NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 543
Submitted by Norman Giller

So the next four matches, starting with neurotic Newcastle tomorrow, will show just how Tottenham perform without smouldering skipper Cristian Romero. His second red card of the season on Saturday has left Spurs deep in the mire (I'm being polite) and takes the atmosphere at the club down to zero temperatures that can be measured on the Mandelson barometer.

A joker suggested it's a toss-up whether Thomas Frank or Arsenal-loving Keir Starmer will be redundant first. Not for the first time, Spurs have a crisis at No 10 and with several other shirt numbers.

As I understand it, being without Romero is a situation we've got to get used to. I am again told by people who know what they're talking about that both Romero and his side-kick and stand-in skipper Micky van de Ven will both be playing in Spain next season.

We shall see, but we need to be more concerned about THIS season. The low activity in the January transfer window makes our ever-critical fan base wonder whether the owners are aware of what Thomas Frank has called 'the perfect storm.'

It's the only perfect thing about Tottenham at the moment.

Romero's public swipe at the new regime at the club and several team-mates is proof of dressing-room and boardroom desperation and despair. Yes, Thomas, perfect.

For those who can't make up their mind about Romero (includes me), no less a player than Lionel Messi calls his countryman "the greatest centre-half in the world".

Who am I to argue with the Master, Messi? But I just wish Cristian would control his Latin temperament. He let down his team-mates on Saturday, yet Frank will stick with him as captain ... if he is still in charge when Romero's four-match suspension ends.

By the time Romero returns to the heart of the defence, Spurs will have played Newcastle, Arsenal (help), Fulham and Crystal Palace. There are another ten players sidelined with injury, and morale is on the floor. Yes, a perfect storm.

My Spurs Odyssey colleague Declan Mulcahy got the short straw and reports on the nightmare at Old Trafford HERE. For what it's worth, I thought a yellow card would have sufficed for Romero's tackle that made him see red, but he is a marked man and under today's microscopic scrutiny had to walk.

The likes of great Tottenham skippers Ron Burgess, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Gary Mabbut and Steve Perryman were just as competitive as Romero but had what I would describe as controlled fury. Cristian always seems on the edge of a volcano waiting to erupt.

He will be back for the Liverpool match on March 15. Last time he played against the Merseysiders, guess what: he got a red card.

Beware the Ides of March.

Here we go with the 24th week of our quiz that tests your knowledge of Tottenham players and the club's history ...

Which Belgian-born midfielder joined Spurs from Fulham in 2006 and against which team did he score the fifth goal in a 5-1 League Cup semi-final victory in 2008?

Please email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 24. 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 scored an FA Cup final goal for Spurs while wearing the No 11 shirt, and for which player was he swapped as a makeweight in what was then a British record transfer deal?

Answer: Frank Saul/Martin Chivers

See you back here on Monday.

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