When Tottenham Hotspur hired Thomas Frank, they thought they were getting a fresh, up and coming and innovative Premier League manager who could help Spurs take the next step forward as an organization. They thought they were hiring a pragmatic, attacking minded head coach who could develop young players and maximize the strengths of the veteran attackers.
Instead, Frank is leaving Tottenham with more questions than answers in his first few frustrating months as manager, and while there have been some positive signs for Spurs, there have been some massive low points.
The Chelsea loss was horrible enough, but this 4-1 defeat against Arsenal is truly a new low for the organization, just when they were blowing smoke about wanting to compete for Premier League - and even Champions League - titles under Frank.
One of the big reasons for hope for that cause was the signing of top midfielder Xavi Simons, but his usage under Thomas Frank this season has been a potential sign that maybe the Danish manager isn't ready to work with a top club like Spurs.
Xavi Simons was snubbed
Frank shocked everyone by leaving Simons out of the starting lineup against Arsenal entirely, and while he subbed the Dutchman into the game early in the second half, the damage was already done. And Frank's response to his decision is clearly not up to snuff.
He said in the post game press conference, via The Spurs Express, “He's getting better and better but it was a tactical decision. It was between him and Wilson, who has also played well in recent weeks.”
With all due respect to Frank, Wilson Odobert was never going to be the right option to start in the North London Derby. He's too young, too raw, and, honestly, too week at this stage. He was always going to get bullied out of the game, and Arsenal forced him into a true attacking disasterclass from a player who created nothing.
Yes, Odobert played well, but he wasn't even starting for Spurs and certainly wasn't being used as some sort of a Simons ersatz against elite competition. It was a leap too far for Frank to do this, and it is almost a tacit admission that he has no idea what he has in Simons or how to use him.
So instead of adjusting his clearly failing tactics ahead of the North London Derby, Frank figured he'd just give up on Simons for the biggest game of the season. And his explanation pretty much admits that fact.