NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 536
Submitted by Norman Giller

Tottenham go into the holiday and New Year programme with Thomas Frank just about avoiding the Christmas sack, while privately wondering whether he should strip Christian "Cuti" Romero of the club captaincy.

Despite Saturday's defeat by Liverpool, Spurs emerged from a helter-skelter match with a semblance of pride. They very nearly salvaged a point against the reigning Premier League champions after being reduced to nine men. But the stark reality is that this was Tottenham's 11th home defeat of 2025, and the Lewis family will have noted that it was the fifth setback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their under-fire Danish manager.

What will concern the increasingly harassed-looking Frank most is that his skipper lost the plot at precisely the moment Spurs needed calm leadership. Romero's first booking - for angrily disputing Liverpool's second goal after he had been clearly pushed - was avoidable. Once on a yellow card, the Argentine knew he was walking a behavioural tightrope. Yet instead of showing discipline and restraint, he allowed emotion to take control and surrendered his right to remain on the pitch.

For many seasons I have watched the likes of Ron Burgess, Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman lead Tottenham with passion allied to responsibility - always setting the tone for how to compete without crossing the line.

Sadly, Romero - an exceptional centre-half - has a self-destruct button that is too easily pushed. If I were Thomas Frank, I would be giving serious thought to handing the captain's armband to his far more controlled defensive partner, Micky van de Ven.

As for the first dismissal in a match that took an hour to come to life, I thought VAR was right to upgrade the initial yellow card to a red for the enigmatic Xavi Simons. Those Spurs fans disputing the decision would surely have demanded a sending-off had such a reckless challenge been committed by a Liverpool player. What we continue to crave, however, is consistency - so players know exactly where the line is drawn.

Our guru Paul H. Smith provides his eyewitness account of this strange encounter HERE. Meanwhile, on behalf of Paul and the Spurs Odyssey team, may I wish every one of you the merriest of Christmases - and a New Year that is rather less "Spursy".

I found that quite a bruising sporting weekend. After Tottenham's self-inflicted ordeal against Liverpool, I stayed up to watch England's denouement in the Ashes in Adelaide, following Anthony Joshua's unlikely "triumph" on Strictly Come Dancing in Miami. My Child Bride, Joyce, remains convinced that I am quite barmy.

COYS.

Here we go with the 17th week of our quiz that tests your knowledge of Tottenham players and the club's history ...

Which Frenchman joined Spurs from Turf Moor in 2024, scored his first Premier League goal for Tottenham at West Ham and what number squad shirt does he wear?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 17. Deadline: midnight this Saturday. I will do my best to respond to all who take part.

The rules are the same as in the previous 11 seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake - two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a real stinker of a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. This is when I lose what few friends I have.

This season's main prize will be a framed certificate announcing the winner as SOQL champion 2026, plus three signed books to be revealed at a later date.

Last week I asked: Who once played with Alf Ramsey for Tottenham and was selected by him in his first match as England manager, and what number Spurs shirt did he usually wear?

Answer: Ron Henry/No 3 (for those who answered Bobby Smith, he never played for Spurs with Alf Ramsey, who joined Ipswich as manager in 1955 while Bobby was still at Chelsea).

See you back here on Monday.

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