Tottenham struggled under Ange Postecoglou, but at least it was fun and entertaining. Under his predecessor Thomas Frank, Spurs have become turgid and inconsistent
Thomas Frank admitted that his calm personality hid a “hurricane inside.”
Sometimes it is probably better to show the people how much you care and how much it is hurting. Maybe he should have let his guard down at the City Ground.
At the moment, it should hurt for Tottenham. Three steps forward (a battling draw at Newcastle and back-to-back home wins against Brentford and Slavia Prague) followed by an almighty leap backwards with a shocking defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Shocking? The performance was. You have to admire Spurs for laying out free scarves for the travelling fans. That sort of thing is a nice touch. But it quickly gets forgotten amid the chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the Forest fans.
And there is no doubt how much Frank cares. The Tottenham fans are – and perhaps this is being generous – divided on Frank. The football is not very good, the home results have been woefully inconsistent. And the players are hardly helping either.
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Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario has such poor body language. Throwing his arms in the air in frustration as if it is always someone else’s fault but his own.
That was why Spurs fans were so upset with him and booed him after a howler against Fulham. Vicario was at the centre of two big moments at Forest, the second of which he is throwing his arms up in the air after being beaten by Callum Hudson-Odoi’s long range cross shot.
But the first one is just woeful. This is not about playing out from the back. This is about a straight pass from the keeper. That is what Vicario did and he played Archie Gray into trouble.
It was on Vicario. Not Gray. Vicario should be playing a pass at an angle. It is basic. There should be a law against a straight pass from the keeper. The keeper has landed his teammate in a right old mess. It was shocking.
Djed Spence threw a tantrum when he came off (hurling a jacket to the ground when he was substituted). These moments undermine the manager – and it is the last thing he needs.
Yet still Frank keeps his calm. Maybe he needs to lose his temper in a public show for the fans. You can file the Forest defeat under the really bad performances against Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham and Bournemouth. Wolves even. And that was a draw.
Frank desperately needs to find some consistency. Even if is just in terms of level of performance. You cannot go from battling 2-2 draw at Newcastle to lame, meek woeful surrender at Forest in such quick succession.
Equally, the club must back Frank in the next transfer window. The squad is not good enough. They are crying out for a new keeper. They have got an assortment of nearly men forwards who look as if three should be traded in for one decent striker.
They desperately need Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski back. That will make such a difference. But we are into Ange Postecoglou territory there: bemoaning injuries and missing players.
At least Ange Ball was fun and entertaining. Plus it delivered a trophy. Going from that to inconsistent turgid football is a big ask.
But Frank must be given time to show if he is up to the job. It is a big ask to step up from Brentford to Tottenham. And at the moment, the gap looks too big. It is Frank’s job to prove otherwise.
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