Aston Villa supporters ruthlessly capitalised on Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank's recent public relations mishap, taunting the Dane throughout their side's 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
The Chants That Rubbed Salt in the Wounds
The gleeful away fans directed their mockery at Frank after a midweek blunder saw him photographed drinking from a coffee cup bearing the logo of Tottenham's arch-rivals, Arsenal. Chanting to the tune of 'Go West' by the Village People, the Villa faithful repeatedly sang, "Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan" during the first half of the match.
This incident compounded a miserable week for Frank, whose Spurs side conceded a 95th-minute winner to lose 3-2 at Bournemouth in the Premier League just days before the cup tie. The image of him with the Arsenal-branded cup did little to endear him to a fanbase already frustrated by a challenging season.
Another Chastening Defeat for Spurs
On the pitch, Tottenham's woes continued as they were dumped out of the FA Cup by first-half goals from Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia. The defeat means Frank has now won just seven of his 21 Premier League games in charge since his summer move from Brentford, with this cup exit adding to the pressure.
The match was also marred by a furious brawl between players from both sides, underscoring the tense and fractious nature of Tottenham's current predicament.
Frank's Frustrated Response
Speaking after the match, a clearly irritated Frank addressed the cup controversy. He insisted he had been unaware of the logo and called the line of questioning "a little bit sad."
"Definitely, I have not noticed it," Frank stated. "It would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal (on it). Is there anyone thinking I've done that? All the staff has done it. They've been in the changing room, the game before us. It's normal to take a cup, give me an espresso, I do that before every game."
He concluded, "I think we're definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club."
Ultimately, the Aston Villa fans had the last laugh, their team securing a 2-1 win to advance to the fourth round and leaving Thomas Frank to contemplate another damaging result amidst a growing storm of criticism.
