Is Frank a proven coach???? Not sure about that one... he's proved he can manage small teams with small budgets but that is the sum total of his resume... if he was the candidate that ticked all the boxes, god only knows what those boxes were?
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Manager Thomas Frank
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I thought some had gone way too early on the criticism and it was pissing me off given what we'd witnessed for the previous 15 months. Really came across that agendas were at play Every manager deserves a chance. I really really didnt want AVB or Mourinho but once here you have to give them a few months.
But lets be honest, its been brutal, 4 complete no shows against Bournemouth, Chelsea, Woolwich and Forest. Dismal perfomances against Villa, Wolves and Fulham. A meek exit in the league cup. The CL has been ok results wise but its been a fortunate set of fixtures. Personally i wouldnt sack him yet, more for lack of obvious replacements willing to come in now, but a few more defeats and/or shit performances then its difficult to plead give him time. Can we honestly say this is better than Nuno?
For what its worth i feel a bit sorry for him, no Maddison, Kulusevski, Solanke at all, a bungled summer with Gibbs White/Eze and a bunch of preening, arrogant players who dont care about losing. But hey, welcome to Tottenham.
Yep, it's the Spurs doom loop... Poch raised the bar artificially too high for those who would follow. Now that bar is being dragged so low that the current manager is trying to persuade the fanbase that a solid 14th placed finish is something to be ecstatic about. Every football club makes bad decisions. But we are the only club that makes bad decision after bad decision. Other than firing Levy, I can't even think the last time we made a good decision. Sacking Ange was a good decision in isolation until we hired Frank to replace him which was a terrible decision. What was the last signing we made that moved the dial? VDV maybe?
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I don't think it feels quite so hopeless right now, but statistically it may very well be quite similar.
My concern is that there's no obvious Conte to come in and fix things almost immediately this time around.
Very different. Howe has won a trophy and got Newcastle into the Champions League twice. Yes they are having a down season much like the last time they played in the Champions League... this down to having a strong eleven but not necessarily a strong squad. Plus that had to deal with Isak all summer. I have no issue with the media giving Howe a pass. He has proven he can lead a big side. Frank on the other hand is clearly out of his depth.
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It could be argued that we may as well have hired Brentford's set piece coach as our first team manager, given the circumstances.
Its worrying to say the least, I was a bit underwhelmed when he was initially appointed, but I just kept getting told how he was the reason Brentford stayed in the league and he likes to play attacking football so giving him the tools here will show what he can really do, and i'll be honest after the first PSG game i was pretty excited, its just since then its gone downhill rapidly , I think its obvious the squad have not bought into his ideas and they appear to be just going through the motions. But what ever happened to the man who said "to not take risks, is to take risk's" I think Frank is a good manager but he needs to be in a club where mid table is a good season, and just staying up is the aim.
The scary part is, even when we get a new manager in we are still going to have a squad full of looser mentality players, its just Spurs through and through though isn't it, you think we have finally turned the corner by Winning the EL and getting CL football next season and we can kick on but nope, its like the team became conditioned to losing in the league last season , what ever happened to win at all costs, die for the badge so to speak?
I look at Sunderland playing in a derby against Newcastle and player for player, you would think Newcastle will walk it, but its like the Sunderland players knew what the derby meant to the fans and left everything on the pitch, its sad to see how we just shat the bed against the gooners when the stakes are higher as the cunts are sat top of the league. Even if Newcastle won on Sunday , i'm pretty sure the fans would have accepted it as the players done their best and left it all on the pitch, we can't say that any more, I have never felt so disconnected from the club and the players in general. Sad time ahead.
The problem is that there is no us. Just a bunch of young rich players who think they are smarter, better and who will leave the first time a bigger club offers them a better contract. Create an us over the years. Thomas Frank's principles center on a strong community ("togetherness"), where the best of the team is achieved by prioritizing good personalities and hard work over individual egos, and are built on respect, security and trust. Or you can persist and continue in anonymity.
A good manager can build a collective, and quickly.
But he still needs to fit the ethos and ambition of the club for it to really work.
Which was my point, its about the right manager - not just any manager.
Don't disagree with your wider point but what does the bit in bold mean? Can't make that profit on the club without first selling it surely?
I get the Sunderland reference... if you can't match a team technically then at least match them physically or (as in the case of Sunderland) be more physical and combative. We haven't been that club in my lifetime. Always been soft even under Poch. If our opponent could deal with our football then we were done because we weren't winning the physical battle. People talk about that Chav game where we got stuck in but that wasn't being more physical or combative. That was mindless and losing the plot.
- Give it to Romero / VDV (inside our own half)
- Give it to Kudus (inside the opponent's half)
Mentions of a looming relegation battle in the context of last season where there were 3 utterly hopeless teams in the bottom were doom-mongering, but it's not as straightforward this year. Wolves are already down, but the rest of the league are fighting tooth and nail to avoid the remaining 2 spots; with some teams like West Ham and Forest in a clear upward trajectory not reflected by their current lowly standings.
Thoughts of We're too good to get relegated and There are far too many teams between us and the danger zone right now are soothing, and the board would most likely take action in case things really went in that direction, but the fact that this is even a matter of discussion is a damning indictment of Frank. For all the comparisons with Pochettino's early struggles, I don't remember thinking along these lines at any point back then.
In that context; It's not about extra investment.
We're currently underperforming our CURRENT level of investment.
Maddison and Kulusevski are both inconsistent, and Solanke is a hard worker but not a particularly skilful player and has one good season to his name.
I'm not suggesting having them in the team now wouldn't make a difference, but it's not like we're missing three world class players is it?
Im not sure where Kulusevski fits in a Frank set up, maybe Xavis position? Same for Maddison, he wouldnt be progressing the ball from deep, he'd be starving in the #10 spot.
Solanke though, I think he would be a significant upgrade on Richarlison. The ball would stick a lot more in the final third than just bounce somewhere random...
Solanke though, I think he would be a significant upgrade on Richarlison. The ball would stick a lot more in the final third than just bounce somewhere random...
And Frank has little or no hope of winning a trophy this season!Indeed, it's stinky
Yeah, if we copped even half of the injury crisis of last December/Jan we'd be in a load of shit very quickly. Even Udogie being missing out of that back 5 has had an immediate impact.
As I've said elsewhere I think Frank's been hamstrung by the circumstances of his tenure. Bunch of senior players who consider themselves Trophy winning heroes rather than relegation candidates - so they aren't interested in his message that they have to change everything about their play and culture etc... Don't think there's anything Frank can do about that - you can't sack the players so he'll probably have to go - which will wake the players up to their actual circumstances: kind of similar to Forest's situation this year.
But perhaps more importantly we need to identify, target and secure a genuinely elite Mid in the January window. Someone who can drive change through standards and leadership and passing skill. Who that is...? Locatelli perhaps? But we definitely need a gamechanger in midfield to link defence and attack and help kickstart a new era.
Big ask...
Solanke will be back for 2 games and out for 10 more. May as well forget about making plans involving him.