THOMAS THE FRANK ENGINE
As Tottenham look a team going off the rails, is Brentford boss the man to get them back on track
DEAR Daniel, do yourself a favour, pick up the phone and call Brentford for Thomas Frank’s number.
The answer to Tottenham’s managerial riddle may just have been staring embattled Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in the face on Saturday.
Brentford won away at a Big Six club without star striker Ivan Toney, who was just starting his eight-month ban. And, let’s face it, Spurs could be in a similar position next season of trying to win games without their star striker if Harry Kane finally decides to walk.
Kane gave them the lead with his 28th Premier League goal of the season, a beautifully-struck free-kick. But Brentford showed exactly the kind of backbone soft Spurs so badly lack to get to halftime trailing by only that solitary goal.
And Frank then took over, outsmarting opposite number Ryan Mason with a tactical switch which changed the game. He introduced Mikkel Damsgaard for the second half and changed Brentford’s shape. It paid dividends, with Damsgaard involved in both of Bryan Mbeumo’s goals as the Bees turned the tables.
And with fans singing “We want Levy out” and Mason seemingly clueless how to respond, another Frank sub added insult to injury.
Shandon Baptiste came off the bench to rob Oliver Skipp and help set up Yoane Wissa for a killer third (right) which had home fans streaming for the exits. Frank 1 Mason 0. Game over. Tottenham’s lap of appreciation ruined. Brentford once again saluting their jubilant away fans.
Levy wrote in his programme notes that he wants to deliver “on-pitch success and football you will love to come and watch” next term. Well, that is exactly what Frank delivered at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he’s been doing it all season.
Brentford have one of the smallest budgets in the top flight. Their record signing cost just £20million. But they are regularly beating teams with spending power that massively dwarfs their own and they are doing it in style.
So it’s a mystery why their 49-year-old Danish coach never seems to be in the running for a bigger job.
Spurs have tried big-name bosses with a track record of winning big trophies and it has not worked.
Maybe it’s time to try a different approach. Maybe it’s time for a fresher, hungrier coach who won’t demand a multi-million spend every window. Maybe it’s time for someone like Thomas Frank.
Would that show the kind of ambition that would convince Kane to stay? Maybe not. But the England captain is going to be 30 this summer. He is entering the final year of his contract and shows no sign of inking another.
Kane will sit down with Levy once the season is over and discuss both his future and Tottenham’s.
But the cold reality is that if a bigger side comes in for him, this is the club’s last chance to receive a big fee for the England striker.
Kane has scored 278 goals in 434 appearances for Spurs. But he still has no silverware to show for it and will not be playing Champions League football at Tottenham next season.
Only time will tell what Kane decides to do but Spurs need to make the right call on their next manager.
Maybe, just maybe, the solution was right there in front of them on Saturday.