Tottenham Hotspur have been put through the wringer once again this season, with Thomas Frank struggling to get a tune out of the north London squad.

Sunday’s dour defeat against Nottingham Forest underlined the many issues that had already been written down, with errors rife and players bereft of confidence and coherence.

The indelibility of Spurs’ European triumph does not overrule the many problems that have stifled progress in recent months. Frank remains steadfast that he is the man for the job, but many of a Lilywhite persuasion are harbouring doubts, and that’s only going to intensify if an upswing is not found soon.

Why Frank's job is at risk

Following the defeat at Nottingham Forest, Frank was adamant that it would take time to get his Tottenham project up and running, with reporter Matt Law saying “Spurs have no identifiable culture”, thus making managerial merry-go-rounds ineffective, as we have seen over the past ten years down N17.

But Frank’s job is nonetheless at risk. Spurs are mired in 12th place in the Premier League, and with just one win from seven games, the gap between those in Champions League contention is beginning to widen.

The old boss, Ange Postecoglou, didn’t leave the most stable foundations, but Frank has taken the reins of control in north London and his pragmatism and reworked tactical style have depleted Tottenham of their attacking sparkle without establishing real green shoots.

This is painfully evidenced by the club’s dismal playmaking numbers in the top flight this season. Neither James Maddison nor Dejan Kulusevski has kicked a ball due to injury, but the blame still lies with the manager. He has talented options at his disposal.

Premier League 25/26 – xG Leaders

Club

League Position

xG

(1) Man City

2nd

30.3

(2) Chelsea

4th

26.9

(3) Man United

8th

26.8

(4) Arsenal

1st

26.5

(5) Crystal Palace

5th

26.2

(17) Tottenham

11th

15.2

Data via FBref

Take Xavi Simons, for example. The young Dutchman hasn’t had it all his way since signing, but he has the trappings of an elite attacking midfielder, and a new manager could help bring him up to his potential.

Spurs lining up Frank upgrade

According to Spanish reports, ENIC Group are growing wary of Frank’s progress since being appointed during the summer, and are believed to ‘want’ former Barcelona boss Xavi as their replacement.

This is not believed to be a short-term fix, but rather, a willingness to appoint a tactician for the long haul, bringing a proactive and intelligent system to the team.

The 45-year-old, who speaks fluent English, has even said in the past that he “would love to work in the Premier League”. It might just be a match made in heaven for a Spurs side craving an attractive footballing identity.

Much has been made of Hansi Flick’s success at La Blaugrana since arriving in 2024, but pundit Thierry Henry is of the opinion that it was Xavi’s work beforehand that has created the pillars of this thrilling Spanish squad, suggesting he is “up there with Pep” in terms of how he sees the game.

Hailed as a “world-class” manager by journalist Maynard Manyowa, Xavi didn’t have it all his way in the Catalan capital, but he did win La Liga, infusing his team with trademark passing dominance. It was a barnstorming season of success in 2022/23, so much so that club president Joan Laporta said, “We have the best manager in the world”.

Barcelona have always been interlinked to their ball-playing culture, and Xavi – who prefers a 4-3-3 system – embodied that from the dugout after so many years of orchestration from the centre of the park.

La Liga – Possession Leaders (22/23)

Club

Final Pos.

Possession Av.

Barcelona

1st

64.3%

Real Madrid

2nd

60.9%

Villarreal

5th

56.9%

Real Sociedad

4th

54.6%

Sevilla

12th

52.6%

Data via FBref

His desire to see his players get on the ball and be enterprising in possession could bring the best out of Simons, who has endured a tough start in Tottenham but, frankly, walked into a system that struggled to establish creative patterns as a collective.

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Still, he ranks among the top 9% of positional peers in the English top flight for passes attempted, the top 2% for progressive passes and the top 8% for ball recoveries per 90, data via FBref.

The nifty Dutchman has proved already his quality on the major stages, and the flashes seen in the Premier League thus far suggest that he could lead the attack from number ten in Xavi’s system.

Hailed as a “difference-maker in big games” by analyst Ben Mattinson, the technical skill and completeness this rising star has projected are elements that Xavi would harden and shape into something world-class.

Tottenham’s new playmaker did ply his youthful trade in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, and in this, he could thrive as Xavi’s new protege.

Related Archie Gray upgrade: ENIC submit offer to sign "magic" £61m star for Spurs

Tottenham need to make a signing or two in the January transfer window.

Posts 1 ByAngus Sinclair

After two disappointing days at the WACA ground in Perth, West Indies’ batsmen have come out fighting on day three of the tour match against Western Australia today. Led by a defiant century from opener Sherwin Campbell (119), the West Indians have reached a second innings score of 6/266 by stumps, one that provides them with an overall lead of forty runs heading into the final day.Although the loss of the wickets of both Campbell and nightwatchman Mervyn Dillon (3) to the medium pace of Tom Moody (2/9) in the shadow of stumps provided a sour end, this was a heartening day for the tourists. With their experienced right hander offering the perfect prototype, virtually every one of their players who visited the crease today seemed intent on playing an innings loaded with resolve and application.The result was the generation of a succession of patient and disciplined partnerships. Nightwatchman Marlon Black (3) and Wavell Hinds (27) fell, and Campbell himself failed to score for well over an hour through one phase, but even through the first session, there was a strong hint of what was to come. Other than for the cross-batted, top-edged pull at a short Steve Nikitaras (1/66) delivery down the leg side which engineered Hinds’ demise, ill-disciplined strokes were minimal in number.Later in the day, Campbell received similarly fine support from experienced players Shivnarine Chanderpaul (43) and Jimmy Adams (41*). Chanderpaul did not look quite at his best, but fought doggedly against the Warriors’ attack until finally spooning a catch to square leg twenty-five minutes before tea. Adams survived one beseeching lbw shout against Brendon Julian (1/37) halfway through the final session and endured the misfortune of receiving two deliveries from the same bowler which barely did anything but run along the ground after pitching just short of a good length outside the line of off stump. Otherwise, though, he looked as sound in defence as ever against an attack which never really assumed a rating of anything exceeding steady.As for Campbell himself, he alternated between long periods of methodical defence and shorter bursts of attacking shotmaking, particularly through the off side. In fact, it was probably fitting that his century was raised with a forceful cover driven boundary. Before a first innings failure in this match, he had opened the tour with a century in the festival-style game at Lilac Hill earlier this week. With another seven hours at the crease now under his belt, this innings offered another welcome morale-boost as he continues his preparations for the upcoming Test series against Australia. Even more encouragingly, it clearly did so for the side as a whole as well.

Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s ODI captain, was pleased with the manner in which his team bounced back with a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the second ODI in Mirpur, levelling the three-match series with one game still to be played. Bangladesh had lost the T20 series against South Africa 2-0 and went down by eight wickets in the first ODI. The win on Sunday was their first since the second ODI against India last month.Bangladesh had felt the weight of expectations ahead of the game and Mashrafe had little time to re-gather his troops, with the team’s training session delayed following a meeting with the BCB president Nazmul Hasan on Saturday. The Bangladesh captain was happy that the team had responded to his call to think about the process of winning rather than focus only on winning.”The chemistry of the team is quite normal,” Mashrafe said. “I wanted to see how the team reacts in a bad situation. They didn’t take it well and that is how a good team responds. I thank my team-mates. We didn’t get more than a day’s training but they were mentally strong. It looked good from outside and also when we were out fielding.”He also lauded the batsmen for paying heed to the discussions about their individual roles, particularly after they failed to put up a fight in recent matches. Soumya Sarkar was one of the batsmen who fell after getting starts. On Sunday, he battled hard before flourishing to make a match-winning 88 not out. Rubel Hossain and Mahmudullah, both making comebacks into the team, had important contributions.”We were thinking too much about winning. I wanted everyone to understand that you can win after playing out 600 balls in a match,” Mashrafe said. “Thankfully we got a good start in the game. From the moment Rubel took Hashim Amla’s wicket, we were fully in the game. I had some concern about our batting but we discussed a lot, which was more important than training. We talked about how we will start our innings, finish it and make it longer. It was good that Soumya finished the game. Riyad [Mahmudullah] was playing only his second game after returning from a finger injury which is never easy for any batsman.”Mashrafe also made a significant difference with his belief in the team and his tactics. He ensured that none of the South Africa batsmen were given time to settle against one type of bowler, and he took a calculated risk of finishing Shakib Al Hasan’s ten overs early while still ensuring the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel were given the ball, when the side was looking for wickets.”Bowling changes depend on the situation. I wanted to do a lot of things today. I finished Shakib’s over quite early, which was a bit risky,” he said. “But I was looking for a couple of wickets from him. I brought back Mustafizur at one point and he got me a wicket. Rubel and Riyad also bowled at stages when I needed wickets and they got us the breakthroughs. I always use my instinct as a captain.”I always feel that a batsman is not set until he takes a single comfortably. Hitting two consecutive boundaries doesn’t make him set. I want our bowlers to believe in this too. I don’t want to give away a single easily. But if you don’t bowl well, it is hard to control such things. It was easy today but I always want a batsman to not get set at the crease by taking singles.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:18

Series win in SL after nine years

For the third time in the series Pakistan denied those expecting drama and nerves and inexplicable events normally associated with Pakistan cricket. They first refused to let Sri Lanka get away despite a seemingly effortless 100-run second-wicket stand and dragged them down to 256, and then Ahmed Shehzad followed it with a ruthless chase of a target that could have been tricky on a dry turning surface. This was their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka in nine years, and took them closer to Champions Trophy qualification.In fact even in the second match – the one that they lost – Pakistan were predictable and excellent. They just came up against individual brilliance of the Pakistani kind, and even after that record fastest fifty by Kusal Perera Pakistan fought to make sure it was not a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. There was no such out-of-the-world brilliance from Sri Lanka this time, but Pakistan retained that tenacity even though Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan seemed in control scoring half-centuries after Perera fell for a duck. The fielders cut out the singles, the spinners choked supply of easy runs, the quicks struck to cash in on the pressure, and Sri Lanka went from 170 for 3 to score only 86 in the last 14 overs.As a comparison, in the next 14 overs there was enough evidence Pakistan were going to cruise through the chase. Sri Lanka finally went to using Lasith Malinga as an attacking option, but Azhar Ali and Shehzad took his first three overs for 20. When it seemed like pace on ball was flying, Sri Lanka went to spin only to see Shehzad jump out of the crease and belt Sachith Pathirana back over his head first ball for a six. Nuwan Pradeep injured himself, Suranga Lakmal looked ineffective, and already Malinga was back for a second spell. Malinga provided a breakthrough, but then had Shehzad edge through vacant slip and then through the hands of slip for successive fours. All in the first 14 overs.With his side 92 for 1 in the first 14, Mohammad Hafeez could now afford to take his time settling in. He also blunted out Malinga as he exhausted his nine overs in the first 20, looking desperately for a breakthrough. In Malinga’s ninth, Shehzad suggested it wouldn’t have made a difference had Malinga many more left in his bag. He whipped him for successive fours to reach 71, and Pakistan were now 116 for 1 in 20 overs.Let down by spinners, missing in-form attacking bowlers, Sri Lanka threw other options at Pakistan, but there were no batsmen willing to oblige those looking for what has in the last 10 or so years become inevitable drama with Pakistan matches. Shehzad and Hafeez batted with authority. While Hafeez accelerated from 7 off 24 to the eventual 70 off 88, Shehzad never really slowed down. The only regret for Pakistan will be that a rare moment of fielding brilliance – diving-forward catch by Perera at third man – from Sri Lanka resulted in Shehzad’s falling five short of a hundred.Fielding brilliance was plentiful when Pakistan were in the field. From the time left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, playing only his second match, combined an arm ball with low bounce to remove Dilshan at 109 for 2 in the 23rd over, the fielders and the spinners circled around Sri Lanka. Often six men stayed inside the circle, and the spinners ran through their overs, building pressure dot by dot. Between them the three spinners – Yasir Shah, Wasim and Shoaib Malik – conceded just 108 in 24 overs.The first victim of the pressure was Mathews. Shah had been negotiated well by Dilshan and Thirimanne, but Mathews found it tough to face Wasim and Malik. With no easy singles on offer, Pakistan kept daring Mathews to take the risk. Nineteen runs came in Mathews’ first 5.3 overs at the wicket, and when he looked to break the shackles he hit Rahat Ali – in his first over back – straight to mid-off.Dinesh Chandimal, seemingly thanks to instructions from the dressing room, sought to avoid a similar fate – Mathews scored 12 off 23 – and went on a hitting spree. He tried one ambitious shot too many, getting out to Mohammad Irfan for 20 off 21. Amid all this Thirimanne went on smoothly, driving and late-cutting his way towards a hundred. Now, though, with an inexperienced lower middle order with him Thirimanne had to make a decision: stay the anchorman and bat till the 50th over or hit a few shots to take some pressure off the youngsters.Thirimanne went for the latter. When he first tried the big sweep off Shah, he was dropped by Ahmed Shehzad at deep square leg, a catch he somehow went on to claim. An over later Thirmanne provided both Shah and Shehzad the redemption, trying another big sweep, mis-hitting it, and watching Shehzad fly to his left. An innings that had looked solid for a long time had slowly but surely disintegrated, setting Pakistan a target that would be hunted down with 9.1 overs to spare.

Reece Topley, the left-arm pace bowler, is to leave Essex and join Hampshire on a two-year deal. Paul Grayson, the coach, is also leaving the club, while the future of the captain, James Foster, is uncertain.Topley, 21, who made his England debut in the T20 against Australia in Cardiff, rejected the offer of a new contract from Essex and was the subject of interest from eight other counties. It is understood that Hampshire did not offer the most money, but Topley was impressed by the plans of chairman Rod Bransgrove and the coach Giles White and felt the environment at the club would help him fulfil his potential.His signing in the face of so much competition – Surrey, Warwickshire and Worcestershire were among the other interested counties – represents something of a coup for Hampshire. Topley, a tall left-arm swing bowler, has outstanding red and white ball statistics for his age. He was the standout bowler at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup in Australia, is currently the leading wicket taker in this year’s Royal London Cup with 20 wickets and has 125 first-class victims at a cost of 25.78.Topley, who burst onto the professional scene in 2011 with successive five wicket hauls when just 17 and still at school, has said his ultimate ambition is to become the first left-arm pace bowler to claim 100 Test wickets for England.Leaving Essex will be a major wrench, though. Not only has he progressed through the club’s system – he has been there since he was nine – but his father, Don Topley, also represented the club for a decade as a bustling seam bowler and still commentates on the club for local radio.”I am extremely sad to be leaving Essex having played for the county since the age of nine and have thoroughly enjoyed my time in a great dressing room,” Topley said. “I would like to publicly thank all the players for their huge support and firm friendships.”In particular, I must also thank the two 1st XI coaches: Paul Grayson for the fantastic opportunity he has given me and to Chris Silverwood, who I have great admiration for and enjoyed working with.”It is understood Reece was unsettled by changes at the club. Since the return of Ronnie Irani as chairman of the cricket committee, the future of the coach, Grayson, has looked especially uncertain – ESPNcricinfo understands he is no longer working with the team while a severance package is agreed – with Irani his probable replacement.Grayson was appointed coach in July 2007. While Essex won the Friends Provident Trophy in 2008, they have not made the progress some expected since and currently sit mid-table in Division Two. Grayson’s supporters would argue, however, that he has never held much real power and was not given the authority to sign new players or agree contract terms.The future of the captain, Foster, is also unclear with the former England keeper understood to have received offers of employment from outside the game, including a role at a local private school. Topley remains close and appreciative of Grayson and Essex bowling coach, Chris Silverwood, but has a less obvious rapport with Irani. It could well be that Topley joins Hampshire on loan before the end of this season.It continues a worrying trend for Essex. While the club – perhaps as a result of its densely populated catchment area – has a fine record of producing talented players, Topley joins a list that includes Varun Chopra, Ben Foakes, Adam Wheater, Tony Palladino, Billy Godleman, Chris Wright and Tymal Mills as talented players who have recently left the club to pursue their county careers elsewhere.They are likely to sign another seamer – Surrey’s Tim Linely – as replacement for Topley, but losing a 21-year-old and gaining a 33-year-old – whatever his merits – is unlikely to impress Essex supporters.

Moeen Ali looks to have won the race to open alongside Alastair Cook in the first Test against Pakistan after England’s coach, Trevor Bayliss, admitted the allrounder had “his nose in front”. Amid several selection issues, Jos Buttler’s place as wicketkeeper could also be under threat and Bayliss said he hoped to be able to inform the players of the team over the weekend.Neither Moeen, who batted twice, nor Alex Hales made a significant score in England’s final warm-up match, a situation Bayliss described as “not ideal”. Moeen, England’s senior spinner, had been batting at No. 8 but is now set to become Cook’s seventh opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012.”I think at this stage Mo has probably got his nose in front,” Bayliss said. “Alastair and I will sit down over the next day or so to discuss it and come up with the eleven so everyone knows what it is probably by [Sunday’s] first practice session.”It’s probably not ideal. Obviously we’ve got Alex Hales here who we know can be an explosive batter. But I think Mo has shown that he’s a good player against spin and he can play the pace bowling and he’s handled the pressure during that Ashes series. If he is batting in the top six it does give us opportunities further down the line with the make-up of the team.”England dropped Adam Lyth after a disappointing Ashes and brought the uncapped Hales into the squad for the UAE. He has come to the fore in limited-overs cricket, and could yet get his Test opportunity against Pakistan or on the subsequent tour of South Africa, but England are set to go down the makeshift route despite the fact Moeen has never opened in first-class cricket.Nevertheless, Bayliss backed Moeen to provide the same sort of impetus with the bat as he did from lower down the order during the victory over Australia, when he was England’s third-highest scorer.”I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a problem position because Mo is a good enough player that he could actually be the answer,” Bayliss said. “He could turn himself into that opening batter.”My advice to him if he gets the nod is to go out and play his natural game. I think it will be very important to get decent starts over here against the new ball. The older the ball gets and the lower the wickets get, the harder it gets to score runs. We’ll be looking to get off to a good start and if Mo can play his natural game that gives us the ability to get off to those good starts.”England also have concerns over the form of Buttler, although he enjoyed a lengthier spell in the middle after batting for a second time in Sharjah on Friday, and Bayliss was not able to guarantee his place. James Taylor made a half-century in his first appearance on tour and could come into the side, allowing Jonny Bairstow to take the gloves.”His form has been a concern,” Bayliss said of Buttler. “But it was good to see him out there looking like he was getting his touch back this afternoon and scoring some runs. But we’ve got to make a decision.”The final selection call is likely to be a straight choice between Mark Wood and Steven Finn for the third seamer’s position, with Finn saying he would be “surprised” to play despite taking an impressive 4 for 16 on the first day against Pakistan A.

Australia’s Test players will be available for the Matador Cup one-day tournament and a red-ball camp will be held in mid-November to help preparations for the first Test of the home summer against New Zealand. The changes come after the cancellation of Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh due to security concerns, which was confirmed on Thursday night.The Matador Cup begins on Monday next week and although all the squads had been named, there will now be changes due to the flow of Test players back into the state systems. There will also be an expected flow-on to the Cricket Australia XI squad, the seventh team introduced for this year’s Matador Cup made up of fringe players who did not make state squads.Importantly, the cancellation of the tour also means Australia’s Test players will have limited red-ball cricket before the first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba on November 5. However, a two-day red-ball preparation camp has been scheduled for October 13-14 at Hurstvill Oval in Sydney, with centre-wicket practice and net sessions for Australia’s Test cricketers.As a result of the camp, the first round of Sheffield Shield cricket, scheduled to be a day-night round, has been pushed back a day. The Shield competition will now start around Australia on October 28 to give players involved in the Matador Cup final an additional day’s preparation ahead of their first Shield game.”The tour of Bangladesh was going to be an important series for our relatively new-look Test team heading into the Australian summer, so we’re disappointed it won’t go ahead,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager team performance, Pat Howard, said.”Given the circumstances, it’s important we give our Test players the best preparation leading into the summer so they will now be available to play in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup throughout October to get valuable match experience in Australian conditions.”We want the best players playing in the Matador Cup so we will manage the movements of the Australian players and the flow-on impact this will have on the new CA XI team. We will also hold a red-ball camp in Sydney to provide extra preparation for Australian players. We have scheduled this camp to fall in the quietest two-day period of the Matador Cup to limit player movement during the tournament.”While we believe the red-ball camp will provide solid preparation for the Australian players, the first Sheffield Shield round will provide a long-form match opportunity for those players. We have therefore pushed back the first Shield round to start a day later on the 28 October to give the Matador Cup finalists an extra day to prepare for their first Shield match.”Australian players will be made available for the first Shield round dependent on injury and workloads ahead of the first Test against New Zealand.”

Mumbai have opted for Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) over Wankhede Stadium as the venue for their home fixture against Railways in the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy, beginning November 15. Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit said BKC was a “better option” from a result perspective. Mumbai have played three games at home so far this season, winning a game each at the Wankhede and BKC.”We played against Tamil Nadu [at BKC], and we thought it was a better option for us,” Pandit told ESPNcricinfo. “Whichever venue you play, ultimately you look for results. Probably we thought that BKC will be better option for us. We played a good game [against Tamil Nadu]. More than just getting the result for Mumbai it’s a game which you can play [in a] much better way. It was a decision taken by the management – the captain, manager, everybody.”Mumbai’s desperation for an outright win is understandable given their position at the top of a congested table in Group B, where only four points separate them from fifth-placed Tamil Nadu. While they picked up three points from their previous game against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede, the pitch produced nearly 1200 runs for 21 wickets over four days.The Wankhede surface recently came under the scanner when India team director Ravi Shastri and bowling coach B Arun allegedly lashed out at its curator Sudhir Naik at the conclusion of the final ODI between India and South Africa, that saw the visitors rack up 438.Pandit, however, denied there was any dissatisfaction with the Wankhede pitch. “People misunderstand us that [we have switched venues] because there is no result or something. Nobody should forget that we played against Punjab [at the Wankhede], we got outright result there,” said Pandit. “We played this match [against Uttar Pradesh] and we thought why not play at a different venue. Probably the team has the confidence that we will be able to play much better cricket there. It is a combination of factors.”

Cork once more amongst the wickets Photo © Stamp Publicity

Dominic Cork showed spectators an early touch of what he had produced forEngland in the Test Match at Lord’s. In just his fifth over in the NatWest Trophy fourth-round match the Derbyshire skipper had Warwickshire opener Graeme Welch (11) caught by Karl Krikken on mid-on.The Bears batsmen had struggled from the start against Cork and Tim Munton.Cork almost broke through again when Luke Sutton failed to hold a catch behind the stumps from Mike Powell. Sutton was keeping wicket because Krikken hadexperienced a back spasm in practice and decided to play primarily as abatsman.That was after home captain Neil Smith had decided to bat on winning thetoss. Many of the early runs came from edged shots as the batsmen played and miss frequently, and it was such pressure which induced Welch to attempt to hit the ball over the covers. Ashley Giles seemed to be more confident as he cut Cork to the boundary. Scoring, though, was difficult as Munton, for whom Edgbaston had been his home-ground for 15 years, yielded just 10 runs from his opening six overs.Nevertheless Warwickshire survived their early trials and were relived to seeCork give way to Tom Lungley (1-25 in seven overs) with the score at 48-1.

Leicestershire added just one run to their overnight score before Morris enticed Crowe to edge Morris to give wicket-keeper Adi Aymes his fifth catch of the innings. Morris finished with two wickets on his return to the side.Hampshire have had some batting problems this season, which recently have shown signs of improvement. This, however did not show before lunch as they lost 5 wickets in reply for 81.Leicestershire attack minus it’s top four bowlers, showed little mercy as first White played a Dakin balls onto his wicket, Kenway was the tall seamers second wicket as he played back and was lbw. Kendall struck four boundaries before he was beaten by Boswell, and Laney’s innings was short and sweet aas he edged Boswell to first slip. Robin Smith became the fifth to fall when he too edged to Vince Wells at second slip, pushing forward. Smith’s innings lasted for 55 balls, and by lunch the home side were left still needing 36 to avoid the follow on.