Thomas Frank knew that he had to get things right on Saturday night in front of his own fans when Tottenham Hotspur returned to Premier League action for another London Derby against Fulham. And while a casual observer could have written this game off against the Cottagers as lesser in importance to the North London Derby that preceded it, given how badly Spurs were battered by Arsenal, the game against Fulham was, in fact, just as crucial in order to gauge Frank's response.
While Tottenham showed signs of improvement in a 5-3 loss to PSG - a game they were almost certain to lose anyway - Saturday's dismal showing against Fulham was a clear reminder that there is something very visibly broken about this Spurs side under Frank.
Yes, Frank did make a big adjustment, continuing his wise decision to start young midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. But the rest of his ideas were horribly wrong. Fulham jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes, and while you can say that Frank can't be blamed entirely for errors that the likes of Pedro Porro and Guglielmo Vicario were making, you can most definitely apportion a significant amount of the blame on him for a 0.01 xG in the first half against a mid table side.
Tottenham were horrid against Fulham
Frank benched Xavi Simons again. His team sucked. He got booed out of the building. Rinse and repeat. That's what it feels like every week in the Premier League, and after throwing Ange Postecoglou under the bus last week by stating he inherited a team that finished 17th in the league last season - as if that were any way to excuse a blowout loss in a North London Derby after a summer of notable transfer investment from Big Ange's squad - Frank now has to face the full wrath of the fans.
Judging by the raucous chorus of boos and the just as fervent criticisms flying wildly online, Frank has lost the fan base. That's what happens when you continually get pantsed by all the other teams in the city. Getting embarrassed by giants like Chelsea and Arsenal is bad enough, but getting pounded this badly by Fulham at home when you KNEW coming in that you had to win, well, that's a huge problem.
Tottenham have fired better coaches than Frank who were performing better at the time of their dismissals and didn't regret a single one of them. Not since Mauricio Pochettino have Spurs had a great manager, and as the likes of Frank pass through, the yearning for Poch becomes more and more wistful. Frank isn't out yet, but with the highs of the 3-0 over Manchester City well in the rearview mirror, the new manager is one more cataclysm away from the supposedly more ambitious Tottenham management kissing his behind ciao.