Tottenham Hotspur’s Angeball age is over. Welcome to the Frankball era.
Ange Postecoglou was frequently criticised for being too dogmatic (although he did tweak his tactics to win the Europa League), but his successor Thomas Frank is renowned for being flexible and tailoring his approach to his squad.
He dealt expertly with upheaval at Brentford, astutely altering his game plan to adjust to losing key players (Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, and Christian Eriksen, to name a few), and keep the team evolving rather than regressing.
Frank is often categorised as a back three guy, but Ruben Amorim, he certainly is not.
Although formations are more fluid than the number of configurations suggest, it is illustrative of Frank’s adaptability that Brentford used seven different ones in the Premier League last season. Interestingly, Frank only picked a back three (or five) on four occasions.
Brentford’s seven formations in 2024-25 – and how often they used them
- 4-2-3-1 (22)
- 4-3-3 (8)
- 4-4-2 (3)
- 5-3-2 (2)
- 4-3-1-2 (1)
- 3-4-2-1 (1)
- 3-5-2 (1)
*Numbers in brackets indicate the frequency of the formation being used. Data via WhoScored.
Further proof of Frank’s versatility is that Brentford’s favoured system, i.e. the one they used most often, changed in each of their four top flight campaigns: 3-5-2 in 2021-22, 4-3-3 in 2022-23, 3-5-2 again in 2023-24, and 4-2-3-1 in 2024-25.
Frank’s tendency to change tack as frequently as Daniel Levy changes his managers makes second-guessing his potential masterplan in north London tricky, although he could well lean on his most recent Brentford blueprint.
Fitness permitting (and Frank will hope to have more luck on the injury front than his predecessor), Spurs’ back five picks itself. However, an interesting detail to look out for is whether Frank inverts one of his full-backs.
The towering Kristoffer Ajer (6ft 6ins) predominantly played at right-back – at least until the exciting, attack-minded Michael Kayode broke through – giving Brentford the flexibility to alternate between a back four and a back three.
Selecting Ajer in a defensive full-back role also gave Brentford added height at set-pieces in both boxes, an area that Spurs need to work on.
Radu Dragusin (on the right) and Micky van de Ven (left) are possible Ajer equivalents at Spurs, although there is little prospect of the Dutchman being uprooted given his importance in the middle.
Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie don’t really fit the third centre-back prototype, but both became accustomed to playing centrally under Postecoglou. One could tuck in to form a three, while the other ventures forward.
In midfield, Frank favoured physical, dynamic players like Christian Norgaard, Vitaly Janelt and Yehor Yarmoliuk who pressed aggressively and forced turnovers. Norgaard ranked joint-tenth in the league for tackles and interceptions combined.
That was partly because Brentford averaged less possession (47 per cent – 15th in the Premier League) than their opponents. Frank will want that energy in Spurs’ midfield but with a sprinkling more flair given they have more of the ball.
Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur can perform those roles, although Spurs are likely to prioritise signing a new ball-playing, ball-winning number six over the summer. Adam Wharton , or someone of his ilk, would be absolutely perfect.
One of the most unexpected developments at Brentford last season was Mikkel Damsgaard’s emergence as a No 10, after two unremarkable years in England. The Dane was superb, with only three Premier League players eclipsing his 10 assists.
James Maddison often operated slightly deeper under Postecoglou, largely due to the absence of a progressive passer from midfield, but is a classic playmaker in every sense. He would relish playing just off the striker with freedom to roam and create.
The 4-2-3-1 shape certainly got the best out of Brentford’s front three as they each hit double-digits for goals: Bryan Mbeumo managed 20, Yoane Wissa (19) and Kevin Schade (11).
Only four clubs outscored Brentford’s 66 in the Premier League, although 17th-placed Spurs weren’t far behind on 64. There are plenty of good finishers in the squad, and as mentioned here, Brennan Johnson, who Frank admires, should have a big role to play.
Son Heung-min is an elite finisher but had an underwhelming season and has been linked with a departure this summer after finally winning a trophy. If Son leaves, Mathys Tel could be one to watch under Frank if Tottenham activate their buy option with Bayern Munich.
Frank helped wide forwards like Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade and Watkins become more clinical and could fine-tune Tel’s game. Dominic Solanke will be confident of improving on his 16 goals, given strikers tend to score plenty in Frank’s teams.
Then there is the back-three option, although Spurs fans may need convincing about an ideology so closely associated with Antonio Conte.
It could work, though. In Dragusin and Kevin Danso, Tottenham possess two centre-backs who are great in physical duels but less accomplished on the ball than Cristian Romero and Van de Ven. Deploying them as a sweeper would accentuate their strengths while masking their weaknesses.
Both Porro and Udogie are suited to overlapping wide wing-back roles, having excelled there previously for Sporting Lisbon and Udinese, respectively.
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The midfield responsibilities wouldn’t necessarily change too much, but Frank generally picked two strikers rather than wingers when using a back three.
Spurs have an abundance of wide players in Johnson, Son, Kulusevski, Tel (if signed), Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore, but fewer centre forward options.
Johnson’s ability to sniff out chances could make him a useful second striker alongside Solanke.
Frank has time to work things out before the Premier League season kicks off in mid-August. New signings are a must, given how poorly Tottenham performed in the league and how thinly stretched the squad was in the winter.
Plenty could happen between now and then, but Frank’s favoured formation in 2024-25 appears to be a good fit for the current Spurs squad.
How Spurs could line up (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Solanke
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