As ponderously dull as Tottenham Hotspur have been this season, some credit must go to Cristian Romero for proving not all components of Thomas Frank’s side have forgotten how to attack.

It is open to question whether there is any great wisdom to be found in employees who target their higher-ups via social media. If Romero was reckless, it wouldn’t be the first time.

But there can be no doubt that he was aiming in the right direction, which is to say Spurs are rotting from the head down, as they have been for years. The only difference now, in the months since Daniel Levy departed, is that it is harder to pin a face on it.

There was always a naivety attached to believing his removal would address traits that went beyond the business preferences of one man, because what about those like-minds who empowered him? Those who were happy enough with the financial returns gleaned by on-pitch mediocrity and, presumably, complied without force?

Levy was a master of their language, but he did not invent it. If the Lewis family who own the club truly wanted to compete in ways that matter, they wouldn’t have waited a quarter of a century before deciding that Levy’s method wasn’t for them.

Did an epiphany fall on them after that night in Bilbao? Was there a sudden reversal of the institutional cowardice that has been written into the wage bills? Evidence to make that claim is awfully thin for now and looking thinner with each passing day of this transfer window. Eight days in and nothing. Serious clubs act decisively, and don't wait for the window to open to get their plans in place.

Antoine Semenyo scored Bournemouth’s 95th-minute winner against Spurs on Wednesday and by Thursday was having his medical at Manchester City. Crystal Palace wanted Brennan Johnson and he was out of Tottenham by January 2.

Where is Frank’s help coming from? He needs a few, especially in forward areas, but the nearest point of reinforcement is a teenage left back from Brazil. He’s apparently a good player, Souza, but extra competition for Destiny Udogie isn’t what the mutineers were protesting from the away corner at Bournemouth. It’s not what they were booing about against Sunderland or Brentford.

Frank is getting the brunt of it and little of his football so far would make for a good counter argument. Spurs have been stodgy and ineffective on the ball, prone to defensive errors that mimic themselves by the week, and poor discipline. He is a renowned, organised, flexible coach and yet, on his watch, bad patterns are repeating.

But there should be considerable sympathy for him that goes past the ‘nice guy’ reflex - Frank has been left to cover the creative shortfall with a fig leaf by the recruitment system.

James Maddison’s knee was injured in August, Dejan Kulusevski’s gave way before that, and Dominic Solanke hasn’t been seen since August 23 – the recruiters had time to read the land and source alternatives. Spurs now have three-and-a-half weeks to prove it wasn’t spent fingerpainting.

If they botch it, as they have so many windows, the failure ought to fall hard on the Lewis family and the personnel hiding behind the manager’s blast shield. They include Fabio Paratici, who was reappointed as sporting director in October and has possibly had his head turned by interest from Fiorentina. Without Levy in place, they are all out in the open, their free-passes are no longer valid.

At 14th in the table, not far north of where Ange Postecoglou left them, the situation is urgent. If Aston Villa knock Tottenham out of the FA Cup on Saturday - which isn’t a reach given Villa’s form, how dire Spurs have been at home and that it happened last season too - then it could be the end for Frank. It would be Champions League or bust. Bust probably wins that one.

But there are two conversations to be had there. Is Frank getting the best from what he has available? Since the win over City in August, when everything chimed so brilliantly, it is a hard no. Has he got a strong squad? That is a harder no and blame falls elsewhere.

Because when was the last time Tottenham bought a serious upgrade for their squad? And who in Frank’s best XI would be considered a top-four or top-six player?

Micky van de Ven and Romero have great strengths, but each has clear vulnerabilities, too. Romero’s thought processes in giving away a goal and collecting two brainless yellow cards against Liverpool last month tell us enough about his.

But he was right with his social media post. For all the chaos at Tottenham and the anger of their fans, there is a cast of suits in the expensive seats to whom much of the mess can be traced.

Whether it is through incompetence or indifference, they are culpable for a club that has lost a lightning rod since Levy left and apparently gained nothing.