Comment: Eriksen's not-so-secret weapon adds a new dimension to Spurs

[elvis7754]

Unlike Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo, the Dane can score every type of free kick, giving Spurs a vital edge.

Read the full article at TheTottenhamWay

 

[DCSPUR]

good points, particularly the element of chance that seems to be a part of the ronaldo style...both eriksen and Verts are our priority signings for the next transfer period with contracts that end three summers from now

 

[Japhet]

I think the added pace of N'Jie and Son and Alli driving forward could well lead to more free kicks in Eriksen range as well.

 

[ClintEastwould]

His free kick about it is unreal. He has the possibility of going down as maybe the best ever.

 

[Chris_D]

He takes free kicks brilliantly and it adds another dimension to our game in that defenders don't want to tackle because they fear him. However, there's a good reason why Bale was better and that's his range. On the edge of the penalty area he's fantastic but if it's a bit further out Bale can still score but Eriksen can't. I'm being greedy but if someone else could have a pop when it's ten yards outside the box we'd have another threat. Maybe Lamela or Vertonghen even could work on this in training.

 

[Japhet]

He takes free kicks brilliantly and it adds another dimension to our game in that defenders don't want to tackle because they fear him. However, there's a good reason why Bale was better and that's his range. On the edge of the penalty area he's fantastic but if it's a bit further out Bale can still score but Eriksen can't. I'm being greedy but if someone else could have a pop when it's ten yards outside the box we'd have another threat. Maybe Lamela or Vertonghen even could work on this in training.

Eriksen's landed quite a few from well outside the box. I think it was Friedel who said that he gets so much movement on the ball that even if the keeper gets a good view of it he's not at all sure where the ball is going, so it's not all about power. Can't really work out why he can't take a decent corner though.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

The magic spray has reinvigorated direct free kick takers. It was crazy how much they encroached before and how often they got away with it.
Now the taker has so much space to get a ball up and over the wall.

I think it would be hard to claim someone post magic spray is the best free kick taker though. Yes he's very possibly better than anyone else curvilinear l currently taking direct free kicks. Not sure you can compare him to those who scored regularly when the wall were pretty much nicking a snog off the taker by the time the ball was kicked.

 

[Jadon Benjamin]

The better he get's, the more I cringe with every transfer window...

 

[18Klinsmann]

Eriksen's landed quite a few from well outside the box. I think it was Friedel who said that he gets so much movement on the ball that even if the keeper gets a good view of it he's not at all sure where the ball is going, so it's not all about power. Can't really work out why he can't take a decent corner though.

Good point. He may not have the power and swerve of Bale and CR7, but he has scored from unlikely positions and angles like Leicester last season.
It seems a mystery how someone with that ability regularly fails to clear the first defender with his corners. His inswinging corners from the left should be a much bigger threat than they have been so far. Lamela's have been much better from the right than Eriksen's from the left.

 

[bigspurs]

Eriksen's landed quite a few from well outside the box. I think it was Friedel who said that he gets so much movement on the ball that even if the keeper gets a good view of it he's not at all sure where the ball is going, so it's not all about power. Can't really work out why he can't take a decent corner though.

I can't actually remember a single player we've had in the last 10-25 years that can take a decent corner with any kind of consistency required for top flight football. Most teams over the course of a season actually score the odd goal from corners, not us!

I'm sure that I must be wrong though, right?

 

[TriXed]

The better he get's, the more I cringe with every transfer window...

I'd like to think we might finally stop becoming a selling club now. Levy (hopefully) has learned that a 85mil player can't be replaced and we have to start building a team, not dismantling every 2 seasons.

 

[Japhet]

I'd like to think we might finally stop becoming a selling club now. Levy (hopefully) has learned that a 85mil player can't be replaced and we have to start building a team, not dismantling every 2 seasons.

Don't think we can lay all the blame at Levy's door. Berbatov, Modric, Bale all played up to varying degrees when the big clubs came sniffing.

 

[Roscilous]

Don't forget Juninho Pernambucano. He was always pretty good at free-kicks.

 

[18Klinsmann]

I'd like to think we might finally stop becoming a selling club now. Levy (hopefully) has learned that a 85mil player can't be replaced and we have to start building a team, not dismantling every 2 seasons.

The only way of keeping top class players is competing at the top level i.e. the CL and winning trophies. Had we stayed in the CL in the Modric/Bale era we may have been able to hold on to our best players for a while longer. Eventually, though, it will take the new stadium, consistent CL football and a new wage structure to break free of the "selling club" label. So it is a big ask, but not impossible to get there although the lure of Madrid and Barca will always be massive to the best players. However, as long as you can attract new top players, letting others go will be less devastating.

 

[TriXed]

The only way of keeping top class players is competing at the top level i.e. the CL and winning trophies. Had we stayed in the CL in the Modric/Bale era we may have been able to hold on to our best players for a while longer. Eventually, though, it will take the new stadium, consistent CL football and a new wage structure to break free of the "selling club" label. So it is a big ask, but not impossible to get there although the lure of Madrid and Barca will always be massive to the best players. However, as long as you can attract new top players, letting others go will be less devastating.

Agreed and I think (apart from Berbatov/Carrick) - the timing was probably right. We just need there to be a vision for the club and progression to that vision, something we are starting to see coherently through the club.

The players know the stadium is coming, they know the squad is young and only through time and gelling will they get better and under the right manager, without chopping and changing, we can start to progress.

It's when we are really starting to find our gear and THEN the "bigger" clubs come calling we have to stand firm (if we don't have suitable cover etc etc) - But i have a sense that Levy and others are thinking like this now.

 

[guate]

Ericksen for me is an enigma. Undoubtedly the best free kick on goal taker in the Premier league, bar none, yet his inconsistency on the pitch leaves me frustrated, plus the fact he shies away from 50:50 challenges just like Chadli.
IMHO once Mauricio sorts this aspect out, as he did last season with Ericksen's work rate which now is excellent, we will have a truly amazing player on our hands.

 

[Shadydan]

I can't actually remember a single player we've had in the last 10-25 years that can take a decent corner with any kind of consistency required for top flight football. Most teams over the course of a season actually score the odd goal from corners, not us!

I'm sure that I must be wrong though, right?

Yeah Lamela

And taking corners isn't as easy as you think, yeah anyone can put a ball into the box but you need to have whip, best the first man and do it at an angle so thar the keeper doesn't catch the ball.

 

[slartibartfast]

Better than Ronaldo?
The same Ronaldo who until recently hadn't scored from a freekick in over 12 mths (not even sure if he has yet) despite taking just about every free kick they get (and they get a lot).
Thats a big comparison to make.
Don't believe the hype. Ronaldo is not a free kick wizard.
Unless his wand broke.
Couldn't believe that stat when I first heard it but its true, apparently.

 

[slartibartfast]

This is where building for tomorrow fails.
Any quality you get will simply be taken away. You can only keep the mediocre.
But what choice do we have?
None far as I can see.
I don't think the new stadium will make a jot of difference to our standing in the order of things or the quality of player we'll be able to attract.
Bigger profit for Enic and nice for us fans but if you think its going to help us compete on a level playing field with the top 5 then you're kidding yourself.
Will probably bring us top 6 security but thats it imo.
Unless enic sell up to a heavy investor once its built or they have a massive change in policy it won't make much difference imo.
Anyway, about Eriksens free kicks lol.

 

[slartibartfast]

Yeah Lamela

And taking corners isn't as easy as you think, yeah anyone can put a ball into the box but you need to have whip, best the first man and do it at an angle so thar the keeper doesn't catch the ball.

Beat the first man you say.

Mmm, could be tricky.

I'd say you're better off concentrating on just beating the first man and getting in the goal area first before worrying about pace whip etc and then actually hitting the first man 99 times out of a 100 which is what we see every weekend at the minute.
Not aiming at Lamela. Just a general observation. Considering this is supposedly top flight Christ its poor.