Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is sitting on one of the hottest seats in world football, and after Real Madrid sent Xabi Alonso, whom many Spurs supporters want as Frank's replacement, packing after a Clasico defeat in a Final, the Lilywhites manager will now have even more scrutiny placed on him without a distracting manager to focus on.
Spurs have to start winning games in succession and not just lucking into a scrappy victory here and there. The club are buried in the bottom half of the Premier League and statistically as poor as they were last season with no hope of a trophy as in 2024/25 under Ange Postecoglou. And since Spurs have been signing some pretty well known players for Frank, he really has no excuses at this point.
There are a number of problems plaguing Tottenham this season, but none are bigger than the attack. It has been anemic under Frank, and while Spurs could have better strikers and left wingers, a lot of that is on Frank for not playing his best player on the field. For example, Mathys Tel is always THE standout attacker for Tottenham when he plays, yet Frank sticks the future superstar on the bench so much that the Frenchman is now practically begging for a six month loan just so he can play.
Thomas Frank has to do better himself
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the next Tottenham fixture against local rivals West Ham, Thomas Frank finally admitted that the offense is clearly lagging behind, "It's a culture that's getting a little big stronger. I can see the small signs of the culture in the training. Very intense and focused, working very hard on the offensive part of the game. We know the defensive side looks better and the set pieces but we need to improve the offensive side."
Not only is Frank stating the obvious about the Tottenham Hotspur attack, but he is also stating the obvious about himself. Because so many of the flaws with Tottenham offensively this season go back to Frank.
He has taken the wrong approach with his starting lineup, marrying himself to the restrictive and inconsistent Richarlison just because of experience and goals he soaks up from the much better players servicing him chances. He has not done the most to help young stars Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel, and Wilson Odobert while running his best player, Mohammed Kudus, into the ground to the point of injury.
Yes, injuries have badly hurt Frank's ability to use his best attacking lineup, and it is true that Tel and Odobert are not true Premier League stars yet. But Frank has to work with what he has been given, and what he has been given is much better than what he has gotten out of them. Everyone knows it.