Tottenham’s Djed Spence tells critics of his’penitentiary’ meme to ‘cry more’

Tottenham defender Djed Spence has finally addressed the noise around his viral ‘penitentiary’ meme, and he didn’t hold back in his response.

Tottenham Hotspur are enjoying a fairly decent start to life under Thomas Frank, at least by the standards of a manager still settling into a new job.

One player who has quietly become a pillar of that early progress is Djed Spence, and he has been producing the most consistent run of form of his career so far.

Not too long ago, Spence was unsure where his Tottenham future was heading, but now, at 25, he’s earned his senior England debut and has been named in Thomas Tuchel’s squad three times in a row. Tuchel clearly sees how valuable the full-back is, especially in a position where England aren’t exactly stacked for depth.

What makes him stand out is how rarely he’s beaten one-on-one, as Spence has shut down some of Europe’s best wingers, with names like Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia already on the list.

That run has given rise to a joke on social media, where Spence adds players to his ‘penitentiary’ every time he gets the better of them in a game, and some have labelled him overconfident and unprofessional because of it.

What Tottenham’s Djed Spence said about the meme and his critics

Speaking to Versus on YouTube, Djed Spence was asked whether he actually enjoys the banter and the friendly competition that comes with the meme. He replied, “Yeah. Of course, you know, it makes it exciting, it makes it fun.”

When he was pressed on his response to those who were offended by it, he said, “Cry more man. Why (are) you upset? It’s just social media, just have fun! It’s never too serious.”

“Everyone has a laugh and a joke, but when a footballer does it, it’s the end of the world. But who cares man, just have fun.”

Spence’s view on personality in the modern game

While the majority of Spurs supporters loved the confidence and the humour, others were fair to worry it could backfire if a winger eventually got the better of him.

However, Spence had an interesting take on the importance of personality in football and explained in the same interview why he feels players should show who they are.

Djed Spence said: “It’s important to show your character and personality. You’ve got to be yourself in everything you do. Why not? You’re human, I’m human. You get to share jokes, why can’t I have a laugh and a joke?”

“Too many footballers are scared to be themselves. It’s all robotic and social media trained. If you’re not being yourself, you’re portraying an image that’s false. Just be yourself, have fun and enjoy what it is you are doing. Just be authentic man.”

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