Jed Spence was sent off in the second half of Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, leaving him disappointed. The 22-year-old full-back picked up an injury early in the game and was replaced by Ben Davies with an hour remaining, a change that clearly did not suit Thomas Frank’s management.
As he left the pitch, Spence appeared to disagree with the Danish manager’s decision, throwing his arms up in apparent protest. The England defender, who helped Forest win promotion to the Premier League in 2022, received a warm ovation from the City Ground crowd as he made his way off.
Upon reaching the technical area, Spence threw his jacket to the ground, visibly annoyed. Immediately after the 25-year-old left, Ibrahim Sangare added to Tottenham’s misery by scoring from distance past Guglielmo Vicario, leaving them three points behind.
This is not the first time Mr. Spence has faced off against Mr. Frank during the current campaign. Last month, he and Micky van de Ven were caught on camera giving their manager a clean slate after the disastrous defeat to Chelsea.
Frank appeared on the pitch after the final whistle to cheer on his team, but the pair seemed to ignore his presence. The Spurs manager subsequently downplayed the episode when speaking to the media, later revealing that both Spence and Van Deven had apologized for their actions.
“All the players are naturally frustrated,” the Danish national team coach explained. “They want to do well, they want to win, they want to perform well, so I understand that.
“I think it’s more difficult to be consistent during good times and bad times. That’s why I went around in front of the fans. It’s more fun when we win, I can tell you that.”
Asked whether Spence and Van de Ven’s actions crossed the line, Frank replied: “I understand why you’re asking the question, but I think it’s one of the small issues. We’ve got Micky van de Ven and Jed Spence and they’re doing the best they can.”
“They’ve performed very well so far this season, but it’s frustrating for everyone. We’re doing things differently so I don’t think it’s a big problem.”
Frank then set the record straight when speaking to the press ahead of the 4-0 UEFA Champions League win over Copenhagen. He said, “Yes, Mickey and Jed came into my office yesterday without being told anything.
“They just wanted to say sorry about the situation. They didn’t want it to be given any bad, disrespectful or any kind of recognition that can happen in this beautiful world of media.
“That was not their intention at all towards me, the team or the club. They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game.”
