Bruising the Fort & Teasing the Boss: Micky van de Ven Has the Last Laugh at Thomas Frank\u2019s Expense<\/p>\n
In a weekend that will be remembered for both dominance and banter, Tottenham Hotspur\u2019s rookie leader Micky van de Ven took centre-stage for two separate reasons. First, the Dutch centre-back bulldozed through Everton to claim a 3-0 win with a brace from set-pieces. Then, with a cheeky grin and a well-timed quip, he slid in a little leg-pull for his boss Thomas Frank on the way out.<\/p>\n
The match: van de Ven\u2019s night to shine<\/p>\n
Van de Ven arrived at the newly minted Hill Dickinson Stadium under the radar, yet left as the man of the hour. Twice he nodded home from corners, putting his mark on the victory while also giving a masterclass in how to serve notice to opponents.<\/p>\n
Thomas Frank, who demanded early in the season that his centre-back find more headed goals, got exactly that and more. \u201cHe attacked the ball and got in there where it hurts,\u201d Frank said of van de Ven\u2019s finished delivery.<\/p>\n
The cheeky moment: a grin, a point and the spotlight<\/p>\n
As the players trudged off the pitch, the mood was buoyant. The fans were singing. The win? Impressive. But the real highlight came when Frank stepped up mid-celebration and pointed at van de Ven, boisterously acknowledging the man who had just steered the ship. The Dutchman, equally & aware and amused, couldn\u2019t resist the moment \u2014 a playful ribbing of his manager, amplified by that grin.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the kind of moment that says: \u201cYes boss, I\u2019ve delivered. Now you relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bigger picture: what this means for Spurs<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s faith in van de Ven is clearly being rewarded. The manager spoke glowingly about his growth both on the ball and in leadership.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s a caveat: Form is high, fitness is fragile. Van de Ven has shouldered heavy minutes \u2014 and Spurs might face rotation headaches ahead.<\/p>\n
With the win moving Spurs into a strong position in the league, the tone is set not just for titles, but for personality. A team that celebrates together, that teases together, is often the one that fights together.<\/p>\n
Final word<\/p>\n
When van de Ven pulls Frank\u2019s leg after a big win, it\u2019s not disrespect \u2014 it\u2019s camaraderie. It\u2019s a sign of trust. And it\u2019s a declaration: this isn\u2019t just a season of results, it\u2019s a season of identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bruising the Fort & Teasing the Boss: Micky van de Ven Has the Last Laugh at Thomas Frank\u2019s Expense In a weekend that will be remembered for both dominance and banter, Tottenham Hotspur\u2019s rookie leader Micky van de Ven took centre-stage for two separate reasons. First, the Dutch centre-back bulldozed through Everton to claim a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2243133801-1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53179,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53177\/revisions\/53179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}