Tottenham Hotspur looked like a “League Two team” against Chelsea on Saturday, according to Jamie Carragher, who says he is worried about Thomas Frank.
Frank has been heavily criticized for his team’s performance as Tottenham suffered their third home defeat in five Premier League games this season.
2025/26 Premier League Tottenham: Key statistics
15th in Expected Goals (10.1) Average 1.01 xG per 90 minutes 10th in Progressive Passes (355) 1st in ‘Miss Controls’ (182) 6th in Average Possession (53.7%)
The Londoners are strangely the best away team in the Premier League this season, but they have been disastrous at home, winning just one of their five games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This leaves Spurs 17th in the Premier League home standings, the same overall position they finished last season under manager Ange Postecoglou.
It is impossible to pinpoint one exact reason why Frank’s side are struggling at home and Liverpool legend Carragher said the former Brentford boss would probably feel much of the criticism was unwarranted when analyzing his team’s form.
He told Monday Night Football: “He might look at it and think, ‘I don’t understand where this is coming from. We’re doing very well in the league. This team finished 17th last season. We entered the weekend as the league’s top scorers.'”
Spurs ‘look like a League Two team’ against Chelsea – Carragher
Carragher then compared Frank to other managers who have stepped up from small clubs in the Premier League to become one of the big boys.
Managers such as Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Nuno Espirito Santo have struggled after making the leap with a pragmatic approach, and there are fears Frank will suffer the same fate.
“The big problem for Thomas Frank and other managers who jump from small teams in the Premier League to one of the big teams, especially when they are seen as pragmatic coaches, is actually bringing the football to these teams,” Carragher added.
“He might look at it and think he can’t do much wrong, but when you look at the games at the weekend and what the supporters saw, it was like watching a League Two team versus a Premier League team in the FA Cup.”
Mr Carragher said the difference in quality was obvious to everyone.
“If you look at the statistics, and you look at the people who watched the game on Saturday Night Football, there was a huge contrast with the ball. That’s the biggest challenge for a manager trying to make the jump from a team at the bottom of the Premier League to one of the big teams.”
Are Spurs lacking a progressive midfielder?
Managers rarely try to move away from the philosophy that gave them their big jobs, but their no-nonsense style is not what supporters of clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool expect.
There was too much long-ball football in the League Two Spurs game against Chelsea, and Frank’s team lacked both “courage” and deep midfielders who could pass between the lines.
The latter point is difficult to argue with. Joao Parinha is more of a destroyer than a playmaker, Rodrigo Bentancur is more box-to-box and physical than technical, and Pape Matar Sarr is a great ball carrier but not a player you can count on to split defenses or make line-breaking passes.
“Those three midfield players are not midfielders to carry the ball up the line and essentially get the ball to the number 10 player. That’s not right,” Carragher said.
Read: ‘Incompetent’: Carragher slams Spurs players as ‘lacking quality’ and ‘incompetent’
“But what I also didn’t like was the lack of courage. I’ve seen players do that all my life. They mark themselves so they don’t have to get the ball. They can say, ‘I didn’t get the ball, I was marked.’
“I see Bentancur telling the goalkeeper to take his time and relax. No, he should move and get in position to get on the ball.”
“Then the ball goes long again. I was worried watching it. It wasn’t hard to get out. It wasn’t a full Chelsea man-to-man press and the ball just went long. You could see all the players pointing, knocking long, knocking long. The ball went long.”
“Right now I’m talking about the lack of courage, about helping your team-mates. Sarr is running with the ball, but he’s in trouble. He needs help. The two central midfielders and (Mickey) van de Ven have to read the game, knowing that he’s going to need help or he’s going to lose the ball.”
Carragher then elaborated on Spurs’ style under Frank and why he is concerned.
“I tell you, the only manager who can coach this is (Enzo) Maresca, and we have seen a lot of this at Chelsea.
“When you talk about rotation, that’s what top-level managers can actually do. Pep Guardiola, Arne Slott, Mikel Arteta, Maresca – they can coach rotations and movements. So is it a manager’s problem or a player’s problem? That would be a concern.”
“For Thomas Frank, going forward, that was always the question, given the pragmatic managers of the past who have made the jump from small clubs to big clubs: Can they coach rotations and build-up play to break the lines?”
“By the way, I’m worried about Thomas Frank, he’s still off to a very good start. But in terms of what the big clubs want, I’m keeping an eye on Sam Allardyce going to Newcastle. His Premier League games with his new club have been reduced to 21 because of all the talk about style and attacking football.”
“It’s also about the players they bring in. We’re talking about Thomas Frank bringing in Parinha. David Moyes brought in (Marouane) Fellaini, which again wasn’t the player you would expect.”
“The fans won’t accept this style of football, so I think you have to keep that in mind with Thomas Frank. Not every manager is good at everything. We know he’s good at set-pieces and organization.”
“We asked him on this program to talk about Brentford and how they have to navigate their football going forward. If he’s not the one to coach that, then maybe he needs someone in his staff who can do that, because Spurs need him to do that going forward if he’s to be successful.”
“I’m confident that, perhaps just 10 games into his time at Spurs, he can find his home form and create that connection with the fans that has been missing.”
Will Thomas Frank stay at Spurs?
Beating Wolves at home, or at least being competitive in the London derby, should be a boon for the Spurs manager and it is vital that Frank finds a solution.
That foundation is clearly far away from home, so if Frank and his coaching team find a winning formula at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it will boost their confidence that he is the right man for the job and the man who can make the leap from Brentford to a Big Six club.
Answering the question “Will Thomas Frank stay at Spurs?” It’s just a guess at this early stage. What we do know is that he is a great manager, with excellent people management skills and a calm and assured presence in front of the media.
Transferring those qualities onto the pitch is another story. There is reason to be optimistic, but Carragher is right. Spurs don’t have a No. 6 or No. 8 who can dictate the game and make decisive line-breaking passes.
It’s also worth remembering that James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have been injured all season, and that summer signing Xavi Simmons, who signed for £51 million, has yet to make a big impact in a Spurs shirt.
A Champions League home game against Copenhagen is a must-win for Spurs, and victory in that competition would be another clear sign that Frank can step up.
It’s a step Nuno Espirito Santo took when he moved from Wolves to Spurs in 2021, but despite winning the Premier League Manager of the Month award in August, his stay lasted less than four months.
Frank will be hoping to avoid the same fate as the former Wolves manager.
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