Overall, the Thomas Frank era at Tottenham Hotspur has gotten off to a successful start, but it's really only been a mild success to this point. Once again, Spurs were left second best on the pitch this Sunday, falling 2-1 to an Aston Villa side that had, to that point of the campaign, been one of the most disappointing sides in the entire Premier League - even worse than Manchester United.
But Tottenham collapsed against Villa after ceding an early lead, conceding cheap goals while creating frustratingly little of their own. Spurs all of a sudden made Aston Villa's struggling midfield and back line look highly competent, while their own midfield was both plodding an ineffective.
Whereas Ange Postecoglou committed the cardinal sin of leaving his team entire vacant and vulnerable to being shredded apart, Frank has moved in the opposite direction and become far too tinpot for the likings of any Spurs fan.
Tottenham are a big club. They signed Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel, Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons, and Randal Kolo Muani this summer. And yet the way Frank has them playing, you'd think that they were Burnley or Leeds United with how passive and scared he is.
Tottenham are losing easy points
Frank is also too content to chalk up losses to bad luck, or shots outside the box, or any number of explanations that would be perfectly rational at a club with no real expectations or pressure like, say, Brentford. But at Tottenham you have to account for these possibilities and leave luck out of the equation if you want to compete with Chelsea and Newcastle and reach the Champions League year after year.
From Bodo Glimt to Brighton to Wolves and now to Aston Villa, Frank has underperformed in winnable games for Tottenham, and he hasn't shown the requisite fire and desire to actually get the full three points. And savvy Tottenham fans are noticing this worrying trend of Frank playing down Spurs when the new leadership team is trying to push to win the whole dang show in the English top flight.
That has to change for Frank and Spurs to improve, in a true sense, going forward. Frank is being far too soft tactically and mentally with how he approaches games and winning, and Tottenham are going to need an entire cultural shift and shift in goals first in order to see the results really take off on the field like they want them to.