Vital Spurs Debate Section

Match Thread – Mourinho Will Be Planning To Boing The Baggies

|

With Tottenham Hotspur getting themselves back to winning ways in the Europa League in midweek, this weekend was all about Slaven Bilic and West Bromwich Albion.

Having finally regained their place in the Premier League after a few years in the second tier, their readjustment to the top flight hasn’t been great. Seven games in, a total of three points and a minus 10 goal difference already.

Basically, given the form Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min are in, our 27-year-old England man will be confident of further chipping away at the remaining 66 goals that legend Jimmy Greaves now holds on him.

For us, three points on Sunday would be a nice boost with us sitting in fourth place ahead of Saturday’s fixtures and if we could reach 17 points, the top of the table could be interesting depending on what happens elsewhere.

As ever though, we have to focus on ourselves – we all know we are still capable of putting in a performance that makes everyone cringe and we have to ensure that doesn’t happen.

WBA...

Win

Draw

Lose


1 of 10

Tottenham Hotspur's foundations lie in another sport, which one?

Previous Article:

Kane Notches His 200th As Spurs Get Back On Track In Europe – Match Stats

Share this article

0 comments

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Nothing to apologise for Geof, you make some points with your reminders of his form particularly towards the end of his time with us.

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    *some good points that should have read.

    With regards to squad space….of course in the unlikely event he were to come in as a replacement for Dele it would tip the balance on the homegrown front but then what is happening with Gedson Fernandes? I haven’t seen him mentioned for ages.

  • BelgianSpur says:

    Geof- there is no doubt that towards the end, he just wasn’t interested and his performances weren’t good enough. No argument from me there.

    But is that really who Eriksen is as a player?

    We’ve seen it time and time again – players that go from world beaters to massive disappointments, just because their heart is no longer in it.

    For example, has Mesut Ozil really turned into a bad footballer overnight, or is he still a talented, young enough world cup winner who is just waiting to find the right place for him to shine again?

    Who is the real Alexis Sanchez? The world class player from Barca and Arsenal, or the failure at Man U and Inter?

    I like to think that in all of these cases, there is still a wonderfully talented player in there somewhere, who just needs to find a comfort zone to perform.

    Every knock made on Eriksen could have been said about Bale’s time at ReaL Yet we are all optimistic about Bale’s future contributions now that he’s back.

    I can accept the criticism of Eriksen in his last few months, but to dismiss his impact as a creative player, like you just have done, grossly underestimates how influential he was for Spurs at various times.

    As recently as 2018/2019, Christian was contributing to the tune of 8 goals and 12 assists in 35 PL games. The year before it was 10 goals and 11 assists in 37 PL games. I wonder how many PL players topped those numbers in the span of those 2 seasons, but I suspect the club is rather small. And that is not ages ago.

    Now, can Christian rediscover that from? That’s a big question. But to say that at his best, he wasn’t one of the most creative players in the PL – that doesn’t sit right with me.

  • Hot Tottingham says:

    Eriksen was a fantastic player for Spurs.

    He lost his way at the end and he left us. But didn’t the entire team lose it’s way at the same time?
    I have a feeling that it was no coincidence that when Christian was not at his best or missing, Spurs were not at their best.

  • Niall D says:

    HT
    Re – lesser teams results 100% m8.

  • Hot Tottingham says:

    Hi Niall.

    I was just echoing what yourself and others have also been saying…

  • Geofspurs says:

    BS … A creative midfielder who lacks consistency, particularly against the bigger clubs, is not good enough for a club with Tottenham’s aspirations. We need players such as Kane, Son, Toby, Verts, who can perform well on a reasonably consistent basis. Every player probably needs to have at least eight good games out of ten. Eriksen was never that kind of player. He was brilliant at times but the distance between ‘times’ was too long, and rarely when it was most needed. He scored and assisted, as you say, but no more than he should given the calibre of players around him and the way the team was performing. Why has he not made his mark in Italy. I did comment on a thread many moons ago that he would regret leaving Spurs because he would not be able to perform to the desired level at a top European club. Again, it’s just my opinion and I realise it’s probably not a popular one but …. to thine own self be true.

  • 123spurs says:

    A big yes for Eriksen to come back unfinished business, sell lamela, lucas, stevie B.

  • PompeyYid says:

    There have some very good posts for Yes or No regards CE, but the thing that does stand out and we all knew/know this is….his inconsistancy plus the fact again as we all knew/know it…his non-turning up for the big games.

    So as I said earlier “NO THANKS” then told BS he had me thinking about changing my mind, but now following after reading other posts and points pointed out, am back to NO THANKS, so as in the old saying “sorry CE you have made your bed now lie in it”, Spurs have moved on. COYS

  • TQ2Spurs says:

    Geof……are you hoping to save the squad place for a Modric return? 🙂

  • block 108 spurs says:

    IMO… Ericssen seriously let spurs down in his final yr. A can’t be bothered attitude and being a virtual passenger in most of the games does not sit well with me. In Italy the players are more defense minded and mark opposition players closely, hence CE struggled, as he did in PL when closely marked or doubled up on by Opposition players. This return of CE would be a massive gamble by Jose / Levy, and I think they will decline, as tanguy / lo celso improving, so it’s better to get Dele up and running, with a tactical shape adjustment for various opposition.

  • Hot Tottingham says:

    PY, I am one supporter that thinks it’s a fallacy that Eriksen too often failed to “turn up” for the “big games”.

    He may have had a games against the top teams whereby he wasn’t at his best but there were many more that he helped us to win… We can say this with all of our better players over the years. And when the best fail to stand out in a match it’s all the more noticeable. But sometimes (as with Harry and Son) they can play a poor match overall and yet still get us the winner. Or in Eriksen’s case, many a time, create a winner…

    I feel the same way about Dele. I think that his poor is not as bad as many players best…… But, hey ho… It’s all just opinions.

  • BelgianSpur says:

    I remember the goals scored by Eriksen against the likes of Real Madrid in the CL, top 6 teams across his many seasons for us etc… I think that reputation of failing to turn up against the bigger teams is harsh, but even if true, how problematic is that really?

    In a PL season, we play 10 games against top 6 teams, and 28 against the others. A win against Norwich is worth just as much as a win against Chelsea, regardless of what fans think. If a player can be influential in those smaller games (funnily enough, often the games where we struggle the most), what’s wrong with that?

    I remember his numerous late winners against smaller teams to nick the points for us, and I can’t help but feel that in games we have been talking about so much recently (Burnley, Brighton, WBA), Christian could really help us. To be honest, I would rather that than a player who only turns up for the big games, but is pedestrian against what is 75% of our opposition each year (Dele?).

    And I just notice that plenty of our current players, despite all of the talent around them, fail to match Christian’s numbers. Lamela, Lucas – why is the leash longer for them? They have been just as guilty of inconsistency, but have never matched Eriksen’s production.

    Regarding his performance in Italy , how important is that? Players like Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp struggled in Italy, yet were massive stars in the PL. Romelu Lukaku is a star in Italy, yet was dismissed as a high-price failure at Man U. Horses for courses. Who cares how Eriksen performs in Serie A? What matters is his track record in the PL, which by all objective measures is very good.

Comments are closed.