Eriksen

Aye, I keep seeing a lot of tweets saying that and similar. Ironically, most of those people can’t actually explain what it is he does do that makes the doubters sound so dumb.

 

He's the glue to our side in very much the same way Scott Parker was during his first season with us. Mr Reliable who rarely puts a foot wrong, works his socks off every game, does the basics very well and is a role model both on and off the pitch. It is those players who allow the more flamboyant and unpredictable members of the side to really express themselves and take liberties knowing that Mr Reliable will cover for them if they screw up. Hence after upgrading Palacios/Sandro to Parker we saw the likes of Bale, VDV, Modric and even Adebayor produce a season of incredible football. City and Pool have players doing very similar jobs in Fernandinho (although he is by a distance a better player and obviously far more experienced.) Pool have either Henderson or Milner.

I think his absence from games last season was noticeable as our overall game slowed drastically and the normally less cautious members of the team started playing over-cautiously for fear of making a mistake and no-one covering for it.

There is certainly room to argue that N'Dombele could be an uprgade on Winks. There is also an argument to be had that Sissoko has evolved into too similar a player who compensates for lack of technique with his strength and pace but more or less accomplishes the same tasks.

But I would prefer to speculate that the real cause of the turgid play we've witnessed over the past 2 years has been more down to our attacking prowess dwindling. I.e. the players who are not Mr Reliables are still making countless mistakes but aren't compensating for that with enough moments of magic. Son aside, I would argue that not a single one of our attack-minded 'unpredictable' players have improved significantly over 2 seasons. Alli's form has fallen off a cliff, we are visibly worse down the flanks, Eriksen is distracted, Lamela is constantly injured, Kane plays far too many games half-fit, Lucas took a heck of a long time to earn Poch's trust - and that largely came from his CL form, I remain unconvinced by him in the PL.

I hope that the arrivals of Sess and GLC go some way to address this - if at the very least in providing some actual competition so that the likes of Alli aren't automatic names on the starter sheet. I still feel we should've moved for proper back-up to Kane for a slightly different reason (the way we mismanage his recoveries) and Dybala would literally single-handedly change the complexion of our entire attack for the better, providing top class back-up and serious competition across the front line.

 

Personally I don’t see the Parker comparisons. Scotty was a rock in front of that back four, Winks isn’t. Winks has better technique with the ball and the ability to pass more extensively but he never seems to utilise it, instead opting to look for someone 5-10 yards away, that’s not ideal when the scores are 0-0 or 0-1 to the opposition.

Whilst the formation changed too - and Poch deserves huge blame for this **** diamond he keeps trying - I felt the moment Sissoko dropped back to CM with Ndombele, and Eriksen entered the field of play, we saw how Spurs should be playing. Sissoko doesn’t have the technique Winks has but he understands where the ball needs to go, his lack of technique is made up for with his ability to steamroll his way through the middle and lay off a pass, as his assist for the third showed. Tanguy also grew when Moussa was beside him, he showed shades of Dembele but with an eye for a pass (and seemingly a shot!).

I've said before but I feel Winks is someone you bring on at 1-0/ 2-1 with 10-15 minutes remaining, where the opposition will become erratic and desperate to equalise. Winks’ strength in retaining the ball and slowing play can help frustrate the opposition and it can then lead to possible counter attacking possibilities if they push too many men forward.

From a starting perspective, I don’t see the benefits of him in the XI.

 

I think you're too quick to dismiss the other problems I've highlighted. Alli has factually stagnated over the past 2 years. Our FB options have factually gotten worse over the same time period. Kane has factually played more games semi-fit. Eriksen has factually been distracted. Lucas has factually taken a great deal of time getting up to speed. Lamela has factually been injured far too often. Pinning all of the above on Winks is unrealistic.

 

I think it's easy to forget how quickly Dele has come from obscurity to huge fame. Players like Winks & Kane have been brought up with Spurs and gradually introduced to the big time. Dele was straight from MK Dons to instant stardom at White Hart Lane. George Best had a period of struggle to come to terms with the fame, some might say he never did sort it out fully although his famous story of Miss World and The Dorchester and a bed covered in money might give the lie to that.
I think Dele has been struggling with injury and huge changes to his personal life. I hope he sorts it because I love his unorthodox play he is a real rarity with loads of talent. He's injured again which is such a shame as he looked sharper than he has for some time.
Here's hoping we get to see his best I think it could be spellbinding.

 

I hope so also, because I think Moura-Dele-Son is part of our best 11 against top teams.

 

I haven't pinned it all on Winks though, you mentioned all of those problems and then proceeded to presume I blamed Winks for them.

My issue with Winks (which is also a lot down to the manager for picking him) is that I just don't think he's good enough to be in our starting XI as his skill set doesn't compliment the side enough when the score’s 0-0 or 0-1 to the opposition. He doesn’t protect the defence well enough, he doesn’t assist the attack well enough and he doesn’t have the power/ pace like Sissoko to play a box-to-box role. His strength lies in retaining possession and generally slowing a game down with his short passing, that’s more suited for when we’re looking to close a game out with a slender lead as he can take the place of a more attacking player and slot in beside the CMs.

 

Sticking with the Winks/Parker comparisons for a moment, it does have to be said that Skippy also has the makings of a Parker-style midfielder, which I'm sure is not a coincidence considering he was breaking into the U18s when Parker was coaching them. He's even shown he can pull off the 360 spin to get around a defender.

Of course, this means a season or two from now our DMF options could be Young Parker and Younger Parker - or, you know, Dier for when we need some good ol' fashioned ****ehousery

 

Won't be going to Munich then......

 

I don't get this transfer window: the first team to bid for any player no matter how widely touted they are invariably signed them with zero resistance, yet there's a real tussel going on to sign players on loan

 

In Euro land, the issue seems to be players who :

1. would cost a lot to sign if you want them right now (Coutinho etc)

2. still have ambitions of a career at the loaning club, and so will
accept a loan but not with unconditional loanee options to buy (Ceballos etc)

3. more bespoke scenarios (Lo Celso - specifically Betis trying to minimise the
PSG sell-on tax) etc .

 

On the other hand there's De Ligt, Jovic, Ndombele, Brandt and various others that don't fit any of these scenarios yet moved to the first club that bid even though there was wider interest in each and every one of them

 

When you keep seeing teams sign other players, limiting the potential clubs Eriksen could sign for but then just know that on deadline day he'll be posing in a Real shirt...

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Here's the thing... I'm really not entirely convinced Eriksen fits the galactico mould or suits their style of play.

I may get some stick for this but I personally get the impression Eriksen thinks he's better than he actually is. If he was top top tier talent, then surely he would have been gone as quickly as Hazard - short contract term remaining or not.

The problem with Eriksen is he has gone missing in too many big games against the top four in the PL in recent seasons and in the latter stages of the CL last season in particular. Those are the sorts of games that true game changers/winners standup and show their class above the rest. Yet just when we want him to make the difference, he disappears and we scratch our heads wondering a) is it his attitude, b) is it lack of positional play or pace or c) is he being tactically played out of the game? In the end, our stand out player in the CL was Lucas.

I lost count last season, and the season before last when we all collectively thought Eriksen is going to boss this one or Eriksen is going to be the difference. And those games tended to only be against lesser opponents who sat back and allowed him that space in front of the back four.

His stats do look good in terms of assists and influence but those numbers do tend to stack up in the games that we are expected to win, not those against our nearest rivals.

I personally want Eriksen to stay if he is willing to commit to the club and knuckle down, but my gut feeling is after six years at Spurs, is he feels he's given enough and just wants a change of scenery. He's probably felt that way for a good year or two in fairness because his performances have noticeably dropped off in recent years. So how we get him fired up and motivated to stay is going to be a tough ask. A bumper wage deal is unlikely to fill that void.

He seems to have his heart set on a costa somewhere in Spain or perhaps Madrid, but no Spanish clubs are kicking our doors down so it's not like they have to have him now is it?

I do wonder if an offer that he feels is good enough will come along. There's talk of Pogba staying at United, so that may change the situation. But I do feel Eriksen is a second or third choice for certain clubs like Real and does Eriksen really want to be the back up choice if #1 is not available?

Can't say that would motivate me to want to leave. But footballers are a different ilk, especially in recent years.

I guess we''ll find out for sure come end of the month.

 

Eriksen is the midfield equivalent of Darren Bent.

 

I think his biggest problem is his ego, well lack of to be precise.

Many top players have a demeanour about themselves that sort of certify why they're good. Some show it in different ways, either by their antics on the pitch, their words to the press or their image on social media. Eriksen doesn't do any of them, he's a relatively humble guy and seems happy somewhat living in the shadows and that probably hinders him both on and off the pitch in certain situations.

Talent-wise, I don't think it can be disputed as to just how good he is. No one's created more chances in the Premier League than him since he joined and I think if you were to do a list of the top five playmakers in world football, he probably finishes around third, after Hazard (if considered a playmaker) and de Bruyne, maybe fourth as David Silva is still a magician.

I've said before that the talk of inconsistency in big games is a relative moot-point. If we solely say Eriksen doesn't turn up in big games then neither does Son, Kane and Alli, nor defenders like Jan, Toby or Hugo. Lucas has only been here just over 18 months and has scored some big goals, most notably in the CL semi and goals away to both Manchester clubs but it will remain to be seen if he can continue doing that as months go by, he'll have a chance in a couple weeks! So when it comes to big games - sparing Lucas here - Spurs in general don't turn up, not just one player and I'd also include the manager in that too. When I've got a bit of spare time I may actually do a bit of research and see just who is Spurs' best big game player (vs top six, latter domestic cup and big European games) in the Poch era.

As for Eriksen himself, I do think he's at a stage where he's given us 6 great seasons and now feels it's time to take that next step - but if that next step doesn't come there is hope he may commit, realistically it seems his options are Madrid this window or Juve next summer and I do wonder if Juve really need him what with Pjanic on their books. Personally I think he'd be fantastic for Madrid because they lack a real creative central player, Modric and Kroos aren't at their peak any more and I think Hazard would benefit from having someone on his creative wavelength alongside him. Bale (if he stays) and Benzema would probably also hugely benefit from him as the pace in Spain is slower but more technical and so giving Eriksen even more time on the ball is suicidal for opposition teams because he's shown how much he can create in the fastest league in the world, so I'd dread to think what he'd do out there.

I really hope he stays, I've made no secret of that. In my opinion he's our best player and Spurs need to keep their best if we're to move forward. Ultimately though, if he does decide to leave, I'll wish him all the success providing he continues to keep his word by not joining a domestic rival, he's already rejected Man Utd so it looks like he'll do so.

 

Already said he is not "galactico" material, but still quality nonetheless.

However, at the right price Madrid will have him, and their PR machine
will spin to their fickle ingrate supporters as :

Very useful to have in order to have a strong squad, but not a galactico.

Which is no problem for Eriksen, as IMHO he does not care what they call
him, providing he does end up there.

 

Eriksen is an excellent player if he's used correctly and you work round his weaknesses.
He'll track back and cover, but he won't tackle effectively, won't challenge for headers and can't take corners.
Play him in the centre of the three in a 4-2-3-1 and create space around him and he's very hard to deal with.
He'll run all day, move between the lines, pick passes, create chances and score goals.

His problem? Most sides that he'd like to join don't use either that system or that position.
James Rodriguez suffers for similar reasons, but has even less pace and is even more fragile.
I suspect that it was also Lo Celso's problem at PSG, where he was used in a deeper role, failed and resurrected himself at Betis.

Pochettino should be making the most of Eriksen now and preparing for Lo Celso to take his place if and when he leaves.
Moura, Son, Alli and even N'Koudou should be fighting it out for the other two spots behind Kane, who Son can also rotate with.
The deeper roles should be between Sissoko, Ndombele, Winks, Dier, Wanyama and Skipp.

The diamond doesn't work. It's failed for most of this calendar year.
We don't have the right players for it and it doesn't suit the ones that we do have, nullifying their strengths and amplifying their weaknesses.
I'm getting sick of seeing starting lineups and knowing that we'll have to wait an hour to sort things out and start playing properly.