The Athletic FC Podcast

Episode: How long can Frank survive at Spurs?
Date: January 14, 2026
Host: Ayo Akimolere
Guests: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Danny Kelly

Episode Overview

This episode explores the mounting pressure on Thomas Frank, Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach, following a string of poor results, fan discontent, and behind-the-scenes upheaval at the club. Host Ayo Akimolere is joined by The Athletic’s own Jack Pitt-Brooke and Danny Kelly of the View from the Lane podcast to assess Frank’s tenure, the club’s deeper issues beyond the manager, and potential paths forward as Spurs drift through another tumultuous season.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Spurs’ Dire Start Under Thomas Frank

[01:26–03:39]

• Results under Frank:

  • 31 matches: 12 wins, 8 draws, 12 losses (1.32 points per game)
  • Worse than Juan de Ramos’ record before his 2008 sacking

• Danny Kelly:

  • Candidly calls Frank’s start “calamitous”
  • Argues that with Spurs’ resources, such underperformance is unacceptable
  • “A club that is one of the nine or ten richest in the world...there should be a floor through which you do not fall. Spurs are showing signs this season of being as poor as they were last.” (02:29)

• Jack Pitt-Brooke:

  • Believes “the football played on the pitch is worse” than the results imply
  • Fans expected difficulties but not dire, aimless football
  • “It’s the poverty of the football which has left them in a situation where not many of the fans have been given anything to believe in by Thomas Frank.” (03:40)

2. Home Form, Fan Disconnect & Lost Identity

[04:22–07:10]

• Home record: Only two league home wins this season—"four in the league in a calendar year” (Danny Kelly, 04:32)

• Fan unrest:

  • Criticizing the supporters is seen as managerial self-sabotage
  • Structural and stylistic issues have alienated Spurs’ historically demanding fanbase
  • “There are two ways to get yourself sacked in modern football. Criticise the people above you...or criticise the supporters. It’s a mess there now because people have lost faith in Thomas.” (Danny Kelly, 04:32)

• On Tottenham’s style expectations:

  • The demand for entertaining, attacking football is deeply ingrained
  • “Post the Second World War, Spurs have always been associated with a kind of freewheeling style of football...” (Danny Kelly, 07:10)
  • Spurs’ history shapes expectations regardless of recent squads or players

3. The Crucial Run of Upcoming Fixtures

[09:00–10:28]

• Importance of next matches:
  • West Ham and Burnley in the league are “close to must-win” (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 09:26)
  • Champions League fixtures matter less now as qualification is nearly assured, though it’s “the only way of making any kind of positive memories” this term (10:28)

4. Thomas Frank’s Style—or Lack Thereof

[11:21–13:26]

• Kelly’s scathing take:
  • “I don’t see any style. So far he has not imposed a way of playing on the team. What I see is a team that appears to have no idea what it wants to do in attack.” (11:30)
  • Tactically, Spurs rely on aimless crossing and lack a plan for progressing the ball
  • Injuries (notably to Kulusevski and Maddison) contribute, but Frank has shown little intent to create attacking improvement, focusing instead on defensive solidity without results
  • “You can’t play stodgy football and have bad results because that is the road to...the P45.” (Danny Kelly, 13:26)

5. The 'Small Club to Big Club' Manager Dilemma

[13:26–15:48]

• Pochettino vs. Frank comparison:
  • Pochettino “was playing big club football at Southampton...high pressing, dominant, incredibly physical, expansive football” and successfully transplanted it to Spurs (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 14:05)
  • Frank “played smaller team football at Brentford” and now looks out of place at Tottenham; analogous to Moyes at United or Hodgson at Liverpool

6. Is There Any Hope for Thomas Frank?

[15:48–18:28]

• Turning things around:
  • Most managerial changes are gambles, but “you’ve got to see signs that it is being turned around.” (Danny Kelly, 15:59)
  • At Spurs under Frank, there are too few signs of an upward trajectory; opponents are comfortable, and brief attacking flurries are rare and unsustainable
  • “I don’t see it getting any better.” (Danny Kelly, 18:28)

7. Boardroom Instability Post-Levy & Paratici

[21:10–23:42]

• Daniel Levy’s exit:
  • Left a power vacuum, requiring a “rewiring of the whole institution.” (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 21:25)
  • “I think Spurs are still trying to find their feet” post-Levy
• Sporting Director Fabio Paratici:
  • Came back for a short stint; expected to leave shortly for Fiorentina due to personal reasons and greater power on offer there (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 22:45)

8. Club Ambition & Direction—Or Lack Thereof

[23:42–28:16]

• Supporters Trust criticism:

  • Statement decries “a dramatic fall in ambition”, tepid transfer business, and repeated reminders from Frank about last season’s low finish (23:42)
  • “This is the problem, Ayo, I do not know what the ambitions for Spurs are...” (Danny Kelly, 24:22)
  • Criticizes club’s prioritization of off-field ventures and lack of “laser sharp focus on what’s happening on the pitch.”

• Culture/methods comparison:

  • Brentford’s joined-up recruitment and strategic clarity contrasted with Spurs’ muddling (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 28:00)
  • Tottenham need “that kind of big club personality...charisma and really get the fans believing in what they're trying to do.” (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 28:16)

9. Player Voices and Leadership Vacuum

[29:03–33:13]

• Christian Romero’s public criticism on social media:

  • Club captain questioned why others weren’t “fronting up”—later edited post
  • Kelly praises Romero’s honesty, but says it’s “probably a bad look” for the captain to call out club leaders publicly (Danny Kelly, 29:27)

• Lack of communication/visibility from board and owners:

  • Jack Pitt-Brooke: “No one has really heard anything at all from the Lewis family since Levy's dismissal in September.” (32:20)
  • Spurs’ opaque leadership deepens fans’ sense of drift

10. Some Slim Positives: Transfers and Key Players Returning

[35:18–39:03]

• Conor Gallagher incoming:
  • Offers energy and depth, though not a creative solution
  • More importantly, signals a new, more decisive attitude in transfer dealings (Danny Kelly, 35:46)
• Return of Solanke and Kulusevski from injury could boost attack (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 38:00)

11. The Managerial Market and Potential Replacements

[39:03–41:45]

• Pochettino’s possible return:
  • Would be a “PR triumph” but faced with a much weaker squad now
  • “You’re not good, you’re not bad. You’re either right or you’re wrong [for the club].” (Danny Kelly, 39:19)
• Is now the right time to sack Frank?
  • Jack argues there are few strong candidates mid-season, so retaining Frank until summer makes sense, unless things worsen further (Jack Pitt-Brooke, 41:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Danny Kelly on Spurs’ current lot:

  • “It’s a mess there now because people have lost faith in Thomas...Each home game again...It’s Groundhog Day. They replicate the same performance where they go behind, they rouse themselves, they play for 15 minutes, they look okay, they lose, and then they all fight with each other at the end.” (04:32)

• Jack Pitt-Brooke on club direction:

  • “It does kind of add to this sense that it’s not quite as clear as it used to be who is...setting the direction for the whole club.” (21:25)

• Danny Kelly on club ambition:

  • “Football clubs at this level need complete, utter, total, eternal and laser sharp focus on what’s happening on the pitch. Because everything flows from that...Moving the deck chairs around...that’s not focus, that’s messing. Get on with it.” (24:22)

• Danny Kelly on managerial fits:

  • “Let’s be honest, most managers are neither good nor bad, they’re just right. You either have the right [manager or not]...Unai Emery is an absolutely brilliant football coach. He was the wrong manager at Arsenal.” (39:19)

Key Timestamps

• 01:26 – Stats on Frank’s record and framing of Spurs’ decline
• 02:29 – Danny Kelly on why Spurs’ standards are much higher
• 03:40 – Jack Pitt-Brooke: The play is even worse than the numbers
• 04:32 – Home form woes and Frank’s missteps with the fans
• 07:10 – Why “the Spurs way” matters and its deep roots
• 09:26 – Must-win importance of league games vs. West Ham and Burnley
• 11:30 – Danny Kelly: “I don’t see any style” of football under Frank
• 14:05 – Pochettino vs. Frank: big club vs. small club football philosophies
• 15:59 – Is there any sign Frank can turn things around?
• 21:25 – Spurs in flux: life after Daniel Levy
• 23:42 – Summary of Trust statement about decline in ambition
• 28:16 – Why Spurs’ lack of cohesive thinking and culture is so damaging
• 29:27 – Christian Romero’s public criticism and leadership issues
• 35:46 – Why Conor Gallagher is a step in a better direction
• 38:00 – Solanke and Kulusevski: crucial injury updates
• 39:19 – The perils and possibilities of bringing Pochettino back
• 41:05 – Jack: Wait for the summer manager market unless disaster strikes

Concluding Notes

This episode makes clear that Thomas Frank’s future at Spurs is deeply uncertain—but the club’s malaise runs well beyond the dugout. Hedged by growing supporter disenchantment, leadership churn, poor football, and an identity crisis, Spurs find themselves at risk of drifting even further from their historical and competitive aspirations.

As Danny Kelly memorably puts it:
“Moving the deck chairs around...that’s not focus, that’s messing. Get on with it.” (24:22)

Jack Pitt-Brooke summarizes the managerial dilemma:
“My instincts are stick with Frank for now. I don’t think sacking him or changing now would really do Tottenham any good...if things don’t improve, then in the summer they would be in a good position to maybe have a rethink.” (41:05)

Episode in a Sentence: Spurs are searching not only for results, but for their soul, and it’s unclear Thomas Frank—or anyone currently at the helm—has the answers.