Thomas Frank’s time as manager of Tottenham has been marked by an unusual trend: his team shines brighter away from home. As he prepares to return to Brentford, the club he once led to Premier League promotion, Frank may receive a warm welcome, but his focus remains on maintaining the team’s impressive away form. This has been a standout feature during his initial months in charge.

Tottenham has secured 17 points from their first nine away games this season, yet only managed to gather eight points from the same number of matches at home. Frank dismisses this as merely one of football’s quirky statistics, recalling a similar start during his tenure at Brentford that eventually balanced out. However, there seems to be more at play than mere coincidence.

Playing it safe, while not entirely risk-free, seems to be an easier approach when on the road. This strategy is not unique to Spurs, who are known for their daring motto, “To Dare is to Do,” and the legendary Danny Blanchflower’s quote about pursuing glory. Away games often alleviate the pressure to entertain purely for entertainment’s sake.

Reflecting on the previous Sunday’s 1-0 triumph at Crystal Palace, Frank described it as a “beautiful ugly win,” admiring the determination he saw in his players. Fans in the away section at Selhurst Park echoed his sentiments, applauding the team’s gritty performance and the hard-earned three points, regardless of how it looked.

When it comes to away games, substance often outweighs style. The responsibility to take the initiative usually lies with the home team, allowing Spurs to thrive without the burden of dominating possession. In their victories over Palace and Manchester City, Tottenham had less than 40% possession, and they pushed Paris Saint-Germain to a penalty shootout in the Super Cup with just 26% of the ball.

Thomas Frank has stripped Tottenham back to basics. And it is working on the road, less so at home where fans want entertainment

Pedro Porro enjoys the victory at Palace on Sunday which Frank described as ‘a beautiful ugly win’ 

Substance trumps style on the road. In fact, the onus will be on the other side to make the running. Spurs will not feel the same pressure to dominate the ball. They won at Palace and Manchester City with less than 40 per cent of possession. They took Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the Super Cup with less than 26 per cent of the ball.

They can sit tight, defend and rely on the strategist in Frank to plot their best attacking options, which hinge on perceived strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. It might be to counterattack through speed merchants such as Mohamed Kudus and Wilson Odobert or aerially from crosses for the likes of Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani.

Always, they look to threaten from set-pieces. That is a hallmark of Frank. And, at this stage of the process, these are things they are most comfortable doing. Palace, another team better away than at home, are similarly brilliantly well organised at the back and dangerous in transition, with threats at set-pieces.

Four of Frank’s five Premier League away wins have come with clean sheets. The other was a 2-1 comeback win at Leeds. They have let in a dozen in nine away games and seven came in two games.

One, the four-goal thrashing at Arsenal when Frank tried something different with a back three, a plan abandoned at half-time. The other, the 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest where Spurs were undone by defensive errors for the first two goals.

They have not kept a clean sheet without scoring, although they are often reliant upon unlikely sources. Of the 16 scored in nine away league games, only four have come from forwards. Micky van de Ven has three, Cristian Romero, Pape Matar Sarr and Richarlison have two each.

Six of the nine scored from set-pieces have come away from home. Two at West Ham, two at Everton, Romero’s overhead kick at Newcastle and Archie Gray’s header at Palace on Sunday.

When they look to open up though, there are problems. Frank knows more is expected at home. Spurs tickets are the most expensive in the country and those who pay for seats in the corporate palace expect to see their team play in the Tottenham way.

Six of the nine goals scored by Spurs from set-pieces have come away from home. Two at West Ham, two at Everton and Cristian Romero’s overhead kick at Newcastle

The four-goal thrashing at Arsenal came when Frank tried something different with a back three, a plan abandoned at half-time

Exactly what that amounts to is a matter of debate, but they will not settle for a tight back four shielded by two big midfielders, taking chances on the break and from set-pieces.

Some Spurs fans have turned noticeably on their own players during home games. There were jeers for Djed Spence going back to the goalkeeper in the closing minutes of a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea and noisy ridicule for Guglielmo Vicario after his mistake against Fulham which prompted anger in the dressing room.

At home, Frank has tried to be more expansive. It is inescapable to a point because so many visiting teams arrive with a plan to frustrate them. They know the home crowd are impatient, demanding flair and adventure, and they know anxiety in the stands will bleed onto the pitch, draining the confidence and clouding the judgment. None of this is present in the same way at away games.

At home against Bournemouth in August, Spurs had 61 per cent of possession and hardly looked like scoring. They could not find a way through the Bournemouth press and as desperation set in became susceptible in open spaces on the counter. The visitors had 20 efforts at goal and should have won by more than 1-0.

Games like this and the Fulham home defeat, when they had 63 per cent of possession, shifted Frank’s thinking away from the reinforced shield of both Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha in search of slicker passing and an ability to get forward more quickly from deep midfield.

Enter 19-year-old Gray. Palhinha, who started in the first four away wins, has not started a league game since the Fulham defeat in November. He came on at Palace on Sunday.

Frank’s efforts to be more adventurous at home are perhaps reflected in the goals scored by forwards. Richarlison has five. Mathys Tel, Kudus, Xavi Simons and Brennan Johnson have all scored one. They have 72 per cent of home goals from open play compared to 62 per cent away.    

Fortune is in play, too. They spent more than an hour at home against Liverpool with 10 men and ended with nine. At West Ham, they were a man up for more than half an hour.

Frank’s efforts to be more adventurous at home are perhaps reflected in the goals scored by forwards. The Brazilian striker Richarlison has five

Archie Gray, who scored the winner against Palace, has come into the side to add slicker passing

When it comes to home form, Frank laments the absence of creative players such as James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke. Xavi Simons is not available at Brentford as he serves the second of a three-match ban for a red card against Liverpool.

The Spurs boss talks often of ‘adding layers’ and that it will not be ‘a quick fix’. Again, at Brentford, he did layer excitement on the fundamentals and turned the likes of Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa into prolific goalscorers but not overnight.

‘One thing I’m not in doubt of, it will come,’ said Frank. ‘All the teams I’ve had scored a lot of goals, and I create one top scorer after another, year in year out. That will also happen here. We are on a journey where we need to improve a lot of stuff.’ 

But the away form is just fine as he returns to Brentford for the first time and he will hope to keep it that way.