The worst Tottenham manager in 20 years? The damning stats that define Thomas Frank’s tenure

0 wins in 8 games 

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank was in a defiant mood following Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. The North London club had offered very little resistance in a first half that had seen the away side take the lead through a Malick Thiaw header, before Jacob Ramsey’s strike in the 68th minute overturned Archie Gray’s equaliser in the 64th minute. Boos rung out across the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at half time and full time and as a result Frank seemed to make a point of underlining that he wasn’t solely to blame for the club’s current predicament.

“I understand the frustration. It has been building up a little bit – last season it was similar playing Europe and Premier League.This season is similar playing Europe and the Premier League. So there is something in the squad we need to be resilient, mentally and physically.”I am 100% sure that it is a team effort, and it is not only one person. We are all aligned and we know what needs to be done.” – Tottenham manager Thomas Frank

The result now means that Tottenham have gone eight Premier League games without a single win – a record that goes all the way back to October 2008 – and leaves the club sitting precariously in sixteenth position in the league table, just five points above the drop. Such proximity to the threat of relegation has renewed calls from Tottenham fans to make a change in the dugout and if Frank’s record at the club is anything to go by then it may not be the worst idea in the world.

Following Tuesday night’s defeat, Frank has won 13 games, drawn a further 10 and lost 15 of his 38 matches in charge of Tottenham. That gives him a dreadful points-per-game average of just 1.29. And not only is that a 15% drop from his predecessor Ange Postecoglou’s average of 1.52 points per game, but it’s also considerably worse than the managers that came before both of them.

Indeed, Frank’s average represents the poorest return for any permanent Spurs boss in over two decades, officially undercutting the 1.35 PPG record held by Juande Ramos during his ill-fated spell between 2007 and 2008. The gap widens further when looking back to the “Golden Era” under Mauricio Pochettino (1.84 PPG) or even the pragmatic tenures of José Mourinho (1.77 PPG) and Antonio Conte (1.78 PPG). Frank’s inability to find consistency has seen him fall behind even Nuno Espírito Santo, who averaged 1.65 PPG before his dismissal in 2021.

Whether Tottenham will ultimately act after Tuesday’s defeat remains to be seen. But everything in Frank’s first season at the club suggests that the Dane is either entirely ill-equipped to handle the pressure of the job or seriously struggling to encourage his squad to perform better. As such he is currently the worst Tottenham manager in 20 years. And that’s a hard stat to come back from.