Thomas Frank criticised Tottenham supporters who booed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario during their 2-1 home defeat to Fulham, calling the reaction “not true fans” and “unacceptable”.
Tottenham fell behind to Kenny Tete’s third-minute deflected opener and, less than three minutes later, Vicario inexplicably ran about 25 yards off his line and misplayed a clearance. Harry Wilson seized on the error to volley into an empty net, making it 2-0 inside six minutes — a start Frank said cost his side the game.
“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him [Vicario] straight after and a few times he touched the ball,” Frank told Sky Sports. “They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you are on the pitch. And we do everything we can to perform. After, fair enough, boo, no problem. But not during. That’s unacceptable in my opinion.”
The second half saw a stronger Spurs showing, highlighted by Mohammed Kudus’ thunderous strike on the hour, but the comeback fell short and Spurs suffered their 10th home league defeat of 2025 — matching their worst single-calendar-year home tally — with Brentford and Liverpool still to visit in December.
Frank blamed the early collapse and the pressure surrounding Spurs’ poor home form for the sluggish first half. “This game we lost in the first six minutes. We just need to keep working,” he said. “After that, we rushed the first half in many ways… We got much better in the second half. We got a bit of momentum, created more chances and opportunities, but couldn’t get the second goal. It was an emotional performance in the second half… you need to stick to the plan, be cool and not stress.”
Vicario, speaking after the match, accepted that fans have the right to express their displeasure. “It’s part of football. I’m a big man and older,” he told Sky Sports. “We can’t be influenced by the situation in the stands. The fans have the right to do what they think. It’s on us to stay calm… We are lacking in a little bit of composure and calmness at the moment. Today is a bad defeat and tough to accept.”
Spurs’ alarming first-half numbers underline the severity of the issue:
– Earliest Tottenham conceded two goals in a home Premier League game (5:43).
– Tottenham have conceded 11 first-half goals in 13 games this season; only Wolverhampton Wanderers (13) have conceded more.
– Tottenham have conceded four goals in the first 15 minutes of matches this season; only Sunderland (5) have conceded more.
– They have failed to win any of their last 20 Premier League matches when conceding first (since a 3 November 2024 win over Aston Villa).
– Across three first halves this season (including Arsenal and Fulham), Tottenham’s combined xG at half-time is just 0.09.
Additional context on Spurs’ home woes: the club has recorded 10 home league defeats in 2025 — their joint-most in a calendar year (also 1994 and 2003) — and has picked up just 14 points at home across the last 12 months, the lowest of any ever-present Premier League side.
Former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, on BBC’s Saturday Night Football, urged realism while backing Frank as a coach. “It was always going to improve from last season,” Dawson said. “They are 10th now but only four points off the top four, so that’s where you have to be realistic. Did I expect them to finish in the top four this season? I didn’t. I thought top six was realistic with Frank going in. With what he did over the last four or five years at Brentford, we can’t now just say Frank isn’t a good coach. The performances have been well below par at home… This group of players aren’t playing to the levels I expect them to be.”