Thomas Frank sacked by Tottenham Hotspur
In what can only be described as music to the ears of every Tottenham Hotspur fan out there, Thomas Frank has been sacked as their manager. They currently sit five points above the relegation zone with their closest rivals Nottingham Forest still to play basement boys Wolves this evening and could go level on points with them, albeit with a comfortably lower goal difference.
It’s dark and dire times for Spurs now, and with no lack of uncertainty about what the club do going forward, all eyes are on that boardroom. The margin for error has hit zero now, and every decision and eventuality has to be meticulously planned for and anticipated, including the dreaded threat of relegation.
Spurs finishing 17th last year was a horrendous league placement. Domestically they had a shocking season that was supposed to be an outlier as they put all their eggs into a European basket that ultimately paid dividends under Ange Postecoglou. The Spurs board, led by chairman at the time Daniel Levy, felt a change was needed however and the domestic form couldn’t be ignored.
So out went Ange and in came Thomas Frank, a more pragmatic, level-headed and stablising figure. But if last season was a rollercoaster ride that ended with a trophy, this season has been a dumpster fire, apart from a quite remarkable fourth place UCL league phase finish. Glazed on top by a medical department that seem to cause more problems than solutions, but more on that later.
Thomas Frank’s eight months in charge are statistically the worst in the history of the Premier League’s so called “Big 6.” He had a paltry 27% win rate, even worse than Graham Potter’s ill-fated stint at Chelsea and Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. For a team like Spurs who had to get back to challenging for European places in the league this year, it couldn’t have gone any worse if they tried.
A 4–1 defeat to eternal rivals Arsenal was the first major low point before meager displays against Manchester United away, Chelsea at home and Brentford away proved that it wasn’t just a one time occurence. Both domestic cup defeats against Aston Villa and Newcastle also provided yet more evidence among a litany of other examples. The displays have been awful and it was on Thomas Frank to remedy that.
Injuries
However, the one circumstance that must be taken into consideration, as alluded to earlier, is the sheer number of injuries. Spurs currently have 12 senior players out due to injury or suspension and only have two players that regularly feature at the club who haven’t been injured or suspended in some capacity and that’s Mathys Tel and Pape Matar Sarr, the former of which wasn’t eligible to play in most of the Champions League games, and the latter of whom was away at AFCON mid-season.
They have been so unlucky with injuries and as a result, their squad has been decimated. But even in that, there is some blame in Thomas Frank’s hands. Circumstances did force him to play players out of position, such as being forced to field any fit player with an ounce of attacking talent on the right wing following the injury to Mohamed Kudus and the sale of Brennan Johnson and shoving Archie Gray out to right back/wing-back.
Against Newcastle however Djed Spence was back fit and he he had Souza who Spurs signed in January just sitting there as Archie Gray struggled to set the world alight aside from a couple of moments going forward. Spence on the right and Souza on the left, even if just for the first 45 or 60 minutes as the Brazilian builds up fitness and familiarity would’ve made sense, but instead he played Gray instead and Spurs ultimately paid the price for that.
They have even had to reinduct Yves Bissouma back into the fold after the midfielder’s injury and laughing gas incidents due to the sheer amount of injuries they have suffered.
Moving Forward
But now that the proverbial trigger has finally been pulled and Thomas Frank’s stint is up, what does the future hold for Tottenham Hotspur. The answer is twofold. Firstly, calling the immediate future of the club until the end of the season uncertain would be a cataclysmic understatement. Their goal is clear; survival is all that matters now, but how they do that and who they do it with most certainly isn’t.
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They have 12 games left, but they are by no means easy as they have to face Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea all away from home, as well as crucial games away against Wolves and at home to Leeds United and Nottingham Forest in terms of teams around them. The reality is they are in the relegation battle and West Ham’s recent turnaround in form should worry Spurs immensely.
Undeniably however, their next game is probably the most crucial. The home North London Derby looms on Sunday the 22nd February. They have a 12 day window between the Newcastle and Arsenal games, and it is strategic for them to have sacked Frank here. It gives them time to sort their managerial situation out by the end of the week, and then a full week in preparation for the derby.
Spurs would love nothing more to derail Arsenal’s title challenge, but the reality is it would take a miracle for that to come to fruition. New manager bounce does work, as we saw with Carrick and Man United, but Spurs are in a far worse state than United have ever been this season. Players have been given the week off to rest and recuperate as the boardroom works to quell the chaos that has formed largely due to their own actions/inaction.
There is also the small matter of Europe. They are into the Round of 16 of the Champions League, awaiting Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray or Club Brugge and progression in that isn’t completely out of the question, with a couple of their injured players expected back by then. Going out might be a blessing in disguise however, as they could focus entirely on the league and avoid fatigue/burnout.
Next Manager
The second and larger part of Spurs’ future is what happens after this season finally comes to an end. The World Cup will provide a month for yet more players to get injured, but aside from that, Spurs have to decide what they want to be and they have to put a realistic plan in place to achieve that. First on the agenda will be solving the question of where to go next in terms of a head coach appointment.
They will more than certainly go down the interim route until the end of the season as the calibre of manager they want to appoint won’t come when they’re stranded in a relegation battle in mid-February. John Heitinga, who has previous first team managerial experience, is the most obvious candidate, with other names like Harry Redknapp, Robbie Keane and Tim Sherwood being thrown into the mix as well.
It was telling in the club statement that only Thomas Frank was sacked, his staff as of the time of writing are still employed and so Heitinga and Cochrane are more than likely going to be calling the shots at least in the days ahead until a solution is reached.
As for the summer, everyone will have their opinion on who the preferred candidate is. The name most comon on everyone’s lips is a post-World Cup reunion with Mauricio Pochettino. The shadow of Pochettino looms large over every Tottenham Hotspur coach that has come after him and probably will for a long time until someone replicates his success. Ange Postecoglou was able to step out of that shadow, but no one else really has.
He will be available as it stands, his contract with the USMNT ends after the World Cup and it could be the perfect time to re-appoint the one figure that would almost certainly unify the fanbase. Poch has made no secret of his willingness to return, and as the chants of his name have echoed louder around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recent weeks, it feels inevitable that if it’s going to be ever, it’s going to be now.
Other names include Xavi Hernandez, a capable operator that would be a good fit for a long term project and rebuild which is so clearly what Tottenham need right now. Xabi Alonso and Julien Nagelsmann, who are both set to be available will almost certainly have their eyes set on higher-profile jobs like Liverpool and Real Madrid respectively.
Recently released Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi has also been proposed. He is the bookies favourite, and although he is a tactical innovator and had Brighton playing some great football, his tendency to clash with a board notorious for not liking outspoken managers doesn’t seem like the right fit, and it’s hard to see the fans getting completely onboard against a backdrop of a potential Pochettino reunion.
Whatever the outcome of this, the situation is a massive one, at quite possibly the most tumultuous elite club of the 2020’s so far, and there’s more than a few candidates. Manchester United I’m looking at you. A firefighting mission to get the club away from relegation, before looking to kick on more than likely under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino. He’ll be back home, it just remains to be seen if he can replicate his success.
