Eriksen's Absence

Article by Mike Davis

Whenever there is an international break we all hold our breath and wait to see who comes back injured and how badly. As this is a double header, we are waiting again for everyone to come through these second games unscathed. Sadly, we lost Christian Eriksen on Friday with a nasty sounding ankle injury which, it is suggested, may keep him out for several weeks. I know that he was in and out of the side, as is AVB’s want, but he remains one of the few players we have who can add something a bit different and is capable of producing flair and creativity.

So in his absence what do we do? Holtby has his moments and Dembele is also capable of creative play, although sadly on all too few occasions. Is it now a chance for Lamela to be given more games? I acknowledge that he is really a winger but he does appear to have that flair and unpredictability that has been lacking in most of our displays this season. It struck me that another alternative might be Tom Carroll. I appreciate he is on loan at QPR but could he not be recalled? He would be a slight gamble but he has never let us down when selected in the past. He has an eye for the creative pass and tries to get the ball into danger areas quickly and efficiently. I’m sure he is learning a lot under Harry at QPR (look at Townsend!) but our need is potentially greater at the moment.

My fear is that without Eriksen our displays will become even more workmanlike than they are at present. I sense that teams have started to work out how to stop Spurs and without that spark of creativity I think we may well struggle. We are going into a period of really tough games starting with both the Manchester clubs. It is crucial that AVB gets his team selection right. In the meantime I’m sure that you, like me, are keeping your fingers crossed that all our players return to training in one piece!

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