I feel like Ali Gold as I sit down to write today... "Ahhh...Tottenham!"
I haven't found a good way to get into the season, let alone yesterday's match against Arsenal. I've struggled to figure out what to write. Instead, I decided to share the questions that I am thinking about after that 4-1 loss at Arsenal could have been much worse.
Is Thomas Frank already a dead man walking?
You would think that a third of the way into a season would be too soon to close the account on a new manager, but after the two performances against Chelsea and Arsenal, you have to start wondering if the job is too big for Thomas Frank.
My thinking isn't down to results. We are mid-table. We are holding our own in the Champions League, so far. Despite winning the Europa League last season, we are Tottenham, so we hit the reset button on our project to start over with a new manager. That's all context.
The patterns that we exhibit trouble me:
- We aren't defending well despite setting up in defensive formations more regularly than we have since Nuno.
- We aren't attacking at all, minus the Copenhagen match. Which now feels like the exception that proves the rule.
- Thomas Frank comes across as gaslighting himself and the fans with the way he is talking about the team.
Are we so bad at football that we can't attack at all?
I don't know the advanced statistics as well as someone like ProfSpur does.
His analysis of Frank's defensive setup helped me see the fallacy of "better defensively." What I do recognize is that our attack numbers are lining up with the eye test. Both say that we can't attack.
The two worst xG games in the league this year versus our two biggest rivals!? Our worst performance as a team in a decade?! The only saving grace was a wonder goal that we couldn't even properly celebrate because the match was already over.
Are we so bad at attacking that we can't even attempt to attack? That's what it feels like right now.
Thomas Frank has broken Tottenhams record for lowest xG ever TWICE this season.
— Mr Black (@MrBlackFootball) November 23, 2025
In games against Chelsea and Arsenal.
He’s a donkey pic.twitter.com/p12AEHvKu0
Was Frank just a system coach?
I come back to this over and over. Frank has mentioned how the set up at Brentford was helpful to his success. Lately, I'm reminded of the ways that Graham Potter struggled after leaving Brighton. Brighton are in sixth place currently. Brentford are 12th.
Both have changed coaches recently. Yet, both have managed to have much more stability and cohesion this season.
Does being "pragmatic" mean you must lack identity?
This is the companion question to the idea that Frank might just be a good system coach. We were sold that he was flexible and pragmatic. That Frank would get the most out of the roster he had while the project advanced and the squad was further developed.
What we've seen so far is that "pragmatic" often means we lack an identity. The setups are defensive in nature, but our defence hasn't been great. We are 8th in goals against.
If I am reading the advanced stats correctly, it seems one of the reasons we haven't allowed more goals is that our opposition has been wasteful with their scoring.
In attack, lord have mercy, these numbers are awful:
- Six fast breaks all season. Third from the bottom.
- 10th in touches in the box.
- 14 goals from open play.
- Fifth from the bottom in xG.
The Athletic reported we had four through balls all season. Lord, help me. If this is what "pragmatic" means...I don't want it. To me, it screams of surrender and a loss of identity.
How do you even prepare yourself to watch the PSG match on Wednesday?
This is about as pessimistic as I've ever been going into a match. Lord, how do we even get excited about watching our side play in our marquee Champions League matchup on Wednesday evening?
