Despite trailing 0-2 at halftime, Tottenham Hotspur managed to earn a point against Manchester City in the end. Captain Cristian Romero criticized the club’s management in this regard.
When Spurs came out of the dressing room at halftime trailing 2-0 in their home game against Manchester City (2-2), hardly any of the home team’s fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would have expected a conciliatory final result. Especially since Cristian Romero had to be replaced by Pape Sarr at the start of the second half.
Contrary to initial speculation, the captain’s substitution was not due to disciplinary reasons, but to “illness,” as Thomas Frank explained afterwards. Romero had already been struggling with his health in the previous 2-0 win in Frankfurt, “but he fought through it with a fantastic performance as captain,” said the head coach.
When Spurs came out of the dressing room trailing 2-0 at halftime in their home game against Manchester City (2-2), hardly any of the home team’s fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would have expected a conciliatory final result. Especially since Cristian Romero had to be replaced by Pape Sarr at the start of the second half.
Contrary to initial speculation, the captain’s substitution was not due to disciplinary reasons, but to “illness,” as Thomas Frank explained afterwards. Romero had already been struggling with his health in the previous 2-0 win in Frankfurt, “but he fought through it with a fantastic performance as captain,” said the head coach.
The Argentine, who has worn the captain’s armband since Heung-Min Son’s departure in the summer, was delighted that his teammates had turned the game around in the second half with “great work” even without him.
Romero is aware of his responsibility and does not shy away from expressing his views clearly at times. For example, in the wake of the ongoing results crisis, he complained about a month ago: “We are responsible, there is no doubt about that. But we will continue to face up to the situation and try to change it, for ourselves and for the club. In times like these, other people should actually have their say, but they don’t—as has been the case for several years. They only show up when everything is going well.”
Only two new signings in the winter
This is clear criticism of the club’s management, whose actions have been questioned for some time. Following the respectable result against ManCity, Romero has now added to his criticism, this time triggered by what he sees as poor transfer policy in the winter.
Despite numerous absences—including regulars such as James Madison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, and Rodrigo Bentancur—Spurs had only announced two external signings: Souza (FC Santos), who has not yet played, and Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid).
“I wanted to help them, even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available—unbelievable, but true and shameful,” the struggling Romero explained in his latest statement on Instagram. The captain promised that they would “continue to be present and take responsibility to turn things around, work hard and stick together”—at least in relation to the Spurs professionals.