Oh ok, I wasnt dismissing Coutinho - he is a good player who can be excellent. I just happen to think Eriksen is a much better player overall.
Christian Eriksen
- Thread starter Robbie Boy
- Start date
Went missing big time at West Ham the other night just when his team needed him.
Reminds me very much of the team he plays for..............nearly but not quite.
Reminds me very much of the team he plays for..............nearly but not quite.
He played as much in midfield as Alli did when Poch was messing about with the tactics. Their attacking game suffered with that formation.
Tottenham play best when Eriksen is put into his best position. When he's not, the attack goes down a notch in quality. Modric has been playing his position his whole life. Eriksen would not be able to perform closely to the same standard similarly to watching Rooney in MC as opposed to behind the striker.
This isnt really true I think, Modric used to play at no 10 at Spurs before moving the CM. Eriksen hasnt always played at CAM. At Ajax from the youth teams to the first team we play in a 433 system with a CVM, so no CAM. Eriksen played as an 8, and not as a 10, when moved to Tottenham, used as a 10 and also did that quite comfortably. I do think he can make that step in the future, as the Tottenham fan said, he gets moved back during matches and in years it will give him more defensive and tactical nouse. With experience I do think he can move a line back, maybe not to Modric' standard but I wouldnt be surprised at all.
Ajax is different though, no premier league team plays that kind of attacking midfield. Even Ajax's defensive midfielder tends to be weak defensively. He'd only get away playing in that position in a team like Barcelona perhaps who play on possession. Modric has a physical tenacity that Eriksen doesn't.
Didn't say that Eriksen was always an AMC. Said he was at his best there. He's wasted anywhere else and a big reason why Spurs are doing so well know is that he's consistently playing his game in front of the midfield.
Modric has never played as AMC beside an odd game here and there. If you want to count at most 5 games a season in a different position as playing there then be my guest. I won't.
It's Tottenham's formation that prevents him from playing CM. Dele Alli plays like a secondary striker behind Kane so there is a need for two defensively astute midfielders to play behind him. Eriksen can easily play in a 3-man midfield as the right-sided no.8 if the need arises. All this is my opinion naturally from the little of what I have seen of him.
Eriksen played the same position in the CL vs teams like Real, City, Dortmund and it was no problem. Idem dito for Pirlo, doesnt really have that tenacity too neither did Kroos have in his younger years who also started out as a no 10.
Obviously, CAM is his best position atm but that position might get difficult when he becomes older.
He did play more than 5 games at no 10 fwiw, then played left wing and under Redknapp moved central.
It will get harder when he gets older but the Modric role is even more difficult. He'll have to go deeper if movement becomes a problem (which it won't for years to come).
He didn't play more than 5 games a season. Spurs played a lot of 4-4-2 in his early days there.
Modric is the same, he just gets more recognition due to playing in a better team where he can take care of his role, and let everyone else focus on theirs. in England there's a huge desire for midfielders to score goals and have final third end product. We see how Pogba gets a downgrade cause he hasn't scored a huge amount of goals. The only thing that shields a player from such criticism is if the player has a huge engine and adds 'steel'. If a midfielder doesn't score all that many goals he isn't rated higher. You can look at Modric in depth statistically and he's absolutely not better than he was at spurs. In fact the best performance I've ever seen from him (vs Spain 2012) came before he was a Madrid player.
Anyways Modric has always had that level of ability. There's always been no doubt that technically, he's up there with the best midfielders in the world. However spurs didn't win too much and people glossed over how he'd been playing. For someone to convince me he's better i'd need to hear what he's better at than he was at spurs.
The reason it's important to be that good on the ball when playing in midfield for Madrid is that their biggest games are against teams that limits in that area. Those games are the one's that really build players' reputations.
Playing in midfield becomes harder when you get older as well.
I think Eriksen is the best player in the league actually.
No idea why Barcelona aren't in for him over Coutinho. For me, he's the better player.
I read he's their back-up option, but yeah, they should go for him instead... Levy would probably love to do a deal.
As vital as Kane and Alli are, without Eriksen, I think Spurs would struggle to replicate their recent form.
Yup, for all the plaudits that the 2 of them get, it is Eriksen who is vital to them challenging for the title and being just a top 6 team. They may struggle to replace Kane, and may replace Alli with difficulty but there hardly is any player who can replace Eriksen. Contributes to defence, fantastic set piece taker, great passing range and scores important goals. Had he been English, his contribution to Spurs side would have been truly appreciated
Eriksen is our best and most important player imo - when he plays well the team play well and when he has a rare off day the team usually struggles. Most of our moves come through him. If any of our players are world class then I'd say it's him (and probably Kane).
He's their best player. By far the most consistent and improved. Goes Eriksen> Kane > Alii in terms of importance. He'd suit Barca better than Coutinho imo.
Eriksen is an underrated player.
If they can´t get Coutinho there isn´t a chance in hell they will get Eriksen.. Anything under 250m isn´t enough for Levy..
Indeed. And a Dane will not pressure his English club in the same way as Coutinho will for a move to Barcelona so Barsa wouldn't be able to get him anyway.
By far their best player yesterday, he practically carried them up to the sending off.
Last two international games - 3 assists (in FPL even four), two goals. This beauty today is worth a mention (h/t @GifLord)
His set pieces technique is among the very best in the world, arguably top3 in Europe. And he produced fantastic numbers in all his seasons in the Premier League:
16/17 - 8 goals, 15 assists.
15/16 - 6 goals, 15 assists.
14/15 - 10 goals, 2 assists
13/14 - 7 goals, 9 assists in 25 games.
What a brilliant player he is. Also - still only 25.
It remains a mystery to me why Barca didn't pursue him this summer, especially with Neymar money. For the quoted Coutinho money - being 120+ million Euro - I think Levy would've sold him, and Eriksen would've been great for Barca. Spurs are really lucky to have him, I wonder where he will be next September if he has another unreal season.
His set pieces technique is among the very best in the world, arguably top3 in Europe. And he produced fantastic numbers in all his seasons in the Premier League:
16/17 - 8 goals, 15 assists.
15/16 - 6 goals, 15 assists.
14/15 - 10 goals, 2 assists
13/14 - 7 goals, 9 assists in 25 games.
What a brilliant player he is. Also - still only 25.
It remains a mystery to me why Barca didn't pursue him this summer, especially with Neymar money. For the quoted Coutinho money - being 120+ million Euro - I think Levy would've sold him, and Eriksen would've been great for Barca. Spurs are really lucky to have him, I wonder where he will be next September if he has another unreal season.
He doesn't have the flashy reputation like Coutinho for Barcelona fan. They would have to pay that kind of money to get him, but the fan wouldn't like that fee. Coutinho is flashier which is the type of big money signing they need to appease the fans.
Erikssen IMO is definitely better of the 2 currently.
On twitter loads of Barca fans wanted Eriksen over Coutinho.
I say let Eriksen score a goal or two from a freekick, let him drop a few inch-precise assists here and there and he'd be flashy enough. I know Danish market might not be as large as the Brazilian one, but football is also about winning trophies, I guess
Without the context of the fee. <100 mil no brainer. Tottenham under Levy unlikely to sell for that. Erikssen for 100mil + I doubt any Barcelona fan would say the same.
You can't ignore the context of what Barcelona was facing in this case. Losing Neymar they had to make flashy signing to appease the fans. Paulinho 40mil when earlier in the summer they tried to bid 60mil for Verratti.I say let Eriksen score a goal or two from a freekick, let him drop a few inch-precise assists here and there and he'd be flashy enough. I know Danish market might not be as large as the Brazilian one, but football is also about winning trophies, I guess
Winning trophy is of course is top priority but with Barcelona the second priority is just as the important: looking flashy, dominating, stylistic.
Wasn't there a rumour Barca only got interested in Seri after a storm of tweets from the fans? Few days ago I was laughing at my culé friend he should've sent a few tweets about Eriksen instead of getting into Coutinho hype
But also from Barca fans who don't follow Premier League that closely I could expect a bit of ignorance when it comes to Levy and how Spurs sell their players. Many could be surprised Eriksen wouldn't be any cheaper than Coutinho.
Anyway, isn't it a thing that Spurs only sell to Real? After Bale and Modrić, could Eriksen go there to?
Good point.
Not sure they'd only sell to Real. I think Levy would prefer selling to a foreign club than within the league. Eriksen wouldn't really fit at Real given the players they have. They're stacked.Wasn't there a rumour Barca only got interested in Seri after a storm of tweets from the fans? Few days ago I was laughing at my culé friend he should've sent a few tweets about Eriksen instead of getting into Coutinho hype
But also from Barca fans who don't follow Premier League that closely I could expect a bit of ignorance when it comes to Levy and how Spurs sell their players. Many could be surprised Eriksen wouldn't be any cheaper than Coutinho.
Anyway, isn't it a thing that Spurs only sell to Real? After Bale and Modrić, could Eriksen go there to?
I'm fully aware of that, but since they spent astronomical money on Dembele - a boy who's supposed to tear a new one on the wing and along with Mbappe the flashiest available youngster - they could do with a bit of logic and pragmatism, maybe? But honestly, the way Barca is run remains a bit alien and difficult to understand to me.
The current directors at Barcelona seem to be a bit illogical. Given Neymar departure and then publicly criticized the board, they got more desperate to save face as election is close.
Anyways, shame that Eriksen signed a very long contract (till 2020 IIRC). It would be a big struggle for any club to get him a transfer when the time is due. Levy holds all the power in this case
Brilliant player, very underated.
For all the "Spurs wasted the Bale money" comments you'll see ... the Bale money bought Eriksen, and right now I'm quite sure he'd be sold for more than Bale would be. He's turned out to be an utterly phenomenal little player.
Eriksen is the best player in the league that seems to have received zero to little interest from major clubs. I think he's Tottenham's most important player.
No where near good enough from a technical standpoint for a club like Barca.
Have you seen the players they currently have down there? They don't need tekkers, they need players who impact the game. Better than Coutinho.
He's not better than Coutinho and Barca's philosophy is basically built around how footballers are with the ball at their feet. If Fabregas didn't cut it cause of that there's no chance Eriksen could.
Brilliant player. Spurs are lucky to have him. And it looks like they'll be able to hold on to him for quite a long time. Spurs won't sell to an English club. Madrid won't be interested in him as they already have too much quality. Barca is the only possible destination. But I can see Messi moving into that midfield role after Barca buy another winger next season.