Why Micky van de Ven is the embodiment of Thomas Frank’s new Tottenham

Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves, Gary Lineker and Gareth Bale, Chris Waddle and Glenn Hoddle, Jurgen Klinsmann and Paul Gascoigne. And now Micky van de Ven . The list of Tottenham’s top scorers in seasons is distinguished indeed but there is an anomaly at the moment, a Dutch defender in the territory previously occupied by Teddy Sheringham, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Clive Allen, Martin Chivers, Bobby Smith and Heung-Min Son.

Van de Ven may be an intrepid interloper in the scoring charts, but he was also a fearless traveller: to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, as Tottenham became the first visitors to win, and to the Everton penalty box to score twice. The Dutchman surprised even himself. “It’s crazy, I never score two goals in one game,” he said. “It always goes through your head that I might get a hat-trick.” That may not be a phrase he has uttered before his brace, along with a Pape Matar Sarr clincher, earned a victory that made the Hill Dickinson look less like a fortress by the Mersey and Tottenham more like a Thomas Frank team.

A triumph built on a clean sheet and two goals from corners? It was scarcely Angeball. But then Ange Postecoglou took Tottenham to 17th in the Premier League. These are early days, but his successor’s side are third. Postecoglou could seem to have disdain for set-pieces. Frank doesn’t. Brentford were such dead-ball specialists their set-piece coach became Frank’s replacement as manager.

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And Van de Ven may be the face of this Spurs. Promoted from the ranks, he is captaining them while Cristian Romero is out. Newly prolific, he is compensating for the absence of more obvious scorers like Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison; after only finding the net seven times in his club career, he now has five goals this campaign. Whereas Postecoglou’s teams were porous, Frank’s Spurs have a defensive record bettered only by Arsenal. It may help, too, that Van de Ven’s hamstrings are put under less stress, with Frank’s defensive line set deeper than Postecoglou’s.

There was a pragmatic feel to this but pragmatism is no longer a dirty word for Tottenham. Their xG from open play was just 0.78 but Romero’s understudy Kevin Danso amassed 18 clearances and, with his long throw, added to their set-piece armoury. “We have a clean-sheet mentality,” said Frank. It may be something he has brought. “The second half was a dogfight,” he added. It was earthy and gritty but Tottenham showed why they possess the Premier League’s only unbeaten record on the road. They may not have an excess of creativity at home but they were solid and streetwise and that can be a fine basis.

“Set pieces are so crucial,” Frank said. “Right now, Arsenal is on track for the title from set pieces.” Spurs are on course for a fine season themselves and Daivd Moyes noted: “We don't concede a lot from corners and I have to praise Tottenham. Thomas Frank works a lot on it.”

That training-ground work yielded two goals. Van de Ven’s first was a well-worked set-piece, the centre-back running from behind the far post to the goal-line, Rodrigo Bentancur circling around to appear on the turf he vacated and meeting Mohammed Kudus’ deep corner with a header across the box for the Dutchman to nod in. His second seemed simpler, Van de Ven just outjumping Jordan Pickford to head in Pedro Porro’s corner. “Micky again,” chorused the travelling fans. “At the start of the season, I said, ‘you are a centre back and you need to score more,’” said Frank. Van de Ven responded. “The way he attacked the ball and got in there where it hurts” impressed his manager.

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Perhaps at fault for Van de Ven’s second, Pickford went on to make a fine save from his former teammate Richarlison: Everton may have been relieved a player who tended to score on his returns to Goodison Park was only a substitute. Richarlison instead recorded an assist, setting up his fellow substitute Sarr. It was the cue for the Hill Dickinson to empty.

Everton could reflect on two moments when it might have been different. Porro made a brilliant block on the goal-line in the third minute to thwart Jack Grealish. Everton celebrated an equaliser from another corner, Jake O’Brien heading in. But replays showed Iliman Ndiaye and Grealish offside and around Guglielmo Vicario. “I think it was the right decision,” said an admirably honest Moyes.

Vicario, carrying on where he left off in Monaco, made a terrific save from James Garner and a still better one to repel Beto’s overhead kick. He did well to keep out Ndiaye’s deflected effort. Another shutout owed much to the goalkeeper. “He was man of the match in Monaco,” said Frank. “Micky was man of the match today. And we shouldn’t forget Kevin Danso, who has done very well to step in.”

So has Frank since his appointment. The good news for Tottenham is they are third. The bad news, of course, is that Arsenal are first.