- 4 months ago
Thomas Frank's reign as Spurs manager is over, with the team hovering over the relegation zone and without a league win all year. Adam Clery picks through the rubble to discover why an appointment that looked perfect in the summer has been such an unmitigated disaster.
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00:00Right, hello everybody, welcome to the Adam Cleary Football Channel, where Tottenham have literally just right now sacked Thomas Frank,
00:08and yeah, you can sort of see why they've done that.
00:13They were only three points off the drop at one stage this week, with Forrest and West Ham both hitting
00:18a bit of form, three consecutive London derbies up next, and then Liverpool after.
00:23No matter what you may think of this decision, you can understand why if you were running a football club,
00:30there would be a little bit of panic setting in.
00:33So yeah, let's have a look at this, Thomas Frank's Tottenham, and show you why it was not working, but
00:39also, how realistic is it that another manager could take this and stop it just sliding out of the division,
00:47because again, that is a possibility.
00:53Right, so just quickly before we start, a reminder that ACFC is brought to you, as ever, by our data
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01:00You'll see some of their stats and whatnot on screen during the video, but they also have that, the line
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01:06We really like them, it's on my phone right now, and you can have it on yours by clicking the
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01:12They're dead good.
01:13But anyway, yes, Thomas Frank's Tottenham, and we already covered this, like a month ago.
01:20They put in a shocking performance against Aston Villa, and we did sort of like an in-depth video looking
01:25at the problems they were having.
01:28And I'm not going to rehash too much of that here, because it's all still relevant, but the key takeaways
01:33were thus.
01:34There were just too many moments like this, right?
01:37Spurs push forward, they're aggressive, but they repeatedly either have no forward passing option, or opt not to take one
01:45when it's there.
01:46And honestly, when I was doing this video, I lost count of the amount of moments like this, right, where
01:51Paulina has no forward option.
01:55Moore does not get into the space here.
01:58Nobody gets into the box here.
02:00Paulina, again, has no option here, and they wind up working this situation at the final third into just a
02:08long, hopeful punt from their own half.
02:11So on the ball, there was no clear identity, but then off the ball, which this situation had now put
02:18them in, they press really aggressively.
02:20But Villa beat that first line of pressure in their own box so easily, and then sucker both the midfielders
02:28into trying to rush them, and just take them out with one pass.
02:31Porro then rushes over to try and cover, but doesn't get there.
02:34It's knocked off to Rodgers, and it takes this brilliant intervention from Mickey van der Ven to stop that just
02:40being a clear run through on goal.
02:42So in the space of like two minutes, you've seen evidence of a team that does not have a clear
02:48plan on the ball, and does not have an effective plan off it either.
02:52And the reason I want to show you those specific moments from last month is because in the time since,
02:57right, Thomas Frank had not fixed Tottenham by any stretch of the imagination, but there were slowly some signs of
03:05improvement.
03:05Against Man City, in the second half at least, this 4-4-2 block that Aston Villa were playing through
03:12with total ease, like we highlighted that in the video as well, that first goal is about as embarrassingly easy
03:17as you were ever going to see.
03:18Against Man City, it was a lot more robust. Like here, they try and play through it, but with Gallagher
03:24and Saar in the middle, they cover the passing lanes really well, they can see what's going on around them,
03:29they intercept the ball, and Tottenham should score from this breakaway upfield.
03:33And don't get me wrong, they're only small improvements, they're not making a massive difference, but there were more and
03:39more examples of things like that, which did suggest, if nothing else, that his ideas might finally be starting to
03:47work.
03:47Likewise, against Man United, I thought they looked really good until the red card. He had a really high man
03:54-to-man press that was unsettling Carrick's build-up, then they would drop into this low 4-4-2 block
03:59that was cutting off the middle of the pitch, and then get straight into a 3-2-5 and attack
04:04that was quite unlucky, I thought, to not get them a goal.
04:08In fact, even at 10 men, I thought they defended really well for the most part, and it did start
04:13to feel, in that second half, like they might snatch an equaliser that they probably merited.
04:19But of course, they didn't, did they? They gave away another goal, they lost 2-0, and that is pretty
04:24much the entire point.
04:26Romero's red card meant that Thomas Frank not only had to change his game plan in this match, but with
04:33the suspension for the next four games as well.
04:36So whatever momentum or understanding or cohesion was starting to build in this team was once again now gone.
04:43And I do think, honestly, if you're trying to understand why this team never felt like it had a coherent
04:50identity from week to week, right, you have to look at just how disrupted this season was for them.
04:57Them getting back into the Champions League has been great in terms of the results, but the automatic qualification and
05:03the results they've had have masked just what an impact this has had on the playing squad.
05:09This is transfer-marked unavailability table for Tottenham's first team, and look, yes, I know, every single club has injuries,
05:18right, and navigating them is part of a manager's job, but still, that is genuinely quite extraordinary.
05:25Maddison and Kuliszewski, two fundamental parts of Tottenham's identity, have not played a single minute under this manager.
05:32Mohamed Kudus was their major success story at the start of the season, he did his hamstring over the new
05:37year and is going to miss most of the rest of the season.
05:40Dominic Solanke has only just come back after two substitute appearances in the opening games.
05:46Richarlison, Bergwahl, Benton Kerr, Porra, Rodoggi, Davies and Danzo have all picked up something this year that is currently keeping
05:53them out.
05:54Simmonds got a three-match ban, Basuma missed every game and then still went to AFCON,
05:58and your captain, Christian Romero, just as you were getting a little bit of form together and starting to turn
06:05a corner,
06:06tweets that the club is full of snakes and liars and then gets a four-match ban for a tackle
06:11that would still start a full fistfight if you did it in a Power League game.
06:16A complete and proper, you knew what you were doing there, mate, if I have ever seen one.
06:23Now, these injuries, in my opinion, do not fully excuse the league table.
06:29Your job as a manager is to instill an identity, a personality, a system, a mindset, anything that ensures that
06:38if you are missing the players required to thrive,
06:41then the ones who come in will at least make sure you don't then collapse.
06:45You need clear ideas, you need consistent ideas, you need ideas that help build a togetherness both on the pitch
06:53and in the stands,
06:54which is ultimately what buys you time and credit with the players and with the fans and with the owners.
07:01And Thomas Frank, I still think, is a good coach.
07:04Like, he'll almost certainly get another job in this division and I would bet probably do quite well in it.
07:10But he did fail spectacularly to build an environment that could withstand all of this.
07:19Like, I always think people forget that when you are managing a football team, you have to manage them as
07:23people as much as you have to manage them as players.
07:27And the glaring thing about Thomas Frank's Tottenham was even when they did play well, even when their form improved,
07:33you could sense that lack of togetherness.
07:36Like, ultimately, it's the Newcastle game that's got him sacked and it was only 2-1.
07:41They had a great chance at the end to get something, so it's not disastrous on paper.
07:45But I watched that and the whole way through, the contrast between the attitude and the body language of the
07:53Newcastle players and the Tottenham players was alarming.
07:57But Newcastle are on a terrible run as well.
07:59Well, their manager was under massive pressure, but you could see that the players were playing for him and playing
08:06for each other.
08:07Whereas Tottenham just weren't.
08:10Case in point here, right, Spurs are breaking away at 1-1.
08:14This is a great opportunity, but Conor Gallagher gets his feet tangled and he fudges the pass, killing the move.
08:20And if you just pause that at the exact right second, right, look at the reactions from Tell and from
08:28Simmons.
08:28That is total frustration.
08:31Their arms are in the air.
08:32They basically stop playing because they're in a huff.
08:35And even Spence behind them is having a pop at Gallagher.
08:39And don't get me wrong, I absolutely get it.
08:41I've definitely been Tell and Simmons in that situation.
08:44But still, you're in a bad moment, you need to come together, and there is nothing supportive going on here.
08:51It even looks like Simmons turns around and starts giving him a load of grief for it.
08:55But the worst part about this isn't the reaction, right?
08:58It's the fact that the ball is still in play.
09:01And all of a sudden, this is the 4-4-2 block Tottenham are supposed to be in, out of
09:06possession.
09:07There's no reaction from the players to reorganise.
09:10And Newcastle turn it around and just play through them.
09:13And yes, fair enough, you are frustrated.
09:16Your teammate has made a massive mess of that, but you still have to react in the right way.
09:21But there's no pressure put on Ramsey.
09:23And then Barnes drops, and there's no pressure put on him.
09:27So he can get it in all this space, and he turns.
09:29Bear in mind, the ball's gone from Newcastle's goalkeeper, now to the edge of Tottenham's own box.
09:35Anthony Gordon gets it.
09:36He's got time.
09:37He can turn.
09:38He can shimmy.
09:39It's only even Gallagher who's bothered working back to try and get some solidity here.
09:43And this, again, is the shape they're in when it should be a 4-4-2 block.
09:49And it is, quite fittingly, this moment that cost them the game.
09:52Like, from here, Gordon turns.
09:54He dribbles.
09:55He comes out.
09:55And he attacks this space again, all with no real pressure on him whatsoever.
10:00And it's a great finish from Ramsey, sure.
10:02But nobody has really gone with him as he's followed his initial pass.
10:07So, for the second time, in about 20 seconds, when that ball hits the net, look at the reactions.
10:14Everybody is just blaming everybody else.
10:16Van der Ven turns and gestures at the space Gordon was allowed to attack to seemingly nobody.
10:23Simmons has had enough.
10:24Everybody's pointing fingers at each other.
10:25Vicario's losing his head.
10:27Just, like, fundamentally, right, you do not have to be a good team to be a good team, if that
10:34makes any sense.
10:36But the point is, Tottenham are neither.
10:38And it's a hard one to analyse because how many Tottenham goals have you seen this season
10:42where there is some baffling individual mistake?
10:45Both of the goals against Man City.
10:47Holding onto the ball too long and then playing a blind pass into the middle of the pitch.
10:51Malik Chow was before this where two players somehow get beaten to the ball after the save
10:56despite them both being favourites.
10:58And on every single one, you look at the body language, you look at the finger pointing,
11:02you look at people shouting at each other.
11:05And that's before you even include all those clips of the players visibly undermining the manager in public.
11:11However, what is the manager's fault is that he has failed to build an environment
11:16that either A, helps to reduce these mistakes, or B, responds well as a team when they do happen.
11:23And that is both really important and on him.
11:27And what that means in reality is that when they do have bad results, they don't then bounce back.
11:33They spiral instead and things get worse before they get better.
11:37Like, just to use Newcastle again as a comparison, they had a terrible result at the weekend.
11:42That was devastating getting beat that late to Brentford at home.
11:46But a few days later, they've turned up here, played really well, deservedly won.
11:51And when they've celebrated at the end, they've pushed their manager right to the front in front of the fans
11:57because he's under pressure as well.
11:59And you can see that collective desire to go and turn things around, to work hard for each other,
12:04to show that they're behind Eddie Howe.
12:07And just Tottenham felt like the complete opposite of that in this game.
12:11And I'm sure the root of all of these problems will get revealed in time.
12:16Like, Matt Law in the Telegraph has already reported that even from day one,
12:19most of the work was on what to do out of possession, how to nullify the opposition,
12:24rather than working on how they could hurt opponents.
12:26And the players really didn't like that.
12:29They're supposed to be Tottenham.
12:30They're supposed to be winning games, not just not losing them.
12:34And yeah, when you look at the results, I guess that carries.
12:36They've had a few good results against the big teams when they've worked really hard off the ball,
12:40but they've lacked any real cutting edge against their opponents who sit back.
12:45And yes, well observed, not unlike Thomas Frank's Brentford.
12:49But the problem there, of course, is that most of Brentford's games are against better teams
12:53where they do have to prioritise what they do off the ball.
12:57Whereas Tottenham's, if you look at the wage bill and the money spent
13:00and the alleged quality of the players, are not.
13:03They should be spending most games on the front foot.
13:06And I will simply have to take the L on this one,
13:11because I thought this was a really good appointment back in the summer.
13:15I can't pretend I didn't, but even still, we did a video quite early on
13:20saying that the problem with Thomas Frank as Tottenham manager
13:23was that Thomas Frank still seemed to think he was Brentford manager.
13:28And he never really fixed that.
13:29And yes, I do think he was showing some signs of turning it around
13:32and probably deserved until the end of the season.
13:35But we look again at the league table.
13:38I don't think if you're running a football club in a responsible manner,
13:42you can really afford to take that risk.
13:45And they haven't.
13:46But yes, I know what the next question you're going to have is.
13:48Who could possibly fix all of this for them?
13:51Obviously, Roberto De Zerbi, that's a tantalising prospect.
13:54I think Robbie Keane, who's a French Javarroche, if you say it at the minute,
13:59he'd be quite a fun option.
14:01But yeah, I've got no idea.
14:03I don't know if they can get Glasner.
14:05I don't know if they can get Areola.
14:07I don't even know right now if they should.
14:09But thankfully, that is what you, Mr. or Mrs. Tottenham fan, are here for.
14:14So how would you replace the outgoing Thomas Frank in the Tottenham hot spur hot seat?
14:20I presume that's what everybody calls it.
14:22Let us know down below.
14:23Would you even sacked him?
14:24Do you think he deserved until the end of the season?
14:25I'd be interested in that opinion as well.
14:27But if not, if you're glad to see the back of him, who do you want to replace him?
14:31I'm busy.
14:32Please don't say me.
14:32But you can get me across all the social medias at Adam Cleary, C-L-E-R-Y.
14:37Thanks once again to our data pals, Fotbob, whose app you should absolutely be downloading
14:40right this very second because it is very, very, very, very good.
14:44You can subscribe to us here at the Adam Cleary Football Channel if you haven't done already.
14:47And until next time, which, what will that be?
14:50Probably when they appoint somebody new, actually.
14:52Next video will be Tottenham as well.
14:53I'll see you then.
14:55Goodbye.
14:57Oh, sorry.
14:58Why am I dressed like this?
14:59Don't worry about it.
15:00You'll see in a couple of weeks' time.
15:02We were filming a thing.
15:04I'm not expecting to have to do this.
15:06I've been caught with my trousers.
15:08I'm going to shut up.
15:09Goodbye.
15:09Goodbye.
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