Six months after swapping Brentford for Tottenham, pressure is starting to grow on Thomas Frank. The football is uninspired, fans are booing, and the Dane’s relationship with them is starting to fracture.
The 2-1 Premier League loss to Fulham felt like a turning point for many, and Frank's words after the game, claiming those who booed the team "aren’t real Tottenham fans", certainly didn’t do him any favours.
A 2-2 draw away at Newcastle may have earned Frank some credit, but that won’t last long if he loses to his former club on Saturday. Should the worst happen, Marco Silva, the man who inflicted their most recent defeat, would be the perfect man to bring in.
Playing the ‘Tottenham way’
Rightly or wrongly, Spurs fans expect their side to play attractive, attacking football, and that has been used as a stick to beat Frank with.
Admittedly, the football has been poor, but better results would have helped that go down a little smoother with those who pay thousands for a season ticket.
One thing Frank’s side currently have going for them is how clinical they are. Tottenham rank 16th in the Premier League for shots on target per 90 minutes, but fourth for goals scored with 1.6, behind Man City, Arsenal, and Chelsea.
That’s pretty much where the good news ends on the attacking front for Tottenham and Frank. In almost every other underlying metric, the Spurs are a mid-table side, which works out about right considering they’re currently 11th.
Spurs 11th for big chances created (25), 11th for big chances missed (14), 11th for touches in the opposition box (323), and 11th for accurate crosses per match (4.4). Are you starting to see a pattern here?
That simply isn’t good enough for the amount of quality Frank has at his disposal, and it’s largely because Tottenham have a frustratingly slow midfield, while Xavi Simons, the player signed to add a creative spark, has struggled to adapt to the Premier League.
Marco Silva is playing the hand he’s been dealt
It was a frustrating summer transfer window for Silva. He was very vocal about the club’s lack of business, forcing them to eventually pull the cheque book out and sign Kevin from Shakhtar and Samuel Chukwueze on loan from AC Milan before it slammed shut.
Despite that lack of backing from the board, and some flirting with the relegation zone, Fulham have been fine and are actually over performing their current league position in a lot of attacking metrics.
Currently sat in 15th with 17 points from their opening 14 Premier League games, Fulham are 8th for touches in the opposition box (339), 13th for big chances missed (13), 12th for shots on target per 90 (3.8), and 14th for xG (14.5).
Of course, the most important stat of all is goals. Fulham’s 19 is not only more than any other member of the current bottom five, but more than the likes of Aston Villa and Sunderland, who are both sitting comfortably in the top half.
Silva has a reputation for being a manager who plays an attractive brand of football, built on positional play, emphasising fluid rotations in wide areas, quick passing combinations, and patient build-up.
That’s exactly the type of football Spurs fans want to see their side playing. Add the fact that Silva now has nearly a decade of Premier League experience, and there would be no bedding-in period needed for the Portuguese manager.
Fulham have a serious battle on their hands if they want to keep him at the club beyond this season. Silva’s contract expires next summer, and if the January transfer window is equally as disappointing as the last one, he will have little reason to stay.
"They know how I love to be in this football club," Silva told Sky Sports this week.
"I’m not an easy guy to deal with sometimes as I’m very ambitious. Almost after five years to keep the project going with the same person is a very good sign."
Verdict
There is some danger in hiring Silva.
It would mean Spurs players have to adapt to a different style of play yet again, having already done so under Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Ange Postecoglou, and now Frank.
Sacking Frank just six months after he was appointed would be counterproductive for Tottenham, but there is only so much the fans can take.
Should they pull the trigger, there is currently no better manager to take over than Marco Silva.