North Norfolk guide: what will Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor find when he moves to the Sandringham Estate?
Our guide to the area Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will soon call home
North Norfolk guide: what will Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor find when he moves to the Sandringham Estate?
Our guide to the area Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will soon call home
Spurs were thrashed in the north London derby at the weekend
Building: Thomas Frank
AFP via Getty Images
Matt Verri
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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri
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Thomas Frank insisted he knows how to build Tottenham as a team and a club as he looks to bounce back from a difficult run.
Spurs have won just three of their last 11 matches in all competitions and were heavily beaten 4-1 by north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
That was a painfully timid performance and Spurs have had only a couple of days to prepare for a Champions League trip to holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The pressure is starting to build on Frank, with concerns over Spurs' struggles in attack intensified by turgid displays against Arsenal and Chelsea, but the Dane is adamant his side will come out the other side of this run.
"One thing I'm 1000% sure of is I know how to build a team, I know how to build a club," Frank said.
"We will do that. Along the way we will learn and the big thing is how we learn from the bad spells because that's when we can see when we go 1-0 down, how do we react as a team.
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"The best teams they continually just move on. They still run hard, they still do the same things. There's no doubts in that.
"First four months, I've learned a lot about the team. I've learned a lot about the individual players. All that learning needs to materialise to how we find the right formula with the right players on the pitch and also with some players coming back.
"And then we play every third day. That's the big challenge but that's what I embrace."
Spurs did not have a single shot in the first half against Arsenal and are now responsible for the two lowest xG totals in the Premier League this season.
Frank watched the match back and put the defeat down to his side's failure to compete in duals, a weakness he insisted would not be repeated against PSG.
"We had 53 situations where it was a duel, second ball situation," Frank said of the north London derby.
"We came out on top in 17 of those, lost 36. If you don't do that, that is the basic. Then it's very difficult to win football matches.
"Tomorrow we are facing another of the best teams in Europe away from home so it's a nice challenge that we're 100% up for.
"I'm convinced that we'll bounce back with a good performance."
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Thomas Frank will have to leave several fit players out for Tottenham's trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
Spurs face their toughest Champions League test to date as they travel to take on the holders, looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the competition.
The players trained at Hotspur Way on Tuesday morning before flying out to Paris later in the day.
Frank has had a lengthy injury list to contend with in recent weeks but it was a strong Spurs squad in training the day before the match.
The likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall were involved and are in contention to play, while Randal Kolo Muani is pushing to face his parent club despite having to wear a mask due to a jaw injury.
Defensive trio Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Kota Takai took part in full training on Tuesday but none of them will be able to take on PSG.
They were all left out of the squad Spurs named for the league phase of the Champions League.
The three have not played a single minute under Frank due to injury issues but are all now back and will be available to feature in the Premier League.
Frank will be without Tel against PSG too, after he was also omitted from the Champions League squad.
The forward scored off the bench against Manchester United before the international break and then netted for the France U21s, but he will miss out in his home country.
That means it will either be Kolo Muani leading the line or Richarlison, who should be in a more confident mood after his brilliant goal in the defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Spurs have turned into a toothless side, but the formula to succeed is no secret
Eyes on: Thomas Frank has a winning formula
REUTERS
Matt Verri
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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri
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After picking up wins over Burnley and Manchester City to start their Premier League season, Tottenham suffered their first stumble under Thomas Frank at the end of August.
It came at home to Bournemouth, a 1-0 defeat courtesy of an Evanilson goal.
Almost three months on, that match feels significant. Spurs offered next to nothing in attack, failing to register a single shot in the first half and finishing with an xG of 0.17 despite trailing for 85 minutes. They have not won at home in the league since.
At the time a limp display of that nature felt like a one-off that could be excused against lively opposition, but if anything it has come to be the norm.
It was also the first and only time so far that Frank has named an unchanged starting lineup from one Premier League match to another.
He went with the same side that beat City at the Etihad a week earlier, it did not work and Frank has been tweaking ever since, searching for solutions that have still not been found.
Spurs have made 28 changes to their starting XI in the league this season. Only Wolves and Chelsea have made more.
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That would not be of concern if Frank was just rotating his options to keep the energy up, but there has been too much chopping and changing with the other team in mind. Frank has prioritised nullifying the opposition over allowing relationships to flourish in the Spurs side.
Pressure is building on the Dane after dismal derby defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the growing sense that the team are not improving.
They were short of ideas in attack against Bournemouth in August and that has remained an almost constant theme ever since. The fans need something to get behind, some sense that Frank is building a project to justify patience, even if results are poor.
Spurs' best recent attacking display came against Copenhagen in the Champions League. The caveat of who the opposition were is an obvious one, but there were much better signs with Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert on the left, which brought the best out of Xavi Simons.
Four days later, Frank strangely went with Djed Spence and Richarlison on the left against Manchester United. Only when Udogie and Odobert came on in the second half did Spurs offer something resembling an attacking threat.
Thomas Frank is prone to tinkering
Action Images via Reuters
There is a strong argument now for Frank picking what his views as his starting lineup and sticking with it. That would help the players, who have too often looked lost on the pitch, and it would provide the feeling that Spurs are working towards something.
It is not a squad with elite attacking options but there is certainly enough to produce more than has been seen in recent weeks. Frank has often turned to the most defensive option and a braver approach is needed.
Lucas Bergvall was one of Spurs' best players earlier in the season but has found minutes hard to come by since. A lineup with him alongside Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons in front of them and Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert on the left immediately feels more exciting.
Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Richarlison have shared the minutes up front but strikers need confidence and that comes from a run in the side.
Even with a jaw injury, Kolo Muani is the best option and should be starting near enough every match when fit. His relationship with Simons is one Spurs should be prioritising.
If Frank's tweaking was bringing results, particularly against Spurs' biggest rivals, then performances could be somewhat forgiven.
Instead, it currently looks a lot like confusion, not versatility. Stifling the opposition is not good enough as a philosophy, certainly not at a club like Spurs.
More than three months into the season, consistency in both the starting lineup and attacking patterns of play has sorely been lacking. One would surely help the other.
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Matt Verri
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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri
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As the tally of turgid performances increases and the worrying results grow, a quote from Thomas Frank in his very first Tottenham press conference continues to do the rounds.
“To not take a risk, is also a risk," Frank declared, insisting his side would play aggressive, front-footed football.
With no sign of that and Spurs reeling from another miserable derby defeat, the main risk facing Frank now is that his approach is losing the fans.
Going to the Emirates is as tough a test as there is for any team. Spurs have won just once there in the Premier League and expectation of improving on that record was low.
These, though, were the kind of games where Frank was expected to thrive. As he did to real success against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in August, the Dane has a reputation for devising gameplans for the biggest matches that enable his sides to punch above their weight.
Spurs were blown away by Arsenal at Emirates Stadium
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There was nothing resembling that here. Spurs approached the match like a lower league side in a cup match, as though they accepted they simply could not hurt Arsenal.
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Even from free-kicks won inside their half, the centre-backs went up and Guglielmo Vicario launched the ball into the Arsenal box. It was a sorry sight.
Frank spoke before the match about the need to win the set-piece battle but Spurs played in a way that made winning any set pieces almost impossible, negating a key strength of theirs.
From the first minute Spurs tried to slow the game down. Destiny Udogie took an age over throw-ins and within 25 minutes referee Michael Oliver had called Cristian Romero over to tell him Spurs had to get a move on.
Those tactics, along with the seven defensive players, sent the wrong message from the very start. Spurs played the match like they wanted it to be over from the first whistle.
They were scared and seemingly shorn of any belief they could win. Once Leandro Trossard opened the scoring, the result felt a sure thing.
The stats, again, were damning. An xG of 0.07 was the lowest any side have managed in the Premier League this season. Spurs also hold second place in those particular standings from their dismal defeat to Chelsea.
The style of play matters at Spurs and Frank must start setting the team up like he knows that or his tenure will be in danger of following the short-lived example of Espirito Santo.
Frank will point to the context of the injuries and that is an obvious factor. Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and James Maddison would all improve the team.
Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick for Arsenal
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
The plan, though, cannot be to produce these kind of displays while waiting for them to return, desperately hoping they will transform the team.
The trio were not in the starting XI against PSG or City earlier in the season, when Spurs pressed high, rattled their opponents and played with real ambition.
Spurs have gone significantly backwards since those performances and it is why the pressure is building on Frank. Fans put their faith in a new manager when there are signs of progress, that the building blocks are being put in place.
If a defensive system with five defenders and Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur in front of them still brings a heavy defeat, there is nothing really to get behind. Too often Frank's tactics have the other team in mind more than his own.
With a poor style of play, the team not improving and the worst performances coming against Spurs' biggest rivals, it is not hard to see what the questions on Frank are growing.
Add to that the club's home form - Spurs have not won at their stadium in the Premier League since the opening weekend of the season.
Spurs need some sort of response against PSG on Wednesday, but it is the match at home to Fulham on Saturday that is the biggest of the week. Spurs simply must win that and produce something for fans to hang their hat on in attack.
It is still too soon to say Frank's job is under significant pressure. There is an uncertainty, though, over the club's ownership and how patient the increasingly involved younger members of the Lewis family will be in supporting managers.
Frank has regularly pointed to the fact Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League last season in emphasising the size of the task facing him.
He is right but the club also won a trophy. Fans were given one of the best nights of their lives. Results are of course key but so much of the football-supporting experience is about how a team makes fans feel and the journey they are taken on.
Frank's approach right now is one centred on percentages and safety but there is not enough fun and emotion. It is losing the fans and it is hard to believe the players are particularly enthused either.
The Spurs boss is playing a risky game, but it’s not the one he’s talked about.
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Tottenham welcomed back a whole host of names during their 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the north London derby, but they still hace a number of key players sidelined.
Thomas Frank’s side were thrashed at the Emirates Stadium, despite the return of the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, and Randal Kolo Muani to the matchday squad after their respective injuries.
However, holes were still found in Spurs’ rigid 5-4-1 system, and even more so in their squad depth, with several first-choice figures missing out in the capital.
He made a brief cameo in the early exchanges of the campaign before suffering a major setback.
Frank had said before the recent international break that he did not know whether the centre-forward would be able to play before the year was out.
Solanke himself said that he would not put a timeframe on his return to action.
“It’s been very difficult,” Solanke told The Athletic. “At first, I didn’t think I would be out for too long but we didn’t really understand the extent of the injury. I was trying to get back as quickly as I could but it didn’t happen, so I had to have surgery.”
The Romanian stepped up his recovery during the international window, and played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient in his first action since January.
Speaking after the Orient game, Dragusin said: "It felt good, first minutes in 10 months out, finally minutes in the legs and I just have to build on this."
He did not make the matchday squad against Arsenal, but could feature against Fulham after captain Cristian Romero picked up a one-match suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards.
Kulusevski is also closing in on a return, having spent months on the sidelines with a patella injury, for which he underwent surgery after the Europa League final.
Destiny Udogie shared a video of the Swede training on grass during the international break, which could spell a comeback very soon,
Frank has said that there is a “good chance” that the winger could play before the turn of the year.
He has not played at all for his new club since his arrival from Kawasaki Frontale, but Frank said before Spurs’ defeat by Chelsea that the Japanese would “be training soon”.
The Welshman looks like he is treading the comeback trail too, despite having to withdraw from the recent Wales camp due to a hamstring problem.
The defender suffered a setback on the injury that has kept him out since last month.
Frank said that Davies would be out for “four or five weeks” when he was ruled out, but the latest scare could push his return back a tad.
He then picked up another issue that forced him to be stretched off just minutes after his return.
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