Thomas Frank’s ‘no d—head’ policy, playing style could be just what Tottenham Hotspur need in a new manager

A few short months into Thomas Frank’s spell as the manager of Championship side Brentford, the prospect of joining one of the game’s richest clubs in time for a campaign in the UEFA Champions League may have felt distant, at best. Six years ago, though, Frank offered some insight on the foundations of his managerial strategy that may as well serve as a thesis statement pitching his move to Tottenham Hotspur, which is reportedly near completion.

“As a person I’m very open, very human-minded,” he said in a 2019 interview with The Guardian. “That’s one part. The other is I love details in football. I want to develop a style of play. I want to create a beautiful game, but I’m very focused on how you can create a fantastic culture, a fantastic environment. I’m very happy I’m at a club who want to do both.”

It is as good a pitch as any for a manager in the interview process at any club, but Frank’s two-pronged approach feels well-suited for Spurs, who officially fired Ange Postecoglou on Friday after a season of contrasts. Postecoglou, true to his word, snapped the team’s 17-year trophy drought, but coupled that with a 17th-place finish in the Premier League that was the main reason for his departure. That 17th-place finish is an anomaly in some ways and partly the result of a never-ending injury crisis, but it also revealed several shortcomings that the ambitious team will need to improve upon to ensure success in both domestic and continental play next season.

The first area of improvement, as it pertains to the upcoming managerial change, is style of play. Postecoglou is a tactical ideologue, dedicated to his attack-minded approach and willing to live and die by the sword that is a high line. He is flexible, but that is the type of strategy that attracts admirers and detractors alike – Postecoglou’s Spurs were incredibly entertaining at their best but defensively susceptible more often than they should have been. Frank’s hire feels like a direct response to that particular pain point – he also prefers an attack-minded approach, much like many modern managers, but he is more of a pragmatist. During his seven seasons with Brentford, four of which have been in the Premier League, he has varied his tactical preferences, opting for a 4-4-3, a 5-3-2 and most recently a 4-2-3-1 depending on the personnel.

Frank could also address a more specific area of weakness – set-piece defending. Spurs conceded 13 goals from those opportunities, the fifth-worst in the Premier League last season, and ranked third-to-last in expected goals against during set pieces with 14.24. Last season alone, Frank’s Brentford conceded just two goals from set pieces – fewer than anyone else in the league – despite conceding 9.68 expected goals against during those opportunities.

That’s without mentioning that Frank is well-positioned to bring out the best in Spurs’ offense, which was their greatest strength last season. Though Spurs remained one of the Premier League’s best offensive sides despite their 17th-place finish, Brentford were right up there with them last season. The 10th-place Bees were tied for fifth on the goalscoring charts with 66 goals, two better than Spurs’ 64, and eighth for expected goals with 60.21, a smidge ahead of Tottenham in ninth with 59.65 expected goals.

The foundation of Frank’s achievements, as he described it himself years ago, is a detail-oriented strategy. His rise up the ranks is thanks to Brentford’s embrace of a data-driven approach, making the club one of the sport’s prime examples in this operational model. It has led to sustainable success, which in their case has meant becoming a Premier League mainstay. They are one of just four teams to stick around in England’s top flight since the 2021-22 season after their promotion, entering the relegation conversation just once during that span. The strategy has relied on signing young players and flipping them to more prestigious and richer clubs, most notably fetching more than $35 million each for Ollie Watkins and David Raya from Aston Villa and Arsenal, respectively.

Brentford’s success in that strategy offers a stark reminder of Spurs’ biggest problem last season, which was not actually the manager. Tottenham are a strong team at full strength but had some weak links in their lineup, while their options off the bench were not always inspiring. Spurs need a makeover in midfield after unimpressive seasons from both Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur and could use another set of feet alongside the injury-prone James Maddison, who is currently the team’s only player who can fill the attacking midfielder role well. Their forward line could probably use some upgrades, too – Son Heung-min played well last season, but he turns 33 in July and his years as the foundation of Spurs’ offense are limited. Dominic Solanke, meanwhile, did well with 16 goals across all competitions in his first season with Tottenham, but the team could still upgrade in that position.

That’s where a data-driven approach could be key for Spurs, who have been hit and miss with transfers in recent years. Tottenham may be the ninth-richest club in the world, but their financial might still does not compare to their direct rivals, so landing the next big star is easier said than done. Finding the next guy on the list of top talents, though, is a sound approach that will only be assisted by a team behind Frank rather than the manager himself. If this summer is a big one for Frank, it is even bigger for Spurs’ front office, namely technical director Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici, the team’s former managing director who is expected to rejoin Tottenham when his 30-month ban for financial malpractice ends. It will be their responsibility to find and land the players Frank will need to truly live up to his full potential as he joins the managerial elite.

Frank, the latest manager on the rise

Before Spurs parted ways with Postecoglou, there was a question of whether the team could earnestly upgrade on the Australian manager, considering there were few slam-dunk candidates in the mix. It is clear the higher-ups have settled on Frank, who is a nice tactical fit for Spurs, even if he is inexperienced at the highest levels of the game.

Frank’s only experience in European competition was in UEFA Europa League qualifiers during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with Brondby in his native Denmark, though his sides never reached the group stage. His jump from Brentford to Spurs, though, is just the latest indication that the sport is in a period of managerial transition. Celebrated coaches like Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp are out of the club game for the time being, forcing top clubs around Europe to look for the game’s rising managerial talents like Xabi Alonso and Arne Slot. Frank does not quite have the pedigree that Alonso and Slot do, but he’s performed well enough at Brentford to earn a shot at one of the most high-profile clubs.

The other argument in Postecoglou’s favor was that his ability to manage players as people is arguably unmatched. He never appeared to lose the locker room despite Spurs’ slide to 17th, and their Europa League triumph is a rare example of a team’s intangibles making up the difference left by the tangibles. Spurs’ squad is now a long list of Postecoglou admirers, many of whom took to social media to post lengthy tributes to the manager after his departure became official. It would be unfair to ask Frank to replace Postecoglou in that regard but as far as a vibe check goes, his “no dickheads” policy feels like a good fit for that locker room.

“The culture is based on values and some of the values we have are togetherness and hard work. Thomas always uses the phrase ‘confident but humble’. He’s got this no-dickhead policy, which I think we live up to. In the changing room, there’s no one who is not going in the same direction as us, otherwise, they wouldn’t be there,” Brentford’s Christian Norgaard said in 2023.

The pieces are all there, though the big question facing a Frank-led Spurs is how quickly it all comes together. Postecoglou spent the final weeks of his Spurs tenure saying that their Europa League win changed the narrative for a team whose trophy drought was well-documented, hoping the team will use it as the foundation for future success in the near future. It will be up to the club as a whole – and not just Frank – to live up to that vision, perhaps a complicated task with a Champions League season coming up. Time, and this summer’s transfer business, will tell if they will be in a position of strength for the 2025-26 campaign but as far as managerial selections go, Frank makes a lot of sense for a side that always aims to punch above their weight.