‘Ridiculous’ Romero headloss will be Frank’s undoing at Spurs as Real Madrid circle

It was ironic that Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was the culprit as Spurs slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United on Saturday.

The Argentine got himself sent off after just 29 minutes with a needlessly reckless challenge on Casemiro, ultimately dooming Spurs to defeat. Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring less than 10 minutes later, and Bruno Fernandes put the game to bed in the 81st.

This loss means that Tottenham’s dire Premier League run continues. The North London club have yet to win a domestic game in 2026, with their only victories coming against Bundesliga sides Dortmund and Frankfurt in the Champions League.

Thomas Frank managed to stave off his sacking thanks to the success in Europe, and Spurs were widely praised for their second-half fightback against Man City last week. However, the reality is that they are closer to West Ham in 18th than the Champions League places right now.

Frank’s position will again come under scrutiny after this latest defeat, despite the mitigating factor of Romero’s red card. In a sense, though, the Dane only has himself to blame.

Romero captaincy could be a fatal error

Handing Romero the captaincy in the summer is increasingly looking like a major misjudgement. While true that you want a captain who cares about the club, the defender is starting to become a liability with his antics.

It was fitting that he was sent off on Saturday after sparking a week-long discussion over whether he is the right man to lead the team. On Monday, Romero took aim at the club hierarchy for the second time this season by branding the lack of January activity “disgraceful.”

He previously thundered that Spurs bosses should face the music after poor results and accused them of only showing up when things are going well and “telling a few lies.”

Romero’s head loss comes amid growing speculation that he could jump ship in the summer, despite signing a new contract last year. Real Madrid are said to be very keen on the Argentine.

Frank has insisted that he has “no regrets” over handing Romero the captaincy, and he reiterated this after his red card. “No, [there are no regrets],” he said.

“And also, he was sorry for the incident, he apologised to his team-mates in the changing room. I think he’s one of the most important players, and I think when he performs top, he’s driving the team.”

Frank is right that Romero is a spectacular player when on form, but the captain could now prove to be the coach’s undoing. As it was his second red card of the season, the 27-year-old will miss Spurs’ next four games, including a North London derby.

If things don’t improve, it is not far-fetched to suggest that Frank may be out of a job by the time Romero returns from his suspension. In this context, it was a particularly damaging sending off.

Aly McCoist fittingly described Romero’s challenge as “ridiculous” and “madness” on commentary, saying: “He definitely catches studs on ankle. It does look really painful. I don’t think he needs to follow through, I think it’s ridiculous.

“There’s a way he can challenge for the ball and win the ball, it’s madness. He’s just letting his teammates down again, he doesn’t need to do that.”

Paul Merson echoed this sentiment: “He’s the reason they’ll probably get beaten now. He’s the reason. Unbelievable.”

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