There are very, very few players at Tottenham Hotspur right now who are at a level where they can be considered untouchable in the locker room, in terms of status with the fans, or on the transfer market. Most players on Spurs are entirely unimpressive and replaceable, but there is a core nucleus of stars who are young and too important to the team to lose; these are the true building blocks.
That exclusive list includes players like Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus without a whole lot of Spurs beyond them, and one player who was seen as an entrenched untoucuhable to the defense, Micky van de Ven, may be slowly eroding himself out of that grouping.
Van de Ven's snub of manager Thomas Frank was quickly forgiven by fans and even celebrated by a few, as Frank is persona non grata to many in the Lilywhites community, with Van de Ven's frustrations with the embattled manager largely being seen as correct an understandable, given how low the standards have slipped this season.
Tottenham fans cannot forgive that easily
But what fans cannot forgive and forget so easily is that same Van de Ven then tacitly upholding the fallen standards at Tottenham by spatting with the fans visibly after a horrid performance in the Premier League.
The away fans rightfully booed Tottenham's manager and players after a 3-2 loss to Bournemouth, which would have been a 3-0 blowout if it were not for moments of individual quality from former Bayern Munich men Mathys Tel and Joao Palhinha.
Tottenham were horrid and played off the pitch, yet once again, the players decided to have a go at the fans for being well within their rights to vocally voice their displeasure with what they watched unfold before them.
Micky van de Ven was not the only player who was seen tearing into the fans, but he was among them, joining the likes of Joao Palhinha. For the most part, Tottenham fans respect Van de Ven highly, and it is usually poor leaders or struggling players like Rodrigo Bentancur, Guglielmo Vicario, and Pedro Porro who draw the negative attention from the fans.
With Van de Ven being mired in quiet transfer rumors and viewed as one of the top, top young defenders in European football and probably the most valuable Tottenham Hotspur player on the free market, this scene of him arguing visibly with fans does not sit well.
It makes it feel more likely that Van de Ven will try to leave Tottenham at some point in the near future, and there are going to be many dehard, old school Tottenham fans who will say "good riddance" to a player whose motivations and leadership have to now be called into question for pulling stunts like this. There are going to be some fans who take his side because he is so good, but the average fan who has bled Lilywhite for years is going to look at this as a slap in the face.