Things are going from bad to worse at Tottenham right now. And honestly, it's painful to watch for Spurs fans.
The past week has been absolutely brutal. They threw away leads against both Sunderland and Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, and Rodrigo Bentancur all picked up injuries that'll keep them out.
Kudus won't be back until March after pulling up in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland. The timing couldn't be worse since Brennan Johnson was just sold to Crystal Palace two days earlier. Talk about bad planning.
But the real drama came after the 3-2 loss at Bournemouth on Wednesday. First, head coach Thomas Frank was caught on camera drinking from an Arsenal-branded coffee cup. It was innocent enough - Arsenal had played there days before and left it behind. But it's become a viral moment that Arsenal fans are loving.
Then defenders Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven got into heated arguments with travelling Spurs supporters. Not a good look when your team's just bottled another lead.
Romero's Instagram Meltdown Exposes Deep Problems
The biggest bombshell came from club captain Cristian Romero. He posted an Instagram rant questioning why "other people" at the club weren't taking responsibility. He accused them of only showing up "when things are going well, to tell a few lies."
He later edited out the "lies" part, but the damage was done. This is your captain publicly calling out the club's leadership. That's not normal.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust jumped in on Friday with their own statement. They're frustrated with "the embarrassment" and want senior figures to actually communicate with fans. They want to hear the club's ambition and vision moving forward.
Here's the thing - there's basically a leadership black hole at Spurs right now. New chief executive Vinai Venkatesham hasn't been very visible. His last interview with club channels was back in October. Co-sporting director Fabio Paratici might be leaving for Fiorentina. And the actual owners? The Lewis family and chairman Peter Charrington remain total mysteries.
Frank mentioned on Friday that "Johan, Vinai and I are very aligned" - but notably didn't include Paratici in that list. That tells you everything about where things stand.
Can Frank Turn This Around?
Saturday's FA Cup tie against Aston Villa suddenly feels massive. Another loss would push the apathy and hopelessness among fans to new levels. And if you're thinking about backing Spurs in any upcoming matches, you might want to think twice given their current form and mounting injury crisis.
Frank's authority is being questioned from all angles. Players blanked him after a November loss to Chelsea. Now his captain is having social media meltdowns. Romero also just picked up an extra one-match ban for not leaving the pitch quickly enough after his red card against Liverpool.
Frank admitted Romero is a "young leader" - which sounds like code for "maybe not the right choice as captain." But who else could he pick? The squad doesn't have many natural leaders, especially after Son Heung-min left for MLS.
The one ray of hope? Look at Aston Villa. Unai Emery took them from the relegation zone to Champions League contenders in just over two years. He didn't massively overhaul the squad - he just improved the players he had and implemented a clear vision.
If Frank can do something similar at Spurs, there's still hope. But with a trip to Villa Park this weekend and Champions League knockout rounds approaching (they're 11th in the table), he's running out of time to prove he's the right man for the job.
