Eric Dier

[Finney Is Back]

I think that's a bit harsh, but depends who he's being compared to. Compared to Sanches and current Alderweireld he's at least in the same bracket imo.

I think there's some chance of him improving over time. His actual experience playing as a CB at this level is still somewhat limited. Mostly the last year and a bit playing there regularly.

He's also being played mostly as a left sided CB despite being right footed, I think that's more about the limitations of Sanches and Alderweireld rather than being about Dier being better there.

What him and Sanches, possibly also Alderweireld have going for them is that they haven't so far had the chance to play next to a top level CB since Verts declined/got a head injury. I could see one of them, perhaps Dier step it up if the right signing happens in the summer. If the plan is to make an effective partnership out of one of those three I'm a lot more pessimistic.

Of course that can be true for Rodon or Tanganga too so...

Interestingly enough I think that if Dier went off and played centre half for a season at Championship level under a good manager then he would probably come back a better player. The problem is that we cannot really have him learning on the job here at Spurs. Going against though though is the fact that that he hasn't really improved playing there in the last year.

I always feel that a centre half has to have at least one of the main attributes to be a good defender - whether that is pace (I mean speed off the mark as opposed to top speed), physicality or positional sense/awareness. If a centre back has two of those qualities then they are generally very good defenders and those that have all three tend to be the elite defenders.

My problem is that Dier doesn't really have any of those three attributes, hence my comment of not much to work with. I don't think he is the worst player ever, just that if we want to be a CL club again then I don't think we can be carrying him in our team.

Looking at Tanganga and Rodon.... Tanganga seems to have some pace so that is one attribute. I'd need to see more of him to assess his physicality and positional sense. Rodon, I haven't seen enough of to assess, though I did see him playing for Swansea and it looked to me as though he had both physicality and good positional sense.

 

[SteveAWOL]

This guy is 27 years old and should be in the prime of his career but continues to make rookie errors; blaming the homegrown youngster for first goal when Antonio was clearly your man and then failing to track back just in case Lloris spills the ball just epitomises his deficiencies as a CB.

 

[Finney Is Back]

He is an extremely poor defender. I have been saying it for a long while. He is either very badly coached or just very bad. Either way he needs to be a long way from our first team. IMO he is the very weakest of all our CBs. If Rodon isn’t considered better than him then it doesn’t bode well.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

The guy is utter brick and anyone who thinks definitely needs to go away and learn football.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

This guy is 27 years old and should be in the prime of his career but continues to make rookie errors; blaming the homegrown youngster for first goal when Antonio was clearly your man and then failing to track back just in case Lloris spills the ball just epitomises his deficiencies as a CB.

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It was really poor
Everyone knows Hugo deals with crosses like a vampire
I mean every team targets us now from wide
Shockingly simple

 

[Finney Is Back]

It was really poor
Everyone knows Hugo deals with crosses like a vampire
I mean every team targets us now from wide
Shockingly simple

Hugo made a decent save.

 

[DubSpur]

This guy is 27 years old and should be in the prime of his career but continues to make rookie errors; blaming the homegrown youngster for first goal when Antonio was clearly your man and then failing to track back just in case Lloris spills the ball just epitomises his deficiencies as a CB.

Fornals made a run to the front post and Dier went with him. In the first pic there is nobody marking Fornal, somebody should've been dropping in to mark him.
Lloris was terrible for the cross which came into the 6 yard box, no excuse. There's more than one to blame here.
Doesn't change that Dier is not good enough.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Fornals made a run to the front post and Dier went with him. In the first pic there is nobody marking Fornal, somebody should've been dropping in to mark him.
Lloris was terrible for the cross which came into the 6 yard box, no excuse. There's more than one to blame here.
Doesn't change that Dier is not good enough.

Antonio got on the end of it. It was a shot that Hugo saved. As always Dier lost his player in a dangerous position and ended up doing nothing.... it is a very common theme.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

There seems to be a direct correlation between the worse he gets and the more he points.
I swear there was one Spam break when he slowed down his run back just to point at someone - Reggie maybe.

 

[scaramanga]

This guy is 27 years old and should be in the prime of his career but continues to make rookie errors; blaming the homegrown youngster for first goal when Antonio was clearly your man and then failing to track back just in case Lloris spills the ball just epitomises his deficiencies as a CB.

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Those pics don't show the middle part where the free man in the middle makes a near post run and Dier (rightly) goes with him.

Tanganga is perfectly positioned to go with Antonio and he absolutely should have done.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Hugo made a decent save.

For the goal?
Shocking IMO I mean he let the ball hit him rather than go to the ball
Same as the palace goal
Dier was awful
But it’s him abs Hugo again.. maybe there speaking foreign languages to each other

 

[Finney Is Back]

For the goal?
Shocking IMO I mean he let the ball hit him rather than go to the ball
Same as the palace goal
Dier was awful
But it’s him abs Hugo again.. maybe there speaking foreign languages to each other

Lloris couldn’t come for that. What he expects is his centre back to stay with his player. A silly expectation to make when that CB is Dier though I agree...

 

[DubSpur]

Antonio got on the end of it. It was a shot that Hugo saved. As always Dier lost his player in a dangerous position and ended up doing nothing.... it is a very common theme.

No, he didn't lose his man, he left Antonio to go with the man running to the near post. If he didn't go with him and he got on the end of it and scored you'd also be slaughtering Dier.
The problem was nobody marking Fornal and covering his run. Dier had a choice to make, go with Fornal and trust Lloris and Tanganga to cover Antonio or stay and leave Fornal free.
He made the right choice, but Tanganga and especially Lloris didn't deal with Antonio.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Lloris couldn’t come for that. What he expects is his centre back to stay with his player. A silly expectation to make when that CB is Dier though I agree...

Strange as all the west ham fans I know think he should have
But hey
I mean Dier was awful
But Hugo... needs to out of the team abs replaced with a mannequin as it will move more
The fact he wants falls backwards shows to me how his game has changed as a keeper. He literally is never ever on his front foot

 

[DubSpur]

Lloris couldn’t come for that. What he expects is his centre back to stay with his player. A silly expectation to make when that CB is Dier though I agree...

He couldn't come for a ball at waist height in the 6 yard box????

 

[Bedfordspurs]

No, he didn't lose his man, he left Antonio to go with the man running to the near post. If he didn't go with him and he got on the end of it and scored you'd also be slaughtering Dier.
The problem was nobody marking Fornal and covering his run. Dier had a choice to make, go with Fornal and trust Lloris and Tanganga to cover Antonio or stay and leave Fornal free.
He made the right choice, but Tanganga and especially Lloris didn't deal with Antonio.

Dier is dead to most fans
And was awful so you can’t ever defend him
Hugo is never criticised because he makes some great saves
Shame he deals with crosses like De Gea

 

[Bedfordspurs]

He couldn't come for a ball at waist height in the 6 yard box????

Nope
Better to stand still
On your heels and react to any other contact whilst falling backwards.... again

 

[Finney Is Back]

No, he didn't lose his man, he left Antonio to go with the man running to the near post. If he didn't go with him and he got on the end of it and scored you'd also be slaughtering Dier.
The problem was nobody marking Fornal and covering his run. Dier had a choice to make, go with Fornal and trust Lloris and Tanganga to cover Antonio or stay and leave Fornal free.
He made the right choice, but Tanganga and especially Lloris didn't deal with Antonio.

I wouldn’t. I would say that that he had to stay with his own man who was in a far more dangerous goal scoring position. Tanganga was also very poor though I agree there.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Those pics don't show the middle part where the free man in the middle makes a near post run and Dier (rightly) goes with him.

Tanganga is perfectly positioned to go with Antonio and he absolutely should have done.

Why the feck Moura lets Fornals walk straight past him then points out the danger instead of dealing with it himself.

 

[scaramanga]

Why the feck Moura lets Fornals walk straight past him then points out the danger instead of dealing with it himself.

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I can't for the life of my work out how anyone could or would do that.

Defending 101 though - you mark from the front to the back (at least within the danger area). Dier takes up a good position with Antonio to start. When the other player becomes the foremost danger then Dier has to cover him. Knowing there's a keeper and a defender both goal side of Antonio then it's safe to do that. Tanganga get caught on his heels and doesn't see the play/danger developing.