The response from Tottenham captain Cristian Romero's colleagues demonstrated a collective solidarity after the end of the transfer window. The Argentine defender has never been reluctant to voice his views on social media regarding club decisions, having previously posted about 'obstacles' and 'lies' when discussing matters at Tottenham.
The 27-year-old has transformed from a reserved squad member into an influential figure within the north London club with considerable influence. Romero also possesses impeccable timing when delivering his Instagram bombshells. Whilst the majority of his team-mates had promptly bid their public farewells to Ange Postecoglou last summer, the centre-half delayed until less than an hour after Thomas Frank's appointment as successor to share his thoughts about the Australian and how he had "paved the way despite the many obstacles that always existed and always will exist".
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On Monday, whilst the Tottenham squad had largely shared their social media posts the day before in the immediate wake of the 2-2 draw with Manchester City, Romero, who was substituted at half-time due to illness, held back until approximately 30 minutes after the transfer window shut before making his statement.
"Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were incredible. I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available - unbelievable but true and disgraceful," the defender posted.
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"We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans."
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Some have suggested the term 'disgraceful', paired with a facepalm emoji, may have been somewhat misinterpreted in translation from Spanish by Romero or those managing his social media, given the message was shared in English.
Yet if that were indeed the situation, given the significant response from supporters - the post had garnered over 115,000 likes when this piece was written - one would expect a swift clarification of any error. Nevertheless, nearly 20 hours following its publication, the post stands unchanged from its original form.
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It bears mentioning that Romero has a track record of voicing his opinions candidly and strategically.
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For what it's worth, the World Cup champion and two-time Copa America victor does seem genuinely committed to driving the club towards greater ambition. He wouldn't have committed to a fresh long-term contract last summer if his intentions were to depart.
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He watched his team-mates struggle at this same juncture last season due to a shortage of fit and available players, he himself was among the injured.
Now he is witnessing an identical situation unfold, with him and Wilson Odobert having to play only on Sunday, and Romero also playing in midweek in Frankfurt, while the club shows no response in the transfer market, only replacing last season's top scorer with a midfielder and signing a 19-year-old left-back.
Frank had conceded that the club required more options in the attacking areas given their 11 injured players, many of whom are long-term casualties. He said that these injuries had left the squad weaker at the end of the transfer window than when it began, and he suggested that loan moves would be a perfectly acceptable short-term solution.
At the start of the season, the Dane had spoken about his style of football: "I'm a big believer, I always say this one liner, if you don't take risk, you also take risk. So I think it's important that we take risks."
Spurs did not heed that mantra. They stuck to their pre-injury crisis plans to sign players in the upcoming summer, when more quality will be available, and now the forthcoming weeks and months are set to be challenging for Frank, Romero and the threadbare squad, with further injuries likely as the players overplay.
The sole consolation is that, temporarily at least, fixtures arrive at a rate of one per week, though it should be noted that Tottenham seem uniquely susceptible to bizarre training ground mishaps.
Destiny has a habit of intervening, as evidenced when Mohammed Kudus suffered a three-month injury setback days after Brennan Johnson was deemed expendable and subsequently sold.
Romero's social media statement demonstrates both his commitment and frustration, sentiments clearly shared by colleagues past and present.
Those who 'liked' his Instagram message included vice-captain James Maddison, leading forward Dominic Solanke, Xavi Simons, Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr, the currently sidelined Kevin Danso, loanee Dane Scarlett, and the club's sole senior winter acquisition, Conor Gallagher.
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Each of them backed his words as written. The skipper and squad have made their position clear.
They sought reinforcements and were left wanting. A challenging remainder of the campaign lies ahead and, as Romero stated, they must "keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around".
