Tottenham boss Thomas Frank urged to drop “disrespectful” Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven over their antics after Chelsea defeat
There has been an element of gloom around Tottenham Hotspur after Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Chelsea. The north Londoners were far from their best, failing to assert themselves on the Blues.
On another day, had it not been for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Spurs could have ended up losing to Chelsea in an embarrassing fashion. The loud boss echoing around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium made it crystal clear that the fans were totally dissatisfied with fight, spirit and energy levels in the defeat to bitter London rivals.
Thomas Frank admitted in his post-match presser that his side were second best in every department to Enzo Maresca’s men, with Tottenham failing to create a single clear-cut opportunity. After the final whistle, the spotlight went towards Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven, who both made mistakes for Joao Pedro’s winning goal, ignored Thomas Frank’s instruction to applaud the home fans and instead walked past him and straight down the tunnel.
Thomas Frank urged to drop the defensive duo vs FC Copenhagen
TalkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino shed light on the incident, claiming it “does not look good”. Now, Micah Richards has had his say on it. He has urged Thomas Frank to drop Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven over their full-time antics following a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. The footballer-turned-pundit feels the Spurs’ defensive duo showed ‘a lack of respect’ for the Danish tactician.
“But if they’re disrespecting the manager like that, it’s an absolute disgrace. And if they did, I wouldn’t play in the next game,” Micah Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast.
“I really wouldn’t, because Thomas Frank’s not that sort of person who causes that confrontation, so that’s just a lack of respect.”
The mood around Tottenham is rather low at the moment, with Frank and Co. losing yet another fixture at home. They have picked up just four points from five home games in the Premier League this season, and this form is simply unacceptable. Frank has a lot to improve with his team’s mentality when it comes to approaching the home fixtures.
As far as the Spence and Van de Ven incident is concerned, we do not feel Frank will dissect it further and sanction them, even though the duo dismissing their boss in front of everybody was not at all a great look. The Danish boss defended them after the game, handling the tricky situation very smartly. Instead, he will want to direct all the focus and energy towards a crucial Champions League encounter against FC Copenhagen in midweek, aiming to win the contest before hosting Manchester United in the Premier League.
