Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United in their latest Premier League fixture.
Summer signing Micky van de Ven, who has been enjoying am incredible debut campaign, had a forgettable first 45 minutes as the Dutchman was all over the place in the first half.
Newcastle scored twice in two minutes around the half-hour mark, with Van de Ven slipping at crucial moments while defending both goals.
Micky van de Ven had a game to forget
Anthony Gordon played a ball for Alexandar Isak, who was through on goal with Van de Ven as the last man.
The Swedish forward cut inside the centre-back’s challenge, who slipped, before smashing home a beautiful curling finish.
Just less than two minutes later, the former Wolfsburg defender slipped again, leaving him beaten, as Gordon bypassed him this time to double the Magpies’ lead.
Former Scottish footballer Ally McCoist, who was on co-commentary duty for TNT Sports, was candid in his assessment of Micky van de Ven’s performance on the live broadcast.
McCoist expressed disbelief, comparing the 22-year-old’s movements to those on rollerblades, and emphasized his apparent struggles to stay on his feet while defending the attacks.
He said (via Football.London):
“I have got to say, I think van de Ven has got rollerblades on. I don’t know what happened there.
“Anthony Gordon does really well, and I don’t know whether it is in Anthony Gordon’s head that he’s already been down a bit earlier. He cuts inside him and the big fella goes down again, it’s unbelievable! Where is he going?
“The big fella goes to the ground, I don’t know what kind of studs he has got in there. Anthony Gordon thinks about it, by the goalkeeper, two nothing.”
Van de Ven’s disappointing performance couldn’t have come at a worse time for Tottenham, as the defeat at St. James’ Park saw them drop out of the Premier League’s top four.
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