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Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is increasingly under fire from fans, even as the club seems intent on giving the new Danish manager as much room as possible to do his thing, which, really, to this point has merely been dropping points left and right in the Premier League.

Spurs are no threat to anybody this season and seem to be focused on getting in on their own way with some of the most awful, negative football in the entire country. Tottenham are plodding and pedantic, and Frank's inability to unleash the young stars has been a constant source of frustration for the fans.

One of those players is center midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who was beyond brilliant at times last season and arguably the team's best overall player by the end of the campaign before an injury. He played a crucial role in Spurs hoisting the Europa League title and was one of the most dynamic young midfielders in European football.

Thomas Frank has his option right there

Yet Bergvall can scarcely get a game as a No. 8 in the Tottenham midfield. Frank has miscast the young Swedish international as a No. 10 and has even utilized him often as a left winger and less often as a true center midfielder, much to the outright anger of the Tottenham faithful.

Speaking in an appearance on the Last Word on Spurs podcast, transfer insider Ben Jacobs stated that Thomas Frank is looking to sign a center midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur this January 2026 transfer window who is young, dynamic, full of energy, pacy, and able to progress the ball with positive passing.

And collectively, Tottenham fans hearing that from Jacobs all slapped their foreheads and screamed with both hands pointing LeBron James to JR Smith style, "You have Lucas Bergvall right freaking there!"

Bergvall is every bit that player Frank is looking for at Tottenham. He is young, pacy, and an incredible progressor of the ball as a dribbler with the ball at his feet or as a passer next to another young midifeld talent in Archie Gray. Yet Bergvall does not play over Rodrigo Bentancur or even Joao Palhinha at the base of this disastrous Tottenham midfield.

Frank does not need to sign someone who is not going to exist this winter, because those top level players who could be even better than Bergvall will not be available this winter and will cost upwards of 80 million euros anyway. Bergvall is free and ready to contribute in this role if Frank were to let him.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters have a multitude of reasons to take umbrage with manager Thomas Frank, who has guided a much better side than Ange Postecoglou had in the 2024/25 season to a similar status of toiling away in the bottom half of the Premier League.

As if the results were not bad enough, it is the kind of football that Frank is playing that has really gotten under the skin of this long tortured fan base. Tottenham supporters are realizing that their club has become an unwatchable eye sore, and there are very few reasons to care about the team, especially with an unlikable manager who often criticizes the fans for rightfully criticizing his management and abhorrent tactics.

And when it comes to the few reasons to care about Tottenham, those are mostly filled by the young stars who should one day be superstars carrying the mantle for this team. Yet Frank even undermines them and undermines the fans of getting to watch them play every week.

Tottenham fans want better for Mathys Tel

No player's plight has infuriated Tottenham fans more of late than Mathys Tel's. The French left winger is, by far, the best option to fill the shoes left behind by Son Heung-min and has been a credible threat in the Tottenham side ever since the 2024/25 Europa League title run. He takes defenders on, takes shots, and has the technical and athletic profile that is above his peers.

Yet Tel can not consistently get games from Frank despite performing at a high level whenever called upon, including scoring important, decisive goals in games against Leeds United and Manchester United at striker this season.

Following the 1-1 draw with Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank spoke about Mathys Tel and the left wing situation, and, once again, he ticked off the entire Spurs fan base with yet another foot in mouth quote that proves he simply does not get it.

Frank said, via The Spurs Express, “I think it's pretty fair to say that we are maybe a little bit short on offensive options. I think also it's fair [to say], there's no one who's really grabbed that shirt on the left-hand side. So I think that's definitely up for grabs. I think it was a positive performance from Mathys. I think he did some positive things and got into good situations.”

Yes, Mr. Frank, you are obviously short on offensive options. Tel HAS been grabbing the shirt on the left, if you were to open your eyes and to see that he was the one good thing going for you against Sunderland. And if he has not fully grabbed the mantle on the left wing yet, then it is because you, sir, are the one actively holding him back by not playing him. Tel was obviously a positive against Sunderland, and if Frank had any sense, he would roll with him from here on out.

Although Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke has appeared in three games this season, it feels like the England international has been out for the entire year with a nagging foot injury, given those three appearances were for a few minutes here and there off the bench.

On a team that has struggled to score goals and is in the bottom half of the Premier League, Solanke being a total non factor has been one of many huge disappointments for a Spurs team that was already ravaged by injury coming into the 2025/26 campaign - what has become a common theme for arguably the unluckiest franchise in England.

Tottenham have gotten some decent performances out of loan signing Randal Kolo Muani, but half the reason why the PSG product gets so much praise is that his all around game looks brilliant in comparison to whatever on earth Richarlison is doing with the ball at his feet.

Dominic Solanke has the playing style Tottenham crave

Solanke's all around game is the best of all three of them and the reason why Tottenham spent a record 65 million pounds to sign him in 2024 from Bournemouth. While Solanke was not worth that kind of money in his first season and clearly has not been worth that money in his second season, he was an asset for Spurs in 2024/25 and played a vital role in winning the Europa League title.

So Tottenham Hotspur obviously want Big Dom back as soon as possible, but injury updates have been scarce. It looks like Solanke legitimately will not be back with Tottenham until at least February, based on how slow he has been to recover from surgery around the Fall, and, based on a new update from Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, it could take longer than that.

Because as Frank explained to reporters ahead of the Bournemouth game, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, even when Dominic Solanke returns from his injury, it will still take a lot more time for him to be in game shape and ready to contribute at a meaningful level.

Frank said of his star striker, "Today you could see in training he's nice and composed on the ball. In the small sided game, he looked a bit more rusty which is understandable after six months out. So when he's back in the hopefully near future, it will take time. Very few players come straight back in after six months out and hit the ground running."

The good news is that Solanke is already practicing and moving around with the ball. And, well, the bad news is that he is "rusty" and will need more time to return. At least Frank is using phrases like "near future", but it may not be until the spring when we see Solanke playing his best football for Tottenham again.

The "at least it was not a loss" crowd is an audience of one and one only, as merely Thomas Frank seems to be content with Tottenham Hotspur racking up draws against opponents with less than half the payroll of their own squad. And unfortunately for Spurs supporters, Frank is the one who still holds the distinction of being in charge of calling the shots and picking the Tottenham lineup every week.

His management was a straight miss again this past weekend, as Spurs drew Sunderland 1-1 and produced a second half about as putrid as anything Spurs fans have seen from their beloved club this season. At least the sum of the whole was not half as bad as what Spurs fans witnessed at mid week against Brentford, but anyone celebrating a 1-1 draw obviously needs to get a reality check.

Though their next Premier League opponents on Wednesday, Bournemouth, have not won in weeks, the Cherries also embarrassed Tottenham earlier this season back when Spurs were actually playing pretty decent football under Frank. And on the whole, Bournemouth have been a better team than Tottenham this season, which, you know, is part of the whole reason why fans want Frank out.

Tottenham have a huge injury doubt

The task for Frank and friends will not get easier against the Cherries either, as superstar right winger Mohammed Kudus, who is just about the only thing going consistently right for this Frank led Spurs attack, went down early in the Sunderland game with an injury.

Speaking ahead of the Bournemouth game, Thomas Frank told reporters, via Lilywhite Rose, that while the final confirmation on Kudus's injury has yet to be made, the Ghanaian star is "most likely ruled out" for the next Tottenham Hotspur game.

Frank said, "Mo is going for a scan at 1pm to clarify the issue. Unfortunately I don't have a big update on him. Most likely (he is) ruled out for Bournemouth (game)."

No word on the results of the scan as of yet, but it is fair to say that anyone holding out hope for Mohammed Kudus playing on Wednesday night against Bournemouth is probably going to be turning blue in the face at some point.

Tottenham do have another tough game this weekend against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, and although the Bournemouth match is important, the one against the Lions is even more important since it is realistically Spurs best shot at a major trophy this season. The last thing Spurs can afford is for Kudus to aggravate his injury and miss more than one, maybe two, games.

Once again, Tottenham Hotspur turned in a lousy performance, and fans are tired of manager Thomas Frank setting this team up to play as if they are a club battling relegation with a shoe string budget. Nothing Frank has done as Spurs coach is befitting of a Big Six club, and both the latest 0-0 draw with Brentford and Sunday's 1-1 tie with Sunderland have reiterated this issue.

That said, at least against Sunderland, compared to Brentford, all was not bad for Tottenham. They actually had a few positive attacking moments during the team, and a large part of that is due to the fact that Frank finally started young French gems Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel together.

Odobert earned a start at the 10 position with Xavi Simons suspended and Lucas Bergvall hurt a bit, while Tel finally drew a start on the left wing as, by far, the team's superior option in the position. Frank had been discarding Tel from the starting lineup for weeks despite Tel playing well literally every time he is out there.

A bright spot as Tottenham were dreadful

And once again, even as Tottenham Hotspur were pretty dreadful overall, Mathys Tel turned in a very positive individual attacking performance for Spurs. Sure, not everything he did came off, and he could not get Tottenham to pull all three points against a very good Sunderland team.

But playing against one of the best defenses in Europe this season, Tel made his mark. His athleticism, positivity in terms of trying to get quality shots off on goal, and his general mentality were a breath of fresh air to Tottenham.

Tel was by far the best attacker on Spurs on a day in which right wing partner Mohammed Kudus went down early in the 20th minute with an injury. The young French forward created chances, nearly scored a couple of times, and genuinely looked like the one threat to change the game for Spurs or give them a hope at victory.

Between the Premier League and Champions League, Tel has been doing this frequently, and while Frank has been leaving Tel out of the lineup and bouncing him around, preventing him from getting into a real rhythm, all the former Bayern Munich man has done is impress fans and be a real asset. By performing well against Sunderland, Tel has just taken Frank out of the equation and forced the manager's hands. As the boos rained down for Frank, the cheers did for Tel; he is the one the fans want to see every week.

For the most part, Tottenham Hotspur are being linked with big moves for forwards in the January transfer window. A winger, specifically a left winger, is their main transfer priority, though there are plenty of fans who would also love to see a striker and a deep lying playmaking midfielder join the team to help finally get them out of the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Tottenham, though, also badly need a new left back. To avoid playing Djed Spence as a right footed left back since he has been so poor against tougher teams, Tottenham had to turn to washed up veteran Ben Davies, in the final months of his final contract with Tottenhan, at left back.

Davies actually played pretty well in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland, but it is patently obvious to every single Tottenham supporter that Spurs need to be going after a young left back at some point in the 2026 transfer windnows.

Tottenham have two players of interest

Tottenham actually tried to send a cheeky 10 million euro bid to Santos for their teenage phenom Souza, but Santos obviously roundly rejected such a low transfer offer for a high upside left back prospect who is likely the best in his position in the entire country of Brazil.

That said, Tottenham Hotspur journalist Paul O Keefe reports that along side the club having very real interest in Souza, they are also interested in Toulouse left back Dayann Methalie, who is just 19 years old. O Keefe states that Methalie is on the list of "possibles" and is someone Tottenham are monitoring for a possible 2026 transfer.

Methalie is an unknown to the average fan, but diehard fans with a scouting interest and now Tottenham supporters are familiar with the rising French left back. He is averaging 2.1 tackles per game this season with just 0.2 dribbles completed allowed as a regular starter for the historic Ligue 1 side. That is an insane ratio of tackles to dribbles allowed, especially for a teenage left back. He has 0. interceptions per game to boot.

On the ball, Methalie is pretty good, too, and definitely better than Spence at left back in this regard. He is averaging a solid 1.3 dribbles completed per game for Toulouse. He is not passing the ball much, though, completing under 80 percent of his 16 pass attempts per game, so that shows you how raw he is and is a reminder that he is not the finished product and not a can't miss prospect either.

Once again, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank left the pitch to a chorus of boos, as the Spurs faithful in the stadium continued to chant about how poor of a job he has done at the helm of the club and about how much of an eye sore it is to watch a team that does not even try to win every week.

In the second half of a dismal 1-1 draw with Sunderland as an encore performance to an even worse 0-0 tie with Brentford, Tottenham reverted to every single bad Frank habit. And one of those habits has to do with the personnel the Danish manager selects.

Frank did well to start two young stars he often discards for no reason, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, utilizing the ex Bayern Munich man on the left wing and the former Burnley standout in the middle as an attacking midfielder with Xavi Simons suspended.

Thomas Frank has no clue

In the second half, with Tottenham needing another goal, Frank hooked Odobert off and brought in Lucas Bergvall, who has not been able to start the full games due to a recent injury. Bergvall came in as a like for like for Odobert into the No. 10 position, which is a move that often frustrates Tottenham fans. And it had predictably poor results, with Spurs dropping points in the end.

What is especially frustrating is hearing Frank talk about his decision to substitute out Odobert for Bergvall, because it pretty much proves that the Tottenham manager has not got a single clue what he is talking about here.

Thomas Frank said after the 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur draw with Sunderland, via The Spurs Express, “When we put Joao and Lucas on there was a lot of running and it was back and forth. Lucas has played as a 10 and is almost a like-for-like for Wilson.”

Lucas Bergvall is a robust, athletic, and box to box No. 8 who is almost a prototype of this type of player. Wilson Odobert is an elegant, technical playmaker who can play as a No. 10 or an inverted left winger. These two players could not be further from each other and are nothing alike.

To insinuate otherwise is pretty wild, and it is clear why Tottenham fans do not respect the talent evaluation of Frank. He is wrong time and time again and seems to fail to understand the basics about his own players, including important future bed rock role players of the club.

Coming into the January transfer market, Tottenham Hotspur were already desperate for a winger, and you could make a strong case that no team in the Premier League has a bigger need for an injection of attacking fire power this winter than Spurs.

Tottenham sit comfortably in the bottom half of the table, as new manager Thomas Frank has done little to improve this team or give Spurs fans any sort of confidence that he is the right man to lead the way.

But as Spurs recent 0-0 draw with Brentford and now 1-1 draw with Sunderland drive home, Frank's negative football is far from the only problem plaguing the team. The Tottenham players are not good enough, and while youngsters like Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel are being actively held back from success by Frank despite being superior options, it is the sheer struggles of veterans like Richarlison and more that are really hampering this team.

Tottenham lost their superstar

Well, to make matters worse for Tottenham, one of the team's few competent players this season, right winger Mohammed Kudus, went down early in the 20th minute of the 1-1 draw with Sunderland. And thus, this injury to Kudus, which is of unknown severity, now makes the already present need for a new winger just outright desperate for Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham have to emerge from the January transfer market this year with a new left winger. Dejan Kuluesvski returning from injury will restore power to the right wing, though, with Kudus injured and Brennan Johnson already sold to Crystal Palace, there is a short term problem on the right wing, too. So someone who plays on the right like Savinho makes a ton of sense in that regard.

The options have dwindled with Antoine Semenyo set to join Manchester City and others like Omar Marmoush unlikely to move at all, but Tottenham have to keep searching and have to emerge with someone, whether that is a player like Savinho or Iliman Ndiaye in the Premier League or even an addition like Ademola Lookman or (extremely unlikely) Rafael Leao.

Kudus was a rare blockbuster summer signing that Tottenham got right, and, hopefully, he will be back soon. And yet, even if he is, Tottenham still have a desperate need for a winger who can score goals and change games for this team. Because let's be real here: part of Kudus's injury was the sheer work load and stress he has had to take on by virtue of being the one true solution every week on the wings.

GK Guglielmo Vicario

Was not overly tested for most of the game before the Sunderland equalizer, which he had little chance with. Did look uncomfortable with some crosses and on one occasion in the second half had to be saved by Ben Davies. Rating: 6

RB Pedro Porro

Started the game with intent and looked a lot more like his form from last season. Early on he tried a long-range chip after winning the ball high up the pitch. It did not go in but this is the kind of thing we want to see from the team as a whole, some unpredictability and some different kinds of attack. Followed that up by playing in a great ball in for Richarlison. Defended well one-on-one against Simon Adingra throughout. Could have had an assist for Randal Kolo Muani in the second half after a great break and pass. Â Rating: 8

LB Ben Davies

A left back scoring from a corner having been assisted by two center backs might be the perfect way to sum up Spurs attack under Thomas Frank. An unexpected start for Davies  and a much-needed opening goal. Davies rarely lets Spurs down and performed well again. Good distribution going forward and comfortable defensively. Critical goal line clearance early in the second half. Rating: 8

CB Christian Romero

Had an important contribution to our goal from a corner. Looked very much in control in the first half, including winning the ball high up the pitch to keep the pressure on. Less so towards the end as Sunderland grew into the game, but this seems more to do with the fading of the midfield control rather than with our center backs. Â Rating: 7

CB Micky van de Ven

Like Romero in terms of goal involvement, a strong first half, and less so in the second half. Again, not helped in the second half by the midfield. Micky also was a threat in the air from corners on occasion, which we hope to see more of. Â Rating: 7

CM Rodrigo Bentancur

Looked to be continuing his steady improvement in recent weeks with his best performance for a while in the first half. Moved the ball quickly and broke up any rare Sunderland attacks. Faded towards the end of the second half and could not get on top of the game once Sunderland pressed more. Rating: 6

CM Archie Gray

Back in a more withdrawn role after the move further forward at Brentford. Started with intent, like the rest of the team, then struggled to get on Granit Xhaka in the second half before being substituted. Gray is not really displaying consistent ability to move the ball forward to cement a place in midfield at the moment. Could really do with Frank finding a consistent position for him. Rating: 5

LW Mathys Tel

Aside from a decent effort in the first half that curled just wide, Tel could not get involved in attacks enough. Like Gray, he has been played up front, through the middle, and on both wings and does not seem settled at all. There is talent but we are not seeing strong enough performances, particularly when we are on the back foot. Rating: 4

RW Mohammed Kudus

Was part of the good early pressing and controlled the ball well on the few occasions he had it. Had to go off injured early on. Still showed a tendency to slow the game down by looking backwards for passes, which has happened more recently. Rating: N/A

AM Wilson Odobert

Played in a new position through the middle as Thomas Frank still seems to be trying something new each week. Initially found himself drifting wide and ending up in space occupied by Kudus or Tel. Pressed well early on and got in some good spaces, but in his central position the game needs to go through him. Instead, it seemed to happen around him. Better in the second half but still looked more at ease when he was attacking from wide positions. Â Rating: 4

CF Richarlison

Richarlison looked much more involved than in our game at Brentford and had better support. Good runs at the start of the second half were only stopped by two bookable fouls. Mostly held up play well but seemed to want too much time on the ball. Had a perfect opportunity to play in Muani in the second half for a tap-in but waited too long. Better from Richarlison but still not able to trouble the Sunderland back line enough. Rating: 6

Substitutes: Randal Kolo Muani, João Palhinha, Lucas Bergvall, Dane Scarlett, Djed Spence

Muani got very involved both in attacking and winning the ball back. Often looked like he  was close to creating something, but unfortunately a final ball or attempted run did not work out as needed. An example being in the second half when he broke with Porro, got into a great position, but then failed to control the pass for a clear chance at goal. Bergvall and Palhinha seemed like the correct subs at the point in the game they came on but it did not go as intended. Plenty of effort from Bergvall, and Palhinha was unlucky with a late chance with a header, but neither were able to re-establish the control of the game we so badly needed in midfield. Spence and Scarlett came on very late as the game became scrappier and so were unable to make much of an impact.

Every time Thomas Frank opens his mouth at a press conference, you can just hear the Tottenham Hotspur supporters groaning, face palming, and wondering just what on earth they did to be cursed with incompetent managers. Because at least Ange Postecoglou was charismatic and personable and did not throw his players under the bus or blast the fans.

Literally every single week, Frank makes some sort of inane faux pas at the press conference, whether it is adjudicating which Tottenham fan is a true or not true fan - simply because they hate the fact that he is doing such a crappy job as coach - or criticizing the very teammates he is putting in a position to fail.

Tottenham right winger Mohammed Kudus was the best signing they gave Frank last summer, far beyond the caliber of player that Postecoglou got. Kudus bails this guy out week in and week out as the main attacking threat and the only real tactical plan in a team devoid of tactics, and yet Frank had the audacity to criticize him publicly for something that is not his fault.

Thomas Frank has lost the plot

Ahead of Spurs Sunday game in the Premier League against Sunderland, Thomas Frank took Mohammed Kudus to task for not scoring enough goals, via Chris Cowlin, “I always really liked Solanke. I’ve said that many times. I’m convinced he’ll score a lot of goals for us when he’s fit and available. I think Wilson (Odobert) has got very good potential. Mathys (Tel) has got very good potential. Mo (Kudus) needs to score more goals. He will score more goals.”

It's just a weird remark to pass along. Kudus's job is not to be the primary goal scorer, and the craziest part about this statement is that nobody is really scoring goals at Tottenham Hotspur. Their leading goal scorer is Richarlison, and he is pretty terrible overall.

Frank is not doing the most to help his players score either. He basically makes Kudus run up and down the pitch and spam crosses as the team's only sense of attacking identity, There is very little room for Kudus to cut inside and score, and especially when he plays alongside Richarlison who has no creativity or all around play, there is nobody who can set him to score goals.

Kudus not scoring is entirely the product of Frank's defective tactics, and to make matters worse, the guy is not even a legitimate man manager at the highest professional level with inane comments like this one. He is clueless.