Thomas Frank’s Early Tottenham Form Compared to Ange Postecoglou’s in Sack Season

Thomas Frank might have been expecting an easier start to his tenure as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

The North London club have not hit their heights yet and currently sit 12th in the Premier League division. It has been a rough start with just five wins and three draws from their opening 13 fixtures while they have already lost five matches in that timescale.

Spurs’ home form in particular has been shambolic with their away efforts doing a lot of the heavy lifting this season so far. They have had big moments in their season so far with their impressive 2-0 victory away from home against Manchester City in particular a highlight for punters. They have also beaten both Everton and West Ham on their own patches while they remain competitive and within the Champions League playoff spots in the league phase of the competition.

The tricky moments, though, have come at home to the likes of Chelsea, Bournemouth and Fulham as recently as matchday 13 and that is where manager Frank has been found wanting with his squad underperforming in some significant matches.

In their first North London derby of the campaign they were hammered 4-1 by a rampant league leading Arsenal thanks to a wonderful hattrick from Ebere Eze. It was definitely not what fans were looking for from their squad and the Danish manager bore the brunt of the complaints for getting his decisions wrong on the day.

How Thomas Frank’s Spurs form compares to Ange Postecoglou’s

Frank’s side have not been at their best, as we know, with one intriguing statistic showing Tottenham playing better after half-time. But where does the boss’s side compare to last season’s Spurs outfit? They were being managed by Ange Postecoglou who would end the season with a trophy under his arm in the form of the Europa League.

However, the big Australian would also be sacked by Daniel Levy for finishing 17th in the Premier League in what was a disastrous domestic campaign.

We at FootballBlog have analysed Spurs’ start to this term and looked back the way at how Postecoglou’s stars showed up by this stage last season. And it does not make great reading for Frank who will be praying he can turn things around…

Spurs’ start to 2024/5 season under Postecoglou

Postecoglou was a bit of a polarising figure as Spurs boss. Some supporters could not accept his gung-ho approach to matches where the defence would disappear in favour of an all out attack system that did not always suit in big games.

Other fans loved the idea and will always consider the 60-year-old a club legend for delivering silverware in his second season. He was also to thank for finishing fifth in his first year at the club and that was without Harry Kane, which was no mean feat.

Injuries plagued his side last season and forced the significant drop in form later in the year. But it started well enough for the club under his guidance, as we can see from the games they played before December 2, 2024.

By this time last year, Postecoglou had earned 20 points with six wins in that timeframe. They had drawn two Premier League matches and lost five.

Their big results came against Everton (h, 4-0), Manchester United (a, 3-0), West Ham (h, 4-1), Aston Villa (h, 4-1) and Manchester City (a, 4-0) while they also made their way into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. They would eventually make the semis only to be knocked out by Liverpool across two legs.

Ultimately, Spurs were seventh in the league after 13 matches last season under Postecoglou even if the difference was only two extra points on the board. This season 20 points would have Spurs sitting 10th and one behind Crystal Palace on goal difference.

Why Thomas Frank should be concerned at Spurs

Every manager is different, of course they are. Every season is also fresh. But knowing now where Spurs ended up last season despite their decent start must serve at the very least as a cautionary tale for Frank.

Postecoglou had injuries galore within his squad last season which is one thing his replacement has not yet had to deal with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwaxpZSTDYw

The games in England’s top flight also never get any easier and the boss will know that. Coming up for Tottenham in the next number of weeks will be matches against Newcastle United away, Nottingham Forest where Sean Dyche has improved the club at the City Ground and Liverpool. Then they come up against Frank’s former employers in Brentford who are 10th in the league and going well.

One could argue that Spurs’ attacking players have not yet reached their proper levels with Xavi Simons yet to find his feet while striker Randal Kolo Muani is only beginning to show his level having netted against Paris Saint-Germain in what was an enthralling 90 minutes of Champions League football.

Frank has rotated his squad at times this season with Richarlison being chopped and changed with Muani and others.

It would almost certainly help the manager if he can find a settled and consistent XI who can gel together and become a unit in a bid to launch themselves up the table.