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Thomas Frank - Head Coach

Bullet said:
THIS! It frustrates me that many posters still wang on about the first XI.
In every game we need to refresh the engine room and keep fresh players on the pitch; it is vital to me that Frank generally makes changes on 65 rather than 85 minutes.
Tired players make poor decisions and cannot maintain the intensity; in fact if they CAN maintain their intensity for 100 mins they aren't trying hard enough.
That 65mins:35mins integrates the squad far better than 85mins:15mins.

And the proper 35 minutes rest massively impacts the following game too, as players don't get burnt out.
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It’s what slot did so well at pool last year
Really stood out for me in the LC game against us.
Despite the fact they hadn’t really got a foothold and were also missing a CB he still made Loads of refresh changes around 60 mins to keep the players “fresher”
 
Bedfordspurs said:
It’s what slot did so well at pool last year
Really stood out for me in the LC game against us.
Despite the fact they hadn’t really got a foothold and were also missing a CB he still made Loads of refresh changes around 60 mins to keep the players “fresher”
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I never really saw us having to change personnel to maintain the same tactics though because of all those game situations we found ourselves in. The end of the EL campaign may have been the exception actually.

Be nice to see a few games that are 0-0 at 60 and the our superior depth come off the bench and wear the other team down for a win. With 70% of the teams in the PL, that is what we should be doing if we're not already leading.

For reasons done to death, it just didn't work out that way for us last season.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
Ange was an A+ as a motivator, communicator
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I really struggle to reconcile this analysis (which seems to be taken pretty much as fact in the media) with 18 months of dreadful, lacklustre performances, often containing a goal conceded minutes after emerging from the changing room after our pre-match team talk.

The constant staring at the floor and getting snippy with journalists doesn’t help me accept it as true either.
 
Mikey10 said:
I really struggle to reconcile this analysis (which seems to be taken pretty much as fact in the media) with 18 months of dreadful, lacklustre performances, often containing a goal conceded minutes after emerging from the changing room after our pre-match team talk.

The constant staring at the floor and getting snippy with journalists doesn’t help me accept it as true either.
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Yeah the "great motivator" doesnt tally with over 20 defeats in a season and the "i dont like to be too close to the players" stance he himself says he takes. And he is often awful communicator when he is feeling under pressure, which if we are brutally honest, is the real test as to whether you really are a good communicator or not, just as drivinga real-wheel drive performance car on a track day in the wet is a real test as to whether you're actually a good driver or not. The tyre wall said NOPE!
 
Muttley said:
I never really saw us having to change personnel to maintain the same tactics though because of all those game situations we found ourselves in. The end of the EL campaign may have been the exception actually.

Be nice to see a few games that are 0-0 at 60 and the our superior depth come off the bench and wear the other team down for a win. With 70% of the teams in the PL, that is what we should be doing if we're not already leading.

For reasons done to death, it just didn't work out that way for us last season.
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- We could have rotated Spence in (or as starter) for one of Udogie/Porro every game
- We could have rotated between Biss/Bentancur/Sarr/Bergvall for the two sitters
- Tel/Wilson/Son are easy rotations
- Maddison/Deki
- Either via Richi or moving Son/Tel to center could have allowed us to ease the load on Solanke

None of that is leveraging Gray/Moore/Davies/Danso/Dragusin who could provide

Big reasons we didn't?
- Injury mess (chicken or egg)
- Too often we were chasing/behind in game (broader issue of in game management)
- Manager issues, Spence took too long, Moore was underutilized, Lankshear made one mistake and was banished (no, not interested in arguing each individually, overarching point).

We have a full squad (when fit) that should be able to be leveraged in more games against lesser opponents
 
Raziel said:
- We could have rotated Spence in (or as starter) for one of Udogie/Porro every game
- We could have rotated between Biss/Bentancur/Sarr/Bergvall for the two sitters
- Tel/Wilson/Son are easy rotations
- Maddison/Deki
- Either via Richi or moving Son/Tel to center could have allowed us to ease the load on Solanke

None of that is leveraging Gray/Moore/Davies/Danso/Dragusin who could provide

Big reasons we didn't?
- Injury mess (chicken or egg)
- Too often we were chasing/behind in game (broader issue of in game management)
- Manager issues, Spence took too long, Moore was underutilized, Lankshear made one mistake and was banished (no, not interested in arguing each individually, overarching point).

We have a full squad (when fit) that should be able to be leveraged in more games against lesser opponents
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I get the logic but
Sonic came in and played well, signed his new contract… injured next day (and yes he could have played more before);
Bentacur was injured and suspended for a decent chunk of the first half of the season and only really looked match fit again in the final third
Bergvall looked poor first half of the season, like a kid adapting. Second half he won out POTY
Wilson was injured after 3 games and tel didn’t come till late Jan
The issue was that we let go of tonnes of experienced and gambled on depth that failed because so many got injured
 
Mikey10 said:
I really struggle to reconcile this analysis (which seems to be taken pretty much as fact in the media) with 18 months of dreadful, lacklustre performances, often containing a goal conceded minutes after emerging from the changing room after our pre-match team talk.

The constant staring at the floor and getting snippy with journalists doesn’t help me accept it as true either.
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I've said my piece many times on this. Ange did let himself and our club down in front of the media. I could have actually sucked that up if he had delivered tactically and earned the right to have a bit of Fergie or Clough about him. Facing the media isn't easy. I can almost laugh about it now but Ange absolutely chatted nonsense and the longer it went on, the worse it seemed to get. I certainly don't think other club's fans took him that seriously.

I do think there is a difference between a winning mentality and a win together / lose together mentality. What Ange built in the latter was belief from the players. I think they genuinely felt that the losing streaks were just phases and if they kept following his advice then we would get back to winning ways. They absolutely believed in his way and to be fair he eventually gave them the right instruction for the tactics that could win us a trophy. However, I don't think the club felt there was a strong enough case in his football management to continue in role and find that winning mentality. Winning is a habit and it is most likely we wouldn't have found it under Ange. None of us will ever really know.

I would also say that the last thing you ever want in football is to let a bunch of 20 somethings pick managers. Even if they were behind him, they haven't got the worldly or football experience to make such decisions. It's quite nice that they supported him though.
 
Bedfordspurs said:
I get the logic but
Sonic came in and played well, signed his new contract… injured next day (and yes he could have played more before);
Bentacur was injured and suspended for a decent chunk of the first half of the season and only really looked match fit again in the final third
Bergvall looked poor first half of the season, like a kid adapting. Second half he won out POTY
Wilson was injured after 3 games and tel didn’t come till late Jan
The issue was that we let go of tonnes of experienced and gambled on depth that failed because so many got injured
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No level of depth would have covered for 14 injuries

I agree, in general we made some gambles on youth and a couple of areas being thin
 
Raziel said:
No level of depth would have covered for 14 injuries

I agree, in general we made some gambles on youth and a couple of areas being thin
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we made a few gambles on youth and needed to rotate them in for their development - hence keeping the first team fit was always a priority and we had to rotate, especially with hard evidence of injuries from ange's first season.
 
Muttley said:
Great post.

I think what we've learnt from other successful clubs is that you need several good players for that engine room. It's then how the manager coaches them into a number of different combinations and keeps them all fresh with rotation. It's about seamless switching of them during the match especially when you now get to change up to 5 players in the 90.

That's why I'm not into the school of thought that just buying a new number 6 will solve all our problems in midfield. It's way more about how all our existing players are coached and set up in my opinion. Of course, new players are always welcome if they are better than what we have but they're only one of the cogs.
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You need several good players there, it is about coaching and it is about the set up.

But for me the balance remains off in midfield. We don't have a natural 6. We don't have a natural deep playmaker unless Bergvall or Gray becomes that with consistency. Bergvall looking closer. I have very high hopes for both Bergvall and Gray.

I think one new player could go a long way to fixing that balance. Sure, that leaves us short if that player isn't on the pitch, but that would make our current ceiling in regards to midfield balance our new floor of sorts.

Worth mentioning too that during the best periods under Ange (apart from the EL run) Porro often inverted into midfield. Giving us passing, ambition and quality on the ball in that area. Assuming Frank won't go for an inverted full back role we're even shorter. If Romero leaves even worse as we're imo unlikely to find a new CB with his quality on the ball, composure and ambition.
 
braineclipse said:
You need several good players there, it is about coaching and it is about the set up.

But for me the balance remains off in midfield. We don't have a natural 6. We don't have a natural deep playmaker unless Bergvall or Gray becomes that with consistency. Bergvall looking closer. I have very high hopes for both Bergvall and Gray.

I think one new player could go a long way to fixing that balance. Sure, that leaves us short if that player isn't on the pitch, but that would make our current ceiling in regards to midfield balance our new floor of sorts.

Worth mentioning too that during the best periods under Ange (apart from the EL run) Porro often inverted into midfield. Giving us passing, ambition and quality on the ball in that area. Assuming Frank won't go for an inverted full back role we're even shorter. If Romero leaves even worse as we're imo unlikely to find a new CB with his quality on the ball, composure and ambition.
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I guess it is a little bit like the Tel situation. He is the right buy because you won't really find another realistic profile in this transfer market. Perhaps you could if you take a punt on a really young guy that might get to that Sonny profile quickly like we're seeing with Bergval in midfield. However, there is no guarantee unless you go for the really big budget.

I've already said previously that the guy that I've always been impressed with is Joao Gomes at Wolves. He's not quite the number 6 profile you explain but he's a "heartbeat" player. He's always demanding that ball in tight spaces and working it forward. He's also industrious and a tough little cookie in the middle of the park. At 25, he's also a great age and a strong leader. Perhaps I'm seeing more than is actually there but he's been the best midfielder on the pitch every time we've played them. I actually always thought Ruben Neves would have been a good fit for Spurs. He sold his soul to the Saudi league unfortunately and has now hit late twenties.

I do agree though that with Romero, Bentancur, Porro and Madds on the pitch we are a better passing side. Perhaps Donley and Devine can enhance that dynamic in the squad if given a chance. At times, Ange was more than happy to play 5-a-side from his goal to theirs. I doubt Frank will and we will need deep passers to get the ball forward quicker.

Do you see any natural number 6 for Spurs in the market? Perhaps I'm missing some obvious candidates.
 
Muttley said:
I guess it is a little bit like the Tel situation. He is the right buy because you won't really find another realistic profile in this transfer market. Perhaps you could if you take a punt on a really young guy that might get to that Sonny profile quickly like we're seeing with Bergval in midfield. However, there is no guarantee unless you go for the really big budget.

I've already said previously that the guy that I've always been impressed with is Joao Gomes at Wolves. He's not quite the number 6 profile you explain but he's a "heartbeat" player. He's always demanding that ball in tight spaces and working it forward. He's also industrious and a tough little cookie in the middle of the park. At 25, he's also a great age and a strong leader. Perhaps I'm seeing more than is actually there but he's been the best midfielder on the pitch every time we've played them. I actually always thought Ruben Neves would have been a good fit for Spurs. He sold his soul to the Saudi league unfortunately and has now hit late twenties.

I do agree though that with Romero, Bentancur, Porro and Madds on the pitch we are a better passing side. Perhaps Donley and Devine can enhance that dynamic in the squad if given a chance. At times, Ange was more than happy to play 5-a-side from his goal to theirs. I doubt Frank will and we will need deep passers to get the ball forward quicker.

Do you see any natural number 6 for Spurs in the market? Perhaps I'm missing some obvious candidates.
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Haven't seen enough of Joao Gomes, but from what I've seen and heard he seems like a good option at the very least. Neves was really good, but yeah that train has passed I think.

Dynamic quick give and go passing that progresses the ball is great, doesn't have to be longer range passing for me. I use passing not just about the technical ability to pass a football, but vision, ability to do so under pressure, playmaking stuff. Prime Winks was quite good at those things for example, though not elite and struggled a bit defensively. But several different profiles that could be good.

One of the best imo would be Wharton, but he'd be really difficult to get and super expensive. I don't know enough about world fotball to know who else would be good enough and available. Not a lot of obvious candidates around. Especially as we'd want someone good defensively as well.

A deep two in a 4-2-3-1 makes it a bit easier than a lone 6 in a 4-3-3. A more playmaker type lacking somewhat in defensive and physical aspects could partner Bentancur or Sarr. Giving us more balance for when we need that. Rather than relying on 19 year old Bergvall to run our midfield on the ball or Maddison to drop deep to get the ball.
 
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