Tottenham have not been good enough under Thomas Frank this season.
Tottenham Hotspur have endured a terrible Premier League campaign so far, with many supporters having already written off the term. Just a couple of wins in the past 12 Premier League games have seen Thomas Frank’s side tumble to 14th in the table.
One of the looming concerns for Spurs in this ongoing slump of form has been creativity and goals, or, to be more precise, the lack of them. For some time now, they have been crying out for an elite ball-carrier who can slot into the heart of midfield and provide invention from central channels. At this moment, the North Londoners lack an all-action central midfielder capable of influencing the game at both ends of the pitch.
The last-gasp 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth highlighted the need for such a commodity in Tottenham’s engine room. Of course, injuries to key players have not helped Thomas Frank’s cause, but it cannot be overlooked that he is not getting the best out of the current crop of players.
Alarming stats expose Tottenham’s problems in creating and scoring goals
Without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs have not been progressive and incisive with their passing from midfield. The duo were Tottenham’s creative hubs under Ange Postecoglou last season, and missing their services for this campaign thus far has hugely affected Frank’s team.
Mohammed Kudus, a summer signing from West Ham, has shouldered the creative responsibility, but he has now been ruled out for a few months. This currently leaves Frank with Xavi Simons as a genuine playmaker in his squad, and the expectation will be to see the Dutchman step up his game and show more maturity after a disappointing start to his N17 career.
Recently, a grim stat revealed that Tottenham is at the bottom of the table when it comes to attempted through balls. Spurs have delivered a lowly 11 through balls in 21 games. To make matters worse, a new stat has come to the floor now.
According to Squawka, nine players have attempted more through balls than Tottenham in the Premier League this season. The names are Bruno Fernandes (18), Bruno Guimaraes (16), Rayan Cherki (15), Martin Odegaard (15), Morgan Rogers (14), Jeremy Doku (13), Bryan Mbeumo (12), Adam Wharton (12) and Yeremy Pino (12).
This is alarming data that paints a picture of systemic failure rather than isolated problems. Even more concerning is that Tottenham have attempted only 11 through balls in 21 league games, explaining why their offensive output is among the worst in the division. It also underlines the lack of quality in the squad that has plagued the north Londoners throughout the campaign.
For a club that won the Europa League last season and now harbours hopes of qualifying for Europe once again, ranking rock-bottom in the table for the through balls metric is extremely damning and represents a total failure that demands urgent action from Frank and the board. Thus, it is vital for the board to back the Danish tactician with midfield and reinforcements in this winter window, especially with Bentancur and Kudus suffering injuries recently.
