There’s real pressure mounting on three Premier League managers, with Thomas Frank, Daniel Farke and Arne Slot in real bother.
Send your views on the under-fire managers and more to theeditor@football365.com
Thomas Frank is in Spurs bother
You have to worry for Tommy Frank. You really do.
He’s got two big problems here – Spurs are a bit s**t and he’s just too nice. Sorry, one more – he doesn’t seem to have a plan. That’s three.
It’s interesting to note the way Amorin navigated those three factors. S**tness, his personality and a plan. He’s had one, stuck to it rigidly, layered on some tough-ish sound bites about not wanting to see his players and has navigated his way through a year of Man U being rubbish. Now they’re not. Maybe.
The first thing Tommy wanted to do yesterday was apologise to the fans. Forget the fans. Tell the players it wasn’t good enough. Which it wasn’t. Privately, he needs to take some blame for it not being good enough. But publicly that club is in need of a show or force. ‘This is the plan – now execute it. And if you don’t, I don’t want to see you’. That attitude only comes unstuck if you don’t even believe in your plan – and if that’s the case, you’re not fit for purpose.
If he does believe in what he’s doing, please show it. Because right now, it doesn’t look like he does.
Andrew, Woodford Green
READ: 16 Conclusions on Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham: Eze, Rice, Frank and the Premier League title
Daniel Farke is a whopper
Everyone knows it. The journalists know it. The fans know it. The players know it. But why isn’t he being sacked?
He’s chewing out fans for being over-emotional or using players’ “mental health” as a stick to beat us with.
He cannot manage a game or a squad. Insists on playing Aaronson when he’s clearly not up to it but he loves him because he thinks he makes us solid. Within a minute of being brought on, James creates a goal that is chalked off. Brings Tanaka, our most vibrant player off, and keeps Aaronson on. He doesn’t rotate, so when players are called on, they’re rusty. He’s been backed as well. Over £100m on players and he cannot get the best out of them.
If he wasn’t such a narcissist he’d look to change things, but his ego and stubbornness means he’ll continue to make the same mistakes, week after week after week.
This has every hallmark of a relegation season, and it’s the consistency with which Farke manages to create the same game conditions every week:
1. Start well
2. score
3. don’t capitalise on a position of strength
4. slow start in the second half – punished
5. hold on for a draw for the all important 1ppg
6. pre-planned subs at 70 minutes
7. concede again
8. throw everyone on.
It’s the same game, over, and over, and over, and over again. His 200 points in the Championship mean absolutely nothing. He’s a failure in this league. The sooner the board realise it, the better. We’re going down.
Mat, Leeds
READ: Who will be next Leeds manager after Daniel Farke sack? A new favourite emerges
Liverpool drop-off started long ago
Wanted to comment on something re: Liverpool’s drop-off. This is not meant as a criticism but just something I’ve noticed.
Since the 1st 13 league games of last season, when Liverpool surged into their 9 point lead, they had approx 2.6 PPG (34 points from 13). In the subsequent 37 league games then their average PPG is approx 1.8 PPG (68 points from 37 games).
Premier League table since December 4, 2024:
Slot also had the exact same GD vs Klopp’s final season and only got 2 more points than him and that’s with fewer injuries vs Klopp’s final season, weaker competition (Arsenal and City both had at least a 15 point drop off from the season before) and no Afcon to tire out Salah. They also won the League Cup (Slot lost to Newcastle) against Chelsea with ‘Klopps kids.’
After Liverpool’s spending, I assumed they were a shoo-in for the title but if you look at the data, its clear that the drop off had already started a while back.
Izzy
The F word
Didn’t even get past the mailbox headlines today. Is there no-one else in this sad world that thinks any email calling anyone a fraud should be put straight in the bin?
Pep has been one, Arteta too, now it’s Slot. They are not Frauds, they are. It hoodwinking anyone.
They were interviewed to get a job based on their experience and achievements and their clubs appointed them. Pep has one trophy and trophy, Arteta has pulled Arsenal up from the gutter and turned them into perennial Title contenders. Slot won the title in his first year. Everyone has tough times. No one is pretending to be something they are not, just trying to do something that all mailbox contributors are not qualified to do.
Now, Ali Dia, he was an actual Fraud.
Tom, Andover
Laughing at Liverpool
A man who is over 60 calling Man United “manure”. Now that’s classy.
And they wonder why people love to see them lose. Long may it continue.
Garey Vance, MUFC
…I’ve never really liked Liverpool fans whole ‘imagine being us’ schtick, there’s something about it that’s a bit grating. But I realised this morning it’s actually a surprisingly versatile catch phrase, because I am now and hoo boy…
Cal Loftus
Liverpool empathy needed
We need to address the conversation around Liverpool’s recent form with empathy and perspective. It is short-sighted to demand perfect football when the team is grappling with a profound, human loss. It is abundantly clear what is happening: Our players are still grieving the death of Jota.
Their hearts are broken, and their heads aren’t fully in the game and that’s okay. They are not machines after all. They are human beings dealing with trauma. As Robbo shared recently, he was in a mental ‘shambles’ thinking about Jota. I have no doubt that all the players are in a similar mental state. Four months is simply not a long time to heal from such a massive loss.
The timing of this struggle, coinciding with Movember, makes the message even more critical. This is the month we campaign to get men to be brave, talk about their mental health, and remind everyone to check on the men in their lives. This is our chance to practice what we preach to the entire world.
Let’s stop the unfair criticism. Instead of demanding a result, we should be showing the support, patience, and solidarity that underscores the entire message of mental well-being. They need space to grieve. If you are truly a supporter, cut them some slack and show some human compassion.
Culk The Younger
Have injuries been a blessing for Arsenal?
Does anyone else think that Arsenal’s injuries this season may have proven a hidden blessing?
I can’t be the only one wondering what the hell we’re going to do if everyone is suddenly fit?
For me, if everyone is fit – our first team is Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Gyokeres and Trossard.
With five subs you’re looking at potentially Mosquera, Merino, Martinelli, Havertz and Noni offering the sort of versatility that gets you on the pitch.
But that leaves Kepa, White, Lewis-Skelly, Hincapie, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Jesus, Dowman and even the captain Odegaard kicking their heels. And that probably doesn’t make for a very happy ship.
P.S. Eze is way better than me – I’ve a terrible first touch.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London
Wrighty’s eyesight is just fine, actually
Well done Dan McG on spectacularly missing the point. There is so much wrong with that mail that I am not really sure where to start. Actually, I’ll start with the condescending ‘Ian Wright ought to check his eyesight’. His eyes are just fine, and he knows a hundred times more about this subject than you.
To address Dan’s most basic point, if Morgan Rogers comes in, he won’t be the ‘star’. He is a really good player, but he won’t be front and centre of the England team. Ian Wright was quite clear in this – England can have black players but they can never be the ‘star’.
But the main point Wright was making, and has done on many occasions, is that black players are held to different standards to white ones. They have to be humble and keep their head down, and certainly not be the big ‘I am’, or uppity at Wright put it. Fair play to Rogers – a great player and a seemingly good guy – for meeting this higher standard. But it doesn’t diminish the point that there are different standards.
Start with Bellingham. A pretty good comparison of him is with “Stevie G”. I can’t recall anyone calling for him to be dropped for his temperament. Yet he was charged with assault, was sent off after ten seconds against United, made some horrific challenges and his desire to be the alpha male (in an England team of – all white – alpha males) star led to him actually harming England (ie, giving the ball to Henry and Suarez in crucial tournament matches). Bellingham has never harmed England, albeit in a much shorter career so far. Yet very few had a problem with Gerrard’s behaviour.
But this is by no means the best example of these double standards. Look at the difference in how Grealish and Rashford are treated. Grealish goes on massive benders – that, let’s face it, have had a major effect on his football – and he is a cheeky chappie who everyone loves. Rashford is a trouble maker who was responsible for all United’s woes (and that’s without referencing all the great that Rashford has done on and off the pitch – again, acknowledging that Grealish does great stuff off the pitch too). Then there is the obvious treatment of Sterling, who was vilified for (checks notes) buying his mum a house.
There are also more subtle examples. I have no doubt that there is a major desire among many around England for Phil Foden to be the star. Again, someone who has a blemished past, while on duty for England. Ask why every little good thing Foden does in an England shirt is lauded so much. Admittedly, that is a tiny sample size.
And ask yourself why no black player is ever lauded for their intelligence? Saka is without question the most intelligent on field player I’ve seen at Arsenal, almost to a fault. (And he is pretty intelligent off the field too). Yet this is never mentioned outside of Arsenal circles. I’ve venture that most non-Arsenal fans still consider him to be a tricky, speedy, powerful winger. While I am at it, there seems to be a constant effort to replace him with whoever the flavour of the month is. This is England’s – at worst – second most consistent player.
Finally Dan, I would ask you to check your own prejudices. What on earth has Saka, Rashford and Sancho missing penalties have to do with anything?! ‘A plan which notoriously backfired.’ What exactly are you inferring here?! The ‘plan’ was to pick the five players he thought would score. Did Bobby Robson’s ‘plan’ to use Pearce and Waddle in the shootout ‘notoriously backfire’? No, because you wouldn’t arbitrarily lump Pearce and Waddle together as evidence of a ‘plan’.
I am not myself black (nor white) and I am sure you will receive better arguments from black fans. But I felt I had to address this load of tosh. (And apologies for the long mail).
Jaimie Kaffash, AFC, north London
