Spurs’ performance at Nottingham Forest was dire for Thomas Frank – and there are no quick fixes
Journalists who cover Tottenham Hotspur have grown accustomed to Thomas Frank’s general optimism. In light of underwhelming results, the club’s head coach looks beyond the outcome and speaks honestly about his assessment of a given game, even if Spurs fans feel differently.
But there was no such positivity as he walked into the press conference room following the dire 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday. In his first answer alone, Frank described their performance as “very disappointing”, “bad” and “disjointed”. Then again, for him to say anything else would have felt ludicrous. Considering the opposition started the weekend sitting 17th in the 20-team Premier League table, it was arguably Spurs’ worst performance of the season.
“I do everything to control my emotions, which is a hurricane inside me, because it’s deeply frustrating we are not doing better today after three good performances,” Frank went on to say in that post-match press conference. “It’s extremely important to be calm and measured. I’m very honest about where we are. I was also very honest today — it was a very bad performance.
“But I also know to change this will take some time. No one wants to hear about that. (But) It’s just reality.”
As Frank added, Tottenham have been well below par on too many occasions this season. Creativity has been a consistent problem under the Dane, with Spurs registering three of the top flight’s worst 10, and two of the lowest three, expected-goals (xG) performances this season. Under predecessor Ange Postecoglou, scoring goals was rarely a problem, but in Frank’s efforts to make Spurs a more coherent side, the creativity well has dried up entirely.
There is also a creeping sense of dissent, with Djed Spence reacting negatively after being substituted in the second half yesterday, just weeks after he and fellow defender Micky van de Ven appeared to ignore their coach’s attempts to keep them on the pitch to applaud the home fans after the 1-0 defeat against Chelsea. Not to mention the inexplicable individual errors leading to goals, now up to five, fewer than only well-adrift bottom-side Wolverhampton Wanderers. None of these issues have a “quick fix” to them, in Frank’s view.
Archie Gray was Sunday’s first culprit, a grounding for the 19-year-old after a bright couple of weeks where he appeared to stake his claim on a spot at the base of midfield. With the midfield combination of Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha lacking urgency and invention in possession, there was an evident need to switch things up.
Gray after his error for the first goal (Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
Gray started the 3-0 win against Burnley on the opening weekend of the season in August and did not return to the initial line-up in the Premier League until November 29. After a positive spell, the challenging trip to the City Ground served as a reminder that he is still relatively new to the pressures of playing as a midfielder in the Premier League.
For Forest’s opening goal, Gray received a short forward pass from ’keeper Guglielmo Vicario on the edge of the box; a difficult ball for any midfielder to deal with, but perhaps one a more experienced and seasoned operator would have found a better solution for. With Cristian Romero to his left, Gray should have either swept it on quickly to his captain or looked to spin away from Ibrahim Sangare, who was closing on him from behind.
In the end, Gray’s loose touch allowed the Ivory Coast international to win possession, leading to Callum Hudson-Odoi putting Forest in front. It’s a moment Frank said Vicario deserves no blame for in his post-match press conference, suggesting Gray should have “bounced” the pass wide first time.
The teenager’s reaction to that moment was encouraging, with a volley on the turn shortly after drawing a good save from John Victor, indicating he has the character and mental strength to succeed, but their long-term issues in his position are concerning.
Compared to the same unit in the Forest team, Spurs’ midfield was short on quality, physicality and Premier League experience — given the choice, it’s not beyond belief that Frank would swap opposite number Sean Dyche’s entire midfield trio for his own.
For that, he is not to blame. There is a lack of quality in this Tottenham squad in several areas, with central midfield being chief among those.
The club have recruited young in that area, and none of those signings appear to be entirely ready to play week-in-week-out for Spurs in the Premier League, while there have been separate issues with prime-age signings such as Yves Bissouma and James Maddison, who have missed large parts of their time at Tottenham through injury. On top of that, recent arrivals have failed to hit the ground running.
Under former chairman Daniel Levy, Tottenham managers and head coaches were offered limited grace when results were not up to scratch. The new administration is ambitious, with aspirations of finishing in a European spot this season, so results and performances must improve if Frank is to build a project in north London.
But the long-time Brentford head coach is right — Spurs are not a quick fix.
Investing in youth, which has been their transfer policy since Harry Kane departed for Bayern Munich in summer 2023, is pointless unless there is a plan in place for them to realise their potential. If Tottenham are to return to competing for Champions League spots consistently, the likes of Gray and Lucas Bergvall are likely to have significant parts to play.
Judging from his outstanding record of developing talent at Brentford, Frank has the coaching and human qualities to help them get there.
For that to happen, the 52-year-old, who is in his first ‘big’ job, must be given the time to succeed, too.
