I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking

Nov 04, 2025

I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking
Reuters Yonhap News



I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking
Photo capture=더선
I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking
Photo capture=더선
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank hastened to evolve on 'passing controversy'

Tottenham will play FC Copenhagen (Denmark) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 5 a.m. on the 5th (Korea time) and play the fourth European Champions League (UCL) league phase in the 2025-2026 season. With one win and two draws (five points), Tottenham is currently ranked 15th. In the UCL League phase, in which 36 teams participate, each team will play eight games. The 1st to 8th places will go straight to the round of 16, and the 9th to 24th places will determine the advance to the round of 16 through the playoffs (PO).

Frank held a press conference against Copenhagen on the 4th. The topic was Mickey van der Penn and Jed Spence. Tottenham lost 0-1 in the 10th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Chelsea on the 2nd. It was the worst performance. In the 35th minute of the first half, João Pedro shook Tottenham's net.




Tottenham was home, but they were lethargic. There was only one shot on goal. If it wasn't for Guglielmo Vicario's good defense show, he could have suffered a crushing defeat. There was a lot of boos from home fans.

The aftermath was huge. The bigger shock came after the game. Spence and Van der Penn headed straight to the tunnel without saying hello to their home fans. Coach Frank reached out to Spence.

I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking
Reuters Yonhap News
But Spence refused to shake hands. Van der Penn didn't even look at Frank. Director Frank was shown on camera staring at the two.




He defended them after the Chelsea match, reticent. Frank said, `All the players must be frustrated. I want to do well, I want to win, and I want to show good performance. understand that feeling"I think it's hard to be consistent in good times and bad times. So I went up to the fans and did it."

As the question of the controversy comes up again "I understand why you're asking, but I think it's one of the minor issues. Van der Ben and Spence are doing their best in the team. They have been playing very well so far, but they are also feeling frustrated. We approach it in a different way, so it's not a big problem" he stressed.

And "I barely spoke in the locker room because we were all frustrated with the performance and defeat. We felt the pain of the fans together. "I hate losing so much" "I told the players 'We met a better team today. I won't go into details. Let's just remember that we have to stick together when it's hard or good. I just said, 'See you tomorrow.'"




I miss my captain Son Heung-min's days. Van de Pen → Spence coach passing, eventually apologizing... Frank Explains, Leadership Collapse Remains Shocking
EPA Yonhap News
Things have changed again. Van der Penn and Spence are said to have bowed their heads. Coach Frank said "Pander Penn and Spence came to my office yesterday and said they wanted to apologize. They didn't want to look bad or misleading"I had no disrespect at all for Tim, of course. I was just disappointed with the performance and the boos during the game."

He also "If they hadn't come, of course they would have to ask about the situation. How you feel and why you did it. We all have our own perceptions. I was glad they came. It means they really care about us. They worried about the team, the club and, in this case, me. I am satisfied with that."

However, it is true that the aftertaste is not refreshing. Christian Romero kicked the captain's armband after Son Heung-min (LAFC) left. He was out of action due to a muscle injury and returned to action against Chelsea.

Van der Penn is not just a player. Coach Frank appointed Van der Penn, James Madison, Vicario and Ben Davies to the leadership group to assist Romero.

The team's leader couldn't hold back his anger and didn't even say hello to his home fans. This is unimaginable when Son Heung-min was the captain.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.