Rio Ferdinand has suggested that Thomas Frank is now facing a big challenge that he would not have previously faced in his managerial career.
It is not surprising that Frank’s ultra-defensive approach in the North London derby has been the main talking point following Tottenham’s 4-1 loss.
The Lilywhites essentially defended on the edge of their own box, with Frank opting to go with a back five, and the tactics backfired massively.
In the end, Tottenham had no response after Arsenal managed to break them down and score the first goal, with Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick compounding the humiliation for the away side.
Thomas Frank sent the wrong message to Tottenham players
Ferdinand has suggested that by setting Spurs up as defensively as he did, Frank sent out the message to his squad that they should be worried about Arsenal.
The pundit also pointed out that the Tottenham boss would not be used to having his tactical decisions scrutinised as much as they are at the moment.
Rio Ferdinand said on his podcast about Spurs’ negative approach: “The point I thought yesterday stood out for me again was that my WhatsApp groups were going crazy. Straight away, when the teams came out, ‘it’s a bit defensive, it’s a bit on the back foot this one.’ Just before a ball’s been kicked, right? So that’s the message that goes down in the changing room, and his players would have been thinking and feeling that, we’re worrying about them.
“Another big thing that Thomas Frank now has to adapt to and understand as a manager is that if he makes a tactical decision at Brentford, no one talks about it. When you make a tactical decision in a game of this magnitude, people start looking at you funny and start questioning you.
“I think he could have made a defensive approach in a game for Brentford six games out of six for a month, and no one speaks about it. He’s going to have questions to answer now. He’s got his team to look at and go ‘listen, we’re going have to be positive in the next game.’
“How can you go from so defensive to so positive in the next game? Finding that balance for him is going to be really key moving forward, because he’s never experienced that questioning of tactics going into games. That’s the difference going from a team like Brentford, no disrespect, to a team that likes Spurs, especially when they play in a North London derby.”
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Frank now has a difficult decision ahead of PSG clash
Playing five at the back worked perfectly for Tottenham in the Super Cup clash against PSG at the start of the season.
In fact, even Luis Enrique said Spurs were the better side and deserved to win the game after seeing his team emerge victorious on penalties in Udine.
However, the back five clearly did not work against Arsenal, which is why Frank now faces a dilemma regarding how to set his team up for the big Champions League clash in Parc des Princes.