Stats rarely reflect Bottle...what I’m talking about is difficult to show with stats I didn’t expect him to run about like a DM...that’s not what I’m talking about either and of course there was some great moments...I’m not here to Poo poo what Eriksen did...but he left me frustrated at key moments for our playmaker
Mad ain’t it. Zaha’s done **** all whenever he’s played us. Don’t think he’s ever scored. Aguero on the other hand is another that loves it against us, 12 goals in 15 games I think, or something along those lines.
I think the missing ingredient was that he never seemed to have the tools to dig us out of a game when our backs were to the wall and we needed that extra oomph. Scored a fair few late winners against poor opposition, but in the bigger games it just wasn't there. Although in fairness, that list of players worldwide is pretty short, let alone looking at Spurs specifically. In my lifetime, I guess the few players who have filled me with confidence we could turn a game around even with all evidence pointing to the contrary are: Klinnsman Ginola VDV Bale Kane Probably missing one or two but since starting to follow Spurs in 1993/94, that's the full extent of the list of players who had 'it' - that extra spark around which the entire team and fans in the stands can rally. Eriksen was never that focal point, nor do i think it was ever fair to expect it of him given his introverted personality. But he happened to play in an era where I think we all knew if we could add just one more focal point to Kane, we'd have the drive to get over the trophy line. It wasn't him. But ultimately it wasn't Dele, Son or Dembele either.
Not bad company to keep. De Bruyne will overtake him soon enough, tough to imagine Mata will whilst Ozil's form of one assist this season also makes it unlikely.
Some short memories here - No one can deny that the last 9 months to a year have been well below the standards he set previously, but those standards were very high, just look at those stats for chances created he was such an important part of a very good team. I wish he had given us a couple more big moments in the really big games, but he is not alone in being absent when needed on those days is he? Just last season he scored late winners v Inter that gave us a chance to get out of the group and therefore get to that final, his last minute winner v Brighton may have secured the points that got us champions league football again this season. We have seen some exquisite moments from him, I have enjoyed watching him play for us and I believe he has served us well and I wish him luck at Inter.
Most sources claim that the reason Eriksen chose the number 24 shirt at Inter is as a tribute to Kobe Bryant Sky Italia claim it's him giving us the finger, as it's one higher than the number he wore for us, which is rather Spinal Tap of him...
Eriksen will take some replacing, for years he has been our creative spark and more often than not over the last few years whenever he was missing or had a bad game, we looked far less potent going forward. Hopefully somebody else steps up for us and provides what Eriksen did and more. I wish him all the best, he gave us 6.5 years and stayed with us even though our owners failed to show enough on field ambition to take the team the final step. He should have a good chance of winning things with Inter and is filling his pocket in the process, it remains to be seen whether staying with us would have ever brought him any medals.
Just read that in Poch's five full seasons with us, Eriksen started 181 out of 190 PL matches. That is absolutely mental. And shows just how reliant we were on him, which I suppose was part of the problem. It wasn't so much the case that we should've brought in back-up of a similar quality, as that would have been literally impossible. It was more the fact that at no point in Poch's reign did we appear to even work on, let alone perfecting, a Plan B that wasn't so heavily reliant on Eriksen. The speed at which this season unravelled is ultimately the greatest proof of this fact: we only started developing an alternative plan this past July, and it showed as soon as the season started barely a month later.
This is what I meant yesterday by saying how he's been mentally and physically battered. We over-relied on him just as much as we've done with Kane, it's just that Eriksen somehow rarely got an injury whereas Kane keeps picking them up. It's likely took a toll on him and the fact we unfortunately never won anything with him here will have no doubt played a part in his decision to "seek a new challenge". Six full years is a long time to primarily be the main cog of a system and not win anything. Despite what seemed a great summer, in hindsight it seems were we just massively underprepared going into this season, both in terms of playing without Eriksen and refreshing the squad in other areas. Thankfully I do think Jose has a plan in mind going forward, we're still looking laboured at times but I do feel I'm seeing glimpses of promise in games, some of the passing moves in the Southampton, Norwich and Liverpool matches were impressive and we're generally defending better as a unit even if there are still individual **** ups. I do believe/ hope that things will eventually click, whether it'll be soon enough to get us an unlikely top four finish or not I'm unsure but I'd like to think by the start of next season Spurs will have a new identity and be much more prepared and ready to meet challenges head on.
Totally get you here DH. Ironically I think we found a way to muddle along in Kane's absence through using Llorente, despite not actually switching to a Plan B to play to his strengths (lots of early crosses, passes into his head and body rather than over the shoulder etc.), and that was largely down to the fact that our attacking players were always of a high enough quality that all they really needed to score at a fair clip was a 'focal point' up front who could occupy defenders and thereby create space for them to operate in. Without that, Son, Dele, Lucas and Lamela aren't quite good or consistent enough to keep things ticking over. So basically we didn't develop a Plan B for Kane's inevitable absences either, which makes the decision not to extend or replace Llorente look even more insane than it seemed in the summer. The enormous challenge now facing Maureen is that he is now without the two players around whom our entire attacking system was built for the best part of 5 years. And, zero contingency plans were put in place at any point which means he essentially has to rip up the instruction manual and start from scratch. The players who played under Poch only really recognised and knew one way of playing. We either did it devastatingly, or we muddled along. There were hints - albeit not many - last season that Poch was adapting to a totally different approach, setting us up in Kane's absence as a counter attacking side that sat deep and picked teams off on the break with the pace offered by Lucas and Son. We saw this system in the 1st CL leg against Dortmund, both legs vs Ajax and in all 3 games vs Citeh towards the end of the season. It made far better usage of Llorente's skill set but, and here's the rub: other than Dortmund, it didn't really work. We lacked the midfield and defence to withstand sustained pressure for so long. And at the other end, we were still far too reliant on Eriksen to launch the counter attacks as Sissoko and to a lesser extent Winks can't pass for ****. So yeah, Maureen has his work cut out for him. But the signs are there that he has a plan. I really like the fact that he's targeting young, hungry players (I honestly went into this window predicting the arrivals of Matic, Fellaini and Zlatan). But all of the above underlines the fact that if we are to rescue this season, bringing in an ST to be that focal point is crucial.
I see it at best as an on-pitch "sideways" promotion. I assume Serie A will be easier on his legs at his age than the PL will. I do not know if Inter are now a CL shoo-in or not (that old chestnut) . For the club, some money made from the sale, not going to a PL rival, nor the Madrid vermin. As I and others have long said, there has been the sense that he never took the "final step" to become a Hazard or KDB, which is why he is not going to Barca and Madrid. For Eriksen himself, gratitude for the efforts of 2015-19, as he was a key part of the on-pitch rise of the club in the PL and CL during that period. And as for all players who have served the club and been respectful, I wish him success and an injury-free career at Inter.
I'm disappointed that he's chosen Serie A. It does seem like semi retirement these days. He should be playing at Barcelona. He obviously didn't fancy the PL - too much like hard work. He's been a star for Denmark and seems to relish the challenge. But at club level, you do question his ambition given his ability. Lesser players will win many more honours, including CL.
Not sure he had a choice to go to la liga. Not sure there were any offers for him. At least now he gets his move, he gets paid and he had a decent enough chance of winning a league this season
Italy or Manchester Hmmmmmmmmmm! A villa in Milan, sunshine, good wine or a Villa in Manchester, rain, and beer. Fans that will love you in Italy and leaving behind the Spurs fans with a smile or playing in Manchester and enduring the hate of 'deserter' status. It's a fairly easy decision other thing being equal.
Christian Eriksen says he was "the black sheep" at Tottenham for being "very honest" over running his contract down at the club. Denmark midfielder Eriksen joined Inter Milan for £16.9m last month, ending six and a half years with Spurs. The 27-year-old's admission he wanted to leave in the aftermath of the Champions League final defeat by Liverpool led some fans to turn on him. "I did get the blame for a lot of stuff, for being the bad guy," he said. His contract at Spurs had been set to expire this summer. By the time Inter boss Antonio Conte offered an exit route, Eriksen says he had grown tired of the speculation about his future and weary of the finger-pointing from the stands. In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Eriksen outlined his frustrations. In addition, he explained why he feels the treatment he received came because he wanted to be honest, the excitement he feels at joining Inter and Sunday's derby with AC Milan at the San Siro. Is there a sense of relief to get all the talk of your future over and get playing at a club without all the background noise? Eriksen: "Yes. England, for the last few years, was very hectic. After what I said in the summer, it was just about 'when is he going to leave?' Every game it was 'Is he leaving? Is he not leaving?' Of course, a lot of people were speaking about it. "Even the fans you see on the street were like 'Thank you, goodbye and good luck'. But I was still there. It was a bit weird. In my head and for my body, it is good that I am in a new place and I can start again." Can you wind back to the Champions League final? That was obviously a disappointing night. (Mauricio) Pochettino raised doubts about your future. You gave the interview when you said you were thinking about a fresh challenge. The conjecture went on for weeks. Did it play on your mind? Did that bother or affect you? "I wouldn't say it affected me. In England, when your contract is shorter, it is like you have to leave now. You are gone. In the end I played about 30 games that were like goodbye games. It was like 'this might be his last game', 'this might be his last game'. It kept rolling. "In my head I was ready to try something new but felt if nothing came, I was still ready to play for my place. I was not a different player in that sense. But I was in and out of the team. However, even if I had a four-year contract, this season would have been difficult after the Champions League final It seemed the problems Tottenham had were pushed back to you and your form... "But that is the thing. If you have a short contract, you will be the black sheep. Of course, I did the interview. I was very honest. I felt I had to be honest. I didn't want to hide like a lot of players do. Everyone is different. I was honest. I wanted to say it out loud. "I did get the blame for a lot of stuff, for being the bad guy. I read I was the bad person in the changing room, that ever since I said I wanted to leave, it was no good me being there. To be honest, over the last few years, if anything came up, any player would think about leaving but I was the guy who said it publicly." Jose Mourinho didn't really settle the situation down. In a very Jose way, he was nice but there was always a 'but'. Did that affect things at all? "No. When the window is not open, there can only be talk. There cannot be anything concrete. I think Mourinho did well. He could have said 'he wants to leave, so he is not going to play any more'. He didn't do that. "After I told him where my feelings were and what I would like to do, he told me just to be happy and if I was needed I would play. I was needed in a few games where I did make a difference. It was more as an extra rather than in the starting XI of course." When you talk about Tottenham, it does seem to have unravelled very quickly after finishing last season on such a high... "Yes. It did. The Champions League final was such a special moment. In the history of Tottenham, it was the first time. To be there was so nice and beautiful. But you lose and the next day it is the end of the world. That is how it goes. "Afterwards it was difficult. People were still sad from the Champions League final when the season started. After you get a few bad results, then you go into a spiral you are not used to and it was difficult to come back up. "But if you look at the Premier League, there is only one team that is really flying. All the others are trying to find their place, not only Tottenham. Some seasons are like that. "The history of the last five years is of Tottenham being where they have not been before for a long time. It was not a time to end but, in a way, it just came along which was something we didn't expect and didn't want." So we get to January. When did you find out, when did you think, you would be leaving? "Not until it got serious. In the end it comes down to what Tottenham wants to have and what Inter, or any other club, want to pay. "In the end you are controlled by Tottenham. You are controlled by [chairman Daniel] Levy. He says yes or no. You try to be as professional as you can be and not to force anything through in any way." Was it always Inter Milan? There were a few clubs mentioned. Manchester United were routinely mentioned... "For a few years but it was never really likely. We did speak to them of course and we did hear what was possible and what wasn't possible. But, in the end, me personally, I wanted a new challenge. To stay in the Premier League would have been an easy solution. "Of course, staying at Tottenham would also have been a solution but, for me, it just came down to wanting to try a new challenge in a new country. Once Inter came up it really wasn't a difficult choice."
I don't think most Spurs fans begrudge him running his contract down if he's playing at his best during that time. It's that he was barely going through the motions so people quite rightly gave him a hard time. We were still paying his wages.
That's quite a revealing interview, especially for a player who rarely spoke to the media. For starters, I am sick and tired of hearing the whole "poor little victim" charade every time an underperforming player leaves. We had it in bucket loads from Trippier and it just doesn't work. Hearing the whole "oh please feel sorry for me" routine from people paid a fortune to do something most of us would do for no more than petrol expenses is patronising and condescending to the extreme. The comments about the CL final are the clearest confirmation we've had of what many of us suspected: that game broke the bonds that tied the group together. The players stopped believing in Poch and he stopped believing in most of them. In hindsight, it might have even been better had Poch walked out with his head held high after that match - exactly as he'd hinted at already (and stupidly) to the press. For him to leave in the dead of night with us 14th in the table to be replaced within 24 hours by Maureen was about as undignified an ending as could be imagined.
