Individual errors, poor passing, losing duels and the squad’s inability to react properly to setbacks were among the reasons Tottenham boss Thomas Frank took note of his side’s 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
The Spurs boss said there was “a hurricane inside me” as he described how he tried to contain his emotions after a “burningly irritating performance” led to a poor loss.
That frustration boiled over during an interview with Sky Sports’ Pat Davison, with Frank hitting back that Guglielmo Vicario’s mistake against Fulham last month should not compare to Forest’s first goal, which he blamed on Archie Gray taking a touch from the keeper’s pass before being run over.
While Tottenham came into the match on a three-match unbeaten run in all competitions, defeat at the City Ground meant they had their worst start to a Premier League season in 17 years.
After finishing 17th last season under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs are in the bottom half again, sitting 11th.
‘No quick fix’ and an ingrained problem
In his post-match press conference, Frank was asked if he is confident he will have time to get the club back on track.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that if nobody gets time, nobody can turn this around,” he said. “This is not a quick fix.”
During his dissection of the performance, Frank referred to lingering problems within this group, who struggled so hard in the league last season despite their Europa League victory.
Tottenham’s captain Cristian Romero and his teammates during the defeat at Nottingham Forest
Frank sees Spurs’ reaction to conceding goals as an ingrained problem in the squad. “These setbacks can’t affect us too much. It can’t be a goal that makes it so disjointed,” he said as he explained how his side lost ground after Forest went 1-0 up.
“It’s part of ‘keep the structure, keep the game plan, keep doing the right things’. It’s not the first time we’ve seen it, this year, last year, whatever.
“It is something that is ongoing [he is working on with the squad]to be more consistent in it.”
Sluggish Spurs
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Nottingham Forest take the lead at the City Ground after a disaster at the back from Spurs.
Gray’s mistake was the fifth time a Spurs player has made a mistake that directly led to an opposition goal in the Premier League this season. Only bottom club Wolves (seven) have made more. The Spurs have also committed the most fouls, leading to the opposition’s shots (20).
Spurs’ sloppiness was a theme throughout the game on Sunday. Their passing accuracy of 79 percent was their fourth-lowest total in the league this season.
It helped that Spurs managed to extract expected goals for just 0.37 and that striker Richarlison had just two touches in the opposition box all game. Spurs only had one shot on target.
“With all due respect, we’re in it together, we win together, we lose together… But they’ve got to be able to beat each other,” Frank said of the Spurs’ demise. “It has nothing to do with structure.
“Simple pass. I think we lost the ball 20 times [from a] simple passport.”
Lack of intensity
Out of possession? “We didn’t win enough duels,” Frank said.
For sure, Forest won the battle of intensity. “Go, go, go” was how two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi described his side’s approach to the game. They surprised Spurs in the run metrics, with the visitors posting figures that were among their lowest of the season.
The attitude of the Spurs squad – not for the first time this season – was also brought into the spotlight by Djed Spence’s less than impressed reaction to being substituted.
Saturday 20 December at 17.00
Kick off 17.30
Frank didn’t see that – but he was aware of the overall picture.
“It’s a step back today,” he said, lamenting his side’s inability to build on recent encouragement from games with Newcastle, Brentford and Slavia Prague.
There are now six days to resolve the wide range of issues before Spurs visit Liverpool on Saturday. No quick fix? Frank needs to find solutions quickly or Spurs’ inconsistency could derail another Premier League season.