Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank finds himself under intense pressure after a dismal 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a result that leaves the club languishing in 11th place in the Premier League. In a frank admission post-match, Frank stated Spurs are "not a quick fix", a sentiment that echoes through decades of the club's turbulent history.
A Grim Spiral of Poor Form
The scale of the current decline is stark. Spurs have managed just one victory in their last seven league outings. Their dramatic fall sees them 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and with a mere 22 points from 16 games—their lowest tally at this stage since 2008. While the compacted table means they are only four points off fifth, the underlying performances paint a bleaker picture.
The creative spark has vanished. Alarmingly, Tottenham have registered an expected goals (xG) figure of 1 or above in only two of their last 11 matches. This season, they have sunk to an xG of 0.3 or below in four separate games: against Arsenal, Chelsea, Brentford, and now Nottingham Forest.
Defensive Frailties and a Confidence Crisis
While a generous view of the Forest defeat might blame individual errors and spectacular long-range strikes, the reality is more systemic. Forest's Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ibrahim Sangaré were afforded excessive time and space for their efforts, symptomatic of a wider malaise. The defensive solidity Frank was hired to instil has evaporated as confidence has drained from the squad.
This represents a dramatic downturn from the season's promising start, which included a narrow Super Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain and an away win at Manchester City. The absence of key injured players like Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski is a mitigating factor, but the club invested heavily in the summer. The £140m arrivals of Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, and Mathys Tel, plus the loan of Randal Kolo Muani, mean resources are not as thin as some suggest.
Mounting Tensions On and Off the Pitch
The growing frustration is becoming visible. There have been notable demonstrations of player dissatisfaction, including from Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven following the Chelsea loss, and again from Spence when substituted on Sunday. After the recent Fulham defeat, Pedro Porro's apparent gesture to teammates not to applaud fans who were booing goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario highlighted a fracturing relationship with the support.
Compounding matters, the club's home form is a major concern, with just two wins in eight league games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season—a statistic sure to anger a fanbase already protesting high ticket prices.
The backdrop to all this is significant boardroom change. The September departure of long-time chairman Daniel Levy, with the club's owners, the Lewis family, taking a more hands-on role, adds uncertainty. Frank's appointment and the summer's transfer business were Levy's projects, leaving the new hierarchy's view of them an open question.
While the situation is not yet irretrievable, and a kind Champions League draw offers some respite, the warning signs for Thomas Frank and Tottenham Hotspur are flashing red. The manager's history of slow starts at Brøndby and Brentford offers little comfort at a club where the scrutiny is of a wholly different magnitude.
