When your luck is down, so is your luck. For Thomas Frank, he may be wondering what he did to anger the football gods after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at lunchtime on Saturday.
Frank has been through it all since arriving at Spurs. The majority of the squad seems to be injured and that can be used as an excuse, but he now has a dismal record in north London.
In fact, the Dane is currently the worst manager in ‘Top 6’ history, averaging a dismal 1.16 points per game. To put this into context, this is an even worse record than Ruben Amorim’s, who had some bad luck at Old Trafford.
There are a lot of issues that Frank can control, but he has also let his senior players down.
Worst record of Big 6 managers | |
|---|---|
manager | Points per game |
1. Thomas Frank | 1.16 |
2. Ruben Amorim | 1.23 |
3. Roy Hodgson | 1.25 |
4. Graham Potter | 1.27 |
5. Ange Postecoglou | 1.37 |
6. Mark Hughes | 1.44 |
7. Nuno Santo | 1.50 |
8. Kenny Dalglish | 1.51 |
But the crux of their problem right now may not be Frank, and it may not even be an injury. Certainly, club captain Cristian Romero is a big problem.
Tottenham’s Cristian Romero problem
This week has been a difficult week for the Argentine player for various reasons. Romero said on Instagram a few days ago that it was “shameful” that the club only had 11 healthy players left.
Frank quickly reassured everyone that the matter was handled internally, but clearly Romero wasn’t in the right situation.
His performance against Manchester United capped off a nightmare period for him, but his red card for an excessive challenge left the team in even more trouble.
Considering his comments about the team’s absence, this was the worst possible move for a centre-back. After receiving the red card, Romero was suspended and will miss the next four games.
To be honest, this wasn’t an amazing moment. The defender has had numerous problems for indiscipline since moving to England, becoming the first player to be sent off twice in the Premier League this season.
Since joining in 2021, he has been shown a total of four red cards in league matches, more than any other player in the same period. Additionally, his six red cards are the most in Spurs history.
This only makes things worse considering he is the club’s captain. Having said that, the manager has indicated that the defender will continue as captain. There will never be a Granit Xhaka moment at Unai Emery’s Arsenal.
It would not be a huge surprise if Romero left in the summer, having previously been linked with Real Madrid, but he is not the only player whose future is in doubt.
He’s a monster: Spurs have already signed their dream Romero replacement
Tottenham Hotspur may have to deal with the possibility of losing Cristian Romero in the coming months.
Who will follow Romero through the Spurs exit gate?
While Spurs’ immediate future may look pretty bleak, their long-term future is painted in an exciting way. The club has produced players like Lukas Bergvall and Archie Gray. We also can’t forget Luka Vusković and Luka Williams-Barnett.
But it’s hard to see a reason for Romero to be part of that future. There are a number of other players in the Spurs squad who are uncertain about their futures. Consider Pedro Polo, a right-back who has underperformed in recent seasons. Also, think about goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who has endured some tough moments this season.
That said, perhaps no player has had a more difficult season than Yves Bissouma.
To tell the truth, the midfielder, who hasn’t played much since the manager left him out of the squad for the UEFA Super Cup match against PSG at the start of the season, has struggled from the start under Frank.
Bisouuma was absent due to what was described as “persistent tardiness.” Frank defecated and punished the midfielder. Since then, he has struggled to return to the side.
Indeed, not only did the £25m signing leave him out of the club’s Champions League squad, but he also missed the majority of the season with a knee injury. Activities at AFCON also did not help in the formation of the club.
The Malian midfielder is now fit again, but despite a number of other players being injured, it was telling that he was left on the bench in the defeat to Manchester United.
Frank had been trusted to start against Manchester City a week ago, but clearly regretted the decision when he was sent off shortly after the end of the game. To be honest, the Spurs were pretty bad when he was on the field.
It was Bissouma who scored the first goal in this match. He was given the ball in the middle of the park and Rayan Cherki ended up finding the back of the net. It was a moment that summed up his time in the capital after moving from Brighton.
Romero may have had issues with indiscipline, but he has produced some great moments this term as well. His goals against Newcastle United and Burnley a few weeks ago were proof of that.
But for Bissouma, his future with the Spurs is even more uncertain, regardless of whether the current manager is able to stay in the dugout for longer. This summer will definitely be a time of decluttering.
He could bring Romero back: ‘Great’ manager wants Frank’s replacement at Spurs
Tottenham’s hapless head coach could be replaced by a familiar face, according to reports.
