Talk to Frank

For those not in the know, Talk to Frank is a UK government sponsored drug advisory campaign which aims to help young people find qualified information about drugs and their side effects.

I wonder if Tottenham Hotspur were listed as a substance on their website what it might say? Presumably side effects would include occasional euphoria followed by a hard come-down and long periods of melancholy.

image created using ChatGPT

According to reports in the media, it is now a question of when not if Thomas Frank will take over as Head Coach.

As alluded to in my last post, Spurs were never likely to part ways with Postecoglou without having at least one viable candidate to quickly step into the role.

Some of the more reputable media sources have suggested that Spurs shortlist included the likes of Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner, Roberto De Zerbi and Marco Silva.

It sounds like the first 3 names on that list were happy to continue with the projects that they've only just started at their respective clubs at this point in time. Marco Silva is a man with ample experience coaching in this country and a manager who I do genuinely rate but I'm not sure personality wise, he's the right fit for the club.

That left Frank, the man who lead Brentford to the top flight, kept them there and established them as a mid-table club despite having to work on a shoestring budget while swimming in the same waters as some true leviathans of the sporting world.

Whatever way you want to measure it, he has done an incredible job for the West London club and deserves a chance at a bigger club.

That's right, "a bigger club".

Stop your internalising - "uh, I don't know tales, Spurs aren't a big club and they just finished 17th in the League".

Yes, relative to Brentford, Spurs are a huge club in anyway you care to measure it. That's right, Brentford finished above us in the league this season which I guess means that over the past 9 months or so they've been a "better team" but that doesn't make them a "bigger club".

As far as manager is concerned that is clearly a double edged sword.

Sure it means you'll earn more money, you'll get a bigger budget and the opportunity to not only attract good players but to keep them.

Brentford have sold arguably their 3 best players in the past 2 yearssource

Of course, on the flip side, it means you'll be under far greater scrutiny, carry the weight of much more expectancy and are unlikely to be given many (if any) 2nd chances as Big Ange can attest to.

Can Frank deal with that?

He certainly comes across as quite charismatic and charming during his interviews and that is a trait that managers at the more high profile clubs have to posses.

We saw for example the demise of Erik Ten Hag at United, a man with a personality akin to a plank of wood who had real difficulty establishing positive relationships with the press. Yes, the press are a bunch of useless tossers who get paid to write garbage and lie but unfortunately, they get paid to write garbage and lie, so best to keep them on your side for as long as possible.

Even Ange, who started off on the right foot with his forthright, no nonsense, good old Aussie bloke act began to lose his shine. By the end it was more grumpy Antipodean in serious need of a lozenge who continually whines about mitigating circumstances for losing game, after game, after game. Change the record "mate"!

On the surface, it seems Frank is unlikely to be drawn into that cycle but as with the 2 managers mentioned above, we'll never know until he's actually subjected to the spotlight.

In this regard, I thought one of the most pertinent comments I've seen written was by Jay Harris, a Spurs correspondent for the Athletic who until the start of last season had the same role the publication, albeit he was the correspondent (singular) for Brentford i.e. he's well qualified to speak on the subject.

He too mentioned how "very warm" and "very friendly" Frank was in his dealings with the press but also noted that on many occasions and particularly when Brentford were playing away from home, he was the only journalist who attended the press conferences!

That will be drastically different at Spurs. Even a relatively low profile fixture is going to draw 10+ journos for a press conference and for larger games and/or when they think they can taste blood in the water they'll all pile in. Can Frank keep the nice guy act going when the press conference turns into a bit of a feeding frenzy?

A big factor is likely to be his and the club's form in the early part of the season.

I agree that Ange had to go but it wasn't an easy decision and the murmurings on social media (not that I spend much time actually listening) paints a very divided fan base on the question of whether he should have been given another season.

A slow start to 25/26 will only throw fuel onto the fire and risks the club undoing all the feel good factor (if there's any left by then) built off the back of a first major trophy in 17 years.

It'd give the press something to write about and a stick with which to beat the new manager with and nice guy or not, they will gleefully whack him until he stops moving!

Unfortunately, Frank isn't known for his fast starts. He won just 1 of his first 10 games as Brentford boss having endured a similarly slow start as Head Coach at Brøndby. There were mitigating circumstances (The Big Ange excuse book is also available in hardback) in both instances.

At Brentford, he was promoted mid-season to the manager hot seat from his position as assistant manager. A significant change in role and relationship with the players and back room staff. In fact, then co-director of football at the Bees, Rasmus Ankersen, stated that Frank's AM role was to act as a "bridge between the players and the coaching staff" which of course is very different from the manager's role.

Anyone who has been promoted from within an organisation will tell you that it's tough to realign your relationships with people overnight. Frank won't have that issue at Spurs and so the onus will be on him to establish his expectations early and get the squad onboard.

As far as the squad is concerned, there have been unsubstantiated rumours of a "dressing room revolt". These are stories being carried by less reputable news agencies based on an unnamed source who apparently has access to the Spurs dressing room.

Not only is the source of such claims unclear, it's also difficult to imagine that anyone could confidently measure the mood of the dressing room at a time of the season when players are either away on international duty or on holiday.

It's understandable that players would want clarity on the situation with the manager and coaching team and that they may have had a good personal relationship with Ange and his team but at the end of the day, they are highly paid professionals! Football clubs are in a constant state of flux (some more than others) with players and staff changing on a semi-annual basis. That's part of the job!

Ultimately, if there are any players in that dressing room who are that upset about Big Ange leaving then really the club needs to give serious consideration to their future too. Are they happy with finishing 17th? Don't they think changes are necessary after losing 22 league games in a season?

Still stability is important and Spurs really do need to land on a manager who can build something beyond the tenure's of the last 4 men to lead the side.

That necessary stability is not just something that needs to be achieved in the dugout but within the board room and broader structure of the club and that will be a challenge for the new manager.

Frank is moving from a very well defined and stable structure at Brentford, one of which he's spoken positively about over the years, to a bit of a mess at Spurs. Alongside the change in manager, we've also seen shifts at board level over the last couple of weeks with a good chance that those changes will continue to come in both the short and medium term.

Head Coach is an incredibly important position at a football club but especially in the modern game, the man calling the shots on the field needs a well oiled structure around him to be able to deliver results. It's difficult to remember the last time, if ever under ENIC, that a Spurs manager had that stability and support.

Chief Football Officer, Scott Munn looks likely to follow executive Director Donna Cullen out of the club this summer with Vinai Venkatesham taking on the role of CEO source

I mentioned in my last post, that I think there is a genuine admiration at Spurs for the work that Brentford have done both on and off the pitch. At the very least, it suggests there's an ambition to give Frank the kind of structure that's he's excelled in before but I really wouldn't hold my breath in expecting Levy and co to deliver it.

Frank does at least inherit a squad that will share similar traits to the one he's leaving at Brentford.

His 'no dickheads' policy (adopted from a mantra establashied by the All Blacks) demands that there are no big egos dominating the dressing room. I don't think he's likely to run into too many issues in that regards at Spurs. His stated aim of encouraging ambition while remaining humble is likely to be the bigger challenge. Do the players he's inherited really want to work for success?

In recent years, Spurs have shifted to pursuing younger players who they believe they can develop into genuine Premier League talents, a model that Brentford have been operating for far longer.

In fact, Spurs have pipped Frank to 2 of the Bee's high priority signings over the past 2 summer windows by securing deals for Brennan Johnson and Archie Gray. Brentford were well in the mix for both players before they ultimately decided to move to North London.

The cynics might argue that Spurs own shambles of a scouting department (another part of the club experiecing flux) were piggy backing off Brentford's well oiled recruitment team rather than genuinely establishing that these players were the right fit for our own club.

Still, by happy conincidence both men will now be working under Frank who can expect to receive a number of other young, rough cut diamonds that he's expected to polish into Premier League quality talent.

Ultimately, that's Frank's modus operandi and one that he can point to having ample experience and success in doing at both club and international level. I've know doubt that this is a major factor in why the Spurs hierarchy have identified him as the man to take the club forward and why they're prepared to pay a sum in the region of £10mil to secure his services.

That being said, he will need reinforcements!

I'm not going to sit here and speculate who those might be. The 'Frank's dream XI' posts are ten a penny on the internet right now so feel free to go read one of them. Spoiler alert - They're all bullshit!

The club has always played it's cards close to its chest regarding transfer business. Most of the deals that we've done in recent seasons have only emerged into public view once they were all but completed and I don't expect that to change.

One thing we can say for sure, is that there are 2 priorities for Frank and fellow Dane Johan Lange to work on this summer.

Firstly, they need to act quickly and decisively in the market, not something that Spurs are renowned for.

It's perhaps no surprise that Spurs weren't taking advantage of the mini-transfer window that's just closed given the the managerial changes but they do need to get most of their new acquisitions in for Frank to work with the squad in pre-season. That pre-season starts at the end of July so the clock is well and truly ticking.

Secondly, the futures of several established players need to be decided and again decided quickly.

4 first team players are entering the final year of their contract

Son, Bissouma and Bentancur are all entering the final year of their contracts. You'd hope that the decision to stick or twist with these players will involve Frank. At 32, 28 and 27 years of age respectively and collectively commanding in excess of £300k a week in wages it is a key decision for now and the immediate future of the squad.

I've no doubt that midfield reinforcements will be a high priority in this window. The club was pursuing options at 'number 6' last season but was unable to get a deal done. The need has not gone away.

Similarly, centre-back has been an area where major issues have persisted for several years without adequate reinforcements being made. The likes of Dragusin and Danso have been brought in and maybe the former will find Frank's playing style more to his suiting. Young Luka Vušković has also joined the squad and is another exciting talent that they'll hope Frank can nurture through to full maturity.

The future of Cristian Romero is also up in the air with interest from Atletico Madrid. On his day, the Argentine World Cup winner is one of the best in the world but those days have come too few and far between of late due to inconsitent form as well as injury. Selling him for what would no doubt be a substantial sum might not be the worst outcome but if Levy were to drag out the negotiations as he's inclined to do with these deals, would it leave the Manager and Director of Football with sufficient time to find a replacement?

Similarly, Richarlison needs to be shifted off the books. He doesn't look physically capable of playing more than about 70 minutes of football a week and it's difficult to see how he'll fit in to Frank's style of play. Interest in Bournemouth's Semenyo has been muted and while he is the type of versatile forward the club will likely target, the £70 mil fee that's being banded around is surely not a figure we'll pay.

Brentford starting formations 24/25 source

In terms of style and formation, the one thing we know will be different from Frank is his willingness to adapt depending on game situations and opposition. However, as the above graphic shows his preference is a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation which will suit the bulk of the Spurs squad. What will be more interesting is to see if he attempts a back 3 at any stage. Postecoglou played with 3 centre-backs once last season in a game that we lost against Everton.

With ever adapting tactics and shape, one thing that will be important for Frank and the squad is preparation, particularly in those early days. He's known to like to give his squad the day off after a match to reflect on the game whether in victory or defeat. With Spurs more congested fixture list will that still be possible?

Since reaching the Premier League, Brentford have played between 41 and 44 games in the season (Cups + League). Spurs are already guaranteed a minimum of 49 games next season and will obviously expect that number to push well beyond 50.

Of particular note, is Brentford's terrible record in the FA Cup . They've fallen at the first hurdle in each of the last 3 seasons and in 21/22 (their first season in the top flight) they exited to a 4-1 defeat to Everton in the fourth round.

It means that Frank has always had the luxury of just concentrating on the Premier League from January onwards. Surely Spurs will demand more! After all Ange was sacked because the club expected the manager to be competing on multiple fronts.

While I'm broadly positive about the appointment, it's not without risk.

Managing a larger squad across a more congested season, working under far greater scrutiny, convincing fans and players of his credentials, adapting to a new and more fluid organisational structure around him and getting the most out of a failing team are just a few of the challenges that Frank faces.

In fact, it might be enough to drive him towards using psychotropic substances. If he does decide to take that route then... www.talktofrank.com !