Sport
‘Frank-ball’ is working well for Tottenham Hotspur
Two games into the 2025/26 season, the top of the Premier League table is currently dominated by North London’s two rival clubs. Of course, it’s far too early to expect it to stay this way, but Tottenham Hotspur have made a faster start to the campaign than many expected having claimed six points from a possible six.
Saturday’s 2-0 away win over Manchester City was a statement result. Pep Guardiola’s team might have finished with the higher xG, possession share and number of shots, but Spurs deserved their victory. They executed their game plan perfectly both on the defensive and attacking sides of the match.
It was a performance that rightly drew a lot of praise for Thomas Frank. The Danish coach has quickly pointed Tottenham in the right direction again after a 2024/25 campaign which saw the North London outfit finish 17th. Many of Spurs’ squad appear to have absorbed the methods and ideas of their new manager.
The contrast to a team that finished just one place above the relegation zone last season has been stark. While Ange Postecoglou ended Tottenham’s long 17-year wait for a trophy by winning the Europa League, Daniel Levy can feel smug about his decision to replace the Australian coach with Frank over the summer.
Postecoglou, however, put in place the groundwork for Frank to build on. While the former Celtic boss initially wanted Spurs to play a high-risk, high-intensity game, he settled on a more pragmatic approach towards the end of his final season in charge, particularly on the way to Europa League glory.
Whether by design or otherwise, Postecoglou and the Spurs front office built a squad that was prepared for ‘Frank-ball’ by the time the former Brentford manager took over. The way Tottenham played against Manchester City on Sunday wasn’t too different to the way Postecoglou set up his side against Manchester United in the Europa League final.
“Nothing massive, [it’s] two different coaches,” said Brennan Johnson when asked about the difference between Frank and Postecoglou. “[I am] really enjoying it and a lot of detail goes into the set-pieces, but at the same time he gives us a lot of attacking freedom. [In] the first few games we have kept two clean sheets and against Man City it is not easy. I have played here a lot of times and conceded a lot of goals.”
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were standout performers at the Etihad Stadium. Both centre backs were intelligent in knowing when to step out and apply pressure on City in possession while Joao Palhinha was a brick wall in front of the back four, also scoring the goal to make it 2-0.
With a sound defensive foundation, Frank was emboldened to set up his team to attack open space at speed. Mohamed Kudus, Richarlison and Johnson were unleashed into the Manchester City half when they had the opportunity to get forward on the break. Spurs exposed City’s weakness in defensive transition.
Tottenham might find it harder to break down opponents that employ a low defensive block over the course of the season, but they comfortably swept aside Burnley in their first Premier League game of the campaign. To do this Frank set up Spurs to go direct and get the opposition turned as often as possible.
This is where Frank has already shown himself to be different to Postecoglou. The Danish coach is willing and able to adapt his approach from one game to the next. If he can keep the majority of his best players fit, this season could look very different to last even if Spurs end up finishing a little lower than joint-top.
