Louis Saha: Recruitment The Problem At Tottenham - Not Manager Thomas Frank
Louis Saha believes poor recruitment is behind the troubles of his former club Tottenham - not Thomas Frank, in an exclusive interview with casino comparison site Gambling.com.
Spurs have failed to win any of their last five Premier League games, a run which has left them 14th in the table, yet they are on the cusp of qualifying automatically for the round of 16 in the Champions League.
Victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night means they are guaranteed a top-eight finish and will avoid having to go through a two-legged play-off in the knockout phase.
When asked whether Frank was still the right man for Tottenham, Saha said: "I think it's a difficult one because the position of Tottenham manager is extremely complex.
"They want to play a certain style, they have a new stadium and they have a new infrastructure as an international brand.
"But at the same time, when they bring in someone who can bring a bit of foundation, they need the results straightaway.
"In my opinion, they have not purchased the right players. They want to play attacking football, but they play with two sitting midfielders with very similar profiles.
"They are good players, but not in a way that you need to dominate midfield. So there are many kinds of choices that they have to make.
"So yes, Thomas Frank has ideas to build a foundation and be difficult to beat. But at the same time, results-wise, if you don't have the right structure, where strikers can convert those opportunities that you get with a more defensive mindset, it's extremely demanding.
"It's good if you have a player like Harry Kane that converts pretty much like 70% to 80% of his chances and your defence makes it hard to play against you. That makes sense.
“I don't think that's the case at the moment. They have a great defence. I love their captain, [Cristian] Romero and [Micky] van de Ven but in so many ways, they aren’t as clinical in front of goal."
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Saha, who scored three goals in 10 appearances at Spurs in the 2011/12 season, also thinks Liverpool defender Andy Robertson would bring a winning mentality to a club that have struggled for silverware, despite their Europa League triumph under Ange Postecoglou.
Last week, Spurs made a move for the Scotland left-back, who turns 32 in March, in a bid to bring more experience to the squad, although it appears the Reds have now pulled out of talks as they have no cover for Milos Kerkez.
Even if Tottenham fail to bring Robertson to north London, Saha insists they need a handful of new players to bring the energy needed to compete for European places.
He said: "I can see why they are looking at Robertson because he’s someone who has felt properly what it’s like to win and he understands the standards that every player has to give back to the club.
"Liverpool are the best example for me. What that club have done to each player in that era of winning was amazing. From [Mohamed] Salah to Robertson or Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was amazing.
"Virgil van Dijk obviously represented that in a better, consistent and more loyal way. Robertson would provide a kind of captain that Tottenham need and he would maybe challenge potentially good players coming to the club.
"He is a hardcore top player that has done it to the very highest-profile standards. It makes sense to me, because that's what they want. They need more players like this.
"For many, many years Arsenal and Tottenham have been accused of bringing in good players, but not world-class players with massive intention to win trophies and do the best for the remaining years.
"So, I do think that they need at least four or five players like this now. They have good players, but they need the Harry Kanes back - those types of players that know how to win.
"And this is the thing that Arsenal did for so many years which wasn't working. Now, for some reason, they get away with it with all the corners they win!
"But for me, there is a big need for this kind of expensive player to win trophies. It's vital."
