Tottenham manager Thomas Frank said the reasons for his team’s 3-0 loss against Nottingham Forest were individual mistakes, poor passing, losing duels, and the team’s failure to respond properly to setbacks.
The Spurs head coach explained how he was trying to keep his emotions in check after a bad loss with a “fiery and annoying performance”, saying he had a “hurricane inside of me”.
The frustration boiled over in an interview with Sky Sports’ Pat Davison, in which Frank hit back at Guglielmo Vicario’s mistake against Fulham last month and said it should not be compared to Forest’s first goal, claiming it was caused by Archie Gray’s touch before the goalkeeper’s pass was dissipated.
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Thomas Frank criticized Pat Davison on Sky Sports for suggesting Nottingham Forest’s first goal was a similar mistake by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario in Tottenham’s game against Fulham.
Tottenham went into this game unbeaten in three games in all competitions, but defeat at the City Ground meant it was their worst start to a Premier League season in 17 years.
Spurs have fallen back to the bottom of the table in 11th place after finishing 17th last season under manager Ange Postecoglou.
“No quick-fix solutions” and deep-rooted problems
In the post-match press conference, Frank was asked if he was confident he would be given time to get the club back on track.
“I think it’s clear that if no one has time, no one can change the situation,” he said. “This is not a quick fix.”
In analyzing the performance, Frank referred to long-standing issues within the group, who struggled mightily in the league last season despite winning the Europa League.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero and his teammates during the defeat at Nottingham Forest
Frank believes Spurs’ reaction to conceding goals is an entrenched issue within the team. Explaining how his team lost their way after Forest took a 1-0 lead, he said: “These setbacks shouldn’t affect us that much. A single goal shouldn’t have thrown the game so apart.”
“That’s part of ‘maintaining structure, maintaining game plan, continuing to do the right things.’ This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this, this year, last year, etc.
“It’s an ongoing thing (he’s working on it with the team) and he’s working on it more consistently.”
sloppy spurs
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Nottingham Forest take the lead at the City Ground after Spurs’ misery at the back.
Gray’s mistake was the fifth time in the Premier League this season that a Spurs player has made a mistake that has directly led to an opponent’s goal. Only the bottom club, Wolves (seven teams), achieved a better result. Spurs also made the most mistakes that led to opponents’ shots (20).
The Spurs’ sloppiness was a theme throughout Sunday’s game. Their passing accuracy of 79 percent was the fourth-lowest in the league this season.
This resulted in Spurs scoring just 0.37 expected goals and striker Richarlison registering just two touches inside the opposition box throughout the match. Spurs had just one shot on target.
“With all due respect, we’re fighting together, we’re winning together, we’re losing together…but they have to be able to hit each other,” Frank said of the Spurs’ death. “It has nothing to do with structure.
“It’s a simple pass. I think we lost the ball 20 times (on simple passes).”
lack of strength
Lost your belongings? “I didn’t win enough duels,” Frank said.
Indeed, in a hard-fought battle, Forest won. Callum Hudson-Odoi, who scored twice, described his team’s approach to the game by saying, “Go, go, go.” They dominated the Spurs in running metrics, with the visiting team posting some of their lowest numbers of the season.
The Spurs team’s attitude was also highlighted, not for the first time this season, by Jed Spence’s less-than-impressive reaction to being substituted.
Saturday, December 20th 5pm
5:30pm kickoff
Frank didn’t understand it, but he had a clear idea of the big picture.
“Today was a step backwards,” he said, lamenting his team’s failure to capitalize on the encouragement they have received in recent games against Newcastle, Brentford and Slavia Prague.
Spurs have six days to deal with a number of issues before they play Liverpool on Saturday. Is there a quick fix? Frank needs to find a solution ASAP. Otherwise, Spurs’ inconsistency could derail next season in the Premier League.
