profspur
@profspur.bsky.social
I write the profspur analysis newsletter https://profspur.substack.com
Pinned
Holding Pattern
Tottenham Hotspur are stuck again.
profspur.substack.com
In my latest, I show how Spurs are in a holding pattern for the remainder of this season, and why it's not likely to get better. It feels a lot like 2022-23 after we sacked Conte. profspur.substack.com/p/holding-pa...
‘the miracle worker’
Thomas Frank departs Tottenham with the worst win rate in the club's Premier League history.
Of the worst 10 Spurs managers for PL win rate, Juande Ramos was the most recent before Frank, and he departed in 2008.
Of the worst 10 Spurs managers for PL win rate, Juande Ramos was the most recent before Frank, and he departed in 2008.
February 11, 2026 at 10:54 PM
‘the miracle worker’
This is your test for anyone who says we have a bad or ‘mid-table’ squad:
I think there are more than 10 teams in the Premier League who, if they had 11 senior players injured and suspended, and a 12th went down with a torn ACL, would kill to be able, after all of that, to bring on Mathys Tel.
February 11, 2026 at 8:48 PM
This is your test for anyone who says we have a bad or ‘mid-table’ squad:
1) Ok, I’ve grossly overposted through all of this but succinctly: The board and Lange fucked Spurs most acutely last January and Ange and the squad then were the victims of their ineptitude. Only you never saw Ange as a sympathetic figure so only now are you coming around to the board’s culpability
February 11, 2026 at 8:24 PM
1) Ok, I’ve grossly overposted through all of this but succinctly: The board and Lange fucked Spurs most acutely last January and Ange and the squad then were the victims of their ineptitude. Only you never saw Ange as a sympathetic figure so only now are you coming around to the board’s culpability
This much was obvious to watch from day 1
This part from the Athletic. The players looked like they were being held back on the field and they went backwards in terms of performance
February 11, 2026 at 7:59 PM
This much was obvious to watch from day 1
It’s sad that so many of our fans seem to have forgotten that we have outstanding players because these players have been coached to play like middling players for 38 games.
February 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
It’s sad that so many of our fans seem to have forgotten that we have outstanding players because these players have been coached to play like middling players for 38 games.
Correct, and it’s because we *are* a big club. One of the 5 richest in the PL and 9 richest in the world. Over a decade of consistent European qualification. A European trophy last season. Frank thought us like the banter merchants do (banter merchants don’t pay any bills or have any stakes).
The one key thing we need from a manager is they treat Spurs like a big club. Nuno and Frank managed us like a small club. Conte and Jose thought they were doing us a favour by coming to little old Spurs.
February 11, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Correct, and it’s because we *are* a big club. One of the 5 richest in the PL and 9 richest in the world. Over a decade of consistent European qualification. A European trophy last season. Frank thought us like the banter merchants do (banter merchants don’t pay any bills or have any stakes).
Succulent
February 11, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Succulent
👀
February 11, 2026 at 5:05 PM
👀
I think this is not a great assessment, tbh. It pivots to an evidence-free opinion that the problem with spurs is talent, but doesn't reckon at all with the dramatic swings in Spurs' underlying numbers over the past 3 seasons and how to explain those in context. This is not a mid-table squad.
February 11, 2026 at 4:24 PM
I think this is not a great assessment, tbh. It pivots to an evidence-free opinion that the problem with spurs is talent, but doesn't reckon at all with the dramatic swings in Spurs' underlying numbers over the past 3 seasons and how to explain those in context. This is not a mid-table squad.
Siege mentality for the NLD. We are going to win.
February 11, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Siege mentality for the NLD. We are going to win.
Reposted by profspur
prof nailed it here
1) I see people questioning the players' 'heart,' 'commitment,' etc. so I want to illustrate something about this with a little thought experiment. ...
February 11, 2026 at 1:18 PM
prof nailed it here
1) I see people questioning the players' 'heart,' 'commitment,' etc. so I want to illustrate something about this with a little thought experiment. ...
February 11, 2026 at 1:10 PM
1) I see people questioning the players' 'heart,' 'commitment,' etc. so I want to illustrate something about this with a little thought experiment. ...
100% this
I find it interesting how folks blamed Ange/his tactics for those injuries last season while ignoring how well he did despite them and none have blamed Frank for the injuries this season. He hasn’t done well with the card he’s been dealt but also the club needs to address why players can’t stay fit
February 11, 2026 at 12:06 PM
100% this
I'm not gonna gloat over a sacking, nor am I gonna celebrate it. I think it's the right thing for the club and it's what I wanted to happen, but that doesn't mean we're in a good place. Still, onward.
February 11, 2026 at 10:25 AM
I'm not gonna gloat over a sacking, nor am I gonna celebrate it. I think it's the right thing for the club and it's what I wanted to happen, but that doesn't mean we're in a good place. Still, onward.
Reposted by profspur
There it is
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Frank sacked as Tottenham Hotspur head coach. #THFC working through various possible contingency plans to replace 52yo Dane as club sit 14th in Premier League; 5 points above relegation zone after 2 wins from 17 matches 🚨
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
Thomas Frank sacked by Tottenham
Spurs are winless in their last eight league games and have won just two of their last 17.
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:17 AM
There it is
Exactly. And not to be a dick but my pointing this out last season--showing we were better than early results--is what got my newsletter some traction. People then felt licensed to write this off once the injury crisis became insurmountable and once Ange was sacked. But this was *always* true:
The first 1/3rd of last season is just erased from all discussions a side incapable of anything does not put 6 games like these together in 12 or put up these numbers across 12 games.
February 11, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Exactly. And not to be a dick but my pointing this out last season--showing we were better than early results--is what got my newsletter some traction. People then felt licensed to write this off once the injury crisis became insurmountable and once Ange was sacked. But this was *always* true:
And again, I know people will want to flatten this to 'players bad last season, players bad this season,' but always been more nuanced than that. We're talking the difference between experienced players playing their positions and relying on actual teenagers in their first season of men's football.
Last season, the evidence overwhelmingly favored the theory that we could be very good with a suitable squad and very bad with the makeshift squad we were stuck with for 2/3rds of the season. This season there is zero evidence of good under any conditions. You can gesture to 'the board' all you want
February 11, 2026 at 9:23 AM
And again, I know people will want to flatten this to 'players bad last season, players bad this season,' but always been more nuanced than that. We're talking the difference between experienced players playing their positions and relying on actual teenagers in their first season of men's football.
I'm probably not writing as many newsletter articles this season. In truth, when I do them, I try to get it right the first time. I don't always get it right. But re. Frank and this season and the club's lowered ambitions, I think I got it right from the start. I hardly know what else to say.
February 11, 2026 at 9:13 AM
I'm probably not writing as many newsletter articles this season. In truth, when I do them, I try to get it right the first time. I don't always get it right. But re. Frank and this season and the club's lowered ambitions, I think I got it right from the start. I hardly know what else to say.
Drink in the defensive solidity, revel on the elevated floor.
2.13 xGA per 90 across the last 5 games.
February 11, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Drink in the defensive solidity, revel on the elevated floor.
Reposted by profspur
Reposted by profspur
This ship is sinking. What's the plan to save it?
My piece from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
My piece from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
The warning signs are flashing for Tottenham – the ship is sinking and survival is at stake
Spurs have a decision to make about a head coach who has lost the faith of the fans, with the spectre of relegation hanging over the club
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:18 AM
This ship is sinking. What's the plan to save it?
My piece from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
My piece from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...
Reminder: profspur.substack.com/p/at-last-sp...
At Last, Spurs Have Become Brentford
Congratulations?
profspur.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Reminder: profspur.substack.com/p/at-last-sp...
Baldfaced lie
Thomas Frank: I understand the fans' frustration. We are in a position we don’t want to be in. It’s also a situation the club has been in for almost 2 years, at the end of last season as well.
February 10, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Baldfaced lie