Cristian Romero has so often threatened to be the leader Tottenham need, yet his discipline continues to let him down.
Following his dismissal against Liverpool, only Younes Kaboul has received more red cards for Spurs in the Premier League than Romero.
Passion is a central part of the Argentinian’s game. He plays on the edge, and as he proved in leading Spurs to the Europa League last season, it can work to his advantage.
However, on too many occasions, he has let his emotions get the better of him.
Thomas Frank wants to keep faith with Romero in a team desperately lacking leaders, but his patience is being tested.
The head coach needs Romero to be a rock he can rely on, but his call for others to step up surely begs the question whether there are alternative candidates for the captaincy.
“For me, all the players need to have a cool head and lead by example. You cannot have only one leader on the pitch. I know he's the one with the armband,” Frank said in his press conference ahead of the game against Crystal Palace on December 28th.
“So that's one thing. We're talking about a player, a very passionate player, that when he is at his absolute top, he carries the team on his back, like he did in the Europa League final. Without him, we wouldn't have won the trophy, like he did away to Newcastle, like he's done many times.
“When you're very passionate, sometimes you can maybe, in a few moments, lack the extra coolness. Sometimes, maybe. Something he's working on.”
Romero was the most credible option to take the armband when Frank arrived at the club in June, but he has so far struggled to consistently lead by example - the 27-year-old is averaging more than a yellow card every other game in the league this season.
Frank talks about learning, but with Romero in his fifth season in a Spurs shirt and among one of the more experienced members of the squad, it feels as though the time for conversations of that nature is over.
Romero should be guiding others rather than searching for guidance of his own.
Frank is honest - “some need to be guided more than others” - so if their captain can’t keep his cool, how can he expect others not to follow suit?
There is a lot of soul-searching for this Spurs side to do, and Romero’s latest rush of blood will have done little to dampen the feeling that they are a long way from embodying the selfless culture Frank did so well to cultivate at Brentford.
