I did not want Frank, and I still don't want Frank. Because I like coaches with a clear proactive ethos, and Frank has always is a reactive pragmatist. Not everyone hates that, but it doesn't appeal to me. For me, however competent Frank is, he will always be limited by his pragmatism and reactivity.
This squad is fucking dogshit. It was dogshit for Ange, it's dogshit for Frank.
We have gone from an aggressively proactive risk taking ethos - which absolutely yielded attacking dividends, but came at the cost of defensive stability, to an arch pragmatic ethos which is actually starting to yield defensive dividends but at huge offensive cost.
This is clearly demonstrated in our XG performances:
We now have the 4th best XGA (25.50 - Ange 24/25 - 34.79) - But 16th XG (21.93 - Ange 24/25 - 40.78)
Our PPDA (passes per defensive action allowed has gone from 2nd to 8th). More reactive.
Other thoughts:
I think Frank rotates the squad better than Ange did, and his in game management is marginally better.
His starting tactics and format of 4231, even when we don't have an ACM available is piss poor IMO as we have no midfielders rounded or multi faceted enough to play a double pivot and no one other than Simons remotely capable of playing as a ACM, and he's struggling to adapt to the PL.
He's been far luckier and less hampered by injuries, particularly in defence than Ange was. Maddison is the biggest miss, but Ange lost him for big chunks too.
Do we stick on 15 or twist?
As much as I dislike Frank's approach (and as well as the offensive sacrifices, I also think it's taken him too long to improve the defensive performances, despite having first choice defenders available far more than Ange, and a designated defensive midfielder in Palhinha at his disposal - but this maybe was not helped by following an aggressively offensive risk taker) I'm tempted to say we might as well stick for the season, trust his pragmatism will cost less than swapping for a more proactive gamble mid season (with no time to work with 2 games a week for at least another month or two). Then see where we are at in May.
Personally, I'd move on in the summer anyway, his approach will always have limits.
I think that’s what’s likely going to happen, unless we are in clear and present danger of relegation. If that happens, we’d better hope whoever we give the rescue mission to succeeds (cue fat Sam gifs
).