Richard Keys reacts to multi-million ‘disgrace’ over Thomas Frank sack at Tottenham – ‘It’s scandalous’
Richard Keys says the amount of money spent on Thomas Frank after his eight-month stint at Tottenham is “scandalous”.
On Thursday, Tottenham sacked Frank after winning just two of their last 17 Premier League games.
Frank had a huge amount of success at Brentford but couldn’t translate that at Tottenham, who now sit 16th in the Premier League table, just five points above the relegation zone.
Spurs brought Frank to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last summer on a deal until 2028, with Brentford receiving £6.7million after the north London team met his release clause.
Now, Keys has drawn attention to how much financial waste there is in football when it comes to paying off managerial contracts.
Thomas Frank set for huge pay out despite Tottenham sacking
While Frank oversaw Tottenham’s safe passage to the last 16 of the Champions League this season, the Dane was unable to get a tune out of them in the Premier League.
Spurs started the campaign well, but it has been a steady decline for months now, so much so that it was inevitable that Frank would be dismissed.
Incidentally, according to The Sun, Frank’s “miserable” tenure at Tottenham could cost the club £30.7m.
He was said to be on around £8m per year, so in addition to his release clause, Spurs have forked out an awful lot of money for a very short spell.
As a result, Keys has called out this “scandalous” amount of financial waste, something he acknowledges happens all the time in football – something Joe Lewis is certainly guilty of.
He wrote on his blog: “I guess it was inevitable Spurs would part company with Thomas Frank, but in what other business would an organisation be able to get away with such rank stupidity?
“Spurs paid Brentford £6.7m only seven months ago to get him – then they pull the rug away. Now there’s the business of compensation for Frank. It’s scandalous. An absolute disgrace, but it goes on all the time in football.”
For the time being, Tottenham have decided against splashing the cash again on a manager, with interim boss Igor Tudor tasked with leading the team for the rest of the season.
Whether or not he can keep the Europa League holders in the Premier League this term is another matter, though.
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Will Igor Tudor do any better than Frank at Tottenham?
During Frank’s brief spell at Tottenham, he was in charge for just 38 matches in all competitions.
The Dane won 13 of those, secured 11 draws, and suffered 14 defeats – leading to a win percentage of under 35. At Brentford, his win percentage was 41.64 per cent during his 317 games at the helm.
Now, former Juventus boss Tudor has taken up the reins at Tottenham, a confirmation that has been met with mixed reactions among Spurs fans.
On the face of it, Tudor hasn’t had a great deal of success in management, with the Croatian having 12 jobs in just 11 years.
The 47-year-old has managed at big clubs such as Marseille, Juve, Galatasaray, and Lazio, but his best work came at Hajduk Split back in 2013-15 – where he won the Croatian Cup for his sole trophy as a coach.
Tudor has repeatedly been sacked during his short stays at teams, so Tottenham supporters, arguably, have the right to feel a bit uneasy about his appointment.
But if he is able to steer them to safety, he may be remembered more fondly at Spurs than Frank, even if he is the cheap option for now.
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