And yet here we are with him improving that side of his game despite being told many times that it's not 'part of his game' Im glad Eriksen himself isn't happy to stand still and is looking to improve - he's a better player for it
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Christian Eriksen
- Thread starter spurspinter1
- Start date
And yet here we are with him improving that side of his game despite being told many times that it's not 'part of his game' Im glad Eriksen himself isn't happy to stand still and is looking to improve - he's a better player for it
Gilzeantoscore
Justin Edinburgh
": 910850, member: 358"]Without a doubt, but it suits some to say that he has added it to his game. They are trying to explain their WRONG opinions of him that they voiced on here repeatedly earlier this season. He is the same player who for whatever reason some slagged off.[/QUOTE]
Against Burnley he dispossessed a midfielder which lead directly to one of our goals. BTW, I call it as I see it. When he plays badly I comment as such, when he plays well I comment as such. I 'slagged him off' because he was playing like a pussy, it was like we were playing with only ten men when the opposition had the ball. Lately he has turned that around and has done everything expected of him and I and others have recognised that fact. As John Maynard Keynes so rightly put it, "when my information changes, I alter my conclusions."
Against Burnley he dispossessed a midfielder which lead directly to one of our goals. BTW, I call it as I see it. When he plays badly I comment as such, when he plays well I comment as such. I 'slagged him off' because he was playing like a pussy, it was like we were playing with only ten men when the opposition had the ball. Lately he has turned that around and has done everything expected of him and I and others have recognised that fact. As John Maynard Keynes so rightly put it, "when my information changes, I alter my conclusions."
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glasgowspur
Luka Modric
I agree with the eriksen bit, but not about lamela being reckless. Lamela has game craft and knows where the line is, what he can and can't get away with. It's not reckless, it's actually very considered.
Jurgen the German
Willie Hall
I'm not saying he is always reckless but there are definitely occasions when he dives in instead of staying on his feet or gives away needless fouls and gets booked which means he's on a walking a fine line for the rest of the game. He plays within the rules as you say but I don't see his "game craft" as a massive plus over Eriksen's more considered approach.
Tackling aside, Eriksen actually covers more ground than any other player which dispels the myth that Eriksen doesn't work hard.
parklane1
Tony Galvin
There are a lot of myths about what Eriksen can not do ( the thread is full of them), as for those who are backtracking on some of their posts, to say a player has improved certain parts of his game is a cop out for their criticisms in earlier posts. The truth is ALL players improve ( or should do) as they get older which is normal. But to say a player is a pussy and then say he no longer is rubbish ( imo) but i am sure they will disagree.
Anyway we have a great player in Eriksen and he is still only 25 and has many years in front of him to play ( lets hope it is here).
Jurgen the German
Willie Hall
I can honestly say I've not noticed that much difference in terms of physicality, the only example I can recall is when he bullied Joey Barton off the ball against Burnley recently but I've not seen him running around tackling like Lamela.
I don't know why you have this obsession with 'tackling like Lamela' all anyone has asked for is for him to not not duck out of winnable 50-50 challenges so frequently - which is what he has been doing, to his credit, since about the turn of the year
Jurgen the German
Willie Hall
Wouldn't call it an obsession (no more than you responding to the majority of my posts). I honestly haven't noticed much of a difference on the 50-50 challenges front, yeah he bottles them on occasion but his overall play more than makes up for his deficiencies in other areas.
We'll have to agree to disagree then as i see a marked improvement from him in that area
And as previously stated, the real top players look to improve their deficiencies, not think they can get away with it because they're good in other areas - as supporters there's nothing wrong in highlighting areas that players can improve
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
I don't mind Eriksen ducking out of 50-50 challenges. He isn't really built to win them anyway. The fact that when he 'ducks out of' those challenges he does so by ensuring he is goal side and therefore not allowing our opponents to get beyond us is also advantageous. Contesting the 50-50, losing out and having an opponent in behind us and us having to then commit a defensive player would be far worse than the outcome we get with Eriksen currently.
I can only imagine how some of you on here would've disliked Hoddle (still the very best player I have seen for Spurs and one of the best players I have ever seen anywhere) back in the day.
If you were happy with him before (in this regard) that's fine, we all have our different ideas on the game and how it should be played. It frustrated the hell out of me and I'm happy with improvement.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
I'm wondering what the actual improvement is here though? I'm still not noticing Eriksen launch himself into 50-50s. He nicked the ball off of Barton at Burnley and created a goal, but he has always played that way. It seems to me that people are using him winning possession in that game as some sort of evidence that he has been reborn. My own thoughts are that Eriksen has always played this way.
I don't dispute that Eriksen's form has been much improved since the first quarter of the season passed. However that is the same for most of the players in our team. My opinion is that Eriksen's improvement is in his attacking prowess though and not him suddenly becoming Graham Roberts.
I'm not sure what the motive would be for those of us who have noticed an improvement in him to make it up - if we didn't think he had improved we'd still be complaining about it.
Think it's best we just chalk this one up as a difference in opinion because those of you who never thought it was a problem before don't seem able to accept our views on him, then or now.
Think it's best we just chalk this one up as a difference in opinion because those of you who never thought it was a problem before don't seem able to accept our views on him, then or now.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
I'm not talking about whether or not his form has improved though. I agree that his form has improved and I am delighted that it has (especially as I had always nailed my colours to the mast that he is our key player and the one player in our team that could walk in and be comfortable playing for Barcelona straight away).
My point is that earlier this season when he was off form people were digging him out about bottling out of 50-50s. It seems to be suggested that he is no longer this. I would argue that he is still exactly the same character in terms of how brave he is in the tackle, but because his attacking output has now improved people no longer care about him bottling the 50-50s. Instead of people saying "It doesn't matter that he bottles the 50-50s because he creates more goals that any other player in the league"... they effectively say "he is much braver now and so I am happy".
I wasn't talking about form either mate, Im specifically talking about him not ducking out of 50-50s and generally being a bit more aggressive in his play on and off the ball.
If you read back I've probably covered everything since yesterday afternoon, so sorry if I come across as being a bit short on the matter, I'm just loath to go over it all again so soon
If you read back I've probably covered everything since yesterday afternoon, so sorry if I come across as being a bit short on the matter, I'm just loath to go over it all again so soon
Spur of the moment
Frederic Kanoute
As one who defended Eriksen stoutly during his poor form I also conceded that he had a spell when he appeared to 'bottle' challenges noticeably more than usual. Whilst this might have been in part down to poor form it did seem to me to be more than just that. There were suggestions around that time that he was playing through an injury following his return from an international which might have had something to do with it.
If you remember Poch subsequently made a comment along the lines that he needed to improve and from that point on he seemed to become that bit more determined in the tackle.
Whilst I'd agree he's still no Graham Roberts (and never will be) I'd argue there has been an improvement in his approach when challenging for possession that is over and above his return to form.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
Fair do's mate. No offence taken. As you say, the two of us probably hold a slightly different opinion on Eriksen's output. Of course the beauty of opinions are that they are all equally valid (well other than Scara's opinion of AVB of course
)Gilzeantoscore
Justin Edinburgh
Let's put it this way. Early in the season he wasn't just pulling out of tackles he wasn't even getting involved in one on one contact, he was even backing out of headers. This was all about his attitude and had nothing to do with form. Now he is not doing that, in fact he is tackling, something you said was not part of his game and he is doing it so well he is helping to create goals. Thus the Keynes quote. You are a hard man to please. You knock us when we criticise Eriksen and you knock us when we praise him.
Gilzeantoscore
Justin Edinburgh
He was so bad at the start of the season, my brother and I were screaming at the TV. It was blatant, in that he would not even get to the duel. He was even backing out of headers. Some posters have set up some harsh straw men with regard to this.
1. Why would you expect him to steam in like Roy Keane, he's not built for that? Nobody stated that. They just wanted him to turn up and contest.
2. I guess you would have been unhappy with Hoddle then, because he rarely tackled. Yep, he rarely tackled, but I never saw him squib a header either.
3. That will belay the myth that he as a poor work rate. That wasn't mentioned either, apart from the fact that he wasn't always eager to get to the second contest.
4. Tackling is not part of his game. Really? He has been getting stuck in of late and even won the ball from thug boy Barton.
Anyway, he has improved in these areas markedly, along with his improved form. This is just a statement of FACT!! It has nothing to do with covering arses. I have been critical of Sissoko, because he has been a let down. However I'd be over the moon if his form improved and he scored wonder goals to help win us the FA cup and the title. I was unhappy with Eriksen's attitude at the beginning of the season but now I'm happy with him, it's as simple as that.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
IMO Eriksen has made tackles like the one he won against Barton since he came to Spurs and has given the 50-50s a swerve since he came to the club. I think he will play the game in that way forevermore. At the beginning of this season he was carrying an injury, maybe this led him to avoid a bit more contact than usual? I don't think there was, or ever has been anything wrong with Eriksen's attitude - his incredible work rate has always demonstrated that.