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Eric Dier

Hopefully people don't take it the wrong way when I post these CB suggestions in the Dier thread. Like others, I think Dier would be a good option to have around so personally don't believe he should be sold. He's a solid pro and a decent player, but recent high-profile mistakes have not been helping his case.

With that said, here are some quick targets we could go for, most of whom are young-ish but with decent potential. I felt 20 was a good cut-off for age, any younger would need too much time to bed in, but that's the responsibility of the club to look into. Also, most of these players could be attainable and realistic options. I left out the obvious candidates like Bastoni and Gvardiol since they could be slightly out of our reach, and we all already know about them.
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Caleb Okoli

Gonçalo Inácio
Jurriën Timber
Jean-Clair Todibo
Pierre Kalulu

José Giménez, Pau Torres

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Okoli seems like he could be a solid defender, but not as good with passing range as the others. Inacio, Timber, Todibo and Kalulu are all highly-rated youngsters that wouldn't cost insane money like Gvardiol. They all seem comfortable on the ball but again, I repeat they're young players that still have some improvements to make.

The last two players are in their primes and are good options, but they're names that most on here probably recognize. Perhaps both these players are out of our reach, hence why most of the names are younger players who should be PL-ready but with room to grow still.
 
Probably the best example to show how regular IQ and football IQ don't really match in the slightest.

On the whole, Dier's an intelligent, likeable guy. Speaks multiple languages, reads a lot, can be pretty reflective about society and football at times.

On the pitch he's a useless bombscare and has been for years. Cannot pass, cannot defend, cannot lead. It is strange that the disparity is so evident, but c'est la vie.

Jurgen the German said:
Need an upgrade on him. Shouldn’t be too hard.
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I legitimately think a traffic cone would do more than him at this point, so it absolutely would not be hard.
 
The sliced clearance for the corner which led to the second goal was appalling.

He had absolutely ages so most players would have taken a touch rather than attempt a volley with their wrong foot

He's the weak link in the back 3.

Separately, would like to see Lenglet signed permanently and then a commanding CB playing between him and Romero
 
DubSpur said:
While it was a poor clearance we had the chance to clear from the corner but the defending was shocking for it.
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A lot of goals are preventable, especially from set pieces which is an area we have excelled in recently but you can’t legislate for someone slicing the ball out of play like Dier did. It’s basic fundamental errors he is making. The team isn’t really good enough to carry the likes of him anymore.
 
AdamB said:
The biggest issue with his error today wasn't the technique - it was the mental side. With the time he had he could have taken a touch and cleared. Someone who turns 29 in 3 weeks time shouldnt be making those errors
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Spot on, the fact he wouldn't take a touch and then went on to slice it shows almost two fold levels of his confidence going, but equally I would expect someone in low confidence to at least lump it down field, if you are out of sorts, go back to basics
 
AdamB said:
The biggest issue with his error today wasn't the technique - it was the mental side. With the time he had he could have taken a touch and cleared. Someone who turns 29 in 3 weeks time shouldnt be making those errors
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the biggest issue is we take too long to find out that dier is not good enough for top four.
the second biggest issue is that we take too long to get rid of non-performers.
 
metalgear said:
the biggest issue is we take too long to find out that dier is not good enough for top four.
the second biggest issue is that we take too long to get rid of non-performers.
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No, he IS good enough for top 4, he’s been in our top 4 sides for years now. I think where we might all agree is that if we actually want to go the final yard and win things, we need to upgrade. He is still absolutely in my squad, and remains better than his regular knockers dramatically overcook it, but there’s no argument that if we want to win things, we need to upgrade on him.

What is worrying about Dier is that he has brought his pre World Cup jitters to the first game back after World Cup duty; he hardly played there, so he can’t be tired, is he rusty? Can’t be that, he has literally picked up jittery form where he left off. Has his confidence gone?
 
thfcsteff said:
No, he IS good enough for top 4, he’s been in our top 4 sides for years now. I think where we might all agree is that if we actually want to go the final yard and win things, we need to upgrade. He is still absolutely in my squad, and remains better than his regular knockers dramatically overcook it, but there’s no argument that if we want to win things, we need to upgrade on him.

What is worrying about Dier is that he has brought his pre World Cup jitters to the first game back after World Cup duty; he hardly played there, so he can’t be tired, is he rusty? Can’t be that, he has literally picked up jittery form where he left off. Has his confidence gone?
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I know these things are often very nuanced, but why has his confidence gone?
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
I know these things are often very nuanced, but why has his confidence gone?
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Mind set and mentality
When a player makes a mistake here it gets focussed on and exasperated more than a lot of clubs because our fans love to find a scape goat (look at how pool fans treat Nunez for an alternative way of backing players)
Yesterday it was Dier (even though we had 10 players who could have done better on the corner) or it was PEH who actually played well statistically at least
I do agree that Dier needs a breather and ideally that would come with a new signing.
Tanganga really confused me yesterday. When he was aggressive and won the ball first time he looked good. When he didn’t, he looked like a pub player
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
I know these things are often very nuanced, but why has his confidence gone?
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It’s a great question. Maybe it hasn’t? I’m going to partially double-back on myself and say I think the time in Qatar not playing has left him rusty. Ironically he could’ve done with the friendlies just to re-establish game rhythm.
 
thfcsteff said:
It’s a great question. Maybe it hasn’t? I’m going to partially double-back on myself and say I think the time in Qatar not playing has left him rusty. Ironically he could’ve done with the friendlies just to re-establish game rhythm.
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But this dip in form started before the WC did. I don't think you're wrong in saying he might be a bit rusty, but if it's not his confidence, why is he underperforming (because we all know he could and should be playing to a higher standard)? Obviously, this could apply to a few other players like Son as well.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
I know these things are often very nuanced, but why has his confidence gone?
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Could one make an argument that he's always been a confidence player? When things are going well, when he's gone a period without making mistakes (or not getting punished as frequently, everyone makes mistakes) he's looked much better. Problem is getting out of that slump when errors lead to a drop in confidence and that fosters more errors?

He looks a bit short on composure and confidence when the pressure is on. Having made some errors before the world cup the pressure is on before the game starts.

Compare him to Lloris, Kane or Romero. They all make mistakes, but it doesn't seem to damage their confidence much at all.
 
thfcsteff said:
No, he IS good enough for top 4, he’s been in our top 4 sides for years now. I think where we might all agree is that if we actually want to go the final yard and win things, we need to upgrade. He is still absolutely in my squad, and remains better than his regular knockers dramatically overcook it, but there’s no argument that if we want to win things, we need to upgrade on him.

What is worrying about Dier is that he has brought his pre World Cup jitters to the first game back after World Cup duty; he hardly played there, so he can’t be tired, is he rusty? Can’t be that, he has literally picked up jittery form where he left off. Has his confidence gone?
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Is he? Couldn't see him getting into any of the current three ahead of us or a few below either.
 
Gazza said:
Is he? Couldn't see him getting into any of the current three ahead of us or a few below either.
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Whilst I fully agree….
If we signed Dan Burn out fans would not have been happy (he is a very solid CB and playing out of position currently) ….
I’ve said before schar would be a good signing (has had injury issues) but again… our fans would not be happy with him
 
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