Thomas Frank has spoken about the lobsided Tottenham formation that he used against Fulham and why it failed to work.
The Dane has been throwing several surprises with his selections over the last few weeks, and he did so again on Saturday.
While it was not a surprise to see Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison starting together after they scored three goals between them against PSG, the midfield left many confused.
Lucas Bergvall was operating in the inside spaces, and as a number 10 on occasions, with Mohammed Kudus on the right, but the Lilywhites did not line up with a left-winger.
Thomas Frank reveals why Tottenham played a lopsided formation against Fulham
The Spurs head coach has now admitted that the lobsided formation was by design as he wanted to play with two strikers.
He confessed that his players were rushing things too much in the first half and did not make the right decisions in possession.
When asked about the formation being overloaded on the right, Frank said (via Football.London): “That’s true. I wanted two strikers in and around each other, which looked good at times, but of course, the game plan was definitely way more difficult after the 2-0.”
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When asked if the formation made Tottenham too predictable as everything was going down their right, the 52-year-old responded: “Yeah, I think for me the first half was clearly we were rushing things too much. We were going in behind when we shouldn’t go in behind, we were playing in the middle when we shouldn’t play in the middle and all those bits because we were rushing too much.
“I think it is difficult to judge the first half. Of course, it is a part of everything, and it looked much better in the second-half and also before I made three changes.”
Frank accused of sending mixed messages to Spurs players
The Tottenham boss has been chopping and changing his formation and his team over recent weeks, and that has seen him garner criticism for being reactionary.
Ahead of the Fulham game, Ramon Vega accused Frank of sending mixed messages to the Tottenham players on how he wants to play.
The Swiss defender suggested that the Dane lacks the courage to play on the front foot and claimed that he is losing the Spurs dressing room.