Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Mon 15 December 2025 7:30, UK

Joao Palhinha started on the bench again for Tottenham on Sunday as they were battered by Nottingham Forest.

Tottenham lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, with goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ibrahim Sangare going without reply.

Thomas Frank‘s side looked to have turned a corner with two positive performances against Brentford and Slavia Prague, but Sunday’s loss was a return to normality.

Frank is already facing calls for the sack at Tottenham, just six months after he arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham are set to be active in the January transfer window, but there is some uncertainty over whether the Dane will even still be in charge by the end of December.

Alan Pardew baffled by Thomas Frank’s usage of Joao Palhinha

Tottenham signed Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer, with the midfielder’s arrival looking a genius move after his early performances.

The 30-year-old was hugely impressive in games against Manchester City and PSG at the start of the season, and remained a consistent force, even as the team’s form slowed.

Recently, however, Frank has elected to drop the Portugal international from the starting line-up, favouring the likes of Archie Gray and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Against Newcastle United, Palhinha did not even make it off the bench and faced limited minutes against Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

It would appear that Frank is attempting to address Tottenham‘s struggles to create chances, although the situation has not improved substantially since the switch.

Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has questioned the decision, and told talkSPORT on Sunday: “I don’t understand why he is not starting for the team, personally.

“I think he has the experience to really guide you through some consistency, it’s consistency that is the problem.”

Thomas Frank delivers bizarre response when questioned on substitutions

Palhinha did get on the pitch against Nottingham Forest, but both his and Ben Davies‘ introductions were made when Tottenham were already 2-0 down.

The likes of Brennan Johnson and Mathys Tel remained on the bench until the 80th minute, sparking some confusion among Tottenham fans.

Questioned on the decision, Frank said: “We had four offensive players on the pitch. So I felt that, just to back to the bit before where I say we’re disjointed.

“So if you’re disjointed, you can have 11 offensive players on the pitch, it will not help. So we need to be in sync. And then it helps, and hopefully we can find a way back after that.”

Disjointed or not, Tottenham were losing and in desperate need of attacking intervention. Unsurprisingly, that did not arrive with the introduction of Palhinha or Davies.

If the Dane is looking to inspire confidence, he is only succeeding in encouraging the exact opposite with his baffling decisions.