Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Reflects on Managerial Change
Micky van de Ven, a defender for Tottenham Hotspur, expressed his surprise at the club's decision to dismiss former manager Ange Postecoglou. Van de Ven stated that he "never expected" such a move, especially after Postecoglou led the team to victory in the Europa League final, marking Tottenham's first major trophy in 17 years.
Despite this European success, the team struggled in the Premier League, finishing in 17th place during Postecoglou's final season. Following his departure, former Brentford manager Thomas Frank took over, but Tottenham currently sits in 11th place with 22 points from 16 matches, having recently suffered a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Postecoglou joined Tottenham from Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, taking over from Antonio Conte. He initially found success with an attacking style, earning 26 points from his first ten league matches. However, this unbeaten streak was short-lived, as the team faced four losses in five matches, ultimately missing out on Champions League qualification by just two points. In the following season, they won only 11 of their 38 league matches.
While Van de Ven appreciated Postecoglou's offensive approach, he felt that the team lacked a "plan B." He revealed that he and teammate Cristian Romero discussed the need for a more defensive strategy with the manager. “I liked the offensive play under Postecoglou, but I like what we have now with Thomas Frank. We are more secure at the back. I don’t like getting exposed every game on the counter-attack,” he explained.
“At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was used to playing against our system. We were playing unbelievable football. But managers analyze everything, and people figured out our tactics. Sometimes we didn’t really have a plan B, and we were getting exposed. We didn’t have solutions to get out. At one point, Romero and I approached the gaffer and said we need to change some things and play more defensively to ensure we win those games. He agreed but expected us to lead the team on the pitch and ensure everyone understood.”