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As Thomas Frank is finding out, Tottenham are just an odd club. Some Spurs fans are questioning whether he has the credentials to manage them, which I don't understand. All he needs is time.

Mark Chapman reeled off a stat on the Monday Night Club that Tottenham are a big-six club because they are fifth in the table for total points gained in the Premier League era.

Come on, Chappers. We are better than that. Have Spurs ever won the Premier League? No. Is there a 'total points' trophy? Also a no.

Spurs are a big club, but that's from their distant history, not from what they have done since 1992. They are well-supported and have got a fantastic stadium, but you don't win trophies for those things either.

They need to get things right on the pitch but when they have brought in a manager who did win something with them, Ange Postecoglou, they have sacked him.

I am sure Spurs will improve, if Frank is given a chance. They played well in defeat against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday and that makes me think they might have too much for Fulham.

Marco Silva's side really needed their win over Sunderland to avoid being dragged into the relegation scrap, and they are still not out of trouble.

Fulham's away record is pretty awful but then so is Tottenham's home form, so the obvious thing to go for here is a draw.

It's only taken me four seasons of doing these predictions, but I am finally applying some logic.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

After a promising start to life as Tottenham manager, Thomas Frank is quickly discovering that managing Spurs brings a whole new level of pressure.

Sunday's chastening 4-1 defeat by Arsenal was one of the most one-sided north London derbies in recent memory and means Spurs have won only one of their past five Premier League games.

The Lilywhites were much improved in an attacking sense during a Champions League trip to champions Paris St-Germain on Wednesday, despite falling to a 5-3 defeat.

After two tough away games, a return to their own stadium to face Fulham would bring much-needed home comforts for most clubs. Not Spurs.

While they have the joint best away record in the top flight this season, their only league victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came against newly promoted Burnley on the opening weekend.

Frank's side have looked blunt in front of their own supporters, with creativity, goals and excitement at a premium.

However, these struggles at home have been rumbling for a while. Spurs have won only three league matches in N17 in the past 12 months, their worst run over a 20-game period for 31 years.

It is a far cry from their unbeaten final season at White Hart Lane in 2016-17 when their haul of 53 points out of a possible 57 at home was the best in the Premier League.

With generally positive displays on the road, why has Frank been unable to make his own ground a fortress?

Former Tottenham midfielders Danny Murphy and Michael Carrick give their verdicts on why it has not been home sweet home for Spurs this season.

Spurs have scored seven goals in six home league games this season, while only Burnley have had fewer shots on target than their 18.

Frank's midfield selections have come under fire for being too defensive. Remarkably, Spurs have made four throughballs this season. Leaders Arsenal have made 43.

"When you look at the make-up of their team, the midfield isn't particularly creative," Murphy told BBC Sport.

"It feels like none of their frontline are playing with any confidence. They look a bit lightweight in the front area of the pitch.

"Away from home, that doesn't matter as much, because they can be more pragmatic - look for the set-plays, play on the counter and be hard to beat - and they don't have the expectation of the 60,000 home supporters to go after teams and really try to win games.

"That makes a difference to players. Away from home, you can kind of do it at your own pace and it is OK for you to be without the ball.

"The games we've seen Tottenham do well in away from home have actually been comfortable at times for them - their win at Everton was a good example of that.

"But that lack of cohesion and rhythm in the front three, where things have changed so much - and even that little tweak in midfield where sometimes it's a 10, sometimes it's three midfielders - it all looks a little bit higgledy-piggledy.

"It means Spurs can look a bit too safe at home, with no-one playing with any belief or confidence to get on the ball."

Spurs fans have been quick to get on their side's back, with booing a regular backdrop to home league games this season.

"It does have an effect," says Murphy. "It's a simple case of the anxiety of the crowd is transmitted on to the pitch in the same way their confidence is when they are all for you and things are going well.

"So when things are going badly, the same players who are capable of doing things with the ball, you see them playing with more freedom on the road and they start playing a bit safer at home because they don't want to be the one who gets the moan and the groan from the crowd when they give the ball away.

"It can sometimes take real mental toughness for a player to get through that, and you need a good result or two at home to then go back to playing freer."

Despite only Wolves having a worse record in front of their own fans this season, Carrick and Murphy say Frank will get things right.

"It's early days," says Carrick. "He's trying to change a few things. The priority was defending better as a team and implementing a totally different structure and concentrating on that a bit more.

"As time goes on they will get better."

Murphy says: "Although it's concerning, overall there has been enough improvement under Frank for the fans to have hope things will get better.

"You can't run before you can walk. Of course they would want more points than they have got at home, but I look at them and think they will get better there.

"They just need a bit of luck in the fixture list, where you have your best team available. Get a couple of good wins and you can very quickly change the whole mood.

"Thomas Frank is not daft and I think he sees the problems. He also knows the quality that he has got to come back.

"It is short-term pain for long-term gain for Spurs. I don't think their home form is a problem that is going to last very long once they get their injured players back."

Newcastle have won five of their last six Premier League games against Tottenham (L1), as many as they had in their previous 17 (D2 L10).

Tottenham have lost their last three Premier League games against Newcastle, last losing more consecutively against the Magpies between April 2006 and December 2008 (6).

Having won just two of their 11 Premier League home games against Spurs between 2010-11 and 2021-22 (D3 L6), Newcastle have now won their last three against them by an aggregate score of 12-2.

Newcastle haven’t lost any of their last 10 home midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) evening matches (7pm or later) in the Premier League (W7 D3) since a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in February 2021.

Tottenham have won just one of their last 13 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (D2 L10), beating Brentford 3-2 in January 2024. They’ve lost each of their last seven such games, scoring just one goal in the process.

Newcastle United have won 11 of their 16 home Premier League matches in 2025 (69%), their fifth best home win ratio in a calendar year in the competition, with two of those five best coming under Eddie Howe (also 70% in 2023, won 14/20).

Tottenham Hotspur are unbeaten in Premier League games outside of London this season, picking up 10 points in four games (W3 D1). They last had a longer unbeaten run outside of the capital between March and October 2022 (six games).

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has won six of his eight Premier League matches against Spurs manager Thomas Frank, all while the Dane was at Brentford (D1 L1). It’s his joint most wins against an opposing manager, also beating Marco Silva six times (D1 L5).

Bruno Guimarães has been involved in 11 goals in his last 19 home Premier League games for Newcastle (7 goals, 4 assists), scoring (2) or assisting (1) in each of his last three at St James’ Park, his best ever run in the competition.

Richarlison has been involved in six goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Newcastle (4 goals, 2 assists), only having more goals and assists against Liverpool (4 goals, 3 assists). He bagged a brace for Spurs in a 4-1 win in December 2023 in his last game against them.

After winning eight of their nine Premier League games against Fulham between 2013 and 2023 (D1), Spurs are now winless in their last three against the Cottagers (D1 L2).

Fulham have won two of their last three Premier League games against Spurs (D1), as many as they had in their previous 23 against them (D6 L15).

Tottenham have lost 1-0 against Chelsea and 4-1 against Arsenal in their last two league London derbies. They’ve not lost three in a row in the same campaign since September/October 2021 (a run of four).

Of the 17 ever present sides across the two seasons, none have won fewer home games (3), lost more home games (9) or earned fewer home points (12) in 2025 than Tottenham Hotspur. They haven’t lost 10 home league games in a single calendar year since 2003 (10).

No side have earned fewer away points than Fulham in the Premier League this season (1), while only Wolves (1) have earned fewer at home than Spurs (5). The Cottagers have lost their last five on the road in the Premier League, last having a longer run between January and April 2019 (7).

Tottenham have overperformed their expected goals more than any other side in the Premier League this season, netting almost nine goals more than their xG suggests (20 goals, 11.2 xG). Their 0.07 against Arsenal last time out was their lowest xG in a Premier League game since September 2021 (0.06 v Crystal Palace).

Tottenham have conceded seven goals in their three Premier League games in November, as many as they had in their nine games across August, September and October combined.

Though they rank third (behind Wolves 39 and Chelsea 31) for lineup changes in the Premier League this season (29), only Everton (19) have used fewer different players than Tottenham this term (20).

Having been involved in five goals in his first six Premier League games against Spurs (4 goals, 1 assist), Fulham’s Raúl Jiménez hasn’t scored or assisted in any of his last six against them.

Richarlison has scored 16 goals in his last 22 Premier League starts for Spurs, netting in his last two against Man Utd and Arsenal. However, he’s never scored in eight appearances against Fulham in the competition, only facing his current side and Aston Villa more without scoring (9 each).

Home form a concern for Spurs

Tottenham may have shipped five goals in their midweek loss against Paris St-Germain, but their performance against the defending European champions did at least restore some pride after their damaging defeat against Arsenal.

They showed the fight and attacking endeavour in Paris that was so badly missing in the 4-1 thrashing at the Emirates, as the negative tactics of manager Thomas Frank were heavily criticised.

Frank was lauded at the start of the season for sorting out Spurs' defensive woes, but they have conceded nine goals in their last two games, while the seven they have let in during their three top-flight fixtures in November is as many as they did in nine games across August, September and October.

Having lost ground in the league after only one win in five, Spurs now face a pivotal week with Newcastle away and his former side Brentford at home to come after their clash with Fulham.

However, their home form has been an issue for a long time now and they have managed just three league wins in a year, with their only victory in front of their own supporters under Frank coming on the opening weekend of the season against Burnley.

Fulham struggling away

Fortunately for Tottenham, they face a Fulham side who sit joint bottom of the away form table having lost five in a row on the road. They have just a solitary draw to show from their travels this season, having accrued 93% of their points at Craven Cottage.

However, after years of dominance over the west Londoners, Spurs have struggled of late against Fulham. After a run of eight wins in nine league games against the Cottagers, Tottenham are without a victory in any of the last three, with Fulham's two wins in those games as many as they had managed in their previous 23 encounters.

After losing five of their last six league games, Marco Silva's side picked up a crucial win over in-form Sunderland last weekend to move three points clear of the bottom three.

The Cottagers had 24 shots in that match, but scored only once, highlighting an issue that has held them back this season. Only Leeds and Wolves have scored fewer than Fulham's 13 goals in 12 top-flight matches this season.

However, a superb cameo off the bench from on-loan winger Sam Chukwueze in that game culminated in a brilliant assist to firmly put his case forward for a first Premier League start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Frank confirmed he has no fresh injury concerns with Radu Dragusin not yet fit to start and Cristian Romero unavailable through suspension.

He added that none of his long-term absentees are nearing a return.

On Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski: "I'd love to have them ready to play for us, but they're unavailable, other players need to step up. It's much easier to say they're in, when available, rather than put a time-frame on it."

However, Randal Kolo Muani is fit to start after scoring his first two goals for the club against parent club Paris St-Germain on Wednesday: "Yeah, he will be fit enough to start against Fulham. I think he performed well, his best performance so far. It was exciting. Now it's about doing it consistently, every game."

Reflecting on the 5-3 defeat in Paris after after Sunday's 4-1 loss against Arsenal, Frank said: "I am pleased with the performance and response we got from the players against PSG. I think the aggression in the high pressure, the forwardness and intensity should have earned us a point or points against PSG but some randomness and game management meant we didn't. That is what we have to learn from."

How does he remain calm under pressure?: "Trust my experience, trust my staff, my players, the club, the leadership - that's key for us to progress as a structure. Just to keep doing that, keep believing, keep working. Always one more conversation, one more video clip, one more meeting, one more training session, constantly try to improve bits, know where you want to go, try to improve the culture, the style of play every single day. That's the key."

On whether teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall could start together in the Premier League: "I think if you perform like you did against the European champions away from home, you're ready to start in the Premier League."

Is the visit of Fulham is a must-win game?: "I'm very aware a top performance and a win will be very helpful. I go into every game believing we will win. I need to make sure we're well prepared, to pick the best possible team."

There are no fresh injury concerns after last weekend's victory against Sunderland with Rodrigo Muniz and Antonee Robinson still ruled out with their thigh and knee injuries respectively.

There is no time-scale for Robinson but the full-back is "getting better" and is doing "individual work on the pitch". Silva clarified he won't be rushed in order to avoid any setbacks when he does eventually return.

Fulham are yet to win away from home in the league this season with Silva admitting their standards in the 2-0 defeat at Everton before the international break were "nowhere near where they should be" but that the reaction from his players has been good.

Meanwhile, Spurs have only secured five points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season and Silva said that makes them similar "in the opposite way".

He said: "In the Premier League, they've been very strong away from home so far but at home not the best results. In the opposite way but similar with us, they want to correct things at home and go in the right direction."

Silva continued: "Massive respect to them and their quality but we look for ourselves and we want to get a result away from home. They are going to do the same with an amazing fanbase as well, in a great place to play football so let's go for it and match them and see who's going to be a better side on the pitch."

There was very little hope before kick-off. A fool's hope at best. Maybe Paris St-Germain would be so relaxed after watching our capitulation at the weekend that they would turn up wearing Christmas jumpers and holding a glass of wine, so we could catch them out like we did in the summer.

And for 50 minutes, it looked like we had fooled them again. Spurs found something sorely missing from the north London derby: passion, drive and their shooting boots.

The midfield trio of Pape Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur passed the ball to each other. They looked well-drilled and, just as we were thinking that Thomas Frank had stumbled upon a system, our masks were whipped off by the European champions and Spurs became the same ragtag bunch that were thrashed at Arsenal.

A sloppy penalty, a gift and a fumble at a corner put the Parisians out of sight despite Randal Kolo Muani doing two-thirds of Gareth Bale at the San Siro.

So, where does this leave Frank?

Of course, there is a caveat that PSG and, begrudgingly, Arsenal, are two of the strongest teams in Europe at the moment. However, a second heavy capitulation in a week leaves serious doubt about the Dane's ability to manage this group of players.

Individual errors are something that have haunted every man who has stepped into the Tottenham dugout. This was a mixture of sloppiness and tactical naivety. We left world-class players free to shoot at will. The edge of Spurs' penalty area has become a happy hunting ground for anyone capable from long range.

Tottenham had started the game focused and energetic, but as their batteries started to run low, gaps and mistakes appeared. By 70 minutes, they were a different team from the one that went in front twice.

Losing to PSG is not an 'end-of-days' scenario. The team, despite their faults, gave it their all, but it may be a foreshadowing of what is to come. Fulham at home is suddenly a six-pointer and all the other cliches.

Frank needs to find an identity, other than energy, because right now, we are a team that plays as the wind blows. We could be good, but we are mostly messy.

We asked for your views on Tottenham's defeat by Paris St-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Tony: I thought it was a great performance, 10 out of 10 compared to Saturday's 2 out of 10. We fought for every ball but they scored two fantastic goals and are a world-class team with fantastic players. If we can take that performance into the rest of the season, we will be on the right track.

Dave: Much, much better. We were combative and really gave it a go. In this kind of form, PSG are a tough proposition for anyone, so for me, proud of the boys and hope this shuts down some of the 'Is Frank the right guy for us?' chatter. He's only been in the job since June. Let's get behind the team and the manager and see where we are at the end of the season.

Emilio: Great first half performance taking the game to them. Shame they equalised so close to half time. Much improved on last weekend's game but we can't make basic mistakes at the back as these teams will punish you. There won't be many teams going to Paris and getting a win, but even they are not invincible.

David: Three of the five goals Tottenham conceded were from basic mistakes and lack of concentration. Spurs could have won this game if they had been more focused.

Laurence: 'Improved Spurs performance'? Are people having a laugh? It was men against boys again as it was on Sunday against Arsenal. I've followed Spurs for the best part of 70 years and this is just about the sloppiest Spurs team of them all. Sure we scored three but let's be honest, we were clearly inferior. Only Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani busted a gut but it's been obvious to me that recruitment continues to rear its ugly head.

Ian: This is worse than last year, plus we won't win anything and will be outside of the top six. Ok we might end up seventh or eighth but that is not better, not impressed. Thomas Frank is failing badly.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson says Thomas Frank's side were "masters of their own downfall" against a strong Paris St-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

He observed that, unlike in Sunday's north London derby, the commitment of Spurs players could not be questioned as they pressed high and showed a real competitive edge.

However, they were ultimately undone by momentary lapses that will always risk fatal punishment against the European champions.

"Masters of their own downfall, or at least the start of it, because for an hour they played so well," said Robinson on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "They conceded two extremely good goals from Vitinha, which any team could have conceded.

"And then, inexplicable defending.

"Tottenham had a different attitude, with their application, their work rate, their pressing and they started higher up the field. There was a lot more to be positive about.

"Unlike at the weekend [against Arsenal], Frank can put his finger on things that went wrong rather than scratching his head and thinking he didn't recognise his team.

"If Sunday hadn't happened, then there would be no discussion about this game and the Tottenham setup.

"When the teams came out, we thought that they would play a back five but they didn't. They played a midfield that had legs, as in Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr they had three willing runners that would get back and plug the gaps while also supporting Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison in offering an attacking threat."

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