Micky van de Ven is in the firing line after Tottenham were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea on Saturday evening.
The N17 outfit have beaten their London rivals just once at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and have now tasted defeat in 14 of their last 18 meetings with the Blues.
Joao Pedro’s goal condemned Tottenham to a frustrating defeat in a 90-minute period where they generated a startlingly low total of just 0.05 xG.
Thomas Frank and Co. have been in the headlines a lot over the weekend, but for all the wrong reasons.
Micky van de Ven slammed for Tottenham error and full-time incident
Van de Ven has captained Tottenham in the recent absence of Cristian Romero, and he wore the armband again for Saturday’s defeat.
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However, the Dutchman was at the centre of a moment of major controversy after full-time, as he appeared to blank his manager and walked straight down the tunnel after the final whistle.
Earlier in proceedings, the centre-back had been robbed of possession by Moises Caicedo on the edge of his own box, which quickly led to the visitors netting the only goal of the game.
Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – has been left baffled by Van de Ven’s actions, and feels that he should have handled himself differently as the captain.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with Van de Ven,” King said.
“He was captain of the side, and it’s schoolboy stuff. It’s not the kind of show that you want from your captain.
“The way that Chelsea’s goal came about, he was central to it, both with his initial pass and the breakdown, and then also when the Chelsea player ran at him.
“He made a mistake, but don’t make that kind of show at the end. You’ve got to be above that when you’re captaining a big football club. He played badly, the game was over, just get on with it and show some dignity and passion.”
Spurs are playing down Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven incident
Djed Spence also had a heated exchange with Frank in the aftermath of the final whistle against Chelsea, and the footage of the incident has gone viral across social media in the following days.
It has brought plenty of unwanted attention to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the club themselves have unsurprisingly been key to play down the significance of the incident.
The Lilywhites are suggesting that they do not believe the actions of Spence and Van de Ven were intended to be a slight on Frank, as per BBC Sport.
It is no shock whatsoever to see the N17 outfit try and put out the fire after the reaction that the incident has received, but it must surely be a different story internally.
Frank cannot be happy to have publically undermined by two members of his squad, and especially not the man who was wearing the captain’s armband on the day.