Tottenham Defender Micky van de Ven Expresses Surprise At Ange Postecoglou Dismissal

Spurs defender Micky van de Ven has revealed he "was completely surprised by" the club's decision to dismiss ex-boss Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou's spell in charge was terminated a just over two weeks after he guided the team to a win in the European final, securing the team's first major trophy in 17 years.

However, this European success was not mirrored in the Premier League, with the side ending up in a lowly 17th place in Postecoglou's final season in charge.

He was replaced by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank during the summer, but Spurs currently sit 11th in the table, with 22 points, following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"He is a really good manager. I still really like him," Van de Ven told a podcast.

"I don't know how everything went behind the scenes. I didn't expect it. It was odd how everything went afterwards - he is the coach that brought a trophy to the club," he continued.

"Later, when he got sacked, I texted to my dad and my mates and said, 'This was the last thing I thought would happen.'"

The Rise and Fall

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Scottish champions Celtic ahead of the 2023-24 season, replacing Conte. He made a bright start with his attacking style of play, amassing 26 points from his first ten league matches.

Nevertheless, that fine start was halted with four defeats in five games, and the team's season tailed off, eventually missing out on Champions League qualification by a narrow two-point margin.

The following season, they won just 11 of their 38 league matches.

Lacking a Plan B

Although he enjoyed the attacking approach, Netherlands international Van de Ven believes the squad lacked a "alternative strategy" and disclosed he and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero discussed taking a more defensive approach with the coach.

"I enjoyed the offensive play at that time but I appreciate what we have now with our current manager. We are more solid defensively. I dislike being vulnerable every game on the counter-attack," he said.

"At the beginning under Postecoglou, no team was accustomed to playing against our system. We were playing exceptional football."

"However, managers analyse everything and people figured out what we were doing. At times we lacked a plan B and we were being caught out. We lacked solutions to get out."

"At one point me and Romero approached the manager and suggested we should adjust tactically and play more defensive to ensure we win those games. He was like, 'I agree with you but I want you two guys to sort this on the pitch, ensure everybody knows.'"