Tottenham turmoil shows no sign of easing
Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank on the touchline. Pic: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.
There were echoes of a glorious past all around the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Saturday evening, but the present day Spurs are an unhappy bunch, and no-one knows what the future will bring, particularly for Thomas Frank.
The Tottenham manager's job has been in question for some time, and Aston Villa's joyous fans taunted him with chants of “You're getting sacked in the morning” and “Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan,” after the Dane was photographed holding an Arsenal-branded coffee cup during his team's defeat at Bournemouth last Wednesday.
It was looking bleak for him at half-time as Spurs were booed off again by their own supporters, trailing 2-0 to a far superior Villa side who looked like they could end up humiliating their hosts.
The fact that Tottenham's players put up a fight after the break, pulled one goal back and went close to equalising eased the immediate pressure on Frank.
Spurs now have two 'must-win' games coming up, against West Ham at home and Burnley away, and if they do not beat both of those relegation candidates, Frank's position will be in real doubt. Fans are planning to protest ahead of the West Ham game next Saturday, the first of its kind since the Lewis family took control in September after sacking Daniel Levy, the previous target for supporter dissatisfaction.
Yet it appears that little has changed since Levy's departure, with the club in a worse position than this time last season, 14th in the league and out of both domestic cups. There is some hope of progressing in the Champions League, with a home game against Borussia Dortmund and a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt to come this month, but it would be a bigger shock than Macclesfield's FA Cup win over Crystal Palace if Spurs were to reach the final, as they did under Mauricio Pochettino in 2019.
The Argentine, who is in charge of the USA national team, could be available after this summer's World Cup, and has spoken in the past of wanting to return to Tottenham. In 2014 he arrived at a club in flux, cleared out the dead wood and brought through a young and hungry group of players who were prepared to run through brick walls for him. Harry Kane was the standout star, but Dele Alli, Kyle Walker, Christian Eriksen and later Heung Min Son went on to become world-class players under Pochettino, and Spurs were genuine contenders for the Premier League and Champions League.
Now they are miles away from that level. There are no world-class players at the club, and none on the horizon. Most of the currently available squad are mid-table level players, and although Frank says the club are working hard on transfer targets, it is hard to envisage any top-class talents wanting to join Tottenham right now.
Some of their best attacking players - Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus – have long-term injuries, and while striker Dominic Solanke returned for a brief substitute appearance on Saturday for his first game since August, top-scorer Richarlison limped off with a hamstring injury. One in, one out.
So what happens next? Frank still has support at board level, but that will wane if Tottenham falter in the next four games. It is not out of the question that Spurs will sack him and appoint an interim manager until the summer, as Manchester United, another fallen giant, have done.
On the other hand, if Spurs win their next four games, make two or three inspirational signings and welcome back other players from injury, there might be reasons for optimism that good times could return to London N.17.
Saturday's game was preceded by tributes to former Spurs Martin Chivers, the Harry Kane of the early 1970s, and Terry Yorath, a combative midfielder with a winning mentality. How they could do with players like them now. And Tottenham commemorated the 125th anniversary of their 1901 FA Cup final victory, the only time a non-league team win the trophy. Player-manager John Cameron, who scored in the replay of their final win over Sheffield United, was the second manager in the club's history, and they only changed twice more in the ensuing 25 years. How times change. Frank is the fifth full-time manager since Pochettino was sacked just over six years ago, and if he goes soon, it will be time to start again.
Villa, on the other hand, have shown with the appointment of Unai Emery that a top class manager can have a modest but well-organised team competing with the big boys, and it would be no great surprise to see them in the final of the FA Cup again – and this time perhaps winning it.
Vicario 6, Porro 5, Danso 6, Van de Ven 7, Davies 6; Pahlinha 7, Gray 6; Odobert 7 (Solanke 83), Simons 7, Tel 6 (Scarlett 73); Richarlison 5 (Kolo Muani 30).
Bizot 7; Cash 6 (Garcia 78), Konsa 7, Pau Torres 6, Maatsen 6 (Digne 78); Bogarde 6, Kamara 6 (Tielemans 9); McGinn 7 (Sancho 64), Buendia 7, Rogers 8; Malen 7 (Watkins 64)Â
Craig Pawson 5
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