It has been weeks and weeks - if not months and months - that Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been begging Thomas Frank to change his ways. He joined the club this past summer as the Ange Postecoglou replacement, because while Big Ange had brought the coveted Europa League trophy to Spurs - as he said he would in his second season - he also finished 17th in the Premier League to set a different kind of historic mark for Spurs.
So Frank was seen as someone who could bring that same invention and underdog spirit while being a bit more pragmatic. Unfortunately, Tottenham were not seeing any of that, and after abhorrent showings in losses to arch rivals Chelsea and Arsenal near the top of the table in which Spurs looked like utter cowards, Tottenham fans begin to wonder if Frank had any sort of a long term future at the club - or if they had simply been sold a false bill of goods by management.
Well, Tottenham have finally shown signs of life after a tough stretch of games. Frank defeated his former employers Brentford 2-0 at the weekend in the Premier League, and then Spurs followed that up with another convincing win, 3-0 over lowly Slavia Praha in the Champions League.
Thomas Frank has changed things up
While Tottenham and Thomas Frank must prove that they can beat higher caliber opponents before people truly sing about how Spurs have changed their fortunes, the reality is that these were the kinds of games in which Spurs were frustratingly dropping points earlier this season. After all, they could not even beat Wolves, who are literally the worst team in the Premier League, and they struggled against some inferior Champions League opponents like Bodo Glimt - you know, the same team they cooked in the Europa League knockouts last season.
Key to the change in the last two games over Brentford and Slavia Praha has been Frank playing a lot less cowardly. He is finally starting Xavi Simons again and unleashing him as a box to box threat instead of being a more stagnant playmaker. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are getting opportunities in midfield, Mathys Tel is getting a chance, and he has even used Djed Spence in an inverted role for the injured Destiny Udogie.
All of these necessary tweaks fall under an overall aim from Frank and Spurs as a whole to start playing less cowardly and with more bravery. Tottenham are actually pushing to play on the front foot and be positive, including the personnel Frank is rolling with. And these are all the changes Tottenham fans were begging Frank to make, finally coming into place in recent days.