Tottenham are once again in turmoil, sitting 14th in the Premier League after early exits from the the FA Cup and League Cup, while their Champions League campaign hangs in the balance.
Ange Postecoglou’s sacking after last year’s Europa League triumph was supposed to end all the turbulence.
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The club statement upon Postecoglou’s dismissal said as much: “It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond.”
Those words are haunting the club, however, as they now compete on no front domestically. In Europe, they need a strong finish to the league phase to give themselves a chance of a meaningful campaign.
In reality, the absence of Angeball from north London has so far only succeeded in making Tottenham boring.
Former Brentford boss Thomas Frank was brought in as the anthesis of Ange. Spurs fans are now living a warning Postecoglou famously issued during his time as Socceroos boss.
“At some point in time I’ll get replaced by John the Pragmatist and you can all be happy and revel in it,” Postecoglou said during the 2017 Confederations Cup.
Tottenham fans certainly are not fan happy though as they are still booing their team off the pitch after most games.
When you dive into the numbers, it is clear to see why.
Frank has been in charge for 31 matches across all competitions since his appointment in June for only 12 wins – a win percentage of 38.7 per cent.
Postecoglou’s stood at 46 per cent as Tottenham won 46 of the 100 matches played during his two-year stint at the club.
Frank’s version of Tottenham are conceding less goals (1.35 per game compared to 1.57), but they are not scoring as often (1.68 per game compared to 1.83).
Understandably, the Danish manager is now under the pump.
Tottenham welcome West Ham in the early hours of Sunday morning AEDT and a loss to their London rivals, who are destined for relegation, would spark mayhem.
For the Hammers, Nuno Espirito Santo, the man Postecoglou replaced at Nottingham Forest, is skating on thin ice too with his team sitting 18th and enduring a ten-game winless run before defeating Championship outfit Queen’s Park Rangers in the FA Cup in their last outing.
Their two last league matches have been losses to fellow relegation contenders Forest and bottom-placed Wolves.
Times are almost as tense at Tottenham, however.
Spurs have just one win in their last seven and were knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Aston Villa on the weekend.
But the biggest sin was committed by Frank off the field: The Dane was snapped drinking out of an Arsenal branded cup before last week’s match at Bournemouth.
Tottenham fans did not respond kindly, venting their fury and sharing an array of conspiracy theories on social media.
“Anyone thinking I’ve done that, or the staff has done that [on purpose is wrong],” Frank said in his post-match press conference at Bournemouth.
“They’ve been in the changing room, the game before us. It’s normal to take a cup, give me an espresso – [I] do that before every game.
“I think, actually, it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that. I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club – of course I would never do that, that’s extremely stupid.”
The embarrassment it caused, combined with the glee it gave their league-leading rivals, the mounting losses, and the constant problems behind the scenes, led to another supporter protest being planned for this week’s game.
Spurs fans are angry that their manager did not apologise, and about other comments made by Frank about not enjoying his time at Tottenham.
“When you need to put in a big, big shift and it’s not smooth and it’s tough, it’s probably difficult to enjoy it,” he said when asked if he is enjoying his new club.
“If I run hard I don’t enjoy that moment but I know I need to keep my head down and run hard to get through it.
“So the short answer is: no [he is not enjoying his job]. The reality is you can’t,” Frank added.
“But when I put myself out of it and look down, I think: ‘What a privilege to be in charge of this fantastic club in a period where it’s a big transition’.”
The two sets of comments have left Frank unforgiven for his misdemeanours.
The fans are also incensed about having seen only two home wins so far this Premier League season.
The Spurs supporters trust have already demanded action, releasing a statement expressing their dissatisfaction and organising a fan protest ahead of the match. Protests were an all-too-common sight during former chair Dan Levy’s more than two decades in charge.
“Whilst we acknowledge the changes in personnel behind the scenes at the club, this has regrettably not been matched with improvements on the pitch,” the statement read.
“There also appears to be a dramatic fall in ambition for the football club, as evidenced by the transfer window to date and repeated statements by Thomas Frank, reminding supporters that the club finished 17th in the Premier League last season, that the club is only participating in the Champions League through winning the Europa League, and that Bournemouth [a side without a win in 11 games] are ‘always a difficult team’ and that he is ‘not enjoying the job.’
“Supporters have suffered the embarrassment of players directly confronting them for exercising their right to express themselves, of the club captain publicly calling out ‘other people’ at the club who do not speak except ‘to tell a few lies’, and of the manager being photographed drinking from an Arsenal cup apparently unaware that he was doing so.
“Whilst these incidents may have explanations that we could understand and even sympathise with, they demonstrate a lack of understanding and a lack of care about the perception of the football club.”
As a result of the angst, and West Ham’s struggles, former Tottenham player and manager Tim Sherwood dubbed the match “El Sackico” on Sky Sports.
Sherwood also shared his frustrations with his former club, and delivered a tactics talk that could have been taken straight from Postecoglou’s dressing room.
“I think their playing style is not fantastic,” Sherwood said. “Thomas needs to take the shackles off.”
“When they get the ball, get at them. Don’t play safe,” he added. “I don’t want you passing three yards backwards and square. Run and take the opposition on. Take the game to the opposition.”
Based on their attitude on the pitch, Tottenham’s players are clearly unhappy with the style of football they are being asked to play.
Defenders Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven even ignored Frank as they walked off the pitch after a loss to Chelsea in November.
“I don’t think Thomas Frank is going to last very long personally, and I only say that because I watch a lot of like players’ mannerisms like their body language when they’re talking to him or if he’s talking to them,” former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas said on the Wildcards Podcast.
“Players are coming off the bench and just not even looking at looking in his face when he’s talking to them. And there’s a clear I don’t know, there’s a clear breakdown in terms of maybe what he’s asking the players to do and the players just not agreeing with it.”
Those allegations gained strength when injured midfielder James Maddison made an appearance on Sky Sports as a guest pundit.
Asked about the highs and low of last season, the England international said the period under Postecoglou “was one I look back on fondly”.
“We’d never have a session with Ange where the base of the session, the model, wasn’t around how we played, with fullbacks inside, wingers high and wide, not really allowed to move from the touchline, kind of fixed wingers, and then rotation from the midfield three,” he said.
“Sometimes he’s shown us clips … of the fullbacks in the No.10 positions, and maybe your No.10 and your No.8 in the fullback positions, just like rotations,
“There’s still structure, it just didn’t matter who the personnel was … and he enjoyed that. We loved playing (that way).
“You (pundits) would describe it as chaotic and entertaining, but it was really fun to play, and we ended up with a trophy under Ange, so huge respect (for him).
“I loved that little period with him. We had ups and downs. but that’s what I miss.”
The respect the playing group had for Postecoglou was clear during the Europa League celebrations last year as well as in their social media posts farewelling the Australian once he was dismissed.
With Postecoglou without a job at present, many have pondered whether Tottenham would admit they made a mistake and bring the polarising manager back, if Frank is removed.
Sherwood shut down such a suggestion, however, saying: “That won’t happen.”
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Postecoglou; he’s a manager who won something at Spurs when others have failed,” he continued.
“They sacked a winner, and they made their choice in the best interests of the club. They believed that Postecoglou wasn’t the man to take them forward, end of.
“That is what they’ve done with Frank, they’ve put their belief in him being a success.
“He still might be a success, but he’s clearly not at the moment.”
If Frank is going to salvage his time at Tottenham, he made a promising step in the acquisition of former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher for a fee of £34.6 million ($69.5) from Atletico Madrid.
The 25-year-old England international had appeared headed to Aston Villa for his Premier League return, but a personal call from Frank reportedly convinced him to join Tottenham despite the team’s struggles.
A lot of weight will now be on Gallagher’s shoulders, but not as much as Frank’s.
The divide between manager and supporters is ever expanding.
While they have not appreciated many of his actions, Frank did not appreciate goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario being booed after making an error against Fulham in late November.
“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him straight after and a few times after that,” Frank said.
“They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you’re on the pitch and we do everything we can to perform. I’m fine with them booing after the match, no problem, but not during. That is unacceptable in my opinion.”
The war of words, or boos, shows that some things do not change.
Last season, many pointed the finger at Postecoglou as the problem.
Frank’s woes prove it is clearly far more complex than pinning the blame on the manager.
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