Brentford 0-0 Spurs Match Report as fans chant ‘boring boring Tottenham’

Tottenham Hotspur kick off the new year of 2026 with a goalless draw against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

These two sides had met less than a month ago, when Tottenham Hotspur were relatively comfortable 2-0 winners, but this outing was once again far from convincing from a Spurs side that arrived in west London expecting a routine victory.

Lucas Bergvall was not named in the squad due to what Thomas Frank described as an adductor issue, forcing the Tottenham boss into fielding a defensive midfield trio of Archie Gray, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Randal Kolo Muani and Kevin Danso both dropped to the bench following the win at Crystal Palace, with Wilson Odobert and Cristian Romero returning to the starting XI, while Brennan Johnson was also left out altogether ahead of a move to Crystal Palace.

First half: Brentford 0-0 Tottenham

Greeted by a warm round of applause from the home crowd for former manager Thomas Frank, the game got underway with Brentford starting brightly, and the hosts thought they had taken the lead inside five minutes when Kevin Schade tapped in from close range after Guglielmo Vicario parried Nathan Collins’ header from a corner, only for the flag to correctly rule the effort out for offside.

Tottenham’s clearest moment of the opening period arrived soon after, when Archie Gray came close to scoring his second Premier League goal, meeting Richarlison’s cross with a header that seemed destined for the net, until Collins reacted well to clear the ball off the line with his chest.

Beyond that brief spell, the remainder of the first half offered very little in the way of quality or tempo, with both sides struggling to get a sight on goal. The away end was forced to entertaining itself with a series of chants, including a “boring, boring Tottenham”, also directing a few towards absent Europa League hero Brennan Johnson, as a flat and forgettable half drew to a close.

Second half: Brentford 0-0 Tottenham

The intensity lifted slightly after the restart, although it was Brentford who fashioned the first opening of the second half, with Keane Lewis-Potter unable to generate enough power from close range after Yehor Yarmolyuk’s low cut-back found him unmarked in the box.

Cristian Romero was then fortunate to escape a red after bringing down Igor Thiago while both players raced onto a long ball over the top, before Tottenham were left frustrated at the other end when appeals for their first penalty of the season were waved away, despite Archie Gray appearing to be brought down by multiple Brentford players inside the area.

Brentford continued to pose the greater threat, forcing Vicario into an excellent save to deny Vitaly Janelt’s close-range header after Jordan Henderson’s cross had picked him out brilliantly, before Igor Thiago squandered what proved to be the best chance of the game, firing over the bar from eight yards out after being set up by Michael Kayode.

Despite spending much of the half under pressure, Tottenham almost stole the points late on, but Richarlison could not find a way past Caoimhin Kelleher deep into stoppage time, ensuring the game ended goalless.

FT: BRENTFORD 0-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Spurs Web man of the match: Micky Van de Ven

What’s next for Spurs?

With Tottenham sitting 12th in the Premier League table, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see a route back into the Champions League places this season unless a solution to their ongoing creativity issues is found quickly.

The departure of Brennan Johnson only adds to the concern, particularly given Mohamed Kudus’ dip in form and the lack of genuine competition or alternatives to push him for a starting role.

With half of the season still to play, Tottenham will need to be active in the ongoing January transfer window and bring in experienced, established players if they are serious about competing, because at this stage, it is hard to identify many positives in the side Thomas Frank has assembled halfway through the campaign.

Next up for Spurs is a tough home fixture against Sunderland on Sunday.

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