The Christian Eriksen Conundrum: Is he good for Tottenham?

Spurs fans are split over the question of whether or not Christian Eriksen has been good for Tottenham this season

Tottenham fans have a very bizarre love/hate relationship with Danish superstar Christian Eriksen. We love the beautiful way he hits a free kick and his incisive passing, but we hate when he doesn’t dive into a challenge with authority. Some feel he’s Tottenham’s best player and others think he should be sold in January. I’ve delayed writing this column long enough. It’s time to address the Christian Eriksen conundrum.

We as Tottenham fans must accept Eriksen for what he is and stop gnashing our teeth over what he isn’t. He is a world-class player with the ball at his feet who can create a goal scoring chance out of absolutely nothing. He is not a steely midfielder who’s going to intimidate the opposition. The sooner we stop expecting him to put in a clattering challenge the better.

His lack of athleticism and physicality don’t just cause issues for Tottenham fans. It also causes difficulty for manager Mauricio Pochettino in terms of team selection. Just today, the London Evening Standard reported that Eriksen had sought talks with Pochettino over his lack of starts in his preferred number 10 role. Instead, this season he’s been employed more often out on the left flank.

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The rationale behind playing Eriksen out wide is fairly obvious. In Pochettino’s pressing system the wingers are required to run a lot, but don’t need to be overly physical making challenges. In sharp contrast, the manager wants every player in the center of his formation to be able to stand up to use physicality in the press to bother the opponent. Moussa Dembele, in sharp contrast, can use his bulk to bother the opposition when deployed centrally.

In some ways Pochettino demands more of his number 10 than any other manager I know. Not only are they supposed to have the ability to make incisive runs and passes to shred the defense, but they are also required to act as a third defensive midfielder in many ways. It’s a physically exhausting role that just doesn’t suit a player of Eriksen’s stature and limited athleticism.

He’s simply too physically limited to play there against other big sides in Pochettino’s system. Players like Dembele or Dele Alli are much better options to play in that central attacking role for Spurs.

That doesn’t mean that Eriksen isn’t a number 10. It doesn’t even mean that he isn’t an excellent number 10. He’s just not a number 10 for Tottenham under Pochettino. The statistics back up the fact that he’s been better when deployed out on the left flank this season.

Given that he isn’t a suitable option for Pochettino at number 10, we have to evaluate him as a winger. It’s the fact that he’s playing out of his preferred position that causes angst for so many fans. We can see that Eriksen would be a number 10 for most sides and become subconsciously frustrated that he doesn’t play that role for us.

Our frustration is then compounded by him failing to provide the qualities we typically see in out-and-out wingers. We want to see pacy wingers who can stretch the defense, even if they cut in frequently to shoot. Eriksen lacks the burst to beat his man down the flank and instead relies on trickery and skill. Again, he’s failed to meet our ordinary expectations.

This makes it hard for most fans to watch Eriksen and appreciate what he brings to Tottenham every week. Per Whoscored.com he’s been our third best player on the season. I’m betting that most Tottenham fans wouldn’t rate him nearly that high based on what they’ve seen with the naked eye.

What he gives Tottenham is a hard-working player who is deployed on the perimeter of the pitch, but contributes more like a deep-lying midfielder. It’s almost as if we’ve taken a player with Luka Modric’s offensive skill and deployed him on the left-wing. It’s not a perfect fit by any means, but his overall quality overcomes the awkward nature of playing him there.

To wrap it all up, Tottenham fans have to appreciate the quality that Christian Eriksen brings to the side. The truth is though, that he isn’t an ideal player in Pochettino’s system. He would flourish playing as a classical number 10 for almost any other big club in the world. He’s still an excellent contributor for Tottenham under Pochettino. It’s just due to his talent overwhelming his lack of fit.

As such, Tottenham fans must appreciate Christian Eriksen for what he is while he’s at Tottenham. There may come a point where we field a transfer offer for him that’s too good to pass up. If/when that happens it will be a bittersweet day. It might very well provide a better opportunity for both the player and Spurs, but it will still be a blow to see a player of that skill leave White Hart Lane. Let’s just enjoy what he does best while he’s one of ours.

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