Article by Dep. Editor Marc AshedChristian Eriksen just went down with an ankle injury. The severity is yet to be determined but one thing that is certain is that he will not be available for selection next week when we travel to the Etihad Stadium. This creates the obvious dilemma of what to do with the no. 10 position. There are some in the Twitter-sphere that are calling for Erik Lamela to play in the spot right behind the striker. There is some merit to that idea as Lamela played in that role for River Plate. However, for a player that is new to the Premier League and just now beginning to settle into his new surroundings, the last thing that he needs a positional change. He has been playing on the right side of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 since coming to North London and has only just started to excel and show the immense talent that he possesses.
The player that is the natural heir to the starting spot is the man who has earned a split of the time already this campaign. Lewis Holtby has done well enough in the no. 10 spot to split starts with Eriksen and his tenacity on the pitch should be rewarded. Look no further to our last trip to the Etihad Stadium when Holtby took a ball from the middle of the pitch and with one precise long pass, sent in Jermain Defoe to go one on one with Vincent Kompany and score a right footed effort that put us up 2-1. I am one of Eriksen's biggest advocates but Holtby has been nothing but a team player and spark of energy since joining Spurs last January. He has done everything that AVB has asked of him and this year he has looked settled and is thriving. Ultimately, I believe his role will be in the no. 6 (with his performance v. Man City last year being the best argument for this) but for now, we have Paulinho and Dembele occupying the spot and while they are inconsistent, AVB has not shown any signs of experimenting with Holtby and Eriksen playing together in front of Sandro. Lewis deserves this opportunity to get an extended run in the first team.
As I mentioned in our first podcast, Holtby brings an energy that is contagious amongst the squad and the fans and something like that could be the missing piece from our boys while at White Hart Lane.
Eriksen's injury may actually be a blessing in that he can settle in to North London, Tottenham Hotspur and the Premier League. The other side of that is we can allow Holtby to play in the no. 10, drop a little bit deeper to receive the ball but disrupt the opposing teams buildup and midfield play. By the time Eriksen returns, we will have developed chemistry in the attacking third but until then, we need to continue to play with a stingy defense that doesn't concede much and keeps our team in every match. Lewis Holtby, the scene is set for you to become an even bigger legend than you are right now.
@MarcAron22
Marc A. Ashed
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We will definetly miss Erickson, after all our final ball is what all the pissing and moaning is about (no quality final ball = no goals) and I feel Erickson is the best player in the squad to supply that. Having said that I would have played Holtby at City, regardless whether Erickson was fit or not. Holtby gives us more energy is tough in the tackle and more suited to the tough away games.
ReplyDeleteI hope I don't hear our "intelligent" tactician manager complain about this latest injury blow. He has been risking his best players all season by playing them in the EL - an unimportant competition which he's got no chance in hell of winning.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 1... its eriksen you twonk, go support a different team you know nothing never kicked a ball fool.
ReplyDeleteanon2... you are either the same fool anon 1 is or simply another know nothing twonk. avb rests players that feature every week in the EPL for EL games... you obviously never watched a game all season (so far). you too, go support liverpool, they love clueless fans up there
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