Frank at Spurs crisis point – but has he been doomed from start?
The club hierarchy is aware of the current disconnect between Frank and Spurs fans; This disconnect has been exacerbated by the high-risk strategy of publicizing criticism after goalkeeper Gugliemo Vicario was booed and then ironically cheered after making a wrong mistake at home against Fulham in late November.
Frank described the treatment of Vicario as “unacceptable” and not the actions of “real Spurs fans”. A bold approach – but one that rarely works or ends well.
The fact that the discontent was so public made Frank’s turmoil even more apparent; Traveling fans were vocal in their feelings after the goalless Champions League draw at Monaco, in a harsh reaction to another 0-0 draw at former club Brentford and then Spurs’ defeat at Bournemouth.
Van de Ven and other players confronted fans at The Vitality Stadium following Antoine Semenyo’s late winner, with Romero later opening his wings in public at the club.
Frank defended Romero as a “young leader”, even though the Argentinian was actually 27 years old and a World Cup champion for his country – mostly for reasons of discipline and playing responsibility.
He appeared to be treating Romero with kid gloves at a time when a harsher punishment could easily have been warranted, adding to the impression, at least publicly, that Frank was having a hard time imposing himself on his players.
And at the heart of it all is a stodgy style of play that fails to win enough games or gain the support of Spurs fans.
Frank’s timid five-man defense in the 4-1 North London derby at Arsenal on 23 November was another point of heavy contention; Spurs, on the other hand, still show no signs of their true identity.
Spurs, as a club and as a fanbase, are a miserable place at the moment.
They sit reasonably 11th in the Champions League standings and have a chance of finishing in the top eight to automatically qualify for the knockout stages, but there is no improvement in the Premier League.
They are currently in 14th place with 27 points, while last season under Postecoglou they were in 13th place with 24 points after 21 matches.
Frank’s Brentford put their opponents under pressure by playing long and fast; He successfully implemented his game plan with the quality of forwards Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yohan Wissa. Frank’s communication and strategy were clear.
None of this happened at Spurs and Frank was at crisis point ahead of the FA Cup meeting with Villa.
