The honeymoon period for Thomas Frank at Tottenham Hotspur has officially come to an end, replaced by a cold, hard reality that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Following a bruising 2-0 loss at the hands of Manchester United, the North London club has now gone seven consecutive Premier League matches without a single victory.
For a manager who arrived with such high expectations after a successful tenure at Brentford, the current trajectory is alarming. Spurs haven’t tasted a league win since late December, and the club is now sliding dangerously close to the relegation zone, sitting just six points above the drop.
While the tactical decisions of the manager are under heavy fire, the personnel on the pitch are doing him very few favors. Specifically, the lack of reliability within the starting eleven is making an already difficult job almost impossible. Most critics are quick to point the finger at the captain, Cristian Romero.
The Argentine defender, who took the armband after the departure of Heung-min Son, has become synonymous with disciplinary chaos. His performance at Old Trafford was a disaster; a reckless, late challenge on United’s Casemiro earned him a straight red card. It was his second dismissal of the season and his sixth since joining the club in 2021—a staggering statistic for a senior leader.
Playing with ten men for over an hour at a stadium like Old Trafford is a recipe for failure, and Romero’s inability to control his temper has now left Frank in a desperate situation.
The captain will miss the next four matches against Newcastle, Fulham, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace. In a season where every point is vital for survival, losing your primary center-back to a suspension of his own making is nothing short of professional negligence.
However, as problematic as Romero’s “hot-headed” nature is, there is another player whose lack of reliability is rapidly becoming a bigger concern for the coaching staff. While Romero’s absences are a result of his choices, Destiny Udogie’s absences are a result of his physical fragility. The young Italian full-back was forced off the pitch after just 55 minutes at Old Trafford, appearing to have suffered yet another hamstring injury.
Udogie is a player of immense talent, but his body seems unable to cope with the rigorous demands of the Premier League. His latest exit was particularly heartbreaking as it was only his fifth game back from a previous injury layoff.
So far in the 2025/26 campaign, he has managed only eight starts, totaling fewer than 800 minutes of football. When you look at the broader picture of his time in London, the data reveals a player who is spending more time on the treatment table than on the grass.
Since joining Spurs in 2023, Udogie has suffered eight separate injuries. These aren’t just minor knocks; they are recurring issues that have forced him to miss a total of 38 matches in a very short span of time.
For a manager like Thomas Frank, who relies on a high-intensity, overlapping wing-back system, having a primary left-back who is essentially a part-time employee is a tactical nightmare. You cannot build a consistent defensive structure when one of your key pillars is constantly being swapped out.
| Injury History | Days Out | Games Missed |
| Muscle Strain | 13 | 1 |
| Knee Issue | 16 | 1 |
| Hamstring (Long-term) | 108 | 12 |
| Hamstring (Minor) | 2 | 0 |
| Hamstring (Recurring) | 44 | 11 |
| Knee (Meniscus) | 42 | 3 |
| Knee (Ligament) | 14 | 4 |
| Hamstring (Recent) | 31 | 6 |
This table illustrates a pattern of physical breakdown that is hard to ignore. Before he was substituted in Manchester, Udogie’s performance was lackluster, winning only a single tackle and struggling to provide the attacking outlet he is famous for. It raises the question: is the player so worried about his hamstrings snapping that he can no longer play with the freedom required at this level?
The timing of this double blow Romero’s suspension and Udogie’s injury could not be worse. Spurs are already dealing with a bloated injury list that includes six other senior defenders. If Udogie’s latest hamstring issue is as serious as it looked, Frank will have to rely on secondary options like the new signing Souza.
While Souza now has a golden opportunity to stake his claim, the lack of continuity in the backline is exactly why Spurs are currently in a freefall.
Ultimately, Thomas Frank is fighting for his job, and he is doing so with a squad that is sabotaging him in two different ways. On one hand, he has the captain, Romero, who is too aggressive for his own good. On the other, he has Udogie, who is physically incapable of staying fit.
Reliability is the most important trait in a relegation scrap, and right now, Spurs have none of it. If these two “duds” in terms of availability don’t find a way to stay on the pitch, the “2030 vision” for the club might just have to start in the Championship.
