Not sure how you've come to the conclusion Eriksen shies away in big games. He's actually probably the most consistent performer in our big games since Poch took over.
Going forward yeah...time to roll sleeves up and I don't trust him The glory games will more times than not come against tough opposition and that will require a different kind of skill set
He fades in games. I can remember matches where I’m thinking ‘Is Eriksen playing’ As somebody said earlier, great player to have on your side when you’re on top and things are going your way. If your arses are to the wall, as they were on Wednesday, I’m not so sure he’s what you want alongside in you in the trenches.
Those statements can be said for just about every top player who plays in attacking midfield and beyond. It's why we have players like Dier/ Wanyama/ Sissoko and the defence.
I don’t believe that’s true at all. Players such as Kane, Son, Lamela, Lucas, never go missing when we’re on the defensive,
Lamela I’d agree. The others don’t really offer anything more than Eriksen when on the back foot. Kane’s height from corners can help but thats not Eriksen’s fault.
Again, I disagree. The others I mentioned all put in more of a shift than Eriksen, when needed. I wouldn’t like to lose Eriksen as he does offer what no other player we have does going forward. It’s just can we afford virtual passengers in games like Wednesday’s.?
He contributed to two of the four goals we scored over the two legs. Please explain how that makes him a passenger?
Eriksen is lighweight, very skillful of course, with great ball control and passing vision, but shirks from tackles and NEVER takes the game by the scruff of the neck. He is a luxury player who makes a difference in games for sure but he also goes missing too often. If we are to become league winners then we need much more determination from our creative midfielders.
It was an open game and that suits Eriksen but don't forget it was his error at the end that nearly cost us the tie. Trippier is crucified for such stuff, Eriksen got away with it.
Yeah I've highlighted that he messed up and that he was very lucky. But I've also highlighted that in our biggest games in recent years, Eriksen has often been someone who's stood up more than most. Assists in semi finals, goal vs Juve/ Madrid, assists in both legs vs City. He's one of our biggest game players.
For me, he's not a passenger but he's no deep-lying midfielder, either, especially when we're defending a lead. Unfortunately, the absence of Winksy, Moussa and any other options meant it had to be all hands to the pumps. Dele was struggling but CE's just not cut out for doing that. At best, he might get in someone's way but he can't be relied to even make the most basic challenge or commit a necessary foul. At worst, he lets people pass him by and exposes his team mates. Ideally, he'd be on the bench when we're in that position in a game. Currently, we don't have the luxury and MP doesn't have that mindset. Unfortunately.
I meant defensively, and overall contribution in a backs to the wall game. No one doubts he add something when we’re going forward,
We all know what his role is though. We don't ask Danny Rose to create 15 goals a season, nor do we ask Kane to make goal line clearances. It feels like we're criticising Eriksen for not doing something he's not really meant to do. He's had to play deeper due to injuries and we've always known he won't be someone making Kante-like challenges. We wouldn't be in the Semi's of the CL if it weren't for Eriksen's contributions, for sure, thanks to VAR we're also quite luckily not knocked out because of him but his pros far outweigh his cons.
But his overall contribution resulted in us scoring two vital goals over the legs. That's what he brings to the side. We shouldn't really expect him to be someone who's gonna make the last ditch tackles or be prepped for dirty games, it's never been his job or his style.
I'm stating that he's got next to zero defensive capabilities. I'm not sure whether that's criticising him or just stating a fact. However, he's a pro footballer at the highest level and what he did in passing the ball back at that point was just mad. You're seconds away from a monumental win and no pro footballer should be doing that **** and he HAS to accept that to be the case and accept the fall out when it goes wrong. Be of no doubt, I think that he's a beautiful footballer and I want him to stay but we cannot have him doing that EVER AGAIN.
I agree pretty much with exactly what Spurf said. He’s a luxury player who goes missing too often. A luxury that at this moment is sometimes hard to justify. If we want to be serious challengers we need more overall effort and determination from a creative midfielder, when the game is going against us.
Most of the best creative players are generally terrible defensively. Xavi and Iniesta were, Pirlo was, Ozil still is... It's something teams understand and it means they utilise their strengths and usually cover their weaknesses. Xavi and Iniesta had Busquets. Pirlo had Vidal (Gattuso at AC). Ozil doesn't really have anyone which is why Arsenal are seen as weak in CM. We have Wanyama/ Dier/ Sissoko to cover for the luxury. As for the mistake, he himself said he was the luckiest guy in his interview. I think he knows full well he made a mistake, that's a very rare one too, it's not often you see him make a brain fart like that.
We won't sign a better creative player than Eriksen. If we sign someone who's more gritty they'll likely offer less going forward. What we need to ensure is that Wanyama/ Sissoko/ Dier are generally around on the pitch to act as Eriksen's cover. I don't think we should blame Eriksen himself for not having an attribute that many other creative players also lack.
All players at this level need to be able to tackle and not shirk from it. Especially when in PL we have to play teams like Watford or Burnley. It's against teams like this that Eriksen goes awol. In the modern game (and that for me means from Cruyff on) all players of a team need to defend and promote attack when required. It is precisely my definition of a luxury player when they can't do this. It's only Eriksen outstanding skills that masks his shortcomings but that's what they are and that throws extra responsibility on the rest of the team. Look what we expect from Trippier and Rose for example and both get more than their fair share of criticism IMO.
