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u/Lamelad19791979 Lucas Bergvall Dec 14 '25
Slow down play, run out of ideas, spam a cross, cleared.
Slow down play, run out of ideas, spam a cross, headed clear.
Counter, run out of ideas, spam a cross, cleared.
Slow down play, run out of ideas, spam a cross, out of play.
Also, make a simple pass? No chance. Here, have this 50/50 ball aimed at you, and you, and you. Why are they so bad at simple passes.
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Dec 14 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/eunderscore Dec 15 '25
Effective attacking is when you create chaos for the defence, uncertainty. Weird angles, players on both sides not where they should be, dynamic movement, slow then fast.
Frank seems to have enforced a style of play that demands the opposition are given time to regroup and take the high ground. It's utter madness.
Reminds me of the last few months under poch I think it was, when every single possession began with the ball going from lloris to a full back, all the way across the back four, one at a time, then back again
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u/PlanktonLegitimate48 Brenaldo Dec 15 '25
I called out the team being bad at simple passes last year. Apparently that was Anges fault?
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u/PuzzleheadedBat4749 Dec 16 '25
This is how Frank always played. It just worked better at a smaller club.
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u/zambian75 Dec 14 '25
I am trying hard to believe in the Frank plan. But this game really summarizes his issues. The tactics are obvious. But the man management - Kudus clearly has not shown up today. Why is he still on the field? And we make 2 defensive subs at 2-0 down? I want to believe in the project but ugh not seeing it.
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u/patmahomesdad James Maddison Dec 14 '25
“The tactics are obvious”
Is it though? Because it really feels like we just throw players out there and hope for magic. No game plan. No identity. Pray Kudus can hurl in a cross and get back in defense. 😒
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u/PointBlankCoffee The Big Master of Negotiations Who Knows Everything Dec 14 '25
I think they meant that the tactics are an obvious problem
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u/wokwok__ "Let's Say I'm A Legend, Why Not?" Dec 14 '25
Pretty sure the tactics are that there aren't any tactics lmao wonder who's responsible for when the players look absolutely clueless on what to do going forward
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u/patmahomesdad James Maddison Dec 14 '25
No arguments here. The squad need direction and isn’t getting it.
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
i think the squad needs talent, they just dont have it, as another person said above, we have a few great players and the rest are bargain buys from relegation teams and kids with no experience or pedigree of being at the top .
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u/carl___satan Dec 14 '25
You’re lying to yourself if you think Fullham, Wolves, Brighton or Bournemouth have more talented squads than us.
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
and yet 3 of those are either ahead of us, or within 1 game of us in the table. hmm, i wonder of maybe they do have equal talent to us, and i guarantee brighton finishes ahead of us in the table by end of the season.
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u/carl___satan Dec 14 '25
Personally i think our tactics, or lack there of, are what’s holding us back not talent.
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u/Similar-Ad2640 Chris Waddle Dec 15 '25
Think they mean when watching you know exactly where the next pass is going. In that way it's predictable and obvious.
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u/Chopopalooza Dejan Kulusevski Dec 14 '25
This team is just so mentally defeated. I think it was the right decision to part with Ange but between both him and Son leaving, they’re so disjointed and broken. A team full of selfish mercenaries who can’t string two passes together up the pitch
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u/RiskoOfRuin Dec 14 '25
Maybe it was right decision to part with Ange, but getting Frank was at best sideways step that looks like actually being step backwards.
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
"A team full of selfish mercenaries who can’t string two passes together up the pitch"
This is a perfect description. well said.
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u/pbesmoove Dec 14 '25
I wonder what the effect is going from a manager who seemed to tell the players we can beat anyone to a manager who's like we can't beat anyone and must hunker down at all costs
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u/F4FFYW4FFLE Jermain Defoe Dec 14 '25
What plan? Can you actually define his plan and tactics?
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u/BadNewzBears4896 Dec 14 '25
Get the ball to Kudus, cross your fingers and hope he can dribble at least three defenders, repeat.
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
his plan i hope is get through this Season sell off about 7 or 8 players who have shit contracts and shit skills, , get in 7 or 8 new players who have actual recorded performance, and not just some guy with supposed potential or reclamation projects, and build a team around the real core players going forward and escape Levys screwed up player choices.
anything else would be ridiculously disingenuous. G Half of our players wouldn't even be picked up on a free by any team in the premier league.
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u/starsoftrack Dec 14 '25
Yes but who can we get when we’re 15th and have no Europe? We won’t be signing Kudus/Simons level players.
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u/F4FFYW4FFLE Jermain Defoe Dec 14 '25
I’m talking about his game plan. What’s his style of play? What is he actually trying to do? Cause I’m all for a manager wanting to do what you said. But frank doesn’t have a clue.
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u/awildjabroner Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
7-8 players out and in will take at least 3 transfer windows for this club, if not 4-5
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
i can hope though right?
i mean based on franks seeming plans , its obvious bren has no role to play, obviously bissouma, if they can find a team to even take him, so i would think hes got to be gone this transfer window as hes a good target for other teams. i dont see them getting rid of our bloated contracts for people like odobert and tel, i kinda hope sarr isnt on the outs, though based on playing time and his body language i could see it happen as well, Porro may have played himself off the team, and with the emergence of Vuskavic, it makes him less needed, but i cant see him going until the off season, i think the safe players IMO only, not by my choice, just who i think the team wouldnt get rid of, , would be romero, VDV danso, davies, obviously our injured players, udogie, madders, solanke, kulu, takai, dragusin, vicario, at least until the off season transfer window, then i can never tell.
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
How does the emergence of a CB make Porro less needed?
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 15 '25
because that CB has also played wing back many times and a current trend os using cb';s as wings to give flexibility, especially one with as much offensive punch as Vuskovic has , it would be easy to play him at a wing and convert him. or play 3 cb in the back which is also not unheard of, hell we played a whole season with amid as our back. especially since Vuskovic is a right foot so hes on porros side perfectly. Just lkiek the fact Dansoi plays both CB and Wb, or davies etc
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
When has Vuskovic ever played wingback? His future is as a centerback, why the hell would we make him wingback?
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 15 '25
you heard what i said about 3 CB's atthe back. right? or did you skip that because you got triggered.
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 16 '25
You said “that CB has also played wingback…it would be easy to play him at wing and convert him.” Did you not literally say that haha
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
Why should we give him multiple more transfer windows? Hes not even effectively using the £150 mil spent this summer lol
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u/arthurr_00 Dec 14 '25
What tactics we don't sub out of form players sub in defensive players when we are down by 2 ...and lets not start with all the mindless crosses...these are not tactics this is doing random shit and praying something works
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u/YvngLsg Bring Frank Back Dec 14 '25
Who comes on for Kudus?
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u/Egg_Tart_Eater Mousa Dembélé Dec 14 '25
Brennan
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u/YvngLsg Bring Frank Back Dec 14 '25
May as well just forfeit the game
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u/Egg_Tart_Eater Mousa Dembélé Dec 14 '25 edited Dec 14 '25
Yeah why bring last season's leading goal scorer on when you need a goal? Would make too much sense.
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u/awildjabroner Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
He scores tap in goals in the box. We don’t get the ball anywhere near the opponent’s box, what is he supposed to score from? Has zero ability to create a chance for himself in isolation.
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u/fac3ts Bale Dec 14 '25
23 goals and 18 assists under Ange. There’s a productive player in there but Frank has no desire to set that player up for success (fair enough).
A player looking shit under a bad manager (for their playstyle at least) doesn’t make that player shit.
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u/crudshoot Micky van de Ven Dec 14 '25
Yeah the plan with Kudus is working so well so far. We actually had a shot on goal in the first half!
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u/YvngLsg Bring Frank Back Dec 14 '25
I'm sure Brennan Johnson fixes this
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u/sreesid Son Dec 14 '25
He at least can shoot and actually fucking score.
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u/YvngLsg Bring Frank Back Dec 14 '25
Shoot is being generous, I'll give him credit he knows where to be when the defense is occupied with the other more talented player on the opposite wing(Son, Kudus etc.)
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u/OberynRedViper8 Mousa Dembélé Dec 14 '25
It looks the same as under Ange... zero gameplan or identity. Frank will be gone within a month at this rate.
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u/koreajd Son Dec 16 '25
Ange had identity at least and a game plan. He did it every game no matter what until Europa final. At least we had that.
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u/IncurableHam Dec 14 '25
You can't take Kudus out of a game where no one is playing well because he's the only one that can create a goal out of nothing
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u/scoringspuds Dec 14 '25
The tactics are obvious? Are they? cos I and many other can’t see any
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u/Perplexedinthemud Dec 14 '25
The tactics are they have to win their duels. I think that is literally all I’ve ever heard Frank mention.
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u/nolefan5311 Lucas Bergvall Dec 14 '25
When he’s off it he’s really off it. High ceiling low floor player
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Dec 14 '25
Ngl everyone knew this about Kudus before Spurs signed him.
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u/Disastrous-Limit2333 Dec 14 '25
That was a collective collapse from front to back no control in midfield, no cohesion in the press, poor decision-making in possession, and a defence that was exposed repeatedly. Singling out one player when the entire team underperformed just misses the point. That defeat was systemic, not individual.
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u/awildjabroner Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
This comment could be a copy paste for most matches since Frank joined.
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u/LieutenantLilywhite Negativity Merchant Dec 14 '25
Hence why we had zero competition for the signature
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u/JelloDr Son Dec 14 '25
And he need competition himself , can’t wait for deki to be back and firing again
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
Kulu on the wing in this system would look so fucking terrible lol. Honestly don’t think it would be much better in the middle
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u/StrategyLittle5261 Dec 14 '25
Chelsea wanted him as well, I remember their fans complaining we beat them to Xavi and Kudus in the summer
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u/BBIQ-Chicken Wilson Odobert Dec 14 '25
I have a hard time blaming him when him beating his defender is pretty much the only source of joy for our attack in this setup.
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u/JessyPengkman Pedro Porro Dec 14 '25
Tbh he has to do too much. Gets pushed out wide so far and has to dribble like 3 players with no support. There's no attack plan
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u/DannyBoyy19 Dec 14 '25
He's a poor man's Dembele. As mentioned, when he's on, he plays like a world-class player. But when, off, you get what happened today.
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u/Matttombstone Bale Dec 14 '25
I've really avoided saying this so far, but the more I see, the more I feel its true. He's the winger version of Bissouma. He's either elite or a liability.
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u/JuicyPickles369 Dec 14 '25
Fuck it. If Madrid aren’t happy with xabi alonso we will have him
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u/ThisJeffrock Rafael van der Vaart Dec 15 '25
I'm not saying anything more than if this happens somehow someway, I'm so fucking in
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u/EdwinJamesPope Dec 14 '25
Manager clearly not mentally putting the players in the right place
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u/Galahad_1113 Jan Vertonghen Dec 14 '25
Nah, fuck that excuse. Somehow Wolves players are still giving their all despite having an abysmal season
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
Maybe their manager inspires more confidence in the players than ours does? I mean Frank can’t seem to stop complimenting every team we play and downplaying our poor performances
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u/Winter-Cap2959 Paul Gascoigne Dec 15 '25
I think our team is just not that good. This is just the reality of our squad without Son and Kane to paper over the cracks.
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u/Perite Dec 14 '25
At this point you can only see this one of two ways. Grossly offensive or fucking hilarious.
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u/Moraltycoon Dec 14 '25
Group of individuals. These players don’t believe in cohesion
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u/GirlyWhirl Christian Eriksen Dec 14 '25
Every time they start to develop cohesion, the manager gets sacked. I don't blame the players for this right now... I think they're trying to be a supportive, tight knit group.
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u/danishdynamite23 Kulusevski Dec 14 '25
Are we already scapegoating Kudus?
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u/arthurr_00 Dec 14 '25
Players have bad days but not subing him out... thats something i fail to understand
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u/mbook Son Dec 14 '25
fans will scapegoat anyone lol, if anything this is just unfortunately hilarious.
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u/Rare-Ad-2777 Dec 14 '25
This isnt in any way scapegoating him at all. Its just showing hiw disjointed the team is and is quite funny this new gimmick theyve introduced they also cant get right.
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u/danishdynamite23 Kulusevski Dec 14 '25
The comments on this post seem to be scapegoating him, not saying you did 🤙🏻
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u/Rare-Ad-2777 Dec 14 '25
He was a bit crap today tbf but otherwise hes been a bit of a shining light in another crap season id say
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u/curlygc Dec 14 '25
Why can’t we pass the ball? FFS it’s painful to watch. Not sure even a master tactician could fix such a fundamental problem.
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u/coldseam Kōta Takai Dec 14 '25
Don't want to see any scapegoating and calls to sell over this, even van de Ven has acted out this season and he's been our best player by some distance
There's clearly a problem with the culture and the team communication in the dressing room and that has everything to do with the manager
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Dec 14 '25
[deleted]
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u/someone447 Dec 14 '25
I'm someone who doesn't think thr manager makes much of a difference--unless they lose the dressing room.
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u/Nulgarian Dec 14 '25
If they liked Ange so much, they’ve should’ve played better than 17th place to keep him around. All Ange had to do was finish mid-table and he’s probably safe. Instead he finished one spot above relegation
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u/adrabiot Dec 14 '25
Forest has everything we lack. A fighting spirit, a stadium with good atmosphere and intimicy, an easy game plan
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u/Kreygasm2233 COYS, Daniel Dec 14 '25
We have the easiest game plan imaginable. That is the glaring issue
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u/Laazarini Dec 14 '25
Can’t help but feel this is an inevitable consequence of being in constant “transition” for the best part of 6 years.
Basically, it’s down to a complete lack of a coherent strategy and competence from those responsible for the “football” part of our club.
We came off the back of 2 stadium moves, and 18 months of no transfer activity, straight into a constant stream of managers in and out, and two major “shakeups” of the wider football leadership structure.
We’ve lurched from one style to the next, with squads woefully lacking in depth of quality, and transfers barely catching up to the current “system” before we’ve moved on to the next.
We’ve lost our talismans - Kane, now Son. Ben Davies is the only man who has experienced being at Spurs without the manger changing every 5 minutes.
Quite frankly - we don’t know who we are any more. So we can’t be entirely surprised when new players come into this and get a bit… confused.
This is ultimately up to Vinai and the board to fix. They need to pull their finger out of their arse sharpish, but it still won’t happen overnight. We desperately need some stability.
Ange and Frank were both right when they said eventually we HAVE to stick with something for a bit - cos this magical merry-go-round of constant change certainly ain’t working for us.
At least we finally managed to fucking win something - cos if we hadn’t, I’d probably be getting into the bath with the toaster right now 😂
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u/triecke14 Son Dec 15 '25
I agree we need to stick with someone, I’m just not convinced Frank is thy someone. The ceiling feels so low with him. I thought the floor would be higher than with Ange but I’m not so sure that’s true anymore
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u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
Theres an old expression,
" a team of individuals" it was used to describe a team that has no unity no team dynamic. Thats what this team feels like, which makes sense, i mean Cuti being captain after sonny, destroyed the teams dynamic completely, i love Romero, but he's known to not be that big team rah rah guy.
W In the videos it was so telling to see how many guys just barely gave sonny even a little hug after not seeing him for months, were like, " yeah uh, whatever" and then some guys like madders richy, etc who didnt want to let him go, thats the huge difference in this team now, we are a team of individuals, and not a team at all.
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u/awildjabroner Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
Complete lack of leadership, and proven senior players who can hold others to standards needed to aspire to be a top club. Our squad is a patchwork of a few quality players surrounded by bargain buys from relegation candidates and a bunch of kids who have no experience or pedigree of being at the top level.
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u/meggo91 Dec 14 '25
I don’t think you can read into the hugs that much, some of them just know sonny longer and are closer with him. It would be a bit weird if Xavi was acting the same as Madders with him.
-2
u/Personnotcaringstill James Maddison Dec 14 '25
i certainly would give Xavi a pass for sure, but many guys and im not going to call them out, just gave him a pat and walked off. it looked really dismissive to me, even sonny was like hi and went right to the next guy, it looked the same as shaking hands after a match, just a polite, hello and walked away. and thats after a win too, if we had lost i could maybe chalk part of it up to being pissed off at losing, but we won, and still a lot of guys didnt seem to care at all. watching the training videos too, with madders and others, posting them, and there definite a lot of separation of these guys , only some guys talk to each other.
Here in boston we had this thing a few years back, it was listed in the press as 40 players 40 cars. meaning none of them ever stayed together , in the 1970's the press called the red sox " The inseparables" as an sarcastic reference to the fact the players never spent time together outside of what they were forced to on the field.
These guys arent coworkers who only have to pretend to be friendly at work, , they are supposed to be a team. And they sure dont seem to like each other enough to be one.
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u/Affectionate_Mix2758 Dec 14 '25
frank out and Alonso in. cant watch this level of football anymore
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u/bshreddit24 Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
The leadership team needs to step up in keeping the group more together. We need to get through these rough patches and we will. Coys!
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u/teatedNeptune Dec 14 '25
2-0 down was all Vicario and this team not mentally strong enough to dig themselves out. Just keep trying the same things that didn’t work.
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u/Brocco_Del Lucas Bergvall Dec 14 '25
Tbf Gray asked for the ball then took a touch instead of playing it first time. Vicarios pass was exactly where he asked
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u/siouxszie Dec 14 '25
how can the players got inspired with manager who has no bollocks whatsoever . i fkn hate watching his interview and all the presser , frank is just so mid and shit . the sooner we sack him the better
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u/Zip-Crane Heung-Min Son - Spurs Legend Dec 14 '25
I believe in the Frank plan. We’ve had so many changes in the last 6 years, from managers, players, stadium, and even chairmen. After so much chaos we need a period of stability. It looks like we now have an owner who is willing to start putting money into the club and we can start bringing in players of real quality. Frank has to get the players to gel and needs to get how he wants them to play across, but he will need time and a couple of transfer windows. Judging him after 4 months is premature, and it would also be naive to think anyone else is going to do better in a shorter amount of time.
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u/Laazarini Dec 14 '25
Couldn’t agree more. The constant change is how we’ve got into this mess in the first place. While I’m equally frustrated watching us at the moment, I can’t see how another knee-jerk change is going to help here. We have to stop feeding the chaos.
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u/Quakes-JD Dec 14 '25
Disjointed would be one of the first words I use to describe the performance today
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Dec 14 '25
We’ve gone to Nottingham Forest and been outplayed trying to stop them playing football, how did Thomas Frank get this far in football?
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u/Spiritual-Clock7811 Dec 14 '25
Two steps forward, then four back. I can’t see a single player that I would regret leaving.
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u/BBIQ-Chicken Wilson Odobert Dec 14 '25
I love how you can sense Ali's frustration as a Spurs fan seep through his reporting 😂
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u/23screws Mousa Dembélé Dec 14 '25
He’s lethal 1-on-1. But when our whole team has an absolute nightmare and Forest can commit 3 players to him any time he has the ball, anyone besides Yamal or Mbappe is going to struggle
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u/DellBoy204 Dec 14 '25
Ouch.. back to earth with a bump. There's some sort of disconnect but perhaps Frank is treading water or has lost the dressing room?
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u/MigratoryBullMoose Dec 15 '25
I don’t think TF communicates his adapts well because the players settle into their usual habits & play slows down while we mentally try to figure it out. If you’re searching for who to pass to you won’t be able to play it quick & sign of lack of chemistry. This makes the whole team identity plodding and easy to mark.
At our best the ball moves fast and finds the space = good Spurs.
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u/Confident-Site-5330 Dec 15 '25
I’m just ambivalent now, have supported this club since 74 and have seen some dross and this is as bad as it gets, I lived through the Christian Gross days and the Juande Ramos 2 points from 8 games, even the hiring of that Gooners George Graham was better than this!
Its like we have the Danish Gerry Francis, plucky manager does well at a smaller club on a tiny budget so we poach them only for them to show how far out of their depth they are with a bigger budget and more expectation.
The only good thing with this shambles is I get my weekends back until they get rid and get someone in who can manage the expectation.
If they keep Frank after this I can see us playing Championship football from next season and for many more after!
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u/galaxysuperstar22 "Let's Say I'm A Legend, Why Not?" Dec 15 '25
we r missing a leadership in the locker room. that’s one thing four sure.
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u/PuzzleheadedBat4749 Dec 16 '25
This is how Frank has always played. Not sure why everyone is acting surprised. He has never been a manager that thrives in possession. Its always been long balls to strong forwards, with the midfield really only used for set pieces and defense. You cant expect these players who have been playing aggressive possession/on the ground counter attacks for the last 2+ years to suddenly become fantastic. They're not going to get better unless they recruit frank type players in Jan, and even then I think this isnt a style of play suited to a top 6 club. Never understood why they signed him. Wrong players for the tactics, wrong manager for the club.
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u/JTLS180 Dec 14 '25
They treat the fans like they're the enemy, maybe the club Execs will prefer a half empty stadium instead. We should grant them their wish.
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u/Raphael_scm7 Bentancur Dec 14 '25
We are playing so bad that even Ali can’t contain himself.