It’s just incredibly naive and foolish to keep playing Eriksen in a 2 man midfield….Against the better teams it’s suicidal to play Eriksen in a deep lying position.How many more matches do we need to lose for the manager to understand this simple point?Against Villa we had Fred and Mctominay on the bench and yet he ended up playing Eriksen in a 2 man midfield!I hope the villa defeat will compel the manager to stop this experiment….If he wants to play Eriksens against the better teams/away from home,he might as well play him as a number 10….
Stop playing Eriksen in a 2 man midfield!
- Thread starter Nikelesh Reddy
- Start date
One thing that ETH appears to be, for better or worse, is uncompromising. If he feels Eriksen at CM is the way to go, I think he will persist with him. I think when if we buy a progressive CM next year, then he may replace Eriksen. ETH has played McT either as a CDM or the most progressive midfielder when bought off the bench. As for Fred, playing him is always having a coin toss with fate, not many managers can build a style of play around that.
He seems to have no interest in Fred playing there. Last Sunday was the best opportunity to play Fred there and push Eriksen up and didn’t use it so obviously I don’t think he sees him in Bruno’s position
Thanks
With the selection of midfielders, we currently have, I don't honestly think we are good enough to play with any 2-man midfield.
We need 3 in there, at least for the foreseeable future.
I can understand ETH wanting to have options to 'get us up the pitch', without just going wide or long diagonal balls for front men to chase, but he always seems to pick the wrong games for this experiment and even when Villa players were marauding through us, pulling our midfield and central defenders all over the place, he still didn't change things until much later. Eriks till got plenty to learn about the PL.
We need 3 in there, at least for the foreseeable future.
I can understand ETH wanting to have options to 'get us up the pitch', without just going wide or long diagonal balls for front men to chase, but he always seems to pick the wrong games for this experiment and even when Villa players were marauding through us, pulling our midfield and central defenders all over the place, he still didn't change things until much later. Eriks till got plenty to learn about the PL.
I would like to see Bruno in the midfield 2 and Eriksen in the 10
Yeah, lets change the setup because some fan sitting behind a chair isn't happy . We were raving about Eriksen until few weeks ago . He just had a bad game and the knives are out.
We deserve everything we get. One of the worst !
We deserve everything we get. One of the worst !
Yup, 1 or 2 average games and suddenly he's awful. He is vital in playing between the lines and not having a midfielder that bricks it everytime they have the ball.
It's a 3 man midfield. Eriksen is doing more of the box to box work. I think the issue is that Cas is the only physically dominant player in that Midfield 3 of CE-CAS-Bruno.
I'd rather eriksen take Bruno's spot as he's frustrating to watch more often than not.
Would also offer something different as a .10 instead of missed passes and hero balls
Knee jerk much? He’s been putting in quality performances all season from that exact position. The problem in the Villa game wasn’t that Eriksen was playing in midfield, it’s that Donny was in there with him doing absolutely nothing as usual so Casemiro was the only one doing defensive work.
Bruno tends to make big mistakes with the ball in deep midfield positions.
At least don't play him there when the likes of Varane, Bruno and Antony are out, they are all players who carry the defensive problems in the side one way or another.
Last game not only were they all missing but we also had a lot of the players with low workrate or weak defensive contributions on the pitch.
Last game not only were they all missing but we also had a lot of the players with low workrate or weak defensive contributions on the pitch.
He does but I've seen a bit of lethargic Eriksen performances of late, particularly getting caught on the ball too often.
Agreed. Donny being on the field gave Villa a lot of space to exploit, and forced Eriksen to drop deeper and defend more. Eriksen isn't Carrick and he isn't Roy Keane. He needs to have a person in front of him that allows him to create chances through the lines. It just goes to show how incredibly thin the depth of the squad is. Playing Donny ruins everything for the offense, just like playing Maguire ruins everything for the defence.
No. Keep playing him in the midfield and, in the summer, sign the ball-playing CM who will offer us more options. Sort out the #10 position, too.
We should not abandon the long-term plan for short-term gain. And the plan is, or should be, to consistently win football matches by trying to produce football. Not by toughening up and becoming more physical.
We won our last two PL titles mainly by rotating Giggs/Scholes next to Carrick. People were complaining back then too about how we will get overrun in the midfield and that we will have zero control in the game due to the lack of physicality. They got their wish with the Chosen One and it worked just fine, didn't it? I have nothing against the player themselves but, my God. A quarter of a century of watching the most scintillating football just to find ourselves screaming for Fred and McT to start.
We should not abandon the long-term plan for short-term gain. And the plan is, or should be, to consistently win football matches by trying to produce football. Not by toughening up and becoming more physical.
We won our last two PL titles mainly by rotating Giggs/Scholes next to Carrick. People were complaining back then too about how we will get overrun in the midfield and that we will have zero control in the game due to the lack of physicality. They got their wish with the Chosen One and it worked just fine, didn't it? I have nothing against the player themselves but, my God. A quarter of a century of watching the most scintillating football just to find ourselves screaming for Fred and McT to start.
Stop thinking you know more than a successful, professional manager.
He is the best option, nothing more to it really. ETH wants a technical CM with creativity and a broad range of passing and so he’s who he have and he doesn’t really have any competition.
Many of us pointed out he would obviously be playing in a CM pair when ETH signed him and not at 10 because he fits the profile of how he wants to play. Is he perfect for the role, no, but he’s a good player and hard to obviously upgrade without splashing huge amounts of cash.
Many of us pointed out he would obviously be playing in a CM pair when ETH signed him and not at 10 because he fits the profile of how he wants to play. Is he perfect for the role, no, but he’s a good player and hard to obviously upgrade without splashing huge amounts of cash.
Horses for courses.
Or not really, but something like that.
Point being that, yes, Eriksen can clearly work in a nominal midfield two if the circumstances favour it.
But no, he isn't a player you can always deploy in that role. His main strengths lean more towards the attacking side of things and he will do very little to keep the middle of the park from being overrun if the circumstances are not right.
For me, Villa was a combination of ETH fecking up a bit (he wasn't spot on with either the starting XI or his subs for me) and a bit of...not having the rub of the green, essentially. It happens and he was severely hampered by key players being unavailable. In a slightly different match scenario, Eriksen might have looked fine or fine-ish (enough). There isn't anything inherently insane about playing him in that role, ETH isn't an idiot.
Or not really, but something like that.
Point being that, yes, Eriksen can clearly work in a nominal midfield two if the circumstances favour it.
But no, he isn't a player you can always deploy in that role. His main strengths lean more towards the attacking side of things and he will do very little to keep the middle of the park from being overrun if the circumstances are not right.
For me, Villa was a combination of ETH fecking up a bit (he wasn't spot on with either the starting XI or his subs for me) and a bit of...not having the rub of the green, essentially. It happens and he was severely hampered by key players being unavailable. In a slightly different match scenario, Eriksen might have looked fine or fine-ish (enough). There isn't anything inherently insane about playing him in that role, ETH isn't an idiot.
I can see why he played VDB, if not now, then when? It didn't work though, despite a third manager in charge he's really not offering anything as far as I can tell. Pairing him with Ronaldo doesn't work as he'll drop back to occupy the same space. For me, the problem isn't Eriksen, who's been phenomenal, it's that we had two players unable to contribute in a meaningful way. Obviously, Ronnie's days are numbered, I can't see VDB lasting much longer.
Overall it feels like we're heading in the right direction, but there will be bumps on the way with a big squad filled with the wrong players.
On top of that, he suggests playing Fred or McT. Laughable stuff.
Yup. Car crash of a post.
We do have three in there. It's just that Donny doesn't do what Bruno does, ie, work his butt off tracking back.
And I generally think the basic point of this thread is quite a bit over the top. Eriksen's been playing in that position pretty much all season, and has been widely considered one of our best performers. He's not ideal with his defensive shortcomings, but he's an excellent passer. He's been more than adequate. Fred is certainly an alternative, but then it falls more on Casemiro alone to move the ball up, which is a drawback.
Eriksen can't play no 10 in our current system, in my opinion. Mainly because he has neither the physique or the nous to more or less replicate Brunos defensive and backtracking work. What we saw against Villa in the midfield was, I think, more what happens if our no 10 doesn't do that than the limitations of Christian Eriksen as a no 8.
Against the better teams, like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal where it worked well?
Eriksen is our deep playmaker. We struggle with our build up if he isn't in there. Bruno makes it part of a midfield 3 anyway. The only team that actually ran through us apart from the opening 2 games was City.
Eriksen is our deep playmaker. We struggle with our build up if he isn't in there. Bruno makes it part of a midfield 3 anyway. The only team that actually ran through us apart from the opening 2 games was City.
That would be a train wreck. Bruno is too careless with his passing to play deeper.
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Also, he is our only option for no 10 who is actually able & willing to track back and do good defensive work.
He's not going to operate as a 6 though.
Everything indicates we were planning on a Casemiro + De Jong pairing. Reports say Casemiro had been planned all a long (confirmed by Casemiro). We clung to Frenk De Jong until the very end.
Eriksen was squad depth for Frenkie, who being relied on more than we thought due to poor alternatives.
But it's still better than returning to Fred and McTominay starting games.
Eriksen was squad depth for Frenkie, who being relied on more than we thought due to poor alternatives.
But it's still better than returning to Fred and McTominay starting games.
Villa didn’t outplay us in the slightest they just countered a few times and scored on almost every shot on target. We struggled to score… we just lacked options upfront with Sancho, Bruno, Antony all absent
Finally some sense.
People need to get it in their heads that there's isn't a best XI for all circumstances and all games. You adapt based on the circumstances (opponent, tactics, squad fatigue, form etc.). And as you said, playing Erkisen in CM can and cannot work depending on the circumstances. It isn't cut and dry.
Not against Villa we didn't, Bruno was on a disciplinary 1 match suspension and in any case has been playing on the right recently. What annoyed me was ETH 'threw in' Donny with Eriksen and Casemiro and there seemed to have been no preparation. We were doing 'two steps forward and one back', but on Sunday it's like 'one step forward.... and... Oh sh**!
Suppose ETH has to try different combinations, until he gets the players, he really wants... if they will come?
Didn't we just do this thread? I swear we just did this thread....
Anyway, he's fine in a midfield two, and has been in several games this season.
Anyway, he's fine in a midfield two, and has been in several games this season.
No he hasn't. He started on the right in 1 game against Sociedad.
Every other game he has started as a 10 and gets moved to the right when we introduce Fred / McTominay to sure up the midfield.
Whats your problem
Whats your beef
Whats your beef
Sorry, what are you on about? You've just stated he played on the right against Sociedad, he gets moved to the right to bring in McFred, I only said he played on the right recently?
He simply looked tired. Too many games, neither his fault nor the manager's. Although we have a faily big squad, the number of quality players is pretty limited. Here's hoping that our injured guys recover quickly.
He is a short-term solution while we wait for our long-term midfielder. If we signed FDJ, he wouldn't be starting there every game. We gain ball progression from him playing there, but we lose defensive solidity and some physicality. ETH is willing to put up with the negatives for better ball progression from deep.
Yeah. I've said many times I wish he would play Eriksen as a 10 for 90minutes.with Casemiro Fred behind him.
I think it works when everyone is fit and we defend as a team. We don't have anyone who can do what he does so playing him a bit advanced will slow our transition to attack.
Away from against tough opposition maybe but at home play him until we buy a specialist for the role.