What went wrong at Tottenham and what SHOULD happen now

Thomas Frank’s Tottenham reign is over.

After less than eight months in charge, the Danish head coach has been relieved of his duties in North London.

The decision comes after Spurs suffered another Premier League defeat in 2026, this time at home to Newcastle, extending their winless run in the top flight to eight games and dropping them down to 16th in the table.

With just two Premier League wins in their last 17 outings, and after averaging 1.16 points per game during his tenure, Frank’s position was untenable.

Like previous managers of the club, he went out in a fiery blaze, delivering a stunning post-match interview in which he blamed injuries for Tottenham’s struggles in 2025-26.

In Frank’s words, he said: “It’s easy to point on me but I also think it’s never only the head coach or the ownership or the directors or the players or the staff.”

Seemingly, the board, notably Vinai Venketasham and Johan Lange, did not take that statement on board and will now spend the next few days searching for a successor to the former Brentford boss.

But what was the biggest factor in Frank’s departure, and what should Tottenham do now to get themselves back on track?

We take a deep dive into the biggest issues inside the fractured dressing room.

Play the Tottenham way – or not

Tottenham fans are very insistent on playing a certain brand of football. Ange Postecoglou’s entire appointment was centred on his front-foot approach, but Frank’s arrival marked a step back from that philosophy.

As a result, it made it immediately difficult to buy into the culture, with much of Frank’s focus on the opposition and how Spurs could nullify them, rather than work on their own intent to cause damage.

On the pitch, the approach was much more defensive than fans anticipated, particularly after the head coach promised an aggressive, attacking team in his very first press conference last summer.

After a few weeks of timidly approaching matches against lower opposition, frustrations were quick to emerge on social media, and eventually inside the stadium.

With the side averaging less than 50% possession per game and struggling to create any meaningful chances, fans’ frustrations very quickly turned into anger, culminating in the biggest chorus of jeers and chants towards the manager in the 2-1 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday night.

Spurs are one of the biggest overperformers when it comes to expected goals (xG) in the Premier League this season, perhaps the biggest sign of them all that what Frank had promised on his first day was never going to become a reality.

Stubbornness in the media

One of the biggest factors playing into Tottenham fans wanting Mauricio Pochettino back at the club is his relationship with the fans.

While some may argue that he possessed the greatest Spurs side of the Premier League era, he was always on the side of the supporters when facing the public.

The stretches as far as last week, when he was quoted on the High Performance podcast as keen to return to the club and get them back at the level he feels Tottenham should be competing at – domestically and in Europe.

For Frank, that relationship was never formed. His constant snipes at the fanbase in his press conferences only dragged down his reputation, and comments suggesting the fans were partly to blame for his players’ poor performances were not well received.

In fact, his words had the opposite effect. As he continued to drum on about needing support inside the stadium, the boos grew louder, and echoes of ‘He’s magic, you know’ (referencing Pochettino) became more frequent.

Unquestionably, Spurs fans have high standards and expectations, hence why the constant pining for Poch still lingers seven years after his departure.

But if you want to truly succeed in N17, you need to give the crowd something to get behind. Unfortunately for Frank, neither his character or football was up to scratch.

The never-ending injury crisis

It would be unfair not to name Tottenham’s increasingly worrying injury crisis as a factor in Frank’s failure.

The Lilywhites were without 11 senior players for the loss to Newcastle, including some big names such as James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, and several others.

Spurs also lost Wilson Odobert on the night, and are without captain Cristian Romero for another three matches, after he was sent off for a second time this season against Manchester United.

Any manager standing in the dugout would struggle with the situation the club currently find themselves in. To have so many influential figures missing is unprecedented, and arguably worse than the injury card Ange Postecoglou was dealt last term.

The higher-ups in North London have already overhauled the medical department in the last few years, but problems with injuries seemed to be tied to the club itself.

Frank suggested in his final interview that the number of unavailable players made it impossible to compete in all competitions, with the club still active in Europe but once agian forfeiting their domestic targets.

Back in the summer, Venkatesham claimed that Frank was appointed with a view to competing on all fronts, something that has failed spectacularly.

Even with 12 now missing from their ranks, Tottenham’s available side is not a team that should be flirting with relegation.

Failure in the transfer markets

Tottenham backed Thomas Frank in the summer transfer window. The club spent £180million on incomings, including a creative outlet in Xavi Simons, a powerful winger in Kudus, as well as an experienced head in Joao Palhinha.

But in January, arguably a more crucial window considering the club’s short-staffed problems, Spurs settled for the arrivals of Souza – a 19-year-old defender who barely speaks a word of England – and Conor Gallagher.

While Gallagher may be a good signing in isolation, bringing in another midfielder who fits a similar profile to what they club already have in their ranks was simply bad decision-making.

Sporting director Johan Lange sat down and reflected on the January window in an eight-minute video in which he claimed to have opted for a longer-term strategy, with the club more willing to move for players in the summer rather than target a short-term fix.

It may have made sense to the planning team at Hotspur Way, but less than two weeks after the window had closed, the lack of depth perhaps proved to be the final nail in Frank’s coffin.

Where do Tottenham go now?

So, the cycle at Spurs continues and they are once again on the hunt for a new manager, the big question, though, is who can fix this huge mess?

A lot of the blame will rightfully be placed on the manager, but the issues run much deeper than that. Players are ultimately underperforming, and while Frank may be gone, there is now a huge run between now and the end of the season that whoever comes in will need to navigate with the ultimate aim of avoiding relegation.

The obvious choice is Pochettino, with reports going so far as to suggest that Spurs view him as the perfect appointment, but with his USMNT commitments and a home World Cup on the horizon, that dream may have to wait, even if only for a temporary period.

Spurs could appoint an interim manager between now and May, but run the risk of falling further into the clutches of the bottom three if they do not hit the ground running.

Alternatively, they could seek a permanent manager immediately, with Roberto De Zerbi now available, alongside some other big names such as Xavi and Xabi Alonso.

It is a big decision to make, but those at the top must get it right; otherwise, Spurs could pay the ultimate price and face the drop in what would be one of the biggest moments in Premier League history.