Why Tottenham may have struck gold with the Thomas Frank signing

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy had a complicated decision to make after the 2024-25 season. Coach Ange Postecoglou had just secured the club’s first silverware in 17 years, but the team had also endured a dreadful Premier League campaign. Would the Europa League triumph outweigh a 17th-place finish, Tottenham’s worst since it was relegated in 1976-77?

Faced with an “emotionally difficult” choice, Levy was ruthless and sacked Postecoglou. He appointed former Brentford boss Thomas Frank as the north London club’s fifth full-time manager in six years and the 13th since Levy became chairman over 25 years ago.

Matching Mourinho, Conte

Just two games into the 2025-26 Premier League season, the decision appears to be making a lot of sense. Tottenham has had the perfect launch, beating Burnley 3-0 before outmanoeuvring heavy-hitter Manchester City 2-0. With the City win, Frank became just the third manager to get the better of a Pep Guardiola team away in the league with two different sides after Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid and Manchester United) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea and Spurs).

Frank, who had also guided Brentford to a 2-1 victory at City in 2022, set Tottenham up in a manner that made life very difficult for a club that has won six Premier League crowns under Guardiola. Frank’s side was physical in duels, co-ordinated in a stifling press that discomfited City custodian James Trafford, and compact when forced into a defensive block.

Guardiola, who rates Frank’s coaching ability highly, praised the Dane’s early work with Spurs on the training ground. “We didn’t react well to the marking and the pressing,” he said, “because Thomas does it and it happens. We knew it.”

Spurs had let a two-goal lead slip late on against PSG to lose the UEFA Super Cup in Frank’s first game in charge, but rarely looked in danger of suffering a similar fate against City.

“From every game you learn and games where you don’t get the result you learn even more,” said Frank. “I definitely believe in the aggressive press. I believe in being front-footed. I like that mentality, it’s a more offensive way of defending. It’s more fun to defend in the opponents’ half. So, yeah, let’s go for it. Defensive principles and mentality are the key things. We need this mentality to win games like this.

“The clean sheet makes me very happy. It’s a big thing we’ve been working on, the defensive side of the game, high pressure, middle block, low block, blocking shots, everything, because if you get clean sheets you’re closer to winning a game.”

Frank’s coaching philosophy diverges significantly from Postecoglou’s gung-ho style. Spurs often played very entertaining football under Postecoglou, scoring a lot, but also conceding a lot. The Australian manager’s refusal to adapt his methods to the opposition — he did, however, show a more pragmatic side during the Europa League campaign, especially in the final against Manchester United — made him a polarising figure.

Postecoglou’s “it’s just who we are, mate” was seen as a badge of defiance; equally, it was viewed as obstinacy the club couldn’t afford. Frank, on the other hand, has a reputation of being a flexible tactician, catering to the strengths of his side but also to those of the opponent.

Asked about the difference between the two managers, forward Brennan Johnson said, “They are two different coaches. A lot of detail goes into the set-pieces, but at the same time he [Frank] gives us a lot of attacking freedom.”

Punching above his weight

Frank’s tenure at Brentford, where he coached the side to constantly punch above its weight, offered glimpses of just how good he was. After taking charge in 2018, he led the London club to the top flight for the first time in 74 years and kept a squad built on a limited budget in mid-table territory in the Premier League, a considerable achievement.

Frank’s strategic acumen and in-game shrewdness earned the respect of rival managers while his ability to improve players, especially those of a lower profile or those who had not performed at other clubs, made others want to come play for him. Indeed, this quality attracted Spurs’ signings this season, midfielder Joao Palhinha and winger Mohammed Kudus.

In his short time at Spurs, Frank has already convinced the squad to buy into his vision. He was able to deploy a 3-5-2 to counteract PSG’s wide men and false nine, and just as easily switch to two different versions of the 4-3-3 in the Premier League, with the more defensive variant being employed against City. Known as a clear communicator and an understanding man-manager, the 51-year-old has also shown he won’t tolerate tardiness.

 In his short time at Spurs, Frank has already convinced the squad to trust his vision.
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He dropped midfielder Yves Bissouma, saying “Bissouma has been late several times and now this time, it was one too many. With everything, you need to give your players a lot of love but also have demands and have consequences. And this was the consequence of that.”

While the early signs are encouraging, it must be noted that the sample is very small. Postecoglou had an excellent start that lasted longer — Spurs won eight of their first ten games under him in 2023-24 — and he, too, beat Guardiola at City, a 4-0 drubbing last season no less. Frank’s methods do appear more robust and sustainable, better suited to achieving consistency over a long season. But in the cut-throat Premier League, he will have to repeatedly prove it.

Frank will need the club’s support to bolster a squad that has been weakened by playmaker James Maddison’s injury and talisman Son Heung-min’s departure. Indeed, Tottenham’s fine start has contrasted with supporters’ frustration at the club’s dealings in the transfer market.

Eberechi Eze’s proposed move from Crystal Palace collapsed when the player decided to join north London rival Arsenal. An earlier attempt to sign Morgan Gibbs-White had fizzled out, the attacking midfielder, in a stunning U-turn, extending his contract with Nottingham Forest.

Slight gamble?

With the club also competing in the Champions League this season, Frank does have his work cut out. In that sense, it’s a slight gamble from Spurs. The Dane has not experienced European nights and has never won a top-flight trophy in his managerial career.

But Tottenham has had Conte and Mourinho at the helm for spells, and even those elite managers found it tough to lead the club to success. Frank has proven he can step up levels, outwit pedigreed managers, and coach his teams to nullify big clubs. He now has the opportunity to add to an impressive managerial catalogue and showcase what he can do on the biggest stage. He certainly won’t shrink from the challenge.