Harry Kane and Eric Dier must be dropped by Tottenham
Tottenham just begin to rotate their squad immediately
Tottenham learned quite a few things in their dismal performance against Monaco yesterday. Chief among the painful lessons is the reality that Spurs need to begin squad rotation immediately. Harry Kane and Eric Dier should be the first two stars assigned to Mauricio Pochettino’s bench.
Both men are huge reasons the club even find themselves in the Champions League, but each star was dreadful at Wembley yesterday. Neither had any answers against what was a decent, but certainly not spectacular, Monaco side.
Kane has looked a step slow all season long. My gripe with his performance yesterday isn’t about his lack of clinical finishing, although I admit that is worth criticizing. Instead, it was about his lack of movement.
He simply didn’t give his attacking midfield enough help. When he’s playing his best, he’s darting all over the pitch. One might have thought playing on the larger Wembley pitch would have worked to his advantage. After all, he had more yardage to utilize. Unfortunately, the extra space just made him look slower and more stationary.
It’s clear at this point that Kane needs a rest. This weekend’s match against Sunderland is the perfect opportunity to give him a break.
Eric Dier needs to sit too
Many people thought Dier’s struggles were more related to his midfield partner than any issue of fatigue or form. The idea was that Dier couldn’t look good playing next to another defensive-minded midfielder in the form of Victor Wanyama.
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That’s why many Spurs fans were hopeful that partnering him with Dele Alli against Monaco would allow him to return to top form. Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed. He was no better against Monaco than he had been in his Premier League fixtures.
He simply didn’t do much of anything against the Ligue 1 opponent. Dier managed to break up Monaco’s play upon occasion, but failed to control the midfield as we grew accustomed to last year. His inability to patrol the area in front of the back four, combined with his inability to really add anything going forward, made him a pretty useless squad member yesterday.
The return of Moussa Dembele makes it very easy for Pochettino to give him some time off. I’d be shocked to see him in the starting XI against the Black Cats.
The good news is they’ll be back
While both Kane and Dier need rest now, neither is anything close to a lost cause. Spurs fans can fully expect them to regain their top form sooner rather than later. Each will be a key member of this year’s squad, but only if they get the proper rest and recuperation.