Thomas Frank is having a big week as Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach.
Spurs, who have already lost three games in a row, face a daunting journey to face Newcastle at St James’ Park on Tuesday before Frank’s former team Brentford travel to north London on Saturday.
There is no sign that this will be a job-closing game for Frank, but a home defeat to Brentford, who are currently ahead of Spurs in the table, could be devastating for him personally.
At a time when there is a clear disconnect between fans and players, Frank cannot afford to lose another league game at home.
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Free to watch: Premier League highlights of Tottenham Hotspurs vs Fulham
Arsenal’s away games in the league before the defeat were excellent, including victory at Man City and destruction at Everton and West Ham. But the feeling of losing in the North London derby will never go away. It was damaging.
Supporters will insist they travel up and down the country filling in goals and providing all the support they can for the players, as they did against Newcastle on Tuesday night.
However, their only home win in the league this season was against Burnley on the opening weekend, making it a rather miserable experience at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Gary Neville says the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium helped them beat Arsenal 3-0 in 2022. On this day, Arsenal’s Rob Holding was sent off. That actually wasn’t all that long ago, but the mixed success of subsequent recruiting efforts has led both clubs to go in completely different directions.
How did the players deal with booing from fans?
Frank seems to be slowly starting to realize that media attention is a completely different proposition in his new job. Some defeats at Brentford may go under the radar, but anything he says in a press conference will be front page news at Spurs.
Frank realized this when he said those who booed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario were not “true Tottenham fans” after he made a disastrous error in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham, but the intervention did not go particularly well.
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‘They’re not real Tottenham fans’ – Frank takes exception to Vicario’s treatment in defeat against Fulham
According to Sky Sports News, Frank only took issue with the booing during matches, which he felt was lost in the aftermath, and appreciated the lack of fan participation at a difficult time.
Like Frank, the team has no problem with fans voicing their opinions at either half-time or full-time, but the reaction to Vicario’s mistake that led to Harry Wilson’s goal was disappointing.
Spurs players responded to fans’ boos after last month’s derby defeat at home to Chelsea during their post-match debriefing, which is part of their routine after every game regardless of the result.
That weekend, Micky van de Ven and Jed Spence made headlines for ignoring Frank and storming off the field without applauding the home fans. Since then, the players have returned to the locker room together in a show of solidarity.
At the end of the day, everyone at Spurs wants the same thing, and efforts continue to address these challenges.
Spurs’ new CEO Vinay Venkatesham has an excellent reputation for engaging with the club and fans since his time at Arsenal, having overcome similar challenges during his time at Arsenal.
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Take the incident where Mickey van de Ven and Jed Spence disrespected Thomas Frank after Tottenham lost at home to Chelsea.
Problems plaguing Frank
Frank’s start to life at Spurs was a far cry from the heady days of the early Ange Postecoglou era, when the former Spurs manager compared the atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to a nightclub.
Postecoglou’s start at Spurs was not without its challenges. In the summer, when Hugo Lloris also left, we lost Harry Kane to Bayern Munich just days before the start of the season, but Son Heung-min, who had a special bond with the fans, came forward and took the armband.
Unfortunately for Frank, that didn’t happen this season. Son’s absence will be keenly felt both on and off the pitch.
Due to injury, Frank is without Dominic Solanke, his versatile striker, Dejan Kulusevski, one of Tottenham’s best creators in recent years, and of course James Maddison, who we may not see all season.
And to his credit, Frank didn’t use this as an excuse in his press conference. This needs to be accepted and recognized.
Xavi Simmons hasn’t had the best start at Spurs
Add to these injuries the big-money Xavi Simons, signed for £51m from RB Leipzig in the summer, and he hasn’t quite hit the ground running, and given these struggles, you start to question how much Frank wanted him.
Top targets Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze slipped out of Spurs’ hands, making for a frustrating end to the summer season.
Frank, who did not find immediate success at Brentford, will need more time and a transfer window. But for now, it looks like January is still a long way off and he has to hear how his current players are doing.
Everyone, including managers, needs to take some responsibility for the current problem. It’s looking like it’s going to be a really monotonous season at the moment, so all Spurs supporters want to see is some fight and excitement.
To make matters worse, your upcoming rival may be on the verge of winning.
