Micky van de Ven has found himself at the centre of the spotlight following a recent comment in which the Tottenham defender appeared to single out his team-mates after a disappointing result.
In the aftermath of the club’s defeat to Aston Villa, van de Ven, who wore the armband in the absence of the regular captain, bemoaned the loss and suggested that the performance fell short of the standards expected.
His remarks point to growing frustration within the Spurs camp as the team strive to find consistency and identity under new management.
Tottenham’s 2-1 setback at home to Aston Villa served as a flashpoint for van de Ven’s reaction.
Despite taking an early lead through Rodrigo Bentancur, the home side failed to close out the game and were undone by two long-distance strikes.
Van de Ven was critical of his Tottenham teammates
Van de Ven said, as reported by the official Tottenham website:
“It was a tough game, really tough. Aston Villa are a good side. We knew from the beginning it was going to be a tight game, but I don’t think they created big opportunities. They scored two goals outside of the box. I have to see it back if I can say there is something we could have done about it, but I think it was not necessary to lose today.
“We scored early and you want to build on that. We created opportunities but the longer the game goes on, you also need control. You can’t keep pushing forward the whole game. In the end, they scored out of nowhere. First goal, great strike, we can’t really do something about it. Second goal, I don’t know exactly from where he shoots, but I think it’s quite far, so out of the box into the long corner.
“We also had some great opportunities, but we didn’t play the best pass, so I think sometimes in the final third we need to be calmer and just play the best pass to make the biggest opportunity out of it. I don’t think we did that today.”
Spurs need more consistency
The Dutch centre-back, who has already cemented his reputation as one of the Premier League’s more complete defenders, is signaling his own standards and perhaps expressing impatience with a group that seems to be underperforming.
Despite making an impressive start to the season under new manager Thoma Frank, results like the defeat against Aston Villa and another recent defeat against Bournemouth raises questions about their ambition and quality.
When such a player speaks publicly about standards not being met, it resonates.
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He’s fcuking right tel n oderbert r useless kudas holds on t the ball too long n the trips up over his own feet Richy is a headless chicken Solanke is useless n Johnson is worst off the whole lot of them nothing goes forward with him he made me run forward with ball but still managed to pass ball back the way
It all comes down to our lack of quality in the final third; that’s it. Kudus is a fantastic player, and as it currently stands has been the difference this season. He’s the reason why we’ve held on to that top 5 position up until now; both directly and indirectly. If Kolo finds his feet, and if Solanke comes back fully fit and at his best then things will be different. Xabi and Kudus will then have the outlets to play with much more freedom, which suits both of their natural playing styles.
In the ideal world we have Madders and Kulu in there too, which is one of those nice problems that TF is going to have to work out once both are back fit. As for Richarlison: he’s taken up and profoundly underperformed for 3 seasons in a position that’s vital, and it is criminal that he’s not been flirted by any of the managers who’ve worked with him. Get rid, and make the opportunity to see if – post Levy (thank god!!) – the Lewis’s really are willing to put their money where their mouths are.