Individual errors, poor passing, losing duels and the squad’s inability to respond correctly to setbacks were among the reasons Tottenham boss Thomas Frank listed for his side’s 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
The Spurs head coach said there was “a hurricane inside me” as he described how he was trying to contain his emotions after a “burning annoying performance” led to a bad loss.
That frustration boiled over during an interview with Sky Sports’ Pat Davison, where Frank snapped back that Guglielmo Vicario’s error against Fulham last month should not be compared to Forest’s first goal, which he blamed on Archie Gray taking a touch from the goalkeeper’s pass before being dispossessed.
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Thomas Frank snaps back at Sky Sports Pat Davison for suggesting the first goal by Nottingham Forest was a similar error from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario in Tottenham’s Fulham loss
While Tottenham came into the game on a three-match unbeaten run across all competitions, defeat at the City Ground means they have made their worst start to a Premier League season in 17 years.
After finishing 17th last season under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs are in the bottom half again, sitting 11th.
‘No quick fix’ and an ingrained issue
In his post-match press conference, Frank was asked if he is confident he’ll be given time to get the club back on track.
“I think it’s pretty evident, if no one gets the time, no one can turn this around,” he said. “This is not a quick fix.”
During his dissection of the performance, Frank made references to long-standing issues within this group, which struggled so badly in the league last season, despite their Europa League win.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero and team-mates during the defeat at Nottingham Forest
Frank believes Spurs’ reaction to conceding goals as a problem ingrained in the squad. “These setbacks can’t affect us that much. It can’t be one goal that makes it so disjointed,” he said, when explaining how his side lost their way after Forest went 1-0 up.
“That’s part of ‘keep the structure, keep the gameplan, keep doing the right things’. That’s not the first time we’ve seen that, this year, last year, whatever.
“That’s something ongoing [he is working on with the squad], being more consistent in that.”
Sloppy Spurs
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Nottingham Forest take the lead at the City Ground after a disaster at the back from Spurs.
Gray’s mistake was the fifth time a Spurs player has made an error directly leading to an opposition goal in the Premier League this season. Only bottom-club Wolves (seven) have made more. Spurs have also made the most errors leading to opposition shots (20).
Spurs’ sloppiness was a theme throughout the game on Sunday. Their passing accuracy of 79 per cent was their fourth-lowest total in the league this season.
That contributed to Spurs managing to carve out just 0.37 worth of Expected Goals and striker Richarlison having just two touches in the opposition box all game. Spurs had just one shot on target.
“With all due respect, we’re in it together, we win together, we lose together… But they need to be able to hit each other,” said Frank about Spurs’ passing. “That’s nothing to do with structure.
“Simple passing. I think we lost the ball 20 times [from a] simple pass.”
A lack of intensity
Out of possession? “We didn’t win enough duels,” said Frank.
Certainly, Forest won the intensity battle. “Go, go, go” was how two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi described his team’s approach to the match. They blitzed Spurs in running metrics, with the visitors posting figures which ranked among their lowest of the season.
The attitude of the Spurs squad – not for the first time this season – was also brought into the spotlight by Djed Spence’s less-than-impressed reaction to being substituted.
Saturday 20th December 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
Frank didn’t see that – but he was clear on the overall picture.
“It’s a step back today,” he said, lamenting his side’s inability to build on recent encouragement from games with Newcastle, Brentford and Slavia Prague.
There are now six days to address the wide range of problems before Spurs host Liverpool on Saturday. No quick fix? Frank needs to find solutions fast or Spurs’ inconsistency could derail another Premier League season.
