Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has identified two significant changes he would love to see in the rules guiding Premier League matches.
The former Brentford manager shared his thoughts when asked for his input on how football could be improved. According to the Danish coach, the rules around handballs is an area he would like to see altered.
Handball has already proven a contentious topic in the Premier League this term with an incident involving Marcos Senesi in Liverpool’s win over Bournemouth hitting the headlines. The VAR has been involved in decisions around handball in Nottingham Forest vs Brentford and Arsenal vs Manchester United, too.
Thomas Frank left Brentford to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
For Frank, the current laws are too punitive in how strictly a ball hitting the arm is policed. He believes that a penalty is too severe a punishment for what can prove an unfortunate, accidental touch.
“I would take out the handball rule as for me it’s not right,” Frank told BetMGM. “If there’s a handball and it touches your arm in the penalty area, you are giving the biggest chance to the opponent just because it ‘touches’ your arm.
“Of course, if you’re standing on the goalline and you try to save it like a goalkeeper in the old days that’s different but I simply don’t understand how if it just touches a player’s arm, and it touches their arm in certain areas, it gives the opportunity for the biggest chance in the game.
“It’s a rule that has to be changed to improve the game and make it fairer.”
Frank would also like to see timeouts added into games. “I’d have a timeout in each half,” he added.
“From a coaching perspective, I think it would be lovely to have an opportunity during the game to speak to the players and be able to adjust something.”
Frank who left Brentford to join Tottenham also spoke about his new job. According to him, he is happy to be working with the Spurs squad and already believes he has learned a lot
“The players have been fantastic from my first day here and I’m learning more and more about them every day,” he said.
“It’s about how they react to certain situations, what works and what doesn’t and also what they are like as people and also as players. I think all head coaches and managers have their own way of doing things and I’m no different. The one thing I always think about coaching philosophy is do what you believe in – I’m me, I can’t be anyone else and I need to do what I believe in both on and off the pitch.
“I need to come across the way I am and I think that’s the best way for players to buy into what you’re trying to get across in the way you do things.”
