Hotspur HQ

Thomas Frank fooled everyone with Archie Gray, including himself

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Thomas Frank fooled everyone with Archie Gray, including himself - Hotspur HQ
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Coming into the Premier League battle between London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, many fans assumed that Spurs coach Thomas Frank would go with an all veteran midfield trio in the game with Conor Gallagher eligible to debut upon his signing from Atletico Madrid.

Well, Tottenham did start Gallagher in his first possible game, but instead of starting Joao Palhinha as the defensive midfielder alongside him with Xavi Simons up top as the No. 10, young Archie Gray drew another start over Palhinha at the base of the midfield next to the incoming Englishman.

It was a surprising vote of confidence in a young player, and although Frank has been giving Gray more starts that he deserves in recent weeks, many assumed Frank would go with the more defensive veteran in the Portuguese international.

Archie Gray deserves better

But just as Tottenham's embattled manager brought the fans a brief pleasant surprise, the pleasantries with Gray lasted a meager 45 minutes. Because despite the fact that Gray was excellent and even battling in the tackles one one one as good as Palhinha would have, Frank hooked him off for no legitimate reason.

Instead, he brought in one of his veteran favorites of a different ilk, getting Yves Bissouma, of all people, back in a match upon his return from injury. Bissouma actually was not bad, but the fact that Spurs took Gray, a much better player in the present and future than Biss, is absolutely ridiculous and only further headlines the cluelessness of Frank as a coach.

It was not the only substitution mishap from Frank in the game, as he would later sub off Mathys Tel - his best attacker in the game - instead of the hopelessly useless Randal Kolo Muani at striker. But it was a wild sub to make at the half that further undermines the trust that the young players will have in their manager who should be on the verge of a sacking.

What makes it all even worse is the fact that Gray was probably the best player on Tottenham Hotspur in the first half of the matchup, holding the midfield together with tight ball progression and dogged defensive work to win possession.

Archie Gray has certainly earned more starts for Tottenham, and on this day, it is quite evident that if given the choice, he should be starting over the newcomer Conor Gallagher, too. But as long as Frank is still manager, you cannot trust Spurs to play the best men for the job either.

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Thomas Frank drives Mathys Tel away further with clueless justification for snub

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Thomas Frank drives Mathys Tel away further with clueless justification for snub - Hotspur HQ
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Tottenham Hotspur supporter are far past the point of their patience being worn thin with manager Thomas Frank, whose coaching job this season has been so putrid that he is making the failed Spurs managers of yesteryear look like nostalgic options by comparison.

Spurs latest outright embarrassment came this weekend in the Premier League with a 2-1 loss to London rivals West Ham United, who came into the game in the relegation battle as one of the least competent teams in the Premier League.

Well, just as Spurs gifted Bournemouth their first win in 11 games, so, too, did the Lilywhites manage to make the Hammers look like world beaters on Saturday afternoon in front of their own fans. The boos continually rained down on Frank during and after the game, and there was an inflection point of jeers at around the hour mark when the dreadful Danish coach hooked off left winger Mathys Tel for striker Dominic Solanke.

Tottenham keep screwing over Mathys Tel

Bringing Solanke into the game was not the problem, and most Spurs fans expected the England international to get additional minutes in this one after finally returning from injury last week in the FA Cup vs. Aston Villa.

No, the issue was WHO Frank took off. Because once again, Tel was the biggest attacking threat in the front three, and it was not even close. Tel was delivering real attacking threat and intent on a team lacking any bit of that outside of him, and the minute he left the game, Spurs, to nobody's surprise, were totally doomed to lose with zero attacking output.

The Tel snub came at an even worse time, too, as the Frenchman is outright begging for a transfer out so that he does not have to deal with Thomas Frank senselessly benching him. Tel needs minutes for his development and knows it.

Meanwhile, Spurs kept on Randal Kolo Muani, a loanee with no future at the club whom fans now despise because his body language, effort, and overall lack of threat are that of a No. 9 who clearly does not want to be there.

Frank, as always, had another laughable excuse and so called justification for his brainless decision making. He told reporters after the latest Tottenham defeat, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, “I need to take decisions, of course. So I had to take one offensive player off. And I feel Wilson is a bit better to the right and wanted two strikers on the pitch. So that was the decision. There was nothing wrong with Mathys' performance."

What on earth is he talking about? Every single Tottenham Hotspurs supporter knows that Mathys Tel can play striker and has actually done so better than every other woeful No. 9 on this football team this season. He could have easily kept Tel in and played Solanke at striker for Kolo Muani, utilizing Tel as a striker himself. It's not even a question, and Frank's quote pretty much seals, yet again, the fact that he has no idea what he is doing - much less what he is talking about.

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Tottenham get the Xavi Simons news that could send them to the relegation zone

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Tottenham get the Xavi Simons news that could send them to the relegation zone - Hotspur HQ
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After losing to one of the teams in the Premier League relegation zone in rivals West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur are inching ever closer to the relegation region of the league table. They were not far off from it last season despite winning the Europa League, finishing 17th in the table ahead of only some of the most historically unprepared sides for a jump to the top flight.

Spurs lost 2-1 to West Ham this weekend, and they also lost two key players to injury. Ben Davies was starting at left back in lieu of Destiny Udogie's latest injury, but he went down injured himself within minutes of the game.

As if losing another left back were not enough, Tottenham quietly lost an even better player to injury that was noticed after the game. According to a report from Tom Barclay of The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Xavi Simons was observed limping by reporters in the mixed zone after absorbing a heavy blow from West Ham star right winger Jarrod Bowen during the game.

Tottenham can't lose him

There is no word of any injury to Simons, but the fact that he could be hurt would be a massive blow to Spurs. They are already getting closer and closer to the relegation zone and should honestly be legitimately worried about going down despite the talent in their squad, especially if management does not get its act together and fire Thomas Frank.

Simons, admittedly, has not had much of an impact in terms of goals and assists in his first season at Tottenham, but he is by far their biggest creative threat and with the other No. 10 in the squad, James Maddison, out injured for a while, the Dutchman may honestly be their only central creative threat. And it certainly does not help that their best wide creator, Mohammed Kudus, is out injured himself until later in March.

Tottenham have seen flashes of brilliance from Simons in recent games, including matchups Spurs have been outclassed in like the FA Cup elimination bout at the hands of Aston Villa. Simons being down would force Conor Gallagher into the No. 10 role, and although it was just his first game back from a layoff at Atletico Madrid, his debut against West Ham was not exactly a positive indication of his ability to take the mantle from Simons if necessary. Spurs have to hope the young man is not out for a while.

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Tottenham are about to ask way too much out of Souza

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Tottenham are about to ask way too much out of Souza - Hotspur HQ
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Tottenham Hotspur emerged from their Premier League weekend fixture against West Ham United far from unscathed. Not only did they lose 2-1 to one of the worst teams in the English top flight, but they also lost Ben Davies (and potentially Xavi Simons) to injury.

The Hammers absolutely hammered Spurs in the second half, stealing away all three points and leaving the home side hobbled, reeling badly with fans jeering and booing the disgraced Thomas Frank.

There is no turning back for Spurs and their embattled manager, whom fans were literally crying out to be fired the morning after due to the sheer futility of the display they watched unfold before their very eyes.

Tottenham have big issues at LB

But Spurs have other big worries, too. Destiny Udogie is still out at left back with his latest injury, and if he cannot return for the next game, Tottenham may not be able to call upon the player they just made his top backup, veteran Ben Davies, for the foreseeable future.

Davies had to leave the matchup pretty early with a serious injury, and Spurs had to bring in the one player they really did not want to play in that position, Djed Spence. Remember, Spurs were so dissatisfied with Spence's performances at left back, which have been truly abhorrent this season, that they brought Davies back into the fold as a regular Udogie replacemnt out left because he was such an upgrade.

Tottenham are now short handed to an even bigger degree at left back with both Udogie and Davies injured, and as West Ham exposed to everyone, Spurs cannot keep going into games with Spence playing at left back; he is so bad that it is like playing with 10 men.

So it is huge, then, that Tottenham Hotspur are set to welcome 19 year old Brazilian sensation Souza from Santos. Spurs paid a decent fee of around 15 million euros for Souza even though he is a total unknown to European football, and, therefore, they are going to expect him to bea key part of the rotation at left back immediately.

They are going to be putting a lot on his plate initially - more than maybe they even expected. With Davies injured and Spence the only option until Udogie comes back, which is hopefully soon since he is making good progress from the injury in training, Souza might get a start sooner than expected. He honestly can't be much worse than Spence, and even if he is, Spurs would have probably lost that match anyway. So let's see what Souza can do.

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Tottenham have silently come to a huge Djed Spence realization

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Tottenham have silently come to a huge Djed Spence realization - Hotspur HQ
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Djed Spence ended up coming into the game for Tottenham Hotspur against West Ham United over the weekend and played a large chunk of it, as Ben Davies, who was the starting left back for the matchup, had to be carted off early in the first half with a serious looking injury.

Well, Spence slotted back in to the left back position that used to be his and proceeded to deliver one of the many disastrous performances on the pitch for Spurs in a humiliating 2-1 loss to West Ham that should, if common sense were to prevail, spell the end of the nightmarish Thomas Frank reign as Tottenham manager.

Destiny Udogie has been sorely missed in the Spurs starting lineup with yet another injury, and while Spence used to be the weapon of choice for the club to play at left back whenever the Italian international got injured, that sentiment has clearly changed in recent weeks.

Ben Davies is the better option now

Davies has been getting increasingly more nods at left back, which is a quite indicting statement of how Spence has been playing this season. For some reason, Spence used to be lauded as an important player for Spurs, hailed for his one on one ability defensively that reached meme tastic levels due to his social media postings.

But Spurs fans have now seen through Spence, and by not starting him yet again vs. West Ham, Spurs have shown that they, too, no longer see Spence as a valid option at left back. Soon, he will not have to be an option at all, even with Davies and Udogie out, as new Brazilian signing Souza will be coming in as a true left back for the team.

Tottenham have tried to shoe horn Spence in there as a left back, but his inverted schtick simply does not work. He does not have the technical quality, instincts off the ball, positioning sense, or overall skill set to be an effective inverted left back, which is honestly a very difficult job to fulfill.

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Tottenham fans learn the likely Thomas Frank firing date

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Tottenham fans learn the likely Thomas Frank firing date - Hotspur HQ
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Thomas Frank has driven Tottenham Hotspur into utter embarrassment, and after watching their beloved Lilywhites crash and burn 2-1 to one of the worst clubs in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon in West Ham United, Spurs supporters want absolutely nothing to do with Frank as their coach.

They made that point abundantly clear in the stadium during the game, chanting that Frank will be sacked the following Sunday morning before serenading him with more boos and jeers after the game, which has, at this point, become an increasingly embedded custom.

And as usual after another horrid rivalry performance, Frank tried to make excuses to the media after the game about how Tottenham played well, fought hard, and deserved to win before, once again, passively aggressively throwing his players under the bus before declaring all the hard work he is putting in.

Tottenham fans are beyond fed up with Thomas Frank

At this point - and, honestly, the real point had passed months ago - Spurs fans are beyond fed up with Thomas Frank and want him out. And finally, there are reports trickling in after weeks and weeks of inexplicably defending the indefensible, Spurs are finally considering firing Frank.

Now, a new report from the Daily Mail's Craig Hope states that while Tottenham Hotspur are not preparing an imminent announcement stating that Frank is fired as their coach, there is an apparent date of destiny for the club to make a final decision on the manager.

Per Hope, Tottenham will have Frank coach the team on the upcoming Tuesday night matchup against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. But nothing is guaranteed after that match for Frank as Spurs manager.

That means the Dortmund game could be a placeholder point for Spurs to make their decision. They may be on too short of a turn around to fire Frank before such a big Champions League game, so they will give one last chance for Frank to prove them wrong, which is unlikely because even though BVB have their own flaws, they have just one loss in the Bundesliga this season and are second in the league. They are way behind Bayern Munich, but they are less behind a better team than the inferior sides Tottenham are lagging behind by even more points.

Basically, Frank's days are numbered, and while Tottenham do not want to admit it, more and more reporters around England are chiming in that the manager is on the hot seat and the very next game is now a decision point for the club. Frank could be fired officially as soon as after the Dortmund game as Tottenham scramble to get their ducks in a row.

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Thomas Frank sealed his fate with hypocritical response to Tottenham loss vs. West Ham

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Thomas Frank sealed his fate with hypocritical response to Tottenham loss vs. West Ham - Hotspur HQ
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Tottenham Hotspur truly outdid themselves on Saturday afternoon in front of their own fans, falling 2-1 to West Ham United, one of the worst teams in the Premier League and an opponent that is almost always suitable to a rebound.

But Spurs could not rebound against West Ham because they were the worse football team on that afternoon. Under manager Thomas Frank, Tottenham continued their troubling trend of being second best to the ball, disorganized tactically, out of ideas offensively, and entirely lacking any sort of threat on goal.

Frank's tactical and personnel decisions doomed Spurs, and yet another week of being caught flat footed has simply done in the heads of Spurs supporters, who had already lost their patience with Frank. This was his performance in a derby game just a week after getting knocked out of the FA Cup, and with time to prepare, he turned in an even worse coaching display.

Thomas Frank is full of excuses

After the game, in classic Thomas Frank fashion, the embattled Tottenham Hotspur manager said he would not give excuses for the performance, then proceeded to literally give the worst possible excuse and attempt to argue, as he has done all season after unacceptably sloppy losses, that Spurs should have won.

Here is what he said, as relayed by top Tottenham journalist Alasdair Gold of Football.London, “I think you all saw the game today, we could easily have won this one 2-1. I think it's no excuses. But also, the reason we're a little bit down to the bare bones with players. And we also need some of the offensive players to score a goal or two. All that is difficult for me to do like that and click with a finger. But I can promise that I'm sitting here, giving everything, every single day. I feel the trust from everyone and there's only one way, we need to keep going.”

There is so much in here that is straight up laughable. From Tottenham's manager saying he has no excuses to literally blaming injuries and the players themselves, Frank was so full of excuses that you, once again, really have to question his competency to be a leader of a top football club.

Frank sounds like a man who knows he is going to get fired, babbling about how hard he is working and then having the gall to say that he feels the trust from the organization. That trust, if it still exists, was entirely misplaced from the beginning, and the fans certainly do not trust a babblemouthed hypocrite who always has an excuse and never has an answer. Frank. Out.

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Tottenham are finally thinking about granting fans' biggest Thomas Frank wish

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Tottenham are finally thinking about granting fans' biggest Thomas Frank wish - Hotspur HQ
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Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been forced to watch months upon months of putrid performances with no end in sight. And instead of improving week to week or listening to constructive criticism about his lineup selection and tactics, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank only seems to double down on what is not working.

After beating West Ham United on the road 3-0 earlier this season, Spurs turned in a sloppy, unacceptable performance at home against the Hammers, one of the worst teams in the entire Premier League, to lose 2-1.

It was another low for Spurs, with fans raining down the boos or leaving the stadium early to send Frank a deafening message that they want him gone. Now. And although Spurs as a club have been slow to react to the negativity around Frank and his horrid results - as well as his insulting press conferences against the fans - it looks like this dreadful defeat to West Ham was a step too far in a dark direction that the club has already been headed on with this manager.

Thomas Frank needs to go

Now, according to a new report from Jonathan Norcroft of the Sunday Times, Thomas Frank is finally, at long last, really and truly on the brink of being sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager. As the fans chanted for his immediate firing on Sunday morning, it appears Tottenham are finally listening to what the supporters have been begging for months for.

Of course, this report does not mean Frank will be fired, as it only means Tottenham are having internal discussions about it. But that is much, much better and different from what fans have heard about Frank from the club previously, which had pretty much been unbridled support for the manager, including quite strong public backing of the most underperforming coach in English football.

Tottenham have supported Frank with signings from Day One, and all he has done is thrown away any credibility or trust between himself and the supporters. He has screwed over some of his best players, to the point where future gems like Antonin Kinsky and Mathys Tel are openly discussing leaving - and those guys are infinitely more valuable to Spurs both short and long term than their cowardly, pedantic manager.

Frank is on the verge of the sack, and Tottenham fans are just hoping it leads to something, with the board coming to their senses that things will never get better.

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Tottenham fans just told Thomas Frank his only acceptable future to his face

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Tottenham fans just told Thomas Frank his only acceptable future to his face - Hotspur HQ
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is under more pressure right now than any other coach in world football, and week after week, all he does is sink himself further into the abyss by continually making the wrong decisions and setting his team up for disaster.

Spurs just got knocked out of the FA Cup Third Round against Aston Villa, days after losing to Bournemouth in the Premier League. Tottenham are buried in the bottom half of the league, and despite Spurs actually supporting Frank a lot more on the transfer market than they did for predecessors like Ange Postecoglou and even Antonio Conte, Frank continues to turn in embarrassing results.

The latest untenable disaster came on Saturday in front of the home fans, who watched as Tottenham lost 2-1 to rivals West Ham United, one of the worst teams in the Premier League. Generally, West Ham are the team you are supposed to bounce back against and get things right, and perhaps nothing highlights how much worse things are getting for Spurs and how dire the situation is under Frank than the fact that Spurs lost to the Hammers after beating them 3-0 on the road earlier this season.

Tottenham fans are done

Spurs supporters had the only sensible, genuine reaction to the Thomas Frank disaster class against West Ham. As The Spurs Express relays, Tottenham Hotspur fans serenaded their manager with "You're getting sacked in the morning," during the game with massive boos afterwards. And the most common hashtag on social media directed at Frank is #FrankOut.

The sentiment had been growing for weeks, if not months, and it is now unanimous. For the vast, vast majority of Tottenham supporters, the only acceptable outcome for Frank at this point is for him to be fired swiftly on Sunday so that Spurs can end this farce and get on with their manager search. Even if the next coach is not someone as big of a name as Xavi or Xabi Alonso, nobody can be doing a worse job than Frank is right now.

Perhaps the most biting criticism of Frank is that Tottenham fans feel hopeless, knowing that there is no way things get better from here. Frank has shown no growth, only continued cowardice and a total lack of understanding of who his best players are. He has given Spurs no confidence that things will get better, and a sack fresh in the morning is the best course of action now.

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Thomas Frank wants to bury Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert even further

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Thomas Frank wants to bury Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert even further - Hotspur HQ
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Coming into the 2026 January transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur supporters had identified the left wing position as their biggest area of need. Spurs were even in on breakout superstar Antoine Semenyo back in December before the window opened, reigniting their summer interest in the Ghanaian forward.

But Semenyo swiftly rejected Tottenham for a big move to Manchester City, and the Citizens star wingers are either unavailable or uninterested in moving to Spurs, too. Tottenham could go after Oscar Bobb on the right wing, but that track has gone nowhere with only Borussia Dortmund negotiating hard for Spurs potential Savinho alternative.

Now two factors have complicated the Tottenham transfer search. Firstly, Mohammed Kudus suffered an injury against Bournemouth in countryman Semenyo's final game with the Cherries, and he will be out until after the March international break. With Dejan Kulusevski already injured for several months and with no concrete time table for a return, Spurs now have no healthy right wingers after selling Brennan Johnson.

Tottenham barely use their big talents

The other complicating factor is Mathys Tel, who has been standing out on the left wing this season and even at striker. He barely plays, though, even with Spurs missing a left winger after Son Heung-min's exit to MLS. Tel has become so disillusioned with Frank not playing him that he is actively seeking a loan out this winter, which Spurs are wisely at least trying to prevent.

Despite the complicating factors, the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law reports that Frank still wants to sign a new left winger this winter for Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham do need an established left winger, but they really needed that all the way back in the summer. Funny enough, even then, some of the players they were after were moreso right wingers, like Savinho and Monaco gem Maghnes Akliouche.

Now, Spurs supporters are turning a bit on the wing situation. Without Kudus and Kulu, they want a right winger just as badly as a left sided one and to instead see Frank give Tel and Wilson Odobert chances. Though Odobert did recently play on the right in the first game without Kudus, he is better on the left so that he can drift inside on that right foot of his, as he is more of an inverted playmaking left winger than someone who can be left isolated on the right.

Signing someone like Akliouche may crowd the right wing in the future if Kulusevski comes back 100 percent, but there is no guarantee of that, unfortunately, with how serious his knee injury is. Spurs fans have to be worried that while a left winger would help the team, Spurs would end up settling for a lesser veteran player without any top options on the market and would simply be burying Tel and Odobert on the depth chart without materially improving.

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