Tottenham Hotspur just had a few underwhelming performances going into the international hiatus.
The pressure on Thomas Frank has been rising, not from the inside but from the supporters who crave an attractive brand of football. The Lilywhites faithful have always been a bunch that appreciates good football. That has come through as a frustration of late, especially given how this team has been struggling to put in right passes going forward in the past games.
And that is only the tip of the iceberg.
The Dane head coach has a lot to figure out in the ongoing international hiatus. He needs to take this opportunity to make building blocks to ensure that the problems that Tottenham faced in the recent weeks are addressed.
And we will take this opportunity to look at three such things that Thomas Frank has to address this fortnight.
3 things that Thomas Frank has to work out in the next fortnight at Hotspur Way
Getting the attacking sequences in place
While the Dane head coach has established a finely tuned structure at Hotspur Way, it brings more stability on the defensive side of things. But as soon as the North Londoners start playing on the front foot, things either get too predictable for the opponents or the passes don’t come off in a way that is needed for the Lilywhites to penetrate the opponents.
Tottenham’s xG of 0.10 against Chelsea was the lowest that Spurs have ever recorded in a Premier League game. This alone speaks volumes about the North Londoners attacking problems.
Frank has been relying a lot on either individual qualities or on dead ball situations to grab goals. But other than that, the sequences in places don’t really come off purely tactically. And this is something which is a big concern for Tottenham supporters.
Many would argue that the North Londoners are facing injury problems, but then you still have marquee players on the pitch like Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Palhinha, Porro and many more. And moreover, if the tactics and structure of attacking are set in the same way as the defensive side of things, then these injuries don’t make this big of a marginal difference.
Frank needs to get back to his drawing room and figure out his offensive sequences again.
Getting the home form right
Another problem that Tottenham have faced this season has been their inability to get results at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
To put that into perspective, the Lilywhites have only accumulated five points from six games at N17. They have only won one game in the English top tier as hosts, which came against newly promoted Burnley on the season’s opening day.
While the away form has been commendable, there is this sudden drop of system when the Spurs line up at home.
Boos have been a norm in the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium lately, and it is quite understandable. You have a team that is not playing on the front foot, and then they barely win games. Tottenham fans are an honest bunch, and they always let the team know how they feel.
For Frank, he now needs to figure out a way to build a culture. The team should feel at one with the supporters and vice versa.
Unleashing Xavi Simons
Tottenham Hotspur signed Simons in a marquee deal in the summer transfer window. And while he arrived taking up a lot of headlines, he has not been putting in performances quite near to the expectations that the North Londoners have from him.
And while there have been more than enough glimpses of his obvious talent, there is this visible lack of output. The Dutchman has been floating between lanes to receive, but then his actions have not produced a lot of strong sequences. At times his carries are too deep.
The fact that Thomas Frank had to remove his key creator when Tottenham were trailing against Man United last weekend speaks volumes about how Xavi Simons has been struggling to unlock defences for his new employers.
The Dane head coach will have to figure out how he can get the best out of his summer arrival post the ongoing international hiatus.