Thomas Frank ended his reign at Tottenham Hotspur after just eight months after the north London side lost 2-1 to Newcastle on Tuesday, but his departure was long overdue.
Thomas Frank leaves Spurs after just eight months (Image: Getty Images)
The end of Thomas Frank came just when Tottenham claimed otherwise, as he decided to end his seven-month spell at the north London club.
CEO Vinay Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange, along with non-executive chairman Peter Charrington, made the recommendations to the club’s owners, the Lewis family, late on Tuesday night, shortly after witnessing Spurs’ recent disappointing developments. Venkatesham tried to give the 52-year-old as much time as possible, but what he produced ultimately wasn’t enough.
In the end, Frank lost not only the trust of his fans, but also the trust of the dressing room. He believed in a leadership group of a small core of players. Some of the players outside of that main group went days without hearing much from him personally, and few knew what position they were in.
The atmosphere became difficult as the leaders began to vacillate against him, and the Dane’s tenure began to slide towards the end. He was brought in as a safe resource, but it ultimately turned out to be nothing like that.
Frank was convinced it would never end. No man was more certain of his fate in the face of such overwhelming opposition, but ultimately the threat of relegation was too much for the club.
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Watching Frank display his defiant attitude after the final whistle despite the odds was like watching Jon Snow draw his sword alone in front of the galloping Bolton cavalry in Game of Thrones.
The only people roaring at Frank in the swirling rain were Spurs fans, a dire and inevitable outcome, and no Knights of the Vale would jump over the hill to save Frank during the transfer window or after this defeat.
Frank united Tottenham’s fan base, but not in the way anyone at the club had hoped or planned.
As the final whistle blew on Tuesday night, the Spurs fans still in the South Stand, who had not yet made their way home in the light rain, sang “You’ll be fired in the morning” to a drenched Frank, before chanting “Mauricio Pochettino, he’s magic” again.
For years Tottenham have been hunkering down rather than sticking with their manager, but nothing in the Frank era since Pochettino’s sacking suggested he should finally be the one to break the club’s cycle of ruin.
Johan Lange and Vinay Venkatesham have made the decision to transfer Frank (Image: Getty Images)
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Tottenham have scored 14 fewer goals and won fewer points than they scored in the Premier League at this stage last season, winning just two of their last 17 Premier League games.
Tottenham certainly have a huge injury list, with 11 in total, including Wilson Odbert picking up a worrying new knee problem on Tuesday night.
Captain Cristian Romero also sat on the sideline in the drizzle, serving the first of a four-game suspension that Spurs most needed.
When the Spurs went through the exact same injury crisis last season, they found themselves missing key parts of the team. There were few playmakers, with Ben Davies and Archie Gray playing as central defenders and Matthijs Tell having to come on as long centre-forward.
Tottenham suffered a crushing defeat in the Premier League this season (Image: Getty Images)
Frank started the game against Eddie Howe’s side, with £176m of talent in the front four. But it looked like the quartet had never played a game together. They sit 16th in the Premier League table, with Benjamin Sesco scoring in a last-ditch effort against Manchester United and West Ham from not just five but three points above the drop zone.
The reasons given beforehand for sticking with Frank were the same as those for Ange Postecoglou. Spurs have to show patience and watch out for injuries, the team will get better as people come back.
Still, there was evidence of the kind of football Tottenham could play under Postecoglou. There was no evidence of that under Frank, no set style or football that would get fans out of their seats. Spurs fell back and showed no signs of moving forward again.
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