Tottenham Hotspur are not in crisis mode, but there’s a sense that Thomas Frank is a man who needs to create an upswing in results and performances quickly.

Sunday’s 3-0 loss at Nottingham Forest was, by the Danish coach’s own admission, a “disjointed” performance, doing little to ease the encroaching flames from fans who are getting fed up of the side’s lack of positive, fluent play.

The usual culprits this season, the likes of Pedro Porro and Guglielmo Vicario, were at fault once again, and the goalkeeper in particular is beginning to look like a man on borrowed time.

Vicario is playing himself out of a job

When Tottenham signed Italian goalkeeper Vicario from Empoli for £17m in 2023, it was felt that Ange Postecoglou had landed a shrewd deal at the start of his reign.

But Vicario has ebbed and flowed, alright, and he’s been culpable for more than a few frustrating moments this season.

The 29-year-old has been error-prone and unconvincing, albeit having lifted his Premier League save percentage from 64% last season to 70.4% this term, as per FBref.

But having made eight errors since his debut in England’s top flight, Vicario is not the long-term solution for a team crying out for stability. Football Insider understand the Lilywhites are getting ready to sign a replacement at the end of the campaign.

However, Vicario is surmounted by a leaky backline, lacking synergy and strength against the tide of the division’s attacking lines.

There are one or two larger problems under Frank’s management, one of whom simply isn’t cut out to lead the line consistently and over the next few years.

Spurs' bigger problem than Vicario

If ever there was a player prone to blowing hot and cold, Richarlison would be that player. The Brazilian forward has scored a few goals recently, but his overall play leaves much to be desired, and his display against Forest brought any positivity crashing back to earth.

This season, the Brazil forward has scored seven goals and supplied two assists across 25 matches in all competitions.

He has enjoyed some standout moments, scoring a brilliant strike against Arsenal and a highly-charged late goal against Manchester United, but even these peaks were clouded over by circumstance: Spurs were thrashed by their rivals, and the Red Devils levelled out Richarlison’s goal with a last-gasp equaliser.

Frank needs a more refined and commanding centre-forward. With Dominic Solanke’s injury record torrid down N17, recruitment might be the route to go down, especially since Richarlison, 28, is into the penultimate year of his £90k-per-week contract.

Criticised for an “inexcusable” miss in the Champions League last week by writer Simon Yemane, Richarlison needed to put in a big performance at the City Ground, but he

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To say he toiled would make a deceitful comment on his work-rate and focus against Sean Dyche’s well-drilled side. Football.london criticised his hold-up play and movement, branding him with a 3/10 match rating and writing that it was ‘like playing with a wall up front’.

There simply isn’t enough on show, and there hasn’t been from the first time he donned a Lilywhite shirt.

Richarlison’s Tottenham Career (Prem)

Season

Apps

Goals + Assists

25/26

16

6 + 2

24/25

14

4 + 1

23/24

28

11 + 4

22/23

27

1 + 4

Stats via Transfermarkt

The difference between Richarlison and his former teammate Harry Kane is stark. No one ever expected him to emulate the club’s greatest-ever striker when he completed his £60m move from Everton, but the clue is in that sentence: Richarlison cost £60m, more than a sizeable outlay, and he hasn’t been good or consistent enough. In the words of Gabriel Agbonlahor, he is “one of the worst signings in Premier League history.”

Tottenham need to sort it out. Poor strategising over the past several years has guided the club down a slope, and while a Europa League title has been claimed along the way, it is clear that the silverware will gather cobwebs without upgrades on such players being enforced in 2026.

Related Spurs must sack Frank this week and hire the "best coach in the PL"

Tottenham Hotspur suffered arguably their worst defeat of the Thomas Frank era on Sunday.

Posts ByMatt Dawson

PORT ELIZABETH, Oct 13 – Eastern Province dismissed Boland with the penultimate ball of the match to win by one run.Boland, chasing EP’s moderate 183 for seven, reached the last six balls needing as many runs – but with nine wickets down. Charl Langeveldt cut the first delivery straight to point. But James Bryant dropped the catch and gave away a run into the bargain. The next ball yielded a leg-bye and the next two a pair of singles, leaving Boland to score two off two to win. Which was where fate stepped in and offered Bryant the opportunity to make amends by decreeing some textbook tailenders’ running between the wickets. Bryant made no mistake and threw down the stumps to run out Henry Williams.So ended a game that began with EP dwindling to 45 for six in the 22nd over. While the pitch was a tad uneven early in the match it wasn’t nearly as bad as that scoreline suggests, while none of the Boland bowlers could claim full credit for their team’s early success.Rather, it came down to rank poor batting, which was confirmed when Justin Kemp and Denys Murray put their heads down and added 76 for the seventh wicket. Kemp and Meyrick Pringle then shared 62 for the unbroken eighth with Pringle hitting two sixes in his 25 not out off 21 balls. Man-of-the-match Kemp finished unbeaten on 95 off 128 balls with eight fours and two sixes.Boland slipped to 92 for six in the 26th over in reply before meaningful resistance came in the form of a sixth-wicket stand of 71 between Piet Barnard and Bradley Player.However, Mfuneko Ngam, on his way to figures of four for 26, stopped thevisitors in their tracks by bowling Player for 36 with the first ball of the42nd over, followed two balls later by Neil Carter being caught at mid-on. Nine balls after that Nantie Hayward caught and bowled Barnard for 59 to make it 173 for nine and prompt the drama of the final over.

Last week I stressed the importance of our senior players in Gloucestershire’s success, but if we are to prosper as a top team in the future, we must encourage and develop our youth.I am equally excited about some of our young prospects. The talent is there but it is up to us to hone it so that these players can compliment and eventually replace us older `fellas’. Four of these cricketers are currently involved in cricket overseas, and the extra experience gained over the last four months could be enough to see them pushing for a regular first team place.Mark Hardinges and Roger Sillence are still in Perth under the auspices of Neil Holder and Matt Nicholson, both of whom work very closely with the Western Australia team, for whom Nicholson still plays. The coaches there are very impressed with Mark and Roger, and it was no surprise that Mark recently bagged a seven-wicket haul and Roger scored 150. They have worked extremely hard on their fitness, so when they join us in South Africa on our pre-season tour, I hope to come across two guys fizzing to be part of the first team.Just over the way in New Zealand is Alex Gidman. This young man could be the surprise package of 2002. Like Mark and Roger Alex bats and bowls, but according to the coach in New Zealand “he is the best pommie fielder I have seen for a very long time”. Alex has also impressed with the bat, and with reports like that we are hoping he will develop into the genuine article.To date he has played in one National League game, and I was at the crease when he came in. Although we were really up against it at the time, Alex had a certain presence at the wicket even though his stay was quite brief.Another young tourist in New Zealand is Stephen Pope, representing England in the Youth World Cup. We continue to unearth real talent behind the stumps and Stephen is no exception. Now is a good time for Jack Russell’s understudy to pile on the pressure for a slot in our first eleven. Although Jack’s skills are as sharp as ever, I get the feeling he is going to enjoy taking young Pope under his wing.It is a brief introduction to some of our younger players, but I believe these guys are going to stand up and do the talking themselves. They have to, because not far behind them are prospects like James Pearson and Nathan Bressington – not to be confused with Alastair Bressington, who has already made an impressive start to his first class career.You are probably picking up the vibes that I am really quite excited about our future. I hope you can join us as we watch it all unfold.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHalf-centuries from captain Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana helped India Women complete a comfortable eight-wicket win over New Zealand Women with 34 balls to spare in the fourth ODI in Bangalore. The teams will go into the fifth ODI on July 8 with the the series tied 2-2.Needing 221 to win, India ensured there were no early jitters, with Thirush Kamini and Mandhana raising 49 runs for the first wicket. After Amy Satterthwaite sent back Kamini, Mandhana joined hands with Raj to add 124 runs in 22.5 overs. Raj, during the course of her unbeaten 81 off 88 balls, her 37th half-century, became the second player after Charlotte Edwards to score 5000 runs in Women’s ODIs.After Mandhana was dismissed by Anna Peterson in the 38th over, Harmanpreet Kaur smashed an unbeaten 25-ball 32, including four fours and two sixes, to bring an early finish to the game.New Zealand, after electing to bat, didn’t enjoy a good start, losing Rachel Priest in the third over. Sattherthwaite and captain Suzie Bates, however, rebuilt the innings with a 65-run stand before Bates perished to Poonam Yadav. Three overs later, the visitors’ momentum was dented further when Satterthwaite, who scored 43 off 55 balls, was bowled by Kaur.But, New Zealand fought back again through Sophie Devine, who scored 89 off 102 balls, including 10 fours and three sixes. She put on 58 runs for the fourth wicket with Maddie Green, and proceeded to rally the middle and lower order around her. Devine was the last batsman out off the penultimate ball of the last over.For India, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Niranjana Nagarajan picked up three wickets each.

Giles Clarke’s position as president of the ECB could become untenable if the board honours its commitment to reconsider opposition to cricket’s involvement in the Olympics.The ECB has, in the past, shown no enthusiasm for cricket’s involvement in the Games. But the new chairman and chief executive, Colin Graves and Tom Harrison, gave an indication to the MCC’s World Cricket Committee (WCC) that they were open to a “rethink” of the board’s attitude.That could prove awkward for Clarke. He has been a staunch opponent of the England men’s team competing in the Olympics but, as the ECB’s representative at the ICC, would be expected to argue the case for cricket taking part if the board supported the MCC’s view that such a scenario would be beneficial to the world game.

Holding critical of ‘Big Three’

Michael Holding has accused the “Big Three” countries at the ICC of “highjacking the game” for their own interest.
Holding, talking at the premier of the documentary, , criticised the boards of India, England and Australia for taking an increased percentage of the international game’s profits and stated that he “did not see how it could be healthy for the game”.
Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler and previously a member of the ICC’s Cricket Committee, said: “How can three countries think it is fair to take more money out of the game? Their percentage has increased.
“They think of the betterment of themselves only. The rest of the world is there to be used.”

Concerned that the sport is in danger of contracting around the world, the WCC urged “all governing bodies around the world to get behind a bid” to make cricket an Olympic sport. This, the committee believes, would “expose the game positively to new markets” and enable many developing cricket nations to benefit from the government funding that is linked to Olympic involvement.Whether Clarke could commit to such a policy – or live with the loss of face such a u-turn might represent – remains unclear.But there can be no doubting his uncompromising attitude towards the issue in the past. Interviewed as part of the documentary – a film which examines and exposes the lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of international cricket, which had its premiere in London on Monday night – Clarke dismissed the idea of England’s involvement in the Olympics as “impossible” and “a complete non-starter”.”It’s a tournament too far,” he said. “We don’t have the space in our calendar. The Olympics takes place during the English season. It’s impossible for us to set aside time for it. It would have an enormous economic impact on the game in this country. It’s a complete non-starter. We’re not going to be playing Olympic cricket for men.”An ECB spokesman suggested such talk was premature and that, at present, the policy towards the Olympics had not altered.

ScorecardFile photo: Karun Nair made his first century since March 2015•K Sivaraman

Karun Nair found a good time to break his rut and his first century in any format since March 2015 ensured a draw for India A, even though they had been trailing South Africa A for the bulk of the first unofficial Test in Wayanad.The visitors would have fancied their chances of a first victory on this tour to India when the final day began – eight wickets to get and a 371-run cushion to play with. But Nair would not budge. He struck an unbeaten 114 off 192 balls, his first ton since the triple in the Ranji Trophy final, and a couple of fifties by Vijay Shankar and captain Abhinav Mukund ensured the other end was just as plucky.There were 78.2 overs of play possible. More than enough for the South Africans to hope, considering they had already dismissed India A for 204 in the first innings. The fourth innings meant spin would be doing the bulk of the work – Dane Piedt, who completed a five-for yesterday, trundled in for 49 overs for only one wicket. Slow left-armer Keshav Maharaj got through 36 overs for two wickets. Although both men kept their economy rates under three, South Africa A would have wanted more wickets from them. Oddly, though, Wayne Parnell bowled only three overs in the innings.That they couldn’t live up to that mandate was down to a very fluent innings from Nair. He had struck only one fifty in 10 innings against both Australia A and South Africa A. He could have been bogged down, but 18 fours and a six indicates otherwise. He walked out in the 12th over of the day and was there, seeing his team to the safety of a draw. Nair strung a 148-run fifth-wicket at a run-rate of 3.4 with Vijay Shankar, who contributed a steady 74 off 142 balls.It was Vijay Shankar’s sixth first-class fifty in 14 matches, and his Tamil Nadu state-mate Mukund eased to his 23rd in 96 matches. This resolute display from India A ensured the series remains 0-0 ahead of the second match, starting from next Tuesday.

Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has made a comeback to the Indian squad for the first two Tests against South Africa after being dropped for the recent tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Offspinner R Ashwin, who suffered a side strain in the first ODI in Kanpur, was included in the 16-man Test squad but not picked for the last two one-day internationals.Jadeja replaced offspinner Harbhajan Singh in India’s Test squad. Harbhajan, who had been out of the Test side since March 2013, made a comeback during the Bangladesh tour in June. He played the only Test of that series and the first Test of the Sri Lanka tour in August – in which he only picked up one wicket in 25 overs in spin-friendly conditions – before sitting out the second and third Tests.Since being dropped from the squads for the Test series in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Jadeja has topped the wicket charts after three rounds of the Ranji Trophy – with 24 in two matches at an average of 8.25. He has also scored 91 and 58 in two innings for Saurashtra.”We don’t discuss just 15 players. We consider domestic performances,” the chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said. “The kind of pitches that we will play on, the opposition, and keeping that in mind we have picked Jadeja.”Fast bowler Ishant Sharma was named in the Test squad despite being ineligible for selection for the first match because of a suspension slapped on him by the ICC for bad behaviour during India’s tour of Sri Lanka. Ishant was ruled out of the last two ODIs against South Africa, after injuring his hamstring during Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match against Haryana, but is expected to be fit in time for the Tests.Seamer S Aravind replaced fast bowler Umesh Yadav in the ODI squad for the remaining two matches of the series, which South Africa lead 2-1. Umesh had been left out of the team for the third ODI in Rajkot after conceding 2 for 71 and 1 for 52 in eight overs in the first two matches of the series. Aravind had played the first T20I in Dharamsala, where he took 1 for 44 on debut, but did not play the next two Twenty20 fixtures.The BCCI also named the Board President’s XI – led by Cheteshwar Pujara – to play South Africa in Mumbai on October 30 and 31. That group of 13 players included Rajasthan fast bowler Nathu Singh, a 20-year old fast bowler who took 7 for 87 on first-class debut against Delhi.”We are looking for something special,” Patil said. “For the last three years two selectors accompany the Indian team, but the rest travel all over to watch domestic cricket. We have seen a glimpse in Nathu Singh. We want to give him the chance.”The final two ODIs of the series are on October 22 and 25, and the first Test begins on November 5 in Mohali.Squad for first two Tests: Virat Kohli (capt), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Ishant SharmaODI squad for last two matches: MS Dhoni (capt), Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan SinghBoard President’s XI: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), KL Rahul, Unmukt Chand, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Naman Ojha, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Sheldon Jackson, Karn Sharma, Nathu SinghCorrection – The story was amended to include R Ashwin in the Test squad

At 2 PM on Friday at the Adelaide Oval, when history is made with the delivery of the first pink ball of a Test match, chances are either Tim Southee or Tom Latham will be front and centre, Southee opening the bowling for New Zealand, Latham watching at the non-striker’s end as Martin Guptill takes on Mitchell Starc.Of course, there is also the small matter of squaring a Test series, but the significance of the occasion is not lost on the New Zealand players. Aside from the 40000 fans expected on the opening day, New Zealand know the eyes of the entire cricketing world will be trained on this match and, for a team that all too often performs in the wings of the international stage, the prospect of stepping into the spotlight is an exciting one.”It’s obviously pretty exciting to have that many people there for this historic Test and I think it’s going to be a great fixture,” Latham said. “It’s a massive occasion for us and Australia and, flying over the stadium yesterday, it was pretty cool to see it first hand and it’ll be pretty cool to get there tomorrow.”From the sounds of things, and going by what I’ve heard about the surface, it’s a pretty flat surface so it’d be pretty nice to get out there and face the first ball of a pink ball Test.”Most of Latham’s team-mates have also only had a bird’s eye view of the stadium and are relying on hearsay – only Brendan McCullum, Ross Taylor and Tim Southee have played Test cricket here – but the uncertainty of how the pink ball will play has rendered the notion of experience more difficult to judge.”We’re continuing to learn about what the pink ball is going to throw at us,” Southee said. “Just the way it reacts at certain times of the day and how you’re going to cope with different phases throughout the day.”It does a little bit more under lights. That’s not an unknown, both sides know that. Both sides can swing the ball. It’s how you perform in that time when it does do a little bit.”Another uncertainty for New Zealand is the fitness of Trent Boult, after an irritated disc prevented him from bowling in the two-day pink ball warm-up match against Western Australia XI.After a disappointing start by his own high standards to the series in Brisbane, Boult’s ability to swing the ball was a significant factor on the second day of the WACA Test as New Zealand fought their way back into the match. His absence in Adelaide will be a blow in conditions that are far more likely to favour bowlers than in either of the first two Tests.”I don’t think as a bowling group we’ve hit out straps the way we’d like on this tour so far,” Southee said, having suffered a back injury scare during this series. “But there’s still one game to go and hopefully we can show the high standards we’ve shown for a long time now.”There’s a lot of depth in the bowling group and if he [Boult] is unavailable I’m sure someone will step up and fill his shoes.”

A relaxed Roger Binny saw his boys coast to victory in theIndia Under-15 versus Tamil Nadu Under-16 practice match at theMA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. Beside him was an equally atease Professor Ratnakar Shetty. The executive joint secretary ofthe Mumbai Cricket Association is with the juniors in the capacityof manager. Having played the same role with the Indian seniorteam in 1997 when they toured Sri Lanka, Shetty was more than accustomed with the tasks at hand.”This is the right time to be with these boys. At this age,they are keen to play the game and are trying hard to maketheir careers.” He was also very happy with the team and washopeful about their chances in Malaysia. “We’ll play hard andhave it in us to win. I hope the boys do well and return withthe trophy.”When the Indian captain Subhash Dixit won the toss and elected tofield on a hot Chennai morning, his bowlers responded in finestyle. Leading from the front, the captain ended with theimpeccable figures of 8-2-13-4. He was well supported by offspinner Palash Jyoti Das. The Assamese lad ended with 3/23. Inall, the Tamil Nadu side could muster only 175 as they were allout three overs short of their allotted 45 overs.Vijay Sarthy (37) and Vishal Kudavala (46) played the only knocks worthy of mention. Aditya Srikkanth, watched with interest becauseof his famous father, did not make an impact in his innings of18. Panau Raju, who is a member of the squad that will leave forthe Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-15 tournament later today strengthened the Tamil Nadu ranks by playing for them.When the Indian team came out to bat, they were under no pressureat all. On a flat track, Binny used the opportunity to give as manypossible players a knock out in the middle. At the top of theinnings, Hyderabad opener Tirupati Rayadu slammed an unbeaten 72,but retired back to the pavilion to give way to other batsmen.Palash Jyoti Das who shone with the ball earlier in the dayhelped himself to a half century before he too retired. Overhaulingthe total for the loss of just four wickets, an excited Indian team walked off the field.Binny was all smiles as he sat down with the boys after the gameand went through some breathing exercises and just before leavingthe ground, Binny too echoed Shetty’s optimism.

A 185-run fifth wicket stand between Vijay Sai Suri (101) and Haroon Basha (97) helped Tamil Nadu take a 97 run lead over Hyderabad on the second day of their South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy (Under-19) tournament match at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Saturday. At stumps Tamil Nadu, after batting throughout the day, were 313 for 6.Resuming at the overnight score of 24 for 2, Tamil Nadu lost Sridhar (11) when he edged a catch to Ibrahim Khaleel off Nadeemuddin. This brought Vijay Sai Suri to the crease. He and Vasudeva Das took the score to 64 when Vasudeva Das departed after being run out by Nadeemuddin.Basha now joined Sai Suri and the two settled down to form their big partnership. Tamil Nadu went into lunch at 121 for 4. Both Sai Suri and Basha went past their fifties and the partnership progressed along smoothly. By tea, Tamil Nadu were 214 with both Basha and Sai Suri still batting confidently.The new ball was claimed in the 88th over and that brought some luck for Hyderabad as Basha departed after a partnership which lasted 70.1 overs. Basha faced 211 balls during his 236 minute stay at the crease and hit 14 boundaries. Shortly after, Suri reached his hundred but after facing 272 balls and hitting 12 boundaries, he was caught by Shashank Nag off Shiv Shankar.Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan (25) and G VIgnesh (32) then saw Tamil Nadu through the rest of the overs before stumps were drawn.