Can Thomas Frank and Tottenham outsmart Opta’s supercomputer? – Opinion

The model deployed by Opta suggests that Tottenham will be finishing tenth in the English top tier this season and will attain 52 points. This aggregate is a staggering 21 behind arch rivals Arsenal.

If we go more deeply into the numbers, it also suggests that Thomas Frank’s side only has a 9.47% chance of making the Champions League qualification this season, which shows the mammoth task that the North Londoners have ahead of them in the standings making the campaign.

This prediction comes as a massive surprise given how the Lilywhites have invested quite heavily in the squad with the marquee arrivals of Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, which adds a lot of dynamism to the attacking firepower at N17.

There have been signs of early promise from Thomas Frank

The Dane head coach’s blueprint has been showing since his first pre-season game on the sidelines for the Lilywhites. Tottenham under Frank played structural football with organised pressing, and then they displayed this intensity without the ball.

If we look at the first two games of the new season (against Burnley and City), this was shown in how the side looked disciplined yet dangerous, especially in transitional situations. But then when facing Bournemouth, however, the North Londoners looked short of invention, and Frank would know that exactly this sort of inconsistency can end up being the Lilywhites’ biggest enemy in his first season in charge at N17.

So now the challenge for the Dane head coach would be to prove that the algorithm is wrong, and that can be done by ensuring that they sustain results consistently along the season (especially given that it is something that Tottenham have not been able to do in recent years).

There will be ruthless expectations at N17 from Daniel Levy & Co.

If we think about this prediction from the expectations that would be behind the scenes, it is definite that Daniel Levy will not be looking at this possible tenth position as anywhere near acceptable. We saw how the chiefs at Hotspur Way decided to call curtains on Ange Postecoglou’s time at Tottenham at the conclusion of the last season despite the fact that the Australian won the Europa League trophy in his final game in charge donning the Spurs badge. And Thomas Frank will be aware of the fact that his margin for error is slim.

This data from Opta is gloomy given the high expectations among the supporters at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and if you think about it, the expectations from Levy would also be quite clear that the North Londoners must be playing elite European competitions at any cost, and if Thomas Frank brings anything less, then you’d expect questions to be asked.

Well, a supercomputer can make a lot of calculations, but it can definitely not measure the influence that Thomas Frank brings on the touchline, and it cannot know the hunger of players like Richarlison (who is rediscovering his form) or the fact that Simons has the capacity to step into Maddison’s shoes at N17. But it does end up giving us a truth, a fact that Tottenham are still a work in progress.