Thomas Frank has failed to get the best out of the squad at Tottenham.
Thomas Frank has struggled to make a mark in his debut season at Tottenham Hotspur.
After more than six successful years with Brentford, the Dane was roped in by Spurs in June. He replaced Europa League-winning head coach Ange Postecoglou at the helm, so there was no doubt that the 52-year-old was filling in the big boots in north London.
However, after a bright start to his tenure, Thomas Frank has failed to get going and extract the best out of the squad. Tottenham have dropped to 14th in the table, and the relationship between the loyal fans and the team is completely broken. Frank’s pragmatic style of play has not done little to improve the mood at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Thomas Frank has little influence over transfers at Tottenham
One of the main issues the Lilywhites have faced is a lack of invention and goals. Ever since Frank walked into the club, Spurs have been linked with strikers such as Yoane Wissa, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago. All these players have Brentford in common, demonstrating how good Frank’s recruitment strategy was during his time in west London.
Bar Wissa, who moved to Newcastle United in the summer from Brentford and got sidelined for months with injury, the rest of the strikers/forwards have contributed significantly to their respective clubs. In contrast, Tottenham have netted just 30 goals in the Premier League, with top scorer Richarlison recently entering the infirmary.
This has prompted former Spurs scout Bryan King to question where Frank’s ability to pick strikers has disappeared in N17.
“Thomas Frank has been the initiator of three very good centre-forwards at Brentford,” Bryan King exclusively told Tottenham News.
“Ivan Toney came to fruition, Bryan Mbeumo has gone to Manchester United and then Igor Thiago, who they brought in.
“I can’t understand why Tottenham can’t find another centre-forward as he did at Brentford. It’s a shame he hasn’t yet found the knack of getting one at Tottenham.”
Dominic Solanke is back from injury
It is worth noting that Frank has been extremely unfortunate with injuries at the club. He has been devoid of key stars such as James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski for the entirety of the campaign, while Dominic Solanke has just returned after five months out with a calf issue.
Solanke is the Lilywhites’ most expensive signing, having been brought in to fill the void left by the legendary Harry Kane in 2023. After joining from Bournemouth in 2024, Solanke had a decent debut season in north London and helped the club win the Europa League. Now back fit, the England international could become the solution to Tottenham’s goalscoring problems, provided he does not suffer a relapse of his calf problem.
So, Frank and the medical team have to manage Solanke extremely well if they want to keep the 28-year-old fit for the rest of the season and extract the best out of him.