A trio of Tottenham players made it into Garth Crooks’ team of the week, as Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero showed their defensive strength in the win over Luton Town.
So far this season we have been wowed by the attacking talent and expansive football of Ange Postecoglou‘s squad.
While forward players such as Heung-min Son and James Maddison have largely claimed the plaudits, it was a more solid defensive performance from the Lilywhites that won the day on Saturday.
Yves Bissouma’s red card on the stroke of half time made things rather more difficult for Spurs at Kenilworth Road, meaning the team had to pull together and show how resilient they can be.
Far from being on the front foot, in the second half at least, it was the sturdy backline of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, in front of the reliable Guglielmo Vicario, which prevailed for Spurs.
LUTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road on October 07, 2023 in Luton, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Three Spurs players in Crooks’ team of the week
In his Premier League team of the week for the BBC, Garth Crooks chose those three Tottenham players for their efforts against Luton Town.
On Vicario, Crooks said: “I have selected Guglielmo Vicario for the very first time, after he took over from Hugo Lloris… since the arrival of Vicario the Italian has looked much more competent between the sticks.”
“With only 10 men it was imperative that Vicario kept a clean sheet. However, it was the one-handed save from Carlton Morris in the final throes of the match that was outstanding.”
Crooks noted how Spurs made “hard work” of their win, but credited the victory to “Luton’s inability to take their chances even against ten men, and thanks to defending from the likes of Romero.”
And on van de Ven, the match winner on the day, Crooks added: “The newly appointed Tottenham manager has certainly put a lot of faith in Micky van de Ven. The 22-year-old Dutch defender certainly looks very impressive at this level and took his goal brilliantly.”
Postecoglou also received a share of the praise, with Crooks saying: “Ange Postecoglou seems to trust his players to get the job done and it’s worked so far. The Australian seemed to be the coolest man in the ground. His calm demeanour is clearly having a positive effect on his players.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Three very worthy inclusions in the team of the week for players who don’t normally get the chance to shine in this attacking team. Cuti and Micky are proving to be a formidable pairing and with Vicario behind them, we will be very hard to beat this year.
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