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Everything MOTD said about Tottenham sacking Thomas Frank after defeat vs Fulham

Thomas Frank is a manager under increasing pressure at Tottenham.

Tottenham were beaten 2-1 by Fulham on Saturday, with Mohammed Kudus‘ second-half goal not enough to launch a recovery after Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson scored within six minutes.

Spurs manager Frank bore the brunt of criticism for the latest Tottenham Hotspur Stadium horror show, with the Lilywhites managing just one home Premier League win under the Dane thus far.

Tottenham’s mentality has been questioned following the limp defeat to the Cottagers, which has left Spurs 10th in the Premier League table.

Frank has faced accusations that Tottenham’s squad do not respect him, and the issue of the former Brentford manager’s future was a hot topic of discussion on Match of the Day on Saturday.

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Danny Murphy delivers Thomas Frank sack verdict

On the face of it, Tottenham’s situation is not quite as dire as it would appear at first glance, with only five points separating Spurs from third-place Chelsea.

But the manner of the performances at home has left Frank, rightly, facing some huge scrutiny so early in his tenure in North London.

In the post-match analysis of the game on Match of the Day, presenter Gabby Logan spoke to former Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy about the pressure Frank is facing.

She said: “Thomas Frank now is obviously going to feel some kind of pressure with the fans not happy, letting their disquiet known, having won only once at home at the beginning of this season, three times this calendar year as well.”

Murphy replied: “Well, he’s got to take the stick, he’s taken a high-profile job at a huge football club with massive expectation.

“So, there’s pressure and responsibility that comes with that. The performances at home have been poor and they’ve got to improve quickly.

“They’ve got a hell of a good squad. Yeah, he’s got a few players missing but at the moment I don’t think he knows his best team and he’s not sure on his best formation.

“And that’s a problem. And the confidence is really low. They’ve got to keep working hard, they had a good go second half and made some chances. But for now he’s got to ride the criticism, he’s got to keep working on the training pitch, and getting that team winning some game at home.”

Tottenham visit Newcastle United in midweek and their next home encounter is a big one for Frank as his former club Brentford visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Saturday.

Who is the favourite to be sacked next in the Premier League?

The situation is looking perilous for Frank at Spurs already but he is not yet the favourite to be sacked next among current Premier League managers.

Indeed, Leeds United boss Daniel Farke leads the way with two prominent bookmakers, with one having him as low as 1/2 on to be sacked next.

Frank’s situation is not much better admittedly, and there are odds as low as 7/2 that he will be the next Premier League boss to depart.

Liverpool’s under-fire manager Arne Slot is a 5/2 shot, with Burnley’s Scott Parker seen as more of an outside shot at 10/1.

Frank knows, though, that the pressure is really mounting to turn things around, especially on home turf where Spurs have underperformed now for far too long.

Guglielmo Vicario’s inconsistent season continued on Saturday as he played an unfortunate role in Tottenham’s defeat to Fulham.

Spurs lost 2-1 to Marco Silva’s side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, meaning the North London club could drop as low as 13th this weekend if other results don’t go their way.

Thomas Frank is under major pressure already, but little can be done about ridiculous errors like the one that Vicario committed when he basically gifted Fulham’s match-winning goal to them on a plate in the sixth minute.

Kenny Tete put Silva’s men ahead in the fourth minute, before Harry Wilson scored from an incredible angle after Vicario lost possession while he was out near the touchline.

Tottenham fans boo Guglielmo Vicario after awful error

Vicario picked up a loose ball on the edge of his penalty area under a bit of pressure. But instead of booting it clear, he ended up running it out to the touchline before trying to pass it down the line to a teammate.

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Instead, Fulham’s Josh King picked up the poor clearance, passed it to Wilson, who then curled in what was, in fairness, an absolute beauty.

Spurs fans then booed Vicario, and even though he’s a part of the goalkeepers’ union, ex-England star Joe Hart can understand why the home crowd was so angry with the Italian.

“I do understand the fans’ frustration. It’s obviously difficult,” said Hart on Match of the Day on Saturday night.

“I know the role that Vicario is playing. He’s a great team player, and he’s a real leader in the dressing room, but ultimately, you’re going to be judged by your actions and he was heavily involved in what turned out to be the match-winning goal.

“They’re already 1-0 down so the edge is already in the stadium.

“Now, people will be asking for him to clear it here but this now where you realise, ‘I’m in big trouble, I’ll just knock it out, get my defenders back and I’ll get back in goal’.

“But he still wants to keep the ball in play and that’s the modern way, the modern-day goalkeeper.

“He screws one up the line and this is brilliant from Fulham. King and Wilson immediately realise Tottenham are in massive trouble and King knows what a technician Wilson is, so he lays it on a plate.”

Inconsistent stats plague Vicario’s season

You have to feel a bit for Frank because how on earth is he meant to decide whether or not to stick by Vicario as his number one goalkeeper when his Tottenham performances are so up and down?

According to Sofascore, Vicario registered a goals prevented stat of -0.92, meaning the conceded almost one more goal than he should have against Fulham.

To put that in context, his Premier League tally before the game this season was 3.55, meaning he slashed that stat by around a third with that one terrible display against the Cottagers.

As you can see in the table above, it means that Vicario has lost major ground on rivals Premier League goalkeepers for how vital they’ve been in between the sticks this season.

The ‘goals prevented’ stat is a very important one for shot-stoppers because it takes into account how good their saves have been, and also how bad their goals have been that they’ve conceded.

Usually, if you just look at the number of saves made, it’ll always show goalkeepers at lesser Premier League teams leading the way.

Most Premier League saves this season:

And the numbers from Sofascore paint a clear picture – Vicario has had a good season.

However, he clearly lets himself down with mistakes like that one against Fulham.

Vicario scored a perfect 10/10 for his display against Monaco in the Champions League in October.

We need to see more of that goalkeeper and less of the one making silly errors.

Thomas Frank can add David Pleat to his growing list of detractors as Tottenham were beaten once again.

Fulham came to Tottenham and won 2-1 to make it three defeats in a row across all competitions after Spurs lost 5-3 at PSG in midweek and Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick won the North London derby 4-1 last weekend.

A dreadful start for the home side saw Kenny Tete smash the visitors ahead after just four minutes, before Guglielmo Vicario’s awful clearance let Harry Wilson score a second two minutes later with the keeper stranded way out of his goal.

Although Mohammed Kudus would pull one back after the break the final whistle was greeted with boos from the home fans, and one of the club’s most synonymous figures in Pleat was also critical at half time.

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Pleat ridicules Tottenham under Frank

PA Sport journalist George Sessions reported via X at the interval that Pleat and Clive Allen had been present for a “half-time chat” at the stadium, with the former critical of the performances under the current manager.

Pleat, former Tottenham boss and three-time caretaker manager, took aim at the failures in attack under the Dane.

Sessions wrote: “Ah Thomas Frank catching strays from David Pleat during the half-time chat at THS…

“After Clive Allen joked he would have got 50 goals if he was not rested at Everton in 1987, Pleat takes over. ‘He should have got 50 goals. Now we’re lucky if we have a shot,’ says Pleat.”

Frank sack threat becoming real

Even a week ago it might have felt premature to be calling for Frank’s head, the situation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is starting to look very alarming.

Capitulation at Arsenal was the fanbase’s worst nightmare, with the Eze factor making it all the worse after the summer’s failed transfer persuit.

Some positive signs at PSG were entirely undermined by the self-destruction at the back from Cristian Romero, so a third loss in a week, with Vicario this time guilty of a catastrophic error, might have the Lewis family suddenly wondering how this is going to turn around.

A trip to Newcastle on Tuesday could be another bruising evening after they thrashed Everton and things are taking a turn for the worse quickly.

Frank’s only saving grace is that Spurs will finish Saturday somehow only four points off the top four in the Premier League, and just two off the top eight in the Champions League, so all is clearly not lost, but he’ll have to turn it around quickly or it soon will be.

Tottenham produced a quite frankly embarrassing first-half display en route to defeat at the hands of Fulham on Saturday evening.

Guglielmo Vicario’s horror show in the Spurs goal gifted Harry Wilson a second for Fulham after Kenny Tete had earlier opened the scoring.

With six minutes played, it marked the earliest Tottenham had trailed by two goals at home in the entire Premier League era.

Tottenham were supposed to be favourites to beat Fulham, but once again Spurs failed to turn up in what was another hugely worrying display.

Thomas Frank‘s side did pull one back through Mohammed Kudus just before the hour, but Spurs lost 2-1 to Fulham in front of an increasingly annoyed home crowd.

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Tottenham register just two first-half shots vs Fulham

What made the manner of the first half all the more embarrassing was the lack of any sort of attacking intent from Tottenham.

Despite being two down inside six minutes, Spurs went on to register just two shots of any sort before half-time – neither of those being on target.

As pointed out on Sky Sports’ coverage, no Premier League team has registered fewer first-half shots in a game this season.

And remarkably, Spurs had an expected goals (xG) value of just 0.01 with 43 minutes played, which did later rise to a still terrible 0.07.

That fact was relayed to Stuart Pearce on talkSPORT’s live commentary of the game, to which the former West Ham assistant replied: “Oh my goodness me.”

Pearce’s views were no doubt echoed by every last home fan in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Frank cannot last as Tottenham boss after latest attacking horror show

Tottenham’s 5-3 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek was supposed to have been a turning point for Tottenham.

While they may have conceded five times, they showed far more attacking impetus and scored three times against the reigning European champions.

However, once again in a home Premier League game they lacked any sort of cohesion. A first-half xG of 0.07 is staggeringly bad and unfortunately strengthens calls for Frank to go.

Kudus provided some hope, but there was still no clear plan for Tottenham as they ended with an xG of 0.86 in a game in which Fulham sat back for pretty much an hour and a half after taking a two-goal lead.

Frank has been under pressure as Tottenham boss for a while now, and the first half against Fulham would have been the final straw for many.

Spurs looked devoid of ideas and this season is now spiralling out of control. As harsh as it may seem, Frank’s style of football just is not cut out for Spurs and it may be best that a change is made.

Tottenham’s reaction to the boos from the home support has been questioned by Michael Dawson.

Tottenham fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham on Saturday, with Thomas Frank now facing even more questions in North London.

Guglielmo Vicario was at fault for the second goal, but the performance of Sours, especially in the frist half, was far below the standards needed at this level.

That was recognised by the home support, who booed their side of their pitch at the interval, leading to what Dawson described as “bizarre” scenes.

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What on earth were Tottenham thinking at half-time?

Given how shocking their first-half display was, you’d have thought that the Tottenham players would have been eager to get off the pitch and back into the dressing room to address the issues that had been on show.

However, that wasn’t the case.

Instead, the players almost lined up in a formation 30 seconds or so after the whistle went, before walking down the tunnel, with some very frustrated looks on the faces of the players.

This angered Dawson just as much as it confused him.

Via Sky Sports Main Event, he said: “I find it bizarre, I really, really do. The Tottenham Hotspur fans are showing their frustration. But I just don’t get where they’re all gathering together.

“Get down the tunnel, Thomas Frank will tell you what’s going wrong. Because that’s what’s happening.

“You have to galvanise yourselves in there, you don’t need to show the fans. You need to perform better than they’re doing in that first half.”

Thomas Frank has to be under pressure at Tottenham

Saturday’s defeat to Fulham was Tottenham’s fifth of the season, four of which have been on home soil.

Spurs’ home form is the second-worst in the Premier League, and that isn’t sustainable for a side who have aspirations of qualifying for Europe.

Added to that, Frank has seen his side win one of their last seven in all competitions, with frustration once again growing among the supporters.

It’s unlikely Frank will get the boot anytime soon, but if results don’t improve in the next few weeks, his position will come under serious threat, and rightfully so.

This defeat leaves Tottenham 10th in the Premier League table, and just one point clear of 15th.

Tottenham fans made their feelings loud and clear after witnessing a poor home loss to Fulham on Saturday night.

Spurs were the strong favourites to beat Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but they found themselves two goals down inside six minutes.

Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson were on the scoresheet for Fulham, with that the earliest Tottenham have ever found themselves two down in a home Premier League game.

Mohammed Kudus pulled one back just before the hour, but that proved as good as things got as Spurs fell to a 2-0 loss.

Guglielmo Vicario had a howler for Fulham’s second goal and was jeered throughout the game by the home fans, who also booed the whole team loudly at full-time.

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The Italy international was terrible, but so to were pretty much each of his teammates. Here, Tottenham News rates each Spurs player out of 10.

Guglielmo Vicario jeered by Spurs fans after Fulham shocker

Vicario was critical of Tottenham fans earlier this month, but supporters did not hold back in telling them know their thoughts on Saturday.

After racing out of his box and scuffing a clearance, the ball was worked to Wilson to score from a tight angle.

Vicario continued to look shaky and was also sarcastically cheered when kicking the ball into touch not long after that previous howler.

The Spurs goalkeeper made one save and completed 83 per cent of his passes, while he touched the ball 26 times.

Vicario is simply not cut out to be a goalkeeper at a team with aspirations of competing for a top-four finish, and it is an area Frank needs to seriously look at.

Mohammed Kudus a rare bright spark for Tottenham

Kudus took his chance well when it arrived and helped change the mood around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which had been toxic for the previous hour.

Kudus now has two goals and four assists in 12 Premier League appearances this season. In a campaign largely full of negatives, the Ghana international has been a rare positive.

The former West Ham player also registered two key passes against Fulham – only Pedro Porro managed more with three – and he also led the way for dribbles with two to his name.

Micky van de Ven also deserves praise for keeping the scoreline down to 2-0 in the first half, but it was Kudus who made more of an impact on the game.

Tottenham player ratings vs Fulham

Guglielmo Vicario – 2/10

Pedro Porro – 5/10

Kevin Danso – 5/10

Micky van de Ven – 6/10

Destiny Udogie – 3/10 (Replaced by Mathys Tel 85′)

Archie Gray – 5/10 (Replaced by Wilson Odobert 60′)

Joao Palhinha – 5/10 (Replaced by Rodrigo Bentancur 60′)

Lucas Bergvall – 5/10 (Replaced by Pape Matar Sarr 77′)

Mohammed Kudus – 6/10

Richarlison – 4/10 (Replaced by Xavi Simons 60′)

Randal Kolo Muani – 5/10

Substitutes

Wilson Odobert – 5/10

Xavi Simons – 4/10

Rodrigo Bentancur – 5/10

Pape Matar Sarr – 5/10

Mathys Tel – N/A

Guglielmo Vicario’s flaws have been on display in the first half of Tottenham’s clash with Fulham.

Tottenham are 2-0 down to Fulham at half-time, and had it not been for Micky van de Ven, it could be far, far worse for Thomas Frank’s side.

Kenny Tete opened the scoring for the visitors after four minutes, not long before Harry Wilson found the back of an empty net from distance.

Boos rang around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium immediately after, and it gives Frank a clear decision to make going forward.

Tottenham are at a disadvantage with Guglielmo Vicario

Spurs simply have not got started against the Cottagers, and while the score reflects that, it is that way mainly because of Vicario.

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There was little he could have done with the opener, though Wilson’s goal arrived as a result of an absolute howler from the Italian.

A long ball met Vicario, who then decided to dribble the ball out before a woeful clearance gifted the ball back to Fulham, who took full advantage through Wilson.

Tottenham’s stats vs Fulham after 45 minutes

Spurs fans immediately voiced their concerns, which were reiterated via commentary on Sky Sports Main Event.

Bill Leslie said: “Horrific scenes at the back for Tottenham,” before Alan Smith replied: “Vicario’s getting absolute pelters from his own supporters in that South stand.

“He’s trying to be positive. All he needed to do was get a good clearance height and distance. He makes a complete hash of that. What’s that going to do for his confidence?”

Thomas Frank has to drop Guglielmo Vicario

Tottenham have a mountain to climb if they are to get anything out of this game, and Vicario will hold a lot of the blame for that.

At 1-0 down, the game is salvageable, but at 2-0, it’s difficult to see a route back into the game.

In the last two league games, Vicario has conceded 1.85 goals more than expected to FotMob, having saved four of the eight shots on target that Arsenal had last time out.

Throughout the season, his save percentage is just 70.4 per cent, which is far below average for a Premier League goalkeeper, and it may only get worse.

Last season, the Italian had a 64.8 per cent save percentage, showcasing just how weak he can be when facing shots.

Vicario is going to cost Tottenham more than he is going to save them, and Frank needs to realise that.

Tottenham squad don’t respect Thomas Frank over tactical issues claims ex-Spurs ace

Thomas Frank has failed to gain the respect of his Tottenham players because he changes tactics so frequently, claims Ramon Vega.

The Dane started strongly in charge of Spurs, pushing European champions PSG to penalties in the Super Cup, and had some impressive performances early in the Premier League.

Form has been far more inconsistent of late and November has been a bruising month, with Tottenham beaten at home by Chelsea and later thrashed by an Eberechi Eze-inspired Arsenal in the North London derby.

After Spurs were beaten 5-3 by PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday to highlight the regressions since August Vega pointed the finger at Frank.

Ramon Vega says Thomas Frank tactics are an issue

The former Tottenham defender appeared live on talkSPORT to speak to Alan Brazil, with the host highlighting issues at the Emirates to claim: “I think there’s a big question mark about tactics.”

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Vega replied: “Absolutely, these answers in terms of ways of approaching the game. He’s changing his mind every two seconds. One thing with Ange [Postecoglou], whatever you pretty much criticise him [for], he might be stubborn in his own way, but he had the balls. He stuck to his guns, he’s done what he wanted.

“The players need certainty in the dressing room. That’s why, I think, when Ange was the Europa [League] with the young boys, 80% of the season was the young boys, the dressing room was sticking to him, you could see that.

“I’m not sure this dressing room is starting to respect Frank because he’s changing how and what to play etc. They don’t know where to go or what to do, they haven’t got a stable place to go.”

Brentford hard to shake for Frank

Frank seems unlikely to have stumbled upon relative success at Brentford purely by accident but, despite some growing pains, Keith Andrews has slotted in pretty easily despite it being his first job in management.

Equally, as Spurs experienced with Nuno Espirito Santo after years at Wolves, a manager that becomes synonymous with a Premier League side outside the traditional top sides may get rewarded with a step up for their next job but they better make a success of it fast.

Otherwise they will quickly encounter doubts about being able to handle a top-level dressing room and all the expectations that come with it.

It may be that Frank got so accustomed to what worked and what was a solid return at Brentford that it will take him extra time to adapt, but he’s unlikely to get it in the chaos of managing Tottenham if his side keep being beaten heavily.

More fans will likely have been infuriated by Postecoglou’s lack of tactical adaptability than will be with Frank’s over-adaptability, but what they will care most about is losing games, and the Dane is already starting to follow the Australian in doing that too much.

Archie Gray has been recognised for his impressive performance against PSG on Wednesday.

While Tottenham suffered a 5-3 away defeat to PSG in the UEFA Champions League, most fans would agree that it was one of the Lilywhites better performances this season.

In fact, some may even be as bold as to suggest that Thomas Frank likes the challenge of facing the current Champions League title holders, given Tottenham’s defeat to PSG in the UEFA Super Cup final earlier this season.

Despite losing on penalties, Spurs’ game against the Parisiens convinced fans to back Frank heading into the season.

All in all it was a decent performance from Tottenham with several standout players who captured supporters’ attention on the night.

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Why Archie Gray is the answer to Thomas Frank’s midfield woes

Kolo Muani made headlines for his performance against PSG and for good reason too, given he was involved in all three goals scored against his former side.

However, Gray was one of the standouts in Spurs’ midfield and, along with Lucas Bergvall, offered an energy that was absent in their games against Chelsea and Arsenal.

As a result, speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Tottenham expert and Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham not only believes Gray should start against Fulham, but he and Bergvall should become a staple in Spurs’ midfield moving forward.

“I really want to touch on Gray. He’s been out again for like a significant period of time,” Wenham said.

“PSG was his first game back. He was outstanding, getting a start, away in the Champions League winners for a 19-year-old. I thought he was fantastic. And I think he has to be included in the team moving forward.

“Whether we need a change of shape, starting with Fulham on Saturday. I think we do need that. We need to build on the excitement that we saw from Wednesday’s performance.”

What does Archie Gray bring to this Tottenham side?

What Gray lacks in experience, he makes up for in character, energy and talent.

He was everywhere against PSG at the Parc des Princes:

Indeed, it was a complete performance from beginning to end and one that afforded Bergvall a little more licence to roam in the final third with Gray taking on defensive duties.

Therefore, given his performance against the Parisiens and the potential of a hard-working Gray and Bergvall partnership moving forward, Frank will regret not starting both when Tottenham face Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

How to watch today’s Tottenham vs Fulham match: TV channel, live stream, kick-off time

Thomas Frank will be looking to end Tottenham’s sour home form when he welcomes Fulham to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Tottenham suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last Premier League matchday.

Frank was urged to issue a response when Tottenham faced PSG in the UEFA Champions League, and despite a 5-3 scoreline, the Lilywhites played with heart, which delighted fans.

As a result, the Dane will look to build on his game against the Parisiens when Spurs take on Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

Tottenham vs Fulham kick-off time

Tottenham will host Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29 November at 8pm.

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Frank could opt to bench Richarlison despite his impressive display in the Champions League.

Furthermore, the striker also won five out of his seven contested aerial duels and made one recovery and clearance, according to Sofascore.

This would allow for Mohammed Kudus to be reintroduced into the fold and Xavi Simons to start in Spurs’ midfield once again.

Spurs skipper Cristian Romero will miss the confrontation after he picked up his fifth yellow card in Spurs’ defeat to Arsenal last weekend.

However, the real challenge for Frank will be getting a result at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In true Spurs fashion, the club’s home form has been dreadful:

Thus, a convincing performance and home win will definitely be enough for Frank to win some fans back to his corner on Saturday.

Tottenham vs Fulham: Channel and stream

Tottenham fans can watch their side take to the pitch live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.

Furthermore, fans will also be able to tune in through the Sky Go app and Sky Ultra HD.

In addition to this, key match action will be uploaded onto the Sky Sports X account as well as their YouTube channel once the game ends.

Meanwhile, both clubs will post highlights and insights of the match on their social media accounts before and after the final whistle.