Thomas Frank surely cannot afford any more negative cup headlines. The fallout of Tottenham’s head coach unwittingly drinking from an Arsenal-branded cup before the midweek league defeat at Bournemouth has, rightly or wrongly, intensified the pressure on him.
A storm is brewing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The boss was booed as he approached travelling supporters to applaud after Wednesday’s stoppage-time defeat, while players Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Joao Palhinha had frank exchanges with fans.
Since then, captain Cristian Romero appeared to accuse the club’s hierarchy of telling “lies” in a since-edited Instagram post.
It has been three wins and six defeats in 13 games for Spurs. They did at least show some attacking intent against Bournemouth, a welcome change from the pragmatic and uninspired fare more typical of their season.
Tottenham rank in the Premier League’s bottom five this season for the amount of shots and touches in the opposition box, and have incredibly only attempted 11 through balls. There are nine players alone in the league with a higher figure.
Addressing Tottenham’s attacking shortcomings, Frank said: “I share the frustration, it’s in the ethos of the club. It is something we are working very hard on. We are lacking some of the free-flowing offensive players that we had last season and that is part of the challenge.”
Did you know?
Tottenham’s home league form in 2025 was their worst on record, with 11 league defeats in the calendar year. However, they won eight of their nine home games in other competitions, drawing the other, scoring 22 goals and only conceding three.
Spurs won the last of their eight FA Cups in 1991. They have since reached eight semi-finals but lost them all. Their first win came 125 years ago, in April 1901, as a non-league club.
Tottenham have lost 12 of 18 penalty shootouts in all competitions, including their last two in the FA Cup. On both of those occasions, Spurs missed three penalties as they suffered fifth-round exits at home to Norwich in 2020 and Nottingham Forest in 1996.