Tottenham’s decision to part ways with Thomas Frank was finalized almost immediately after Tuesday’s defeat to Newcastle. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, working alongside sporting director Johan Lange, made the call—a move the club had been hesitant to take. However, the dire state of Tottenham’s season left even Frank’s strongest supporters unable to argue against the decision.
Early Wednesday morning, Venkatesham recommended to the Lewis family—the club’s owners—that Frank be let go. In recent weeks, a furious fanbase had directed their anger toward the Lewises, believing their concerns about Frank were being ignored. According to sources close to the ownership, that wasn’t true; the Lewis family was fully aware of the widespread discontent among Spurs supporters. It would have been hard to miss, given the intensity of the backlash against the Dane in recent weeks.
Still, since the Lewises effectively handed control of the club to Venkatesham when they appointed him chief executive last summer, the owners had not sought to intervene, feeling the decision should be made “on the ground.” So when Venkatesham’s recommendation to terminate Frank’s employment arrived in the hours after the Newcastle loss, it was immediately accepted by the ownership board, which formally approved the decision. All that remained was to officially inform Frank of his departure—a formality that took place Wednesday morning in a meeting with Venkatesham and Lange.
Frank’s appointment in June was initially seen as a shrewd move. He had done an outstanding job at Brentford, first earning promotion from the Championship and then consolidating the club’s Premier League status. But he lasted only eight months at Spurs, undone by player indiscipline, a divided executive team, and doubts about his tactical approach.
Frank was determined to create a positive culture at Tottenham, as he had at Brentford—one of the reasons he was chosen to succeed Ange Postecoglou. However, his efforts to build respectful working conditions were tested on several occasions. Early in his tenure, Frank dropped a player from the starting XI after the squad member arrived late for a pre-match meeting and failed to apologize. The player later did apologize after being dropped.
How Frank handled apparent threats to his authority impressed some players, who appreciated that there were consequences for poor behavior. One example came when Yves Bissouma was left in London for August’s UEFA Super Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain because of persistent lateness. More recently, Frank had no intention of stripping Cristian Romero of the captaincy, despite the defender’s social media outbursts against the club or his red card against Manchester United. Romero is reportedly more difficult to manage around the training ground, and some players felt he received preferential treatment.
When Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence appeared to refuse to shake Frank’s hand after the home loss to Chelsea, the manager defused the situation by insisting the players were simply “frustrated” and later revealed they had apologized. There was always a sense that Frank put his players before his own agenda—something certain squad members appreciated. But that doesn’t mean he left a positive impression on everyone. In the opening weeks of his reign, some players were already questioning his methods.
