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Christian Eriksen

nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Agreed, and I wouldnt put it past Real to completely back track on any promises made either.

As it is, my expectation is they wont be able to get Pogba, and so will grab Eriksen just because...



I dont think we do need someone like Eriksen. Or, at least, necessarily. He is a KEY player for us in our current guise, but also a point of weakness. Ive always seen the NDombele and LoCelso (type) buys as a move to negate that reliance. To change the focus/style of our play more. To effectively make Eriksen redundant.

It is notable just how many dribblers/runners we have been linked with and bought. Players who can pass well (albeit not like Eriksen) but ALSO carry the ball...

I also have real concerns about what happens if he does stay.

Villa? I dont think its interesting at all. As stated above (or possibly elsewhere, Eriksen is being discussed in a few places!) I fully expect Sissoko to start, and yet I also fully expect him to be phased out over the season.

Right now we will play as settled a side as possible (and it should be fine), what really is interesting is the side we pick when everyone is settled in and up to speed.
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Yes, I agree with all of the above (specifically about the need for NDombele and Lo Celso and about the real interest lying in the settled side he chooses to field). But not with the phrase that Eriksen has now been made redundant. He is still the best passer of the ball in the current squad. I don't think he was a weakness in any way, and I don't think he will be if he stays. My point about Villa is that that is the first chance for us to see what Poch might do - the first new piece of the puzzle. If he does not pick him, then it will be difficult for me to argue that he will sign a new contract. If he does, then at least Poch believes that his mindset is not detrimental, as some on here appear to think.

And: I want him to stay. Do you? All things considered? Or are you hoping that he will be shipped out?
 
Hotspur75 said:
Yes, of course. And who else can play that role, if Winks is injured? NDombele?
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From what I have heard, it is not NDombele's strength playing deep and receiving the ball from defence. He is meant to be a little rash in the challenge and not comfortable on the turn. I think that we'd be looking a Dier or Skipp and would have to change our game accordingly.
 
Playmaker probably isn't the right term, as above, it'll be receiving the ball from defence and moving it on which Winks is perfect for and Skipp is also showing he can do. There won't be the Pirlo raking long passes going on too much I'd imagine.

I don't know if Dier's feet are quick enough (or at least not as quick as Winks'), but it's a role that can be played to the occupants strengths in that regard and I don't think Dier in a three would have the problems that he does in a two. Might end up being the role that has people wondering what the player in there does, but to the fan who watches weekly they understand the importance.
 
Hotspur75 said:
Yes, I agree with all of the above (specifically about the need for NDombele and Lo Celso and about the real interest lying in the settled side he chooses to field). But not with the phrase that Eriksen has now been made redundant. He is still the best passer of the ball in the current squad. I don't think he was a weakness in any way, and I don't think he will be if he stays. My point about Villa is that that is the first chance for us to see what Poch might do - the first new piece of the puzzle. If he does not pick him, then it will be difficult for me to argue that he will sign a new contract. If he does, then at least Poch believes that his mindset is not detrimental, as some on here appear to think.

And: I want him to stay. Do you? All things considered? Or are you hoping that he will be shipped out?
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My point is - if we move to a (for example) more "total football" style of play, players all over who are passing, moving, dribbling - if we move away from the maestro in the middle approach - then Eriksens position has indeed been made redundant. We no longer need what he offers, we've taken a different approach.

I do think he is a weakness. For far too long its been a case of if he plays well, we play well, but if he doesnt - then we do not. This not to criticise his performances as such, rather the 'single point of failure' element to the way we set up. It all works through him.

To change that to a midfield 3, say, and spread the load, is to remove that single point of failure.

I still maintain, Villa really isnt interesting. I would assume if Eriksen is dropped it indicates he is off, but by the same token - if he were to play - he could well still be off. Poch is a pragmatist, he will play the team he thinks will get the result, so I really wont be reading into it too much.

Do I want him to stay? Honestly I dont think so.

I think he is a wonderful player, of whom I am a big fan, but I also think if he were to stay I dont know how/where he fits, how well he is committed, or if these things will cause issues for Poch and the team. I think it leaves that area of the squad somewhat bloated, and so we would end up compromising the team to squeeze everyone in.

Effectively, I think we have already replaced him.
 
milo said:
From what I have heard, it is not NDombele's strength playing deep and receiving the ball from defence. He is meant to be a little rash in the challenge and not comfortable on the turn. I think that we'd be looking a Dier or Skipp and would have to change our game accordingly.
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Not Eriksen? He moved into Winks' position in the CL final, and I would trust him more than Dier or Skipp.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
My point is - if we move to a (for example) more "total football" style of play, players all over who are passing, moving, dribbling - if we move away from the maestro in the middle approach - then Eriksens position has indeed been made redundant. We no longer need what he offers, we've taken a different approach.

I do think he is a weakness. For far too long its been a case of if he plays well, we play well, but if he doesnt - then we do not. This not to criticise his performances as such, rather the 'single point of failure' element to the way we set up. It all works through him.

To change that to a midfield 3, say, and spread the load, is to remove that single point of failure.

I still maintain, Villa really isnt interesting. I would assume if Eriksen is dropped it indicates he is off, but by the same token - if he were to play - he could well still be off. Poch is a pragmatist, he will play the team he thinks will get the result, so I really wont be reading into it too much.

Do I want him to stay? Honestly I dont think so.

I think he is a wonderful player, of whom I am a big fan, but I also think if he were to stay I dont know how/where he fits, how well he is committed, or if these things will cause issues for Poch and the team. I think it leaves that area of the squad somewhat bloated, and so we would end up compromising the team to squeeze everyone in.

Effectively, I think we have already replaced him.
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Ok, let's leave it there for now. I understand your position, and we definitely agree on the engine room-midfield 3 of Lo Celso, NDombele, and WInks being important in the long run for us. That's what this window has been about. I just do not see why we would let one of our best players leave, and why he would want to leave (and whereto) if Real and Atletico don't want him. Forcing him out does not work, and is not a smart strategy. It did not work with Janssen or with Rose, it certainly would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we were to try the same thing forcefully with Eriksen.
 
Hotspur75 said:
Ok, let's leave it there for now. I understand your position, and we definitely agree on the engine room-midfield 3 of Lo Celso, NDombele, and WInks being important in the long run for us. That's what this window has been about. I just do not see why we would let one of our best players leave, and why he would want to leave (and whereto) if Real and Atletico don't want him. Forcing him out does not work, and is not a smart strategy. It did not work with Janssen or with Rose, it certainly would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we were to try the same thing forcefully with Eriksen.
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We cant force him out. The only choice we have, if he chooses to stay, is how involved he is in the team.

And thats where the complications begin...
 
milo said:
The interview he gave the Danish press sounded like classic Real Madrid tactics to me. They like players to publicly declare that they want a move.
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True, but there were no Real players saying join us, or ex-players saying he should sign, or Marca giving column inches and conducting polls etc. - the other classic tactics.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
I do think he is a weakness. For far too long its been a case of if he plays well, we play well, but if he doesnt - then we do not. This not to criticise his performances as such, rather the 'single point of failure' element to the way we set up. It all works through him.
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I think that it is the other way around. When we play well, he plays well. He relies on the other players making moves for him to pick out, if we are flat, he is unable to impose himself on the game and turn things around.
 
Hotspur75 said:
Not Eriksen? He moved into Winks' position in the CL final, and I would trust him more than Dier or Skipp.
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He did but against a team that was happy sitting back. I'd love him to be turned into that player, he could be a world beater if he can develop that side of his game. I do worry though that he is prone from ducking out of a challenge and that makes him unsuited to the role.
 
Hotspur75 said:
Ok, let's leave it there for now. I understand your position, and we definitely agree on the engine room-midfield 3 of Lo Celso, NDombele, and WInks being important in the long run for us. That's what this window has been about. I just do not see why we would let one of our best players leave, and why he would want to leave (and whereto) if Real and Atletico don't want him. Forcing him out does not work, and is not a smart strategy. It did not work with Janssen or with Rose, it certainly would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we were to try the same thing forcefully with Eriksen.
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What if he signs a new contract, ZZ gets binned at RM and we go through all this again? And let's face it managers don't last at Madrid.
I'm sorry but it's time to move on.
Edit, and are you really saying he has no weaknesses?
 
I have to laugh at the suggestion that if Eriksen does stay he will not be in the team often. None of us know how our two new players in C/M will turn out ( although i do expect them to be very good signings) and the idea ( imo) is that we needed to give ourselves more options in C/M and we have now done that.

If Eriksen stays i would be amazed if he is not used in rotation along with our other C/M players.
 
parklane1 said:
I have to laugh at the suggestion that if Eriksen does stay he will not be in the team often. None of us know how our two new players in C/M will turn out ( although i do expect them to be very good signings) and the idea ( imo) is that we needed to give ourselves more options in C/M and we have now done that.

If Eriksen stays i would be amazed if he is not used in rotation along with our other C/M players.
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I also laugh at the insinuation that if he leaves we won't challenge for trophies.
 
I am worried that we will know what we are missing only when he has left. I don't think he has no weaknesses - I would love for him to have the strength and grit of someone like Rose alongside his passing ability. But he is the only player in last year's squad who was truly capable of playing through bus-parking teams (of which we are going to encounter many again this year), and I do not see an obvious replacement. So if he goes, we lose flexibility and options at the very least. And quality.
 
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