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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-02-11 20:24:49+00:00.
And the more Frank worked with the players, the more disillusioned they became with his methods. Training sessions were slow and overly tactical, “always focusing on structure”, said a source, in contrast with fast and open sessions under Ange Postecoglou. And while Frank indicated in the early weeks the defensive emphasis would just be the first phase of work, the second, more attacking phase never really came.
In that sense, perhaps the lurch from Postecoglou to Frank was just too extreme, an over-correction, as though Tottenham went from one manager who refused to prepare for the opposition to another, who did nearly nothing but. Some of the best coaches in the world are obsessed by analysis but it rankled how even against teams like Burnley, Frank forensically studied the strengths of the opposition. Ironically, one of the more entertaining drills the players enjoyed involved diving blocks and last-ditch defending.
At Tottenham, staff noted how frustrating Frank found the lack of time he could actually spend on the training ground. Part of Frank’s appeal, after the puritanical methods of Postecoglou, was his ability to develop players and adapt his tactics but Tottenham’s Champions League commitments meant Frank found his weeks dominated by recovery, media and travel, leaving little time for his “special operations”. He said the club and players had to get used to balancing Europe with the Premier League, although another view was that it was more he and his staff who had to make that step up. After all, Tottenham have competed in Europe in 18 of the past 20 years.
Nobody can dispute that Frank inherited a team loaded with problems. His ill-fated picking of Romero as captain was not because he saw Romero as a natural leader, but because Frank felt there were simply no other leaders in the squad. The disciplinary issues were constant and some players were surprised how Romero, in particular, was given so much space to do as he pleased. Perhaps Frank needed to be tougher to instil that culture he enjoyed at Brentford. Instead, he was humble enough to quiz staff early on about his own strengths and weaknesses as a coach. He asked for padel courts to be installed at the training ground but barely lasted long enough to enjoy them.