Too open. Too high a line. Players keep getting injured.
The criticisms that dogged Ange Postecoglou in his second season were varied and pointed as Tottenham limped to 17th place in the Premier League table.
After seven league games of 2025-26, his successor Thomas Frank has Spurs riding high in third with four wins, two draws and just one defeat so far.
Not only that, but they have only conceded five goals, the joint-second best record behind Arsenal (three).
So bar the improvement in results, what has changed?
Frank is much more of a pragmatist than Postecoglou and the type of football Tottenham are playing bears that out.
Witness the rise in long balls per 90, suggesting a far greater willingness to get the ball forward quickly.
And take a look at these passing maps from Tottenham's home games against Wolves over the past two seasons.
In the second, from September 2025 under Frank, Tottenham's midfield is far more congested, with Guglielmo Vicario often launching the ball towards the halfway line to instigate attacks.
It is a similar story for average positions for those games. Again, Postecoglou's defenders are more spread, with two midfielders patrolling the halfway line and a spread front four. Frank's line-up is far more bunched, albeit again with a forward four.
Of course, this is only one game so a very small sample size, but it hints at a tactical transformation.
More broadly, Spurs are also sticking the ball in the penalty area more frequently, averaging 23.3 crosses per game compared to 19.8 last season.
That is despite the lack of a central focal point with their best header of the ball from last season, Dominic Solanke, mostly sidelined through injury.
What is also striking is the efficiency Tottenham have demonstrated so far.
Postecoglou's side took more passes and created more chances per game, but Frank's version have a higher shot conversion rate this season. It has meant that, although last season's Spurs were among the league's top scorers, 2025-26 Tottenham are actually averaging slightly more goals per game (1.9 v 1.7).
So far, the numbers are pointing to a more clinical, more business-like Tottenham Hotspur â and one that is flying high near the top of the Premier League.
Games against Aston Villa and trips to Monaco, Everton and Newcastle before the month's end should offer a rigorous test of just how far they have come.