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Paul Merson claimed ahead of Tottenham’s clash against Burnley that the Spurs fans may soon turn on Thomas Frank because of the style of play that he employs.
In many ways, one can argue that Frank is the polar opposite of his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.
While the Australian liked to give players the freedom to express themselves on the pitch without burdening them with too many tactical instructions, his successor puts major focus on the team’s defensive structure and organisation.
Additionally, the Dane is known for setting his team up to nullify the opposition’s strengths and take advantage of their weakness, while Postecoglou was not too preoccupied with the opposition and focused more on what his side could do.
Frank himself had admitted that he wants Tottenham to be more balanced than they were last season, which is perhaps an admission that he feels the Lilywhites were over-indexing on attacking under his predecessor.
Paul Merson has concerns about Thomas Frank’s style of play at Tottenham
Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League season opener against Burnley, Merson suggested that Spurs look too cautious under Frank and are not easy on the eye.
He compared the 51-year-old’s tactics to those of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, questioning whether Tottenham fans will accept the style of play.
The former Arsenal man said on Sky Sports’ Gilette Soccer Saturday (16/08/25): “Defensively, I thought they were great. They set up, and they stopped PSG playing, and they defended well. For me, it was tough to watch. I don’t see Tottenham fans liking that too much this season. I thought they were very defensive. I just didn’t see enough players getting up the pitch.
“You know, working for set plays, working for throw-ons, corners – a bit like Brentford did [last season]. Everyone was going mad on Wednesday night, and I was sitting there, and I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure how long Tottenham fans are going to have this. It was [Jose] Mourinho, [Antonio] Conte style. It wasn’t free-flowing.
“Obviously, it was going to be better defensively than [under] Postecoglou, but going forward, Tottenham fans want to see action, and I don’t see them having [that defensive style] too long.”
Frank proved Merson wrong on Saturday
While one can understand where Merson is coming from, Frank has emphasised that he will have to adapt his style at Tottenham, pointing out that they will have more of the ball than his Brentford side did.
We saw some evidence of that against Burnley, with Frank pointing out on Spurs Play that Tottenham’s second goal, which ended with Richarlison’s spectacular overhead kick, involved 17 passes, with every Spurs outfield player touching the ball.
That is evidence that the 51-year-old is no one-trick pony, and his tactics involved a lot more than just parking the bus.
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