Garth Crooks has said that he was surprised by the finish Micky van de Ven produced against Nottingham Forest, admitting that he was not aware that the Tottenham man had that in his locker.
Tottenham look a completely different unit defensively when Van de Ven plays compared to when he does not, which is demonstrated by the vastly superior win percentage the Lilywhites have when the Dutchman has featured this season.
One could see on Sunday why Ange Postecoglou’s side are so reliant on the 22-year-old, who mopped up impressively whenever Forest played a ball in behind the home side’s backline.
Van de Ven also made a telling contribution on the other end of the pitch, helping Spurs retake the lead at 52 minutes with a fierce hit.
After being found by Son Heung-min, the centre-back took a touch on the edge of the box and put his laces through the ball, which crashed into the top corner before Matz Sels in the Forest goal could move an inch.
Micky Van de Ven makes PL Team of the Week
Crooks named Van de Ven in his Team of the Week and wrote about the Spurs defender in his BBC Sport column: “What a strike – the goalkeeper never moved. We know he has pace and we know he has the composure but I never knew Van de Ven could strike a ball like he did in the 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest.
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“It was about as good as a two-touch finish you will see. It was also a very important goal for Spurs whose inconsistency is their only threat to a top-four place. The goal settled Tottenham down sufficiently to put a potentially troublesome Forest side to bed.
“Spurs go back into the top four with a mouth-watering tie against Arsenal looming in three weeks’ time. Both clubs need maximum points for very different reasons but defeat for either club could ruin their most cherished ambitions this season.”
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At times, it feels as though Tottenham’s attackers are trying to be too intricate and play their way through the opposition and almost pass the ball into the back of the net.
Van de Ven had made up his mind to hit the ball even before it got to him and he could not have hoped to get a cleaner connection on the ball.
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