Christian Eriksen is the reliable No. 10 that Tottenham have lacked

[mawspurs]

You can never entirely judge a player upon highlights alone, but a showreel of that individual's goals often summarises their entire footballing personality.

Read the full article at ESPN

 

[Sweetsman]

High praise in the final sentence.

 

[chinaman]

Low shots and grounders are the most difficult for goalies because they have to have more time to get down to them.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

This is what we want to read: proper journalism. This article is not only written in precise, crisp, unexaggerated prose, it also contains actual original analysis, including trenchant, concise summaries of other players' skills and how they contrast with Eriksen's, some original thinking and plenty of precisely worded description.

Contrast this writing with what we usually get, not only on blogs, but from professional football writers in major newspapers: a succession of worn-out clichés, dangling participles, misplaced subordinate clauses, misuses of the word 'ironically' and slanted, snide, cheap shots based on the last three weeks' form.

I don't actually agree with all of it - I think the writer has got a bit carried away with enthusiasm and has attributed Eriksen with concrete achievement when what we actually have is exciting potential.

But the whole article is a class act and stands as a counter-example to the kind of crap journalism that always gets me so riled when people link it here.

Admirable.

 

[mawspurs]

I agree David. My first thought on reading it was that it is a well written piece.

About the author...

Michael Cox
Michael Cox is a freelance writer for ESPN.com. He is based in London and writes the Zonal Marking blog about football tactics. He also writes postmatch analysis for the Guardian and contributes regularly for FourFourTwo. You can follow him on Twitter @zonal_marking.

 

[Stoof]

I agree David. My first thought on reading it was that it is a well written piece.

About the author...

Michael Cox
Michael Cox is a freelance writer for ESPN.com. He is based in London and writes the Zonal Marking blog about football tactics. He also writes postmatch analysis for the Guardian and contributes regularly for FourFourTwo. You can follow him on Twitter @zonal_marking.

He features on the Guardian's Football Weekly podcast and always adds some expert analysis. Very understated in how he speaks, but I think that follows through with the tone of the above piece.

Plus, everyone likes reading something positive about Spurs, right?

 

[Main Man]

He is a fantastic number 10 and is single handedly winning us games.

It is a shame his manager keeps shunting him out wide though to accommodate Soldado.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

It is a shame his manager keeps shunting him out wide though to accommodate Soldado.

I read this a lot and I don't think it matters very much, because none of the attacking midfield trio stays in one position. Having them shifting around has been part of Pochettino's approach since [before?] he arrived at Southampton.

Wherever Eriksen is shown on the starting line-up mockup, he does broadly the same things and switches position frequently, including taking up the 'no. 10' position.

It may be that accommodating Soldado brings with it other problems, but Eriksen's positioning isn't one of the major ones that springs to my mind.

 

[Main Man]

Eriksen's positioning isn't one of the major ones that springs to my mind.

I disagree entirely, Eriksen is completely wasted out wide.

Eriksen has excelled centrally for 5/6 years at the very highest level, yet he comes to Spurs and we shunt him out wide. It is utterly bewildering.

We need Eriksen central, that is where he causes all the damage and scores all his goals.

When he plays out left it just leaves our full back completely isolated and him drifting inside just creates confusion and congestion for us going forward.

League One's Sheff United and Jaml Campbell-Ryce showed this perfectly last night.

He is too good to play out wide.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

I disagree entirely, Eriksen is completely wasted out wide...

He is too good to play out wide.

You've missed my point entirely. Which was that it doesn't matter what his nominal position is, because he does the same things, irrespective of where his position is shown in the starting line-up: he spends most of his time drifting toward the centre and a minority of his time drifting out wide.

It isn't under dispute that he does his best attacking and creative work near the centre of the pitch. I'm just observing that, even when he's selected as a wide player in an attacking midfield three, he plays mainly in the centre anyway.

As you suggested, it was particularly obvious last night, because Campbell-Ryce gave Davies nightmares, in part because Eriksen was rarely out on the left to offer Davies any cover. The fact that Eriksen doesn't play wide when he is selected wide gives us defensive problems, but it doesn't compromise his creative contribution, which is what you implied initially.

 

[Main Man]

The fact that Eriksen doesn't play wide when he is selected wide gives us defensive problems, but it doesn't compromise his creative contribution, which is what you implied initially.

Well that is where I disagree.

As Kane was the central player last night, when Eriksen drifted inside they kept getting in each others way.

For you to suggest he is just as creative from out wide is ridiculous.

His better performances have come with Lamela and Chadli inparticular either side of him. That isn't coincidence