2025-26: that was the season that was
- Thread starter The RDBD
- Start date
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- PL
2. Assessment
So this season, in spite of the managerial
malarky, was actually better than last season
by a few measures
The GF is the thing that objectively suffered,
and there is no doubt the injury plague
(Kulu, Maddison etc) was the big cause of that.
That aside, the GF/GA was only 10/3 worse
than the team that finished 6th this season.
2. Assessment
So this season, in spite of the managerial
malarky, was actually better than last season
by a few measures
The GF is the thing that objectively suffered,
and there is no doubt the injury plague
(Kulu, Maddison etc) was the big cause of that.
That aside, the GF/GA was only 10/3 worse
than the team that finished 6th this season.
I saw a comment a week or so ago that was interesting, in a putting-Frank's-time-in-context sort of interesting: he saw the issues we had last season and took lessons from it, but not necessarily the right ones
Long story (relatively...) short, he was focused on having us not give the ball away in areas with high potential for turnovers, which is why we were spamming crosses from the right while refusing the shoot from distance as the data said those were where we lost possession a hell of a lot under Ange, but he failed to understand how that made our play ridiculously predictable
Add to that his belief that long range shots were low xG so we didn't need to defend Zone 14, which is exactly what caused so many long range shots to go in entirely as nobody was closing down in that area while we also lacked any CM who could intercept passes reliably in the way his Brentford team could
Long story (relatively...) short, he was focused on having us not give the ball away in areas with high potential for turnovers, which is why we were spamming crosses from the right while refusing the shoot from distance as the data said those were where we lost possession a hell of a lot under Ange, but he failed to understand how that made our play ridiculously predictable
Add to that his belief that long range shots were low xG so we didn't need to defend Zone 14, which is exactly what caused so many long range shots to go in entirely as nobody was closing down in that area while we also lacked any CM who could intercept passes reliably in the way his Brentford team could
- PL
3. Thomas Frank
What actually went wrong for him ??
From the "season compass"
(https://not606.com/threads/season-compass-2025-26.418532/post-18947815)
I knew very quickly that the attacking situation
was a problem for him (and forewarned this)
though to his credit the teams did manage to
control the GF until the midway point.
What I found immensely surprising was how
much better DEFENSIVELY the team was
under him. This too lasted until the midway point.
So, we come to the midway point.
Specifically the collapse after it.
It seems that the reason may be bad
squad rotation over the period to then.
If anyone wants to really make the case
on this front, you have the game stats for
the entire squad for the Frank tenure
(up to his final 4 or so games) in the
"Season watch" article.
3. Thomas Frank
What actually went wrong for him ??
From the "season compass"
(https://not606.com/threads/season-compass-2025-26.418532/post-18947815)
I knew very quickly that the attacking situation
was a problem for him (and forewarned this)
though to his credit the teams did manage to
control the GF until the midway point.
What I found immensely surprising was how
much better DEFENSIVELY the team was
under him. This too lasted until the midway point.
So, we come to the midway point.
Specifically the collapse after it.
It seems that the reason may be bad
squad rotation over the period to then.
If anyone wants to really make the case
on this front, you have the game stats for
the entire squad for the Frank tenure
(up to his final 4 or so games) in the
"Season watch" article.
Another interesting titbit from Tifo Football a few weeks back: they mentioned the lack of any motivational voices in the dressing room after Sonny left, so instead of having somebody gee up the team after a poor result instead the players were stewing in misery and/or irritation
...though I think the video was overly simplistic, as it wasn't just Sonny leaving: Madders being injured and Forster leaving also removed two positive influences in the dressing room for the moments you need some positive energy, and it's possible Brennan Johnson leaving in January further exacerbated things as he was reportedly popular in the dressing room for this reason too
...though I think the video was overly simplistic, as it wasn't just Sonny leaving: Madders being injured and Forster leaving also removed two positive influences in the dressing room for the moments you need some positive energy, and it's possible Brennan Johnson leaving in January further exacerbated things as he was reportedly popular in the dressing room for this reason too
- CL
The league stage draw was IMHO kind
to Spurs, and so gave us hope we could
directly qualify for the KO stage.
Which the team did (albeit in an
haphazard way) . The one notable fact
was that apart from the expected
mauling by PSG, the defence was very
sound during the league stage.
The KO stage had Spurs already in
PL freefall, so the overall result against
Alteltico was not really unexpected.
The league stage draw was IMHO kind
to Spurs, and so gave us hope we could
directly qualify for the KO stage.
Which the team did (albeit in an
haphazard way) . The one notable fact
was that apart from the expected
mauling by PSG, the defence was very
sound during the league stage.
The KO stage had Spurs already in
PL freefall, so the overall result against
Alteltico was not really unexpected.
Last edited:
The season that was ****ing ****.
Not sure there’s much else to say. Glad it’s over.
Looking forward to England disappointing me now.
Not sure there’s much else to say. Glad it’s over.
Looking forward to England disappointing me now.
One thing that does need to be highlighted is just how baffling a ****show the board had for 90% of the season
The Lewises sacked Ange
The Lewises backed Levy's choice of Thomas Frank
The Lewises got rid of Levy almost as soon as the summer transfer window closed
The Lewises publicly briefed against Frank with no successor lined up
The Lewises continued persisting with Frank longer than made sense
Good luck to Lange when he's the one being frogmarched out to defend this...
The Lewises sacked Ange
The Lewises backed Levy's choice of Thomas Frank
The Lewises got rid of Levy almost as soon as the summer transfer window closed
The Lewises publicly briefed against Frank with no successor lined up
The Lewises continued persisting with Frank longer than made sense
Good luck to Lange when he's the one being frogmarched out to defend this...
I am almost wistful for a view of Levy scowling down from the Directors box, compared to seeing Tormund Giantsbane, Olive Oil and the UK's answer to Kash Patel after minor corrective eye surgery.... Boils my piss something rotten!!!
Don't forget Neil Patrick Harris dressed up as Keir Starmer for some reasonI am almost wistful for a view of Levy scowling down from the Directors box, compared to seeing Tormund Giantsbane, Olive Oil and the UK's answer to Kash Patel after minor corrective eye surgery.... Boils my piss something rotten!!!
It's not very helpful. All the recent changes smack of the Lewis children thinking that some fans view of Levy is accurate and that distancing the club from everything Levyish is the way forward while having no clue what the real issues are, never mind the solutions. There is a post on X that claims Charrington didn't know how many players were in a football team when he was appointed.
I can see why Matt Law's article is basically putting a Fatwa on his head
...which is where this quote comes from
The likelihood is that Matt Law is gilding the lily: it wouldn't surprise me if Neil Patrick Starmer didn't understand squad numbers, but not understanding how many players are on the pitch is just too farfetched that it sounds like Law twisting something
Mostly the same nonsense we get every year.
“Committed to building a strong team” blah, blah, blah.
Only to then largely see overpriced mediocrity in quantity come through and then them being shocked at us falling below expectations.
Maybe this summer will truly be the wake-up call they’ve needed and we’ll see some serious backing for the manager but I won’t hold my breath.
Sorry ...I was going to reply earlier, but I've only just stopped laughing....
Classic Spurs Bullshit! Nothing will change....
At the least it showed self-honesty and a decent amount of humility.
As expected, a huge weight of blame was placed on the shoulders of the previous board.
Last summer was a disaster but it isn't clear at supporter level who was actually calling the shots. Who sanctioned Thomas Frank? Who allowed Son to leave without properly lining up replacements? Who looked at how much we struggled to juggle four competitions last season and thought it would be sensible to enter this season in stronger competitions but with a weaker squad?
Charrington will shift as much of this as possible onto Levy, but the January window is the first of several massive red flags which also include keeping Frank on for as long as we did, and then attempting to secure safety with Tudor.
The one thing I will say about Levy is that he hit the ground running when he first started. Learned lessons quickly (Hoddle, Santini) and moved on just as quickly. Showed ambition in the market too, and as a result we improved rapidly and consistently.
The Lewis kids haven't done that and thanks to a disaster of a season, will find that they have very little forbearance from the fans.
This needs to be the summer transfer window to end all summer transfer windows.
You're not still peddling this nonsense are you?
Daniel's business partners sacked him after undertaking an external, root and branch review of his management of their investment.
They found no infrastructure worth a damn, a monumentally colossal waste of money, season after season and a club in free fall.
You're suggesting that they did these things because supporters like me , 'wrongly' accused COYS Daniel of being completely without a clue???
'
The heat has got to you.
There is absolutely nothing in that letter that suggests the new Chairman understands what the major issue is. The value of the stadium is the only thing that stops the club being bankrupt.
You're not still peddling this nonsense are you?
Daniel's business partners sacked him after undertaking an external, root and branch review of his management of their investment.
They found no infrastructure worth a damn, a monumentally colossal waste of money, season after season and a club in free fall.
You're suggesting that they did these things because supporters like me , 'wrongly' accused COYS Daniel of being completely without a clue???
'
The heat has got to you.
The only solution is to renegotiate the stadium covenants and inject a few hundred million which can actually be spent on players and then get some of the really top players to join us.
Otherwise we will forever remain the sixth highest spending club which will give us 55 points plus or minus 15 each season with the outcomes we are all used to.
Levy didn't seem to get that in the end either...he clearly expected the new stadium to allow us to overtake Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City's expenditure and that success would naturally follow.
But the new Board don't have any plan at all as far as I can see. They injected some capital but didn't spend it.