signed a pro deal in May, also excelled.

However, one prospect that really caught the eye was left-winger Tynan Thompson, who got himself onto the scoresheet whilst also showcasing his daring dribbling ability.

Spurs are still arguably lacking a left-winger, though Wilson Odobert has made good progress in recent weeks, but it would be great to see Thompson earn a chance to impress because he looks capable of knocking on the first-team door.

He has three goals in three Youth League matches thus far and was recently on the bench against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

Joint sporting director Johan Lange was in the stands watching the victory on Wednesday afternoon and he will certainly be feeding back information to Frank on Spurs' next generation of starlets.

Williams-Barnett, Jun'ai Byfield and Callum Olusesi, who captained the U19s against Monaco, were all on the bench for the first-team on Wednesday evening.