I was over at the training ground on Sunday. And Thomas Frank, he was there running the session just like normal, which felt strange to me because everyone is talking about his job now. After losing to West Ham at home, a real bad one. The players, they don’t know what’s happening neither, and Thomas is suppose to talk to the press on Monday.
Everything looked calm, the training was for recovery mostly. But John Heitinga, the new guy from Ajax, was doing a lot of the shouting for the drills. Outside the fence though, the feeling is all wrong. After the game, fans were singing that he’ll be sacked. It’s all you can think about even if the sun was out at Enfield.
The owners and Mister Venkatesham, they always said they wanted to stick with Thomas. For the long term. But Saturday, it was so bad and the fans so angry, I hear they are thinking about things all over again. We’re way down in 14th place now. Only won two games in ages, and the FA Cup is already over for us.
Thomas said after the match he still feels everyone behind him. That they all want the same success later on. “We are doing a lot of things right behind the scenes, but we are not getting the results which is crucial,” he told everybody. I believe he believes it.
But then Vinai, our chairman, wrote this letter to fans saying there’s a gap between the club and us. People are saying if Thomas stays, that gap could get wider. The letter said we all feel the distance to where we want to be. That we’re impatient too. The team has fell short, it said. It didn’t make anyone feel better.
Now Dortmund comes on Tuesday. In the Champions League. A huge game that feels like it’s about more than just the next round. What Thomas says tomorrow, everyone will pick apart every word for clues. About his future.
It’s a mess really. The club wants to be stable but also needs to win right now. Something’s got to give, and probably soon.
It’s the not knowing that gets you. I was chatting with one of the groundsmen after, and he said the same thing. The drills looked fine, the ball was moving, but everyone’s mind is somewhere else. On what the board is saying to each other in some office far from the pitch. You can see it in the players’ eyes, a sort of careful emptiness, like they’re trying not to think about tomorrow.
I remember times like this before, with other managers. There’s a quiet that happens, a muffled feeling around the whole place. Even the media blokes who are usually joking are just leaning against the walls, checking their phones. John Heitinga, he was putting on a brave face, shouting instructions. But you could tell he walked into a storm he didn’t expect when he took this job last week. It’s a tough first week for anyone.
What gets me is the chairman’s letter talked about “distance” with the fans. But the real distance now feels like it’s inside the building itself. Between what was planned and what’s actually happening on the grass. Between a handshake of support and what might be a goodbye. They built this squad for Thomas, his way of playing. If he goes, then what was it all for? It feels like we’d be starting from a hole, not from scratch.
The stadium will be full on Tuesday, for Dortmund. A European night under the lights. Part of me thinks it could be a fresh start, a moment to snap out of it. The other part worries it’s just a brighter stage for the same problems. I’ll be there in my seat, like always. Hoping for a miracle, but preparing for the news that sometimes follows a night like that. That’s what being here is lately. Holding your breath.
