At the beginning of Tottenham Hotspur's pre-season tour in Hong Kong (China) last summer, Thomas Frank still maintained the habit of running at dawn like when he was leading Brentford. He left the Hong Kong Kerry Hotel to see Victoria Harbour. But before he could go far, Frank was recognized by local fans. Many people stood waiting around the entrance and lobby of the luxurious base of the Premier League representative throughout the team's stay.
Before being surrounded by requests for photos and autographs, Frank returned to the hotel. Tottenham officials then viewed the story as a clear illustration. Since joining Spurs, the level of scrutiny and attention will be completely different. This is an adjustment that Frank ultimately could not fully implement.
The 52-year-old captain was sacked by Spurs. Signs of incompatibility appeared early. Frank left after 8 months with 13 wins in 38 matches. Tottenham is ranked 16th in the Premier League table and has not won any matches in the league in 2026. Spurs won a ticket to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 thanks to a fairly stable group stage campaign. But the club cannot allow history to repeat itself.
Last season, Tottenham placed almost all priorities on the European front. As a result, they won the UEFA Europa League and ended their 17-year title drought. Ange Postecoglou left the hot seat immediately afterwards. If this time they focus all on a single goal with the hope of winning the Champions League even though the probability is very low, the price could be a relegation ticket.
Tottenham is currently only 5 points ahead of the bottom 3 teams. They have only won 2 in the last 17 matches. Therefore, change is almost mandatory. But what happened in the end? And who is responsible?
Bright start then quickly deviated
Frank started the season quite promisingly. Tottenham under Postecoglou once revealed many problems. Frank helped stabilize the defense system and kept a clean sheet in 5 of the first 8 matches in all competitions. Prominent is the 2-0 victory over Manchester City.
Tactical flexibility also appeared early. This creates a sense of relief after the rigid operation before. At the UEFA Super Cup in August, Spurs led Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 when there were only 5 minutes left. But the European champions scored 2 goals in a row and then won in a 4-3 penalty shootout. A collapse evokes the worst version of Tottenham and is also an early warning for the new era.
When the Champions League campaign enters a real rhythm, Spurs begin to encounter difficulties. Flexibility gradually turns into a feeling of finding the way. Each week is a different arrangement and each match is a fire-fighting problem.
Suffocating schedule and question marks in the dressing room
The dense schedule with 3 matches in 7 days lasting for many weeks has exposed the weaknesses of both Tottenham and Frank.
According to sources, people living near Frank in East Sheen noticed that his taxi ride to the training ground very early every day began to erode his fitness. In Brentford, Frank was used to less-fought weeks.
Sources at the training ground also said that many players were surprised because the exercise volume focused on neutralizing the opponent. Meanwhile, Tottenham's own playing style development was not given commensurate priority.
Discipline issues also become worrying. There is a lot of concern about how Frank handled a situation in early November. At that time, Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven did not respond to the home fans as requested by the coach after the 0-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The ability to control the dressing room was also questioned when Frank continuously avoided public criticism of Cristian Romero. This center-back twice publicly attacked the club on social media about the investment level and injury crisis. Romero's red card in the 0-2 defeat to Manchester United was also a moment of lack of restraint. A 4-match suspension prevented him from returning before mid-March.
Both Frank and Tottenham's board of directors admit that the squad lacks true leaders. This is seen as the motivation to promote the deal to bring Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid in January. Tottenham also made efforts but failed to recruit Andy Robertson from Liverpool.
