h79snht.topda leao： Tottenham Hotspur may have hoped that they had finally found their next Mauricio Pochettino when they appointed Thomas Frank to replace Ange Postecoglou in the summer.
da bet7： Pochettino spent five years in the dugout in North London, reaching a Champions League final in that time, and none of the club’s managers since he left have made it past two years in charge.
The likes of Ange Postecoglou, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and Nuno Espirito Santo all tried and failed to follow in his footsteps, and Frank looks set to be the latest to try and fail.
Why Spurs should sack Thomas Frank
Despite only being four months into the season, ESPN recently reported that there is growing concern among the fanbase about the Dane’s future at the club, despite also reporting that Spurs are not set to cut ties with the head coach.
The former Brentford manager’s performance this season has left a lot to be desired, as the team’s displays in the Premier League, in particular, have been poor.
Frank’s style of play has been awkward to watch at times. Spurs struggle to consistently create chances, whilst playing attractive football, with the tactics and systems that he deploys.
Tottenham under Thomas Frank
25/26 Premier League
Spurs
PL rank
Points
22
11th
xPTS
18
15th
xG
15.2
17th
xGA
22.2
13th
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, only three teams in the Premier League have a lower xG tally than Spurs, whilst their actual position compared to their Expected Position suggests that they have been fortunate to pick up 22 points.
With this in mind, it currently looks unlikely that Frank is set to go on and be the new Pochettino who will enjoy a long spell in North London playing attacking, exciting, football.
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Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has been linked with Spurs in the past, per TEAMtalk, and they should revive their interest in him by sacking Frank.
Why Spurs should swoop for Iraola
The Europa League champions should fire their current boss to make a move for the Cherries tactician because he has the potential to be their next Pochettino.
Tottenham, as evidenced in the earlier graphic, scored 559 goals in 293 matches for the Argentine manager, which shows that they were a prolific and exciting team to watch.
Given how poor Frank’s side have been at creating chances and playing good football this season, appointing a manager who plays attractive and effective football should be a priority for the Lilywhites.
Iraola’s Bournemouth side are certainly fun to watch, as evidenced by their 4-4 draw with Manchester United on Monday night, and their statistics in the Premier League back that up.
Since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, the Cherries have generated roughly 13 more xG than Tottenham have under Postecoglou and Frank combined, despite the fact that Spurs spent £65m to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in the summer of 2024.
Andoni Iraola’s attacking coaching
Stat
24/25
25/26
Bournemouth xG
64.0
22.7
Spurs xG
58.8
15.1
Bournemouth goals
58
25
Spurs goals
64
25
Stats via FBRef
Tottenham signed the England international in the hope that he would be able to bring the goalscoring prowess he showed for Bournemouth to North London, but he only scored nine Premier League goals last season, per Sofascore.
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Instead of looking at the output, as they did with Solanke and may do with their reported interest in Antoine Semenyo, they should look at the manager whose structure created an environment for Solanke and Semenyo to thrive at the top end of the pitch.
Frank, whose side sit in the bottom four for xG, has not created a structure that has allowed a player like Xavi Simons, for example, to thrive, because his team is not set up to consistently create high-quality chances.
Iraola, who was described as “one of the best in the (Premier) league” by Como scout Ben Mattinson and “one of the best in Europe” by one journalist, has proven that he can coach an exciting attacking set-up at Premier League level and that he can develop high-value talents, like Solanke and Semenyo.
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Therefore, the Spaniard could be the next Pochettino at Spurs as another manager who plays attacking, fearless, football that could get fans excited, making him a coach who has the potential to be a long-term appointment, rather than a pragmatic short-term hire.