Farewell to Frank

I'm writing this on Valentine's Day, so what better time to remember that the heart wants what the heart wants. This heart, unfortunately, wants Olympic figure skating, so my attention span for Spurs has been at an all-time low. I just need to get that caveat out of the way immediately to set the expectation that this is going to be a very short issue by my standards, especially for such a momentous news week for the club.

There had already been a lot of love lost for Thomas Frank amongst the fanbase, and it turns out the board finally agreed, sacking him on Wednesday. He only lasted eight months at the club.

The loss to Newcastle United wasn't particularly distinctive in the long line of Spurs Men losses this season; it was merely the final straw. The team faces the very real possibility of getting dragged into the relegation scrap and the club had to act. Of course, it would have been nice for them to have this realization months ago when most of us had already seen the writing on the wall, but better late than never.

In this issue: Newcastle United recap | Manager talk | News from around the Lane

Let's do a rapid-fire recap of the Newcastle game, followed by some thoughts on the changing of the manager guard (albeit temporarily), and then celebrate an important contract update for Spurs Women.

PL MD 26 | Tottenham 1 - 2 Newcastle United

Gray 64' | Thiaw 45+5', Ramsey 68'

I technically "watched" this game on my second screen alongside the Olympics, but I will say candidly that I didn't take in a moment of it. I also made the mistake of getting up for a snack break during the ice resurfacing of the figure skating event and completely missed our only goal of the game. Whoops. Cheers to Archie Gray, though, who has been one of the few players whose effort and commitment I never doubt.

The Men's team has been such a contrast to the Women's team this season in terms of resilience. When Spurs Women go down a goal and then get an equalizer, you actually believe they'll go on to win the game. When Spurs Men do the same, I just hope that we can hold on for the draw. That definitely didn't happen in this one, conceding the game-winner to Newcastle just a few minutes later.

I may not have any real insights from the match itself, but thanks to my stats spreadsheet, I do have a few not-so-fun facts.

Notable & quotable:

• This is the fourth time we've lost back-to-back Premier League games this season.

• This was an identical scoreline and result to last season's home fixture vs Newcastle United.

• We are winless in our last eight PL games (drawn 4, lost 4), the longest such run without a victory in league play since the nine-game stretch in 2008, which was admittedly across seasons.

• Pape Sarr had his first goal contribution (an assist) since his goal in the October 26 game at Everton.

Manager talk: Sacking edition

Truthfully, I don't have all that much to say about Thomas Frank's sacking that I haven't already said in this newsletter. It was long overdue in my opinion, and I can only assume that the lack of a suitable replacement was the primary reason for the delay, not any real belief that he could turn things around.

And indeed, the interim manager, Igor Tudor, was not announced until several days later, so it seems like there wasn't a firm backup plan already in place.

I don't know a ton about Tudor, but it sounds like he's become a bit of a specialist at turning seasons around, yet doesn't tend to work out well in the long-term—possibly due to his strong personality. It's a relief then that he's only been given an interim role with no guarantee of a permanent position.

I wish I felt hopeful about seeing the kind of turnaround that we can build on, but really, the remainder of the season is all about survival. The club had to act since we are now only five points off the drop zone (or six points, if you consider our superior—for now—goal difference compared to West Ham United), and Tudor's task won't be made any easier by having to juggle the Champions League knockouts as well. How far we are realistically able to progress in the knockout stage is another matter. With the injury crisis still at its peak, Tudor will have to prioritize squad rotation regardless of how many games we end up playing through the rest of the season.

There are serious holes in the squad's depth chart, but we also know there are some talented players who Frank was not getting the most out of with his negative tactics. I personally have some concerns about Tudor's apparently disciplinarian approach being the right fit for this particular group of players, but time will tell. At a bare minimum, they need to be empowered to play to their strengths and get back to scoring ways.

Tudor does seem to have a clear view of the situation at least, and also of his task:

It is an honour to join this Club at an important moment. I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match. There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.

Now the pressure is on the club to make begin making preparations to secure the right permanent hire in the summer. We can't afford another poor fit like Frank, both from a tactical and a club culture standpoint. I don't care to get into the rumored candidates right now, particularly since I think my feelings are known about the obvious nostalgic choice, but let's put a pin in it to revisit that topic closer to the end of the season.

Much as I firmly believe Frank had to go, we also have to acknowledge that there are a lot of compounding factors holding the Men's team back from maintaining a consistent level, let alone thriving. Those factors stretch back many seasons and go beyond the long list of gaffers we've churned through, as well as the uneven squad turnover. It's going to be a crucial off-season for more than just the managerial hiring decision; several departments will likely see changes.

However, I do think that the multitude of issues that the new executive board inherited requires a bit of grace as they attempt to correct course. Vinai Venkatesham in particular deserves some credit for the reversal of fortune on the Women's side; Daniel Levy made no secret of his lack of ambition for Spurs Women, so it cannot be a coincidence that they suddenly look like a serious outfit now that he is out the door. It's a much heavier lift to make a similar impact on Spurs Men with the Premier League being a whole other ballgame in terms of squad investment, but we have to hope the club will rise to the occasion, or else there's no point in emotionally investing as a fan.

My own emotional investment in the Men's team, as far as the future goes, is in more of the "guarding my heart" territory at the moment. But as ever, it's the hope that kills you. In the meantime, I have to believe that there are existing players in the squad who can and will give their all to ensure we don't go down to the Championship, and that at least some of them are committed enough to the project to stick around for the nth iteration of the "painful rebuild." There's no denying anymore how painful it can get.

News from around the Lane

• The transfer windows are closed, but Spurs Women, at least, are still actively shaping their squad for next season. Eveliina Summanen signed a new long-term contract to keep her at Spurs.

Summanen just celebrated her 100th appearance with the club a couple of games ago and is the team's all-time assist leader as well as part of the leadership group.

Reflecting on her Spurs career so far, Summanen said:

I'm happy here. I found my place at Spurs, and I think it was just natural to keep going on that journey.

I think there's still a lot of steps to take during this season and that's how I work a little bit myself as well, that I take one thing at a time and then we look at what's the future. I think there's been a talk about ambition and, now, we want to reach those things that we've been talking about.

• Spurs Men will be without the efforts of Wilson Odobert for quite some time, extending into next season, as it has now been confirmed that he tore his ACL in the Newcastle match. Swift healing, Wilson.

• Tōko Koga and Maika Hamano have both been selected for Japan's squad at the Women's Asian Cup. Australia has not yet announced its squad. The tournament begins on March 1.

• A quick loan army roundup:

• Alfie Devine scored a game-winner for Preston in their 1-0 win over Portsmouth.
• George Abbott scored a goal on his debut for Mansfield Town, though they lost 1-2 against Peterborough United.
• Martha Thomas has scored two goals in three games for Liverpool.

Up next:

February 15 | Spurs Women @ Aston Villa
Team news — Maika Hamano is available for selection after being ineligible to face her parent club last week; Charli Grant is nearing a return but won't be available until the FA Cup match on the 23 at the earliest; Drew Spence will be serving the second game of her three-match suspension.

Thankfully, we got a reprieve from Spurs Men this weekend since they are no longer challenging for the FA Cup. They won't be back in action until February 22, but it's a big game—the North London Derby. We'll brace ourselves for that day of drama when it comes, but for now, let's get behind the Women's team for a bounce-back win against Aston Villa.

COYS

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