• It may have been a storm in a coffee cup on the south coast for Thomas Frank, but there is a very real threat to his authority brewing at Tottenham Hotspur.
• Less than 24 hours after being caught sipping from an Arsenal-branded cup during Tottenham’s stoppage-time defeat at Bournemouth, Frank had to sit in front of a red and white Emirates-branded background to answer questions about his captain Cristian Romero.
• The FA Cup backdrop provided Arsenal fans, who have flooded social media with a host of Frank-inspired jokes in response to the coffee cup storm, with another chance to poke fun at him. But there is not much for Tottenham’s head coach to smile about, as he attempts to retain some sense of control.
• That has not been helped by the decision to let off Romero without a fine after he posted a message on social media in the hours after the defeat by Bournemouth that read: “At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t – as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies.”
• It was later edited to delete the accusation of “lies” and that seemed to be enough to somehow allow Romero to escape with just a chat with Frank and co-sporting director Johan Lange.
• Asked if Romero would still be captain and whether he had been fined, Frank said: “He is our captain, he’s not been fined.” Pushed on why Romero had not been punished, the Dane added: “I think there’s a lot of ways to deal with different situations. We’ve chosen to have a good conversation with him, understand where he stands, handle it internally and that’s everything I have to say.”
• The club remained silent on Romero and his outburst, leaving the door ajar to the theory that Spurs and Frank are simply too scared of the potential consequences to properly punish the fiery Argentine.
• Frank insisted he had shown he is able to draw the line with his players by dropping Yves Bissouma from his Super Cup squad for persistent lateness. But some may reach the same conclusion as one source, who spoke to Telegraph Sport, and said: “It’s double standards.”
• There have already been claims that Romero is granted more freedom around the training ground than the rest of the squad and he was made the club’s highest-paid player when he signed a new contract last summer. Vinai Venkatesham, the Tottenham chief executive, told a fans forum it was “the best deal in world football this summer” when he addressed them in October.
• Defending Romero’s ability to lead the team, Frank pointed to the fact the captain was one of the players to speak up at half-time at Bournemouth after Spurs had let an early lead slip to trail at the break.
• Telegraph Sport has been told that Tottenham’s angry players took it upon themselves to hold a half-time inquest at the Vitality Stadium. But by the time the players returned to the dressing room, having confronted fans after the final whistle, there was little said with the mood described as quiet and brooding.
• A source said: “Things were said between the players at half-time in the dressing room, but at the end it was just quiet. The message to the players was just ‘well done’, which seems a bit strange given what had happened.”
• Tottenham’s defeat at Bournemouth was greeted by loud booing from the visiting supporters. Micky van de Ven was seen gesturing to fans in a tense stand-off before being dragged away, while Pedro Porro, who was also helped out of the firing line, and João Palhinha went to speak to supporters face to face.
• Porro, along with Richarlison, posted messages of support below Romero’s social media post, and Frank revealed that he had spoken with his entire squad, as well as Romero personally, on Thursday morning to try to clear the air.
• “We spoke this morning in the meeting we had,” Frank said. “It’s a very emotional situation to be in after a late defeat. They’re human beings. They get questioned every single time. They’re footballers, that’s part of it, but that’s not the same [as saying it is] easy. I’d like to see some of the guys on social media or you guys experience that pressure out there. I don’t think it’s that easy.”
Van de Ven ‘frustrated’
• Tottenham have been keen to offer Van de Ven a new contract, with his current deal running to 2029. But some sources believe the defender is frustrated with the current situation at the club.
• Earlier this season, Telegraph Sportrevealed that Tottenham players discussed in detail their disconnect with the club’s fans in a team meeting and the issue is now viewed within the squad as critical.
• The subject of Spurs supporters was the key theme in a players’ meeting following the defeat by Chelsea on November 1. At the end of the game, Van de Ven and Djed Spence could not hide their displeasure with some fans and walked straight off the pitch.
• Porro also hit out at “disrespectful” fans on social media following the defeat by Fulham, in which goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was booed by some Tottenham supporters.
• Asked why there have been so many behavioural issues, Frank said: “That’s the beauty of things happening once and then you can always go back to it. Then there are a lot of emotions in football, when it’s not going in the direction you want and you get emotional after a game or whatever.
• Everyone reacts differently. We’re working very hard on being cool and calm, but still a passionate unit that can compete every game. And that will go a little bit up and a little bit down.”
• Tottenham are still to confirm whether co-sporting director Fabio Paratici, who has been heavily linked with Fiorentina, will stay at the club and the Italian was left off Frank’s list of staff who he stressed are working together at Spurs.
• “I think it’s very important to stress that even though there’s noise, the club is very aligned,” Frank said. “Johan, Vinai and I are very aligned. Ownership is very aligned. We know it’s a tough spell that we need to get through.”
• Frank may remain in charge of the team as head coach, but whether he is in control of his players is not quite so clear.
by COYS1989
25 Comments
Apologies I missed out it’s by Matt Law in the title.
Fun news. Fans need to be directing anger at the board and backing the players. As has been the case for many years.
“Frank had to sit in front of a red and white Emirates-branded background to answer questions about his captain Cristian Romero” – Hahaha absolutely peak Matt Law here
I have no words at this point they never fail to surprise me
I’m not a fan of Frank’s non-answers in general but I think that’s the best he could have done for this question.
I don’t think punishment would do anyone good, especially since there’s clearly some seeds of truth behind Romero’s comments.
Whats more concerning is the dressing room is in shambles. And on top of that, I feel like the squad in general has a rotten, entitled attitude.
No doubt it would be nice for fans to stick with the team through thick and thin. (Which we do – some fans just get a bit toxic with the stick).
But to make that a ‘critical issue’ feels like deflection away from the poor performances and accountability for that from the players.
Where’s the accountability from the squad? I honestly think we would be better off rebuilding from scratch.
Quite the scathing piece that aligns quite well with what you see on the pitch, lack of motivation and effort from players, delusional insights from Frank about how we have been competitive last few games, and most obviously how the ownership continues to inflict misery on the fans and players alike because of their unwillingness to admit a mistake and taking steps to correct it.
Ironically, the man they sacked in order to take this club forward, would have by now sacked Frank to end this charade. Levy did not get a lot of things right, but he had no issues cutting losses or taking action when he felt a mistake had been made.
Vinai and the board appear to not be able reconcile that being in charge at Spurs may mean their first appointment could actually be wrong, and seem bent on saving themselves from embarrassment at the expense of fans. Diabolical.
Did they never flush the mole out or something?
Matt Law can go fuck himself. I have no sympathy for Frank, but this article is yet another shit-stirring garbage article that feeds his weird vedetta against Spurs.
Romero’s post had *nothing* to do with undermining Frank, but everything to do with the management above him: the Lewises, Vanketesham, and Lange and Paratici. Literally no one is accusing Frank of “not coming out to speak”. He specifically said “At times like this, it should be ***other*** people coming out to speak”.
Romero isn’t eroding Frank’s authority (the performances are doing just fine at that!), but he was attempting to associate the other big culprits within the club to the current shitshow. Lange is just as much to blame as Frank, yet Lange hasn’t said a peep since that weird video with Paratici 4 months ago.
It wouldn’t be a Tottenham Hotspur shitshow without the usual Matt Law article haha.
turns out playing exciting football, aiming for three points at every match and winning the odd game is a prerequisite of being a spurs manager…. who knew!!
They should put that in a motto or something
ffs
I genuinely think Frank is miserable and is just counting days before he’s sacked. After the last 2 weeks or so, I just don’t see a positive outcome with him, and I reckon he feels the same. Might as well pull the trigger and get it over with, no need to prolong the suffering of everyone.
Matt Law is a shit stirring fart bucket
It’s been demonstrated time and time again, that the fans can be very tolerant and patient if the team plays in a way we expect them to play. Yes results matter, but patience can run very thin when we get shit results playing like shit. We want attacking football, it’s really that simple. The manager can deploy long throws, set pieces to help us get across the line, but those are just margins, the core is the team should be one that dares, we don’t want to watch coward or terror ball, we don’t want to pass the ball back or hide behind a one goal lead. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for the hierarchy to understand.
I don’t know where they get off accusing the fans for the bad vibes, any club with a home record as atrocious as ours in 2025 would descent into similar levels of toxicity, not to mention how expensive it is to attend games.
Regarding cup gate. Is it strange they use cups, as there are plenty of bottles around that club 😜
Matt Law can get fucked
Matt Law is no more poisonous than Ali Gold has been. All they are interested in is clicks, so the longer and more extreme there is a ‘crisis’ the better it is. These people stir the pot for financial gain.
I read about half and got annoyed. This is non news. ‘Opposing fans have ammunition on social media.’ Really?
Get behind your players, people. There was evidence they’re trying to play in that match whether you want to see it or not. If we’re going to parrot every media narrative that gets thrown out this will be a miserable sub for years to come.
The fact of the matter is we’re a young side with inexperienced players, missing a ton of important players who it’s starting to look like aren’t going to come back the same player anyway. It’s a shit time and our board have led this team into a years long decline. We are no longer a top 6 club. You continue supporting, detach or jump ship. It’s up to you.
Yes it’s shit. But it’s football and it’s been created by years of mismanagement at a board level.
Sack him, don’t sack him. It makes no difference. I’ll be supporting our players whenever our next game is. And fuck it, I support Frank too, bring the downvotes. The bloke’s been dealt the shittiest hand any spurs manager has in a long time.
Romero was laying into the owners. Maybe Frank agrees with him.
These shit-stirring articles help nobody.
Why would we punish Romero or the fans be upset for him being correct and labelling the subtext.
Control of his players? I’m not sure the players even really know what the manager wants them to do on the pitch half the time. I think the best parts of the season have been the players asserting themselves against what he drills.
We need new ownership
In their last 10 Premier League games, Spurs have won 2, drawn 3 and lost 5. They are now 14th in the league. Worse than that, the team’s performances are turgid and inept. Manager, Thomas Frank, often sets the side up to defend and draw. The club motto is “To dare is to do”. Spurs are the side of Hoddle, Modric, Gascoigne, Kane and Bale. Spurs fans are dreamers. The dull displays every week are death by a thousand cuts. Thomas Frank does not get the club’s culture.
During yesterday’s game, Spurs’ players ran a lot but failed to create scoring opportunities. Their play was littered with mis-placed passes and poor judgement. It is ok in this Spurs side to make mistakes. There are no consequences for errors under Thomas Frank.
Before the game, manager Thomas Frank was photographed sipping his espresso out of a cup with the Arsenal logo on it. Why would there be an Arsenal branded cup in the away changing room at Bournemouth? It must have been put their intentionally. Somone thought it would be funny. There is a lack of respect for Thomas Frank, a lack of fear.
And why did nobody in Frank’s support team spot the mistake? There is a lack of attention to detail, a lack of control, in the way Frank runs the club.
After the game, vice captain Van De Ven walked over to the club’s fans in the stadium and offered to meet one afterwards for a fight. Romero, the club captain tweeted later that there were people behind the scenes who were to blame for how things were turning out. Both Romero and Van de Ven are members of the team’s leadership group and both behaved unprofessionally and not for the first time. Frank said he had not seen the incidents but recognised that players could be frustrated after another lost game. No standards, no consequences, no action. The players do not respect Frank and they don’t listen to him. He does not know how to lead big personalities.
Everyone says what a nice guy Thomas Frank is but being nice is not good enough. Great leaders are not nice guys. They have an edge. They don’t accept failure. They set high standards and enforce them. Great leaders have a vision that inspires players and a passion that makes fans love them. A better leader would get better performances and results from these players.
With Daniel Levey out of the picture there is a chance that new, better players can be brought into the club. For over 20 years Levey took personal control of all transfer dealings and refused to pay for the biggest stars. His ego did not allow him to relinquish control of the deals and the side gradually got worse. Letting your ego control your actions is poor leadership but all too common. His last hiring mistake at Tottenham was Thomas Frank.
Honestly I don’t think Romero’s post has eroded franks authority at all if anything it’s slightly boosted it because Romero basically said the board are the problem not frank
What a bollocks article!
I’m getting as frustrated as the next fan, but give Frank a chance. He’s got no real creativity in the squad rn, maybe when we get Madders and Kulu back things might change.
As for what Cuti said, as mentioned above it was aimed at the board not management. I think Frank was right to let it slide, he’s probably just as frustrated with them.
And as for the coffee cup, grow up! It’s a fucking disposable cup that the Bournemouth back room staff left as a joke! Why should he have to check out something that was handed to him after he asked for a drink? Does anybody else check what’s on a cup or mug any time they’re handed a drink? Some of our supporters need to get behind the team and players. Any frustration should be aimed at the higher ups. It’s on them to support the management and team and invest in decent quality players, the squad is nowhere near strong enough to compete. Winning the EL just papered over the cracks for a bit. It’s time for the owners to back up what they said and invest. We don’t have Levy dragging out negotiations for players anymore, they just need to listen the coach about what players he needs and fucking get them!
Romero is a problem. The way the team behaves is a reflection on its “captain”. He may be an above-average player but he’s not the type of person you want setting the tone for a team. Choosing him as captain was wrong but also this team has no real leader at the moment. And this is a huge problem.
Downvote all you want but what I said it’s totally obvious.