Player Watch: Emerson Royal

[Stamford]

There's a difference between calling out the poor displays, and the dogs abuse he's been getting on here and everywhere else. It is very hypocritical to say "he's the worst full back to ever play for us, can't wait for him to fuck off" and then say a few weeks later they are glad we kept him over Doc for instance. VERY hypocritical.

Agree. He's not even close to being the worst full back and the booing and abuse he got was a complete disgrace. Anyone booing our own players is not the smartest

 

[McFlash]

I was critical of his performances, and I think fairly so. If you want to see fast judgements go on the Spence thread after he's played ONE game for Rennes.

I didn't see any "fast judgements" in the Spence thread, just people examining his first full game for a while.
There was nothing rash and nobody said anything like "he's shit" or "he's a liability", just fairly assessing his performance, clearly with the understanding that it was his first game for a new team, in a new country.

That's not been the case where Royal is concerned, not just in this but the match day threads too.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

It's not sacrilege to call out the many appalling displays from Royal previously and equally it's not hypocritical to praise the improvement and mental fortitude he's shown recently either.

Nothing more frustrating than nauseating "I told you so" fans.

I'm not sure I completely agree with you on this.

After the over the top and totally needless not to mention constant abuse he's had here on SC from some people you surely cannot be surprised that it'll get a certain reaction. It went waaaay beyond 'calling out appalling displays'..........................If people were a bit more sensible and fair with their criticism instead of acting like feral, brattish kids, then perhaps the responses wouldn't be like they are.

I'm not suggesting everyone, or indeed you has been up to it but if I threw a stone in the match thread i'm confident i'd hit someone who has, so it's an understandable reaction to that I think.

 

[Trix]

Agree. He's not even close to being the worst full back and the booing and abuse he got was a complete disgrace. Anyone booing our own players is not the smartest

And let us not forget there were some in here not only defending but advocating the booing "because it showed Conte who we wanted him to select". Absolute cretins.

 

[Freddie]

I didn't see any "fast judgements" in the Spence thread, just people examining his first full game for a while.
There was nothing rash and nobody said anything like "he's shit" or "he's a liability", just fairly assessing his performance, clearly with the understanding that it was his first game for a new team, in a new country.

That's not been the case where Royal is concerned, not just in this but the match day threads too.

There were plenty saying Conte was justified in not using him because of he didn't track back fast enough. He is also a kid in a new league, new team, new language. He probably doesn't even know the tactics that well. I'm pretty sure if he was used for 66 games by Conte he could iron out a lot of those issues too.

A lot of the Royal criticism wasn't balanced because he showed very little to be encouraged about. Now he's starting to show it most of us are giving him the credit he deserves. Don't let the OTT few cloud that.

 

[DJS]

I’ll still be interested to see how he plays against one of the lower teams in league.

Emerson excels in games such as against City where we are the underdogs and tend to suck up the possession and counter attack.

Its when we then go into games that we kinda expect to be dominating that perhaps his attacking input is not so great and he can be a bit blunt.

I would never ever boo any spurs player when their name is being called at start of game, that is despicable behaviour.

And I also wouldnt boo individual players in our shirt - booing is saved for likes of Campbel and the cat kicker Zouma. ?? (also probably Grealish and his stupid hair after his antics during our match).

I have also already posted in thread would be interested in seeing him as a right centre back as he seems a more Gary Neville / Verdran Corkula defensive right back to me.

And it also may well be having Porro here has kicked him up arse, like Lennon with Bentley coming in - there’s a lot of psychology invoked in football that is just as important as the talent aspect.

I think Kulusevski needs some competition as well to be honest.

 

[Timberwolf]

While I don't think Royal ever was or ever will be the sole answer at RWB, I think his shortcomings in attack have led to a lot of people underestimating his defensive game which has consistently been decent at Spurs and occasionally excellent.

I'd bet that if we'd got rid of Royal this window and went ahead with Spence and Porro as our two options, while they'd be spectacular going forward and get the fans off their seats, there would be a gradual creep of comments saying "we could really use Royal right now" late in games or against top teams when Porro or Spence are acting like auxiliary wingers and we needed someone to do the dirty defensive work in the box.

In the short term a Porro/Royal combo gives us the best of both worlds, at least until Spence and Porro can prove they've got the defensive chops to go with their attacking prowess.

 

[McFlash]

There were plenty saying Conte was justified in not using him because of he didn't track back fast enough. He is also a kid in a new league, new team, new language. He probably doesn't even know the tactics that well. I'm pretty sure if he was used for 66 games by Conte he could iron out a lot of those issues too.

A lot of the Royal criticism wasn't balanced because he showed very little to be encouraged about. Now he's starting to show it most of us are giving him the credit he deserves. Don't let the OTT few cloud that.

I think a lot of that stemmed from a couple of posters steaming in with the "Conte doesn't know what he's doing, not playing this kid", after the first 5 minutes and one decent move.

As with Royal, the majority want him to learn and improve because while there are flaws in both, there is also a lot of ability.
They're almost opposites because Spence needs to improve his defensive side, whereas Royal need to work on the attacking side.

With Conte being the sort of man and manager that he is, I think it's pretty obvious which one he's going to play more.
Plus, Emerson does seem a bit of a coaches dream. Always works hard and has even got private trainers etc in to help him improve certain aspects of his game.

I was really chuffed that the fans voted him MoM on Sunday, that must have given him such a boost.

 

[Thenewcat]

I can remember Thierry Henry being an underwhelming signing for Arsenal.
The point is that he hasn’t been given a chance. People have just jumped on the band wagon saying he’s shit which he clearly isn’t.
He’s young, and in a different country and culture. And in my opinion hasn’t been given a chance to prove himself.

I completely agree with that. My point was you were being overly defensive by shutting down any discussion of his strengths and weaknesses. I think he’s a decent player and should stay as part of the squad, but Iike many others I think he currently hasn’t shown the attacking ability and delivery to work as a RWB in Conte’s system week in week out. He was ideal for the role we originally signed him for (RB in a 4) and is working really hard to improve in the system we play

 

[felmani26]

I'm not sure I completely agree with you on this.

After the over the top and totally needless not to mention constant abuse he's had here on SC from some people you surely cannot be surprised that it'll get a certain reaction. It went waaaay beyond 'calling out appalling displays'..........................If people were a bit more sensible and fair with their criticism instead of acting like feral, brattish kids, then perhaps the responses wouldn't be like they are.

I'm not suggesting everyone, or indeed you has been up to it but if I threw a stone in the match thread i'm confident i'd hit someone who has, so it's an understandable reaction to that I think.

Yes I accept that and indeed what @Trix said too but then I tend to not give much credence to those certain posters opinions on anything if I'm totally honest.

Have to temper the hyperbole in the match thread and immediately post match as emotions do run high - myself included - but as I initially said, both statements on Royal can be true and it doesn't necessarily need the self righteous dismissing all concerns over Royal previously.

 

[Trix]

Yes I accept that and indeed what @Trix said too but then I tend to not give much credence to those certain posters opinions on anything if I'm totally honest.

Have to temper the hyperbole in the match thread and immediately post match as emotions do run high - myself included - but as I initially said, both statements on Royal can be true and it doesn't necessarily need the self righteous dismissing all concerns over Royal previously.

I agree but I think he's shown in numerous games now he deserves a place in this squad, even if it is only for certain games or to close out matches.

 

[Jamturk]

For me the game against Citeh just highlighted Emerson's strengths because they tend to put us on the back foot. He has rolled out plenty of these performances since he joined us. Having said that this season he has improved his attacking output as well without much luck. He like the rest of the team has suffered from Kulu's injury periods.

 

[Japhet]

People wanted Bale out early on..

Yeah, but they've all been disposed of and are dotted around in Epping Forest.

 

[mil1lion]

Thing is under Jose we had a back 4 and he would keep one fullback defending and have one pushed on. Emerson would have worked great in that system with Perisic pushed on the other side. Under Conte we already have 3 centre backs so it's more important both wingbacks press on rather than 1 goes and the other stays back. I'm all for trying him at rcb with Porro advanced. I do feel with Emerson coming infield more it's taking a bit from Kulusevski of late. I think we'll work better with a wing back with pace on the outside. If there is a way to get Romero central and Emerson to the right that could work well but Dier is the organiser in this system and I don't see him being dropped. It also requires 1 CM to drop in when Romero comes out. It might be too risky to try this late in the season though. I actually think Emerson is our least error prone defender but we expect too much from him in attack.

 

[felmani26]

I agree but I think he's shown in numerous games now he deserves a place in this squad, even if it is only for certain games or to close out matches.

Can't argue with that.

Perhaps with Doherty off the scene and Spence on loan has given him the impetus to stamp his mark now who knows - might even be our version of Joelinton's road to redemption.

Still sceptical medium to long term he's the answer even in rotation with Porro but I certainly hope he can continue to bring this level of play to the team.

 

[HodisGawd]

It's not sacrilege to call out the many appalling displays from Royal previously and equally it's not hypocritical to praise the improvement and mental fortitude he's shown recently either.

Nothing more frustrating than nauseating "I told you so" fans.

It IS frustrating when you're wrong and people say "I told you so".

But it sounds like that happens to you a lot.

Maybe just try reserving judgment for a bit on people like Royal, and then it may not happen...

Just a thought.

Have you ever considered that the people you think are "nauseating" are possibly the people who do that?

 

[DiamondLites]

There are certain games Emerson is tailor made for, where his dogged defending, determination and engine are exactly what we need - basically any game where he’s not asked to be an attacking outlet. It’s no surprise to me he played so well against city

It’ll be the sides where we are the ball dominant team that Porro will really come into his own and show his worth. Good to have options at the position

 

[Flobadob]

Has he been good recently? Absolutely. Did he deserve to be booed? Not at all. Was he pretty crap for the most part before recently? Yeah. Is he a good option in matches when we’re pinned back more like against City? Yeah. Should he be the starter for us based off recent form? I still think no, Porro is going to be the better option 80% of the time.

We generally need a more competent attacking force at wingback in most matches, he should definitely be an option when we want to set up on the back foot though. He’s not proven anyone right or wrong yet, he’s still not consistently shown he’s a good wingback, he’s shown he’s a good defender for sure but that’s only half of a wingbacks job unfortunately. Very happy to praise him for his recent performances, he’s been excellent and his energy is pretty crazy, that’s something you love to see as a fan but it doesn’t change the fact his Spurs career so far hasn’t been good enough. We need performances like the last 2-3 to be happening consistently. Having him as a defensive option and Porro as an attacking one is going to be such an asset though if he keeps this up

 

[PaulThurston]

I think the combination of Emerson and Porro gives us real flexibility to respond to different teams. It would be nice to have another RWB as cover but I guess Conte sees that as Lucas till the end of the season.

 

[Joe Bjorn Hotspur]

I am so happy for Emerson especially as yes he was having a shocker but more so turning it around while knowing your own fans were booing you and ironically cheering when subbed off.

Me and my better half were at the Leeds game together, before I received my half season ticket, I was sat behind the goal a few rows up in the South and my missus on the shelf side (couldn’t get tickets together for that game) and the vitriol aimed towards him was disgusting. My other half loves Spurs like all of us and it was so sad when she heard men shouting at the top of their voice the C word towards Emerson: this experience alone, not just the general toxicity we’ve been experiencing at Home with the booing at half time etc, put her off big time going to games.

There’s a very small section of our fan base that depress me and it goes in line with the self entitlement of despot wannabes on You Tube.

May Emerson’s upward trajectory in form continue and deep down we should never boo any of our players again or at half time it’s a bad look, embarrassing and not supporting your team.