Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, welcome to the Gab and Jules show. No Gab today. So look who's come down from Manchester.
I'm back Jules, I'm back Jules.
So good to have you back my brother. Nedo Manoa is with us for this packed show because we've had not just one, but two Premier League managers sacked in the last 48 hours. We'll talk about that. Obviously, there's a few There's a big Premier League midweek round as well that we'll talk about, City winning, Liverpool winning as well, and Cups all around Europe.
But we have to start at Spurs because really this is the biggest story of the week. Thomas Frank gone, some would say finally or eventually, others say that maybe they didn't see it coming.
Chapter 2: What led to the sacking of Thomas Frank at Spurs?
Where do you stand in them deciding to let go?
um that's a good question i think in some ways i'm a bit mixed with it just because you know with managers people say give them time give them time give them time i think it's fair to say the team wasn't doing as well as they would have hoped for the fact that they're in the same position they were in a year ago when we were saying that was probably one of their worst ever premier league seasons yeah you know in some ways is alarming but then it also runs parallel to them being in knockout stages in europe yeah exactly it's exactly the same as last year
but it just never felt like the uh well not never but in recent times not felt like the fans and others around it have been almost trusting of him to be able to do a good enough job for them to find better form i agree you know i think in the in the last 10 games that they've played they've amassed seven points which is the same as wolves i know who most people say are doomed and the only team with the worst record is crystal palace yeah so you
I think having watched that last game that they played against Newcastle, Sad, who had no away record, Newcastle come in and essentially dominate for long periods in that game. It did raise the question, well, how long can this go on for? And in some ways, I guess they've seen that gap between this game and the next one against Arsenal to think, well, maybe it's time for a change.
Yeah, I was a bit surprised because I thought they would give him until the end of the season. Not because they believed in him, because he would have been sacked eventually in the summer anyway. But just because now you need an interim coach for three months, whether that's Ryan Mason or Johnny Heitinga or whoever you want. And then you go through the process again in the summer.
it just for me looked like that step up from a small club to a bigger club in the premier league is very difficult and not everybody can do it for me that's in what sense though how do you mean you talk about footballing wise or just like status a bit of both i think he kept the same methods and the same ideas from brentford to spurs thinking very naively no problem i'm gonna do the same thing
as Spurs and it would work the same way. It doesn't. I think Spurs fans, Spurs players, probably Spurs direction as in like top of the people expect something different from you as a manager than doing what you did at Brentford. I also think that the players in the dressing room expect somebody different than the guy that was at Brentford.
And for me, the lack of authority that he had on his team, which is clearly, for everybody clearly to see, was also a problem. If you come to a bigger dressing room of a bigger club with bigger egos, bigger names, bigger players who've won more than you because you haven't won anything, by the way, you have to be strong.
And if you're a bit too weak and open that weakness door, they go and smash you.
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Chapter 3: How have Spurs' recent performances affected their league standing?
And yet, they hardly looked at him even. And not for the first time.
If you don't have authority on your dressing room, can you succeed? No, you can't now. And I think the authority side of things, it needs to be stronger when things aren't going well. When things are going well, everything's great. You see all the positives.
But when people now look into you to try and find a solution and you want to believe in their words, but then the words that they're saying, they seem almost like shallow, not necessarily worth it. Then I think that does become an issue. And it is a shame in some ways for him because I think he's one of those managers who I believe lots of people wanted to do well. Yeah.
You know, they felt like he could have been, he was a different feel to say some of Spurs' managers in the past. You know, if we're talking, you've got like Ange, you've got Conte, you've got Mourinho, like it's a real spread of like what the managers can be. But I think we'll be doing it a disservice if we don't talk about the injuries, because they've had a lot of injuries.
And the team that say he's putting out at certain points,
it probably wouldn't be the team they expected to be able to put out at this stage in the season and that will make a difference but I suppose it's the other side and I think the point made there about why didn't they give him until the end of the season I think the fact that they thought sacking him would give the club the boost says a lot about how bad things were because you don't
there's no guarantee of who's next, but people feel relief that he's not there anymore. And to believe that you're at that level of addition through subtraction for somebody who many perceive to be a positive person, I think in some ways it kind of shows that the club are in need for something stronger. but maybe not something as strong as like a Conte or Mourinho.
Yeah, maybe. And also I think with the fans, it got to a point where there was just no way back. It was so toxic, the booze. Even when your own fans sing, you're getting sacked in the morning. It can't be nice.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did Thomas Frank face as Spurs' manager?
And I think from a club point of view, as much as you have your own direction and you don't always have to listen to the fans or follow your fans, there's a point where... Yeah, like I've said this point, some people might have heard me say this before, and...
I'm not going to die in this hill as such, but I'm going to be walking my way up there. Home form matters a lot in terms of general vibes and energy around a football club because it's assumed in the back of many people's minds that points away from home are good. Three points away from home should be the standard.
It can really affect how you perceive a season because, for example, Spurs' home record is the third worst in the division. Only worse is Burnley and Wolves. Spurs have got 10 points from 13 games. Can you imagine? So you've got 50 or 60,000 people every other week turning up to see their team do absolutely nothing. Like do nothing. In those 13 games, they scored 16 goals.
They're doing nothing whatsoever. And so when you gather, you're around your people and you're talking about it more. Instead of like the diehards, for example, who are going to the away games, you know, they see a slightly different version of football. You have to entertain the people when they all come together. And he certainly wasn't doing that.
just on the injuries that you mentioned earlier they've lost other bear again on tuesday night and i was told this morning he would have a knee surgery which i think will keep him out all the way until the end of the season and then a bit of that the issue i have with injuries No, not an excuse, but maybe a reason or justification, whatever, is that it was the same last year.
So there's clearly a problem within this football club where how can you have two seasons in a row, 12, 13, 13 players out?
for a long time at the same time year after year is it your medical staff by the way that they changed twice already last season is it the way you train is it something with this dressing room that is maybe not doing everything they should outside of the games to not be to not get injured in terms of what they eat what they sleep recoveries But I don't know, whatever. Is the rehab the problem?
So when they come back, they then have a setback again. What's happening with Kulizevsky, man? This is the longest mystery injury in the history of mystery injuries. So I'm just like, okay, I understand that it was difficult for him at times. Those injuries explain why he kept changing the team all the time.
Formation was different, your midfield was different, your back four was different, your front three was different all the time, and there was no consistency in there. And by the way, Neds, there was not much consistency in game after game. They could have 20 good minutes or 30 good minutes in the second half, but the first half was dire.
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Chapter 5: How do injuries impact Spurs' current season?
but then it's the value of a late goal. Late goals always change how you feel about games. Exactly, exactly. They were like a bit upset beforehand, but now it's like, oh, let's go over to the fans. Let's do a big clap because we've just drawn 1-1. So for me, it's a minor setback. It's a minor setback. Being able to steal a crew point is massive.
And as it stands now, I think it's them, Chelsea and Liverpool fighting for that top five. Fourth and fifth, yeah. Listen, they've got something to play for and that point could go a long way.
Yeah.
yeah so jules it's not just frank then we've had another manager sites in the premier league yeah because i woke up to your message this morning because you took the train very early from manchester saying that she's gone which i have to say i was asleep at half midnight when forest put that statement out they love putting those statements out i think they did the same when the site was the co-group was right in the middle of the night or something i'm not a dash fan i never really like him as a coach i don't i don't know him as a person
But 114 days in, in his last six Premier League games, there's two wins, three draws and only one loss. It felt brutal to me. But then again, they drew nil-nil at home to Wolves on Wednesday night, although they expected goals super high and they had enough chances to win and that's not on him. I thought it was a bit brutal.
Yeah, I think that is fair. And I think some of the anxiety comes because West Ham feel resurgent behind them. I think points-wise, for the last 10 games or so, they're basically the same.
Yeah, I think they were 13th or 14th.
Yeah, but it feels more imminent at this moment in time. And I think the fact that they're not really scoring enough goals, and that game against Wolves yesterday is a prime example. You had 35 shots on goal and the game finishes 0-0.
The more a team has had shot without scoring for the last 20 years or something.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of Spurs' home form on their season?
I think Sunderland's issues in recent weeks have been about creativity. So from the moment Liverpool took the lead in that game, for whatever their defensive frailties have been, and it's been added to now by Endo being injured, it looks like it could be something quite serious. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Liverpool were very much deserving winners I think Sunderland they battled they battled but they didn't create as much as say they would have hoped to and you know you could argue it would have been a great opportunity to do it against Liverpool but it just wasn't to be
just to finish on Sunderland Xhaka was again in the stands still injured and you see not just because Le Fay has to play deeper and he's the most creative player in this team so if you play him deeper he's not right there closer to the box it's a problem but without Xhaka there's something yeah with the experience that he has but then also you can see when he plays he's like the coach on the field the coach has told him what he needs of him in that moment and he can manage certain moments better than any other player not just in Sunderland but probably in and around there
the league, to be honest.
So Arsenal women made a big step towards the Champions League quarter-finals.
Yeah, because they missed out on direct qualification for the quarter-finals. So they have to go through the playoff for the last 16 rounds if you want. It's just like that. They were away in Belgium to Leuven and they won 4-0 pretty easy. They'd beaten Leuven as well in their league phase too. It's not a surprise. What's really interesting is that
if they qualify, they will qualify, they will play Chelsea in the quarter finals. So home and away ties between them and Chelsea will be pretty special, I think, in this Champions League. The other last 16 tie that we had last night was Paris FC against Real Madrid, which was very, very good. If you want to watch the highlights, it's really worth it.
Real Madrid won 3-2, Linda Caicedo was amazing, but I'm glad that little Paris FC still have a chance. I know they need an incredible performance away in Madrid next week to qualify, but still, they're still in the shot. That's what they wanted. They just didn't want to be batted 3 or 4-0 and have no chance.
At least it's only a 3-2 defeat, even if it's at home, and they will have a chance maybe to do something in Madrid next week. A win that maybe we had not really seen coming, Ned. It's the one for Burnley away at Crystal Palace on Wednesday night after being 2-0 down.
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Chapter 7: What factors contributed to the decision to sack Frank early?
Could this be damaging for him, you think, in terms of confidence? Because we saw him on the bench after. He had his head in the shirt. He looked distraught.
Yeah, I think an early substitution is very, very tough to receive as a player, thankfully.
i was never part of that like i was taken off half time a couple of times but never like in the first half because in the first half it's all eyes on you yeah for a half time one yeah yeah for a half time nobody's really seen you or whatever but to be like that in the first half is is concerning it's a game where he will believe that he could have made a difference and i think human nature if you start off slowly in a game you believe you can improve you always do as an individual
So when the manager says, no, I don't trust you to be able to get better, I think what it causes... I wouldn't necessarily say if it's an internal confidence in yourself. I think it's more so a belief in a relationship between yourself and the person that thinks that you've got enough now. Because the manager could pull you to the side and say, oh, you know, I was doing it to protect you.
Which means protect me, allow me to do what I want to do, which is play the game. So I think... If I was Baleba, I'd be very, very, very disappointed. I think it brings out some of the darker sides of me and I would be quite toxic. I'd hold a grudge with the manager.
I know you would.
I do have that within me.
Because many, many players, and young or not so young, receive early yellow cards. It happens in any game. It's football, isn't it? Yeah, and I know he made another foul after and they thought, okay, but surely you can trust your own player Or it's the way... So they'll see it's Baleba and think, hmm, he's a bit of a loose cannon too much sometimes.
I think it'd be very hard to be Baleba and to think that the manager trusts you. Because if he trusted you, he'd keep you on. Because otherwise, everyone else that got yellow card in the game or made a foul, he'd take them off. I think you've seen that. And maybe... To be charitable, maybe he's thought Villa are going to try and play into him on this yellow card.
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Chapter 8: Who are the potential candidates to replace Thomas Frank?
I agree. So, if it was club football, I'd say maybe it's to protect their asset and their value of it. Or maybe just think he's done a really good job as it stands.
But would you take this decision before the World Cup? So, OK, let's say the worst, I know it's the worst scenario and won't happen. But what if England don't even make it past the group stages of the World Cup?
It feels to me like they've put all their trust into him. And if that works out, it won't be his fault.
That's the way.
I think that's what they're trying to spin. Because this contract, how long has it been negotiated for? True. Without a doubt, they started last week. So I'm not sure about it. But I suppose continuity, in theory, will help them this summer, knowing that when it's all said and done, they'll be ready to go again.
Yeah, I guess. I like Thomas Tuchel a lot, and I think he's going to do a good job. But he still feels a little bit unusual. By the way, just to finish on that, a lot of other big national teams, FAs and things like that, wait until the tournament is over. to talk about what the future holds, you know.
It's usually a cycle of two years or four years, I get that, but they rarely take this kind of decision before a tournament like this.
So if you had to bet, would you say England are ahead of the curve or behind it by doing this? Time will tell, eh? Time will tell.
Yeah, definitely.
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