Tottenham Boss Thomas Frank Labels Vicario Booers 'Not True Real Supporters'

Tottenham Hotspur fans who booed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario were told later "those individuals can't be real Spurs fans" by manager Frank.

Tottenham conceded two scores in the opening six minutes to lose 2-1 to their opponents, marking their tenth Premier League at home defeat of the year.

However the primary talking point was Fulham's second goal when Vicario gave away the ball well beyond his area.

The goalkeeper came out to handle a high pass and carried the ball towards the sideline.

However, rather than booting it out of play, the Italian spun and tried to clear, but slipped as the ball glanced off Harry Wilson and was collected by King.

The forward laid the ball off to Welsh midfielder Harry Wilson, who bent a strike into the net from the sideline measured at 36.6 yards.

Seconds afterwards when the ball came to the keeper once more, some Tottenham fans booed him.

Spurs were jeered off at half-time, with the side 2-0 behind, and again at the final whistle.

One of those jeering sessions really irritated the manager.

"It came to my attention some of our fans reportedly booed the incident and jeered following, which, in my opinion is totally unacceptable," the Dane commented regarding the fans' reaction to his goalkeeper.

"Those individuals cannot be true Spurs fans that act that way. Fair enough jeering following the match, fine, but when we are in play, we are supporting each other, we are behind one another going forward."

Kenny Tete had handed Fulham a early lead before Wilson's strike – with Mohammed Kudus netting for Tottenham in an improved second period performance.

Former top-flight goalkeeper Joe Hart remarked that the next goal was "totally avoidable".

"I certainly appreciate the supporters' frustration," the ex-keeper added. "I know the role Vicario is performing. He's a great team player, he is a real leader in the dressing room but in the end you are going to be assessed by your decisions.

"He was deeply implicated in what ended up to be the decisive goal."

'It is Part of Football, I Can Handle It'

Italian national team the keeper is in his third campaign with Tottenham.

The 29-year-old said following the match that he had to take the criticism.

"That goal was a mistake of my own, I take responsibility for that," he said.

"My aim was to clear the ball far and I just hit the ball in a bad manner. That made an more difficult challenge to climb."

He stated receiving jeers "comes with the game".

"I am mature, what can I say?" he added. "The team can't be affected by the situation in the crowd. The fans have the right to do as they see fit.

"It's on the team to stay more calm, to concentrate on ourselves. The team is missing in calmness and poise to overturn outcomes. Today is a bad loss and it is hard to accept."

'It Shocked Me No One Returned to the Goal Line'

In spite of the keeper's mistake, it was far from an simple goal for Harry Wilson to score.

In fact it was the second most distant top division goal of the season – following Tyler Adams' forty-three point three metre strike for Bournemouth against the Black Cats, which interestingly too came on the same day.

Wilson stated he was "a little bit surprised" that he still had an empty goal to target.

10 moments elapsed between Vicario exiting of his box and the midfielder striking – which was 5 moments after the clearance.

"It seemed to me like the goalkeeper was out of the area for a long time," Wilson remarked.

"It amazed me none of the back four went back to the line. When not one of them covered the goal, my interest sparked a bit.

"[Destiny] Udogie fell too, which gave me a little extra opportunity. After that it was solely about trying to achieve the right contact and place it on target. I had a good feeling, the moment it came off my foot, that it was on the right line."

'During in a Bad Spell, Everything Seems to Go Against You'

Although Vicario's mistake dominated coverage, this was an overall bad day for Tottenham to extend their home woes.

This was their 10th at home defeat of the year in the league, a joint club statistic matching 1994 and 2003.

The side still have home games against the manager's old side the Bees and title holders the Reds to come prior to the close of the year.

Only one of those victories have occurred after Frank replaced his predecessor in the off-season.

"If you are down 2-0 after six minutes, there is a mountain to overcome," stated Frank.

"During in a poor run, everything seems to go against you as well – the first was a deflected shot, the next is a mistake from Vic.

"The outcome leaves us in a position where we have suffered an additional match. Each fixture has a unique narrative, this game we lost in the first six minutes.

"We simply need to continue striving. The second half was much better and hopefully something we can use to learn."

Tottenham have lost four consecutive home London derbies for the initial time in the top division.

Furthermore they are recording 9.5 attempts and three point two shots on target per match in the division – their poorest averages on record in a single campaign (dating back to the 2003-04 season).

Ex- Fulham midfielder Murphy stated that the manager has to ride the storm.

"He's got take the criticism," Murphy said. "He's taken a prestigious role at a huge team with massive expectation. There is scrutiny and duty that comes with that.

"Their showings at home have been poor and they have to get better {quickly|