Christian Eriksen

[Juicy Sushi]

Ok, @colintrainor 's response to our discussion here:

I've already looked at ExpA values. I see the discussion over at fightingcock, I don't want to weight the passes so that earlier passes achieve less. By doing this we effectively arrive at the Shots / Key Pass stats where a player needs to be frontline attack to score highly on that scale. This way deep lying players can (in theory) score highly, and if enough passes go through the deep lying midfielder in the moves then he should get credit for that. Not water down his impact. And I deliberately didn't use ExpG values because then the debate becomes around the specific ExpG model, which takes away from the actual concept at hand.

So, there's the why of it.

 

[ArcspacE]

Denmark boss in stinging attack on Christian Eriksen

Che Thomas
52 minutes ago

Morten Olsen is disappointed with the Tottenham star's form in Denmark's recent disappointing results, saying: "we blame him. He must stand up to the criticism."

Christian Eriksen has come in for a scathing attack from his international boss Morten Olsen after Denmark conceded a last minute goal to Portugal that saw them lose the Group I fixture.

Cristiano Ronaldo headed a 95th minute winner to consign the Scandinavian nation to their first qualifying defeat, although it was Denmark's second disappointing result over the international break, coming after a draw away to Albania.

And the country's boss Morten Olsen held Spurs star Eriksen partially accountable for Denmark's inability to secure three points in either match, stating that he was disappointed the former Ajax man failed to influence matches at an international level and, perhaps even more scathingly, that he hasn't developed since leaving Amsterdam.

“It is a brutal world, otherwise you have to play at another level," Olsen said of the 22-year-old. "It is not Ajax any more, this is not development.

“After so many matches he could pick up the ball and help to control the game. He has not been able to.

“Therefore, we blame him. He must stand up to the criticism, and he does too.

“It is quite something when you have to criticize a player like Christian Eriksen. It should not take place.

“If it was a player at a lower level, one could say that he had no class. But with Christian Eriksen do not make the mistake. I must be tough and say to him. And he knows it well.”

Eriksen came into form in the second half of his first season at Spurs, finishing with 10 goals in 36 games. He has also done well this campaign, scoring 2 goals so far including the winner in the recent game with Southampton.

In contrast, he has only 5 goals in nearly 50 caps for Denmark, only one of which came in a competitive fixture, and Olsen, who is one of Europe's longest serving international managers having been in charge since 2000, may be within his rights to expect more from a player held up as one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League.

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/10/15/denmark-boss-in-stinging-attack-on-christian-eriksen/?

 

[sammyspurs]

Dont agree with the word "blame", but this ..

“After so many matches he could pick up the ball and help to control the game. He has not been able to."


..is spot on as far as his Spurs performances have been this season IMO. Been saying the same for a while now.

 

[KeaneBean]

I don't think he's on poor form at all... I just think towards the end of last season he was given the ball so often because he was our main attacking outlet, almost a 'one man team' if you will. This season though he now shares a lot of those responsibilities with Lamela and Chadli but also has defensive work to do as well.

 

[sammyspurs]

I don't think he's on poor form at all... I just think towards the end of last season he was given the ball so often because he was our main attacking outlet, almost a 'one man team' if you will. This season though he now shares a lot of those responsibilities with Lamela and Chadli but also has defensive work to do as well.

I dont think he´s been poor either, generally.

Just think he needs to be more effective, and move the ball a bit quicker. Not really creating enough IMO, but its early days and it will come, the signs are all there and we know what he can do for this club from last season.

I think his National coach is just showing some tough love...could be a boost.

 

[Yorkshire_Spurs]

I dont think he´s been poor either, generally.

Just think he needs to be more effective, and move the ball a bit quicker. Not really creating enough IMO, but its early days and it will come, the signs are all there and we know what he can do for this club from last season.

I think his National coach is just showing some tough love...could be a boost.

He is floating on the cusp of being class. Agree that a little "tough Love" might help him out.

 

[jimmyriggle]

Isn't he a notoriously slow starter. We prob won't see the best of him until around Xmas/January

 

[HeroesAndVillains]

Is the national coach a blind dumbass? They were doing well against Portugal until he decided to bring Eriksen off for some clogger with two wooden legs. They couldn't hold on to shit after that.

 

[VirginiaSpur]

I don't think he's on poor form at all... I just think towards the end of last season he was given the ball so often because he was our main attacking outlet, almost a 'one man team' if you will. This season though he now shares a lot of those responsibilities with Lamela and Chadli but also has defensive work to do as well.

Agree completely, and I've been on record saying this since the preseason.

 

[ArcspacE]

Poch responds!

Spurs boss responds to Eriksen criticism

07:52 17 October 2014

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insisted he is happy with Christian Eriksen after Denmark manager Morten Olsen’s stinging criticism of the playmaker.

Olsen accused Eriksen of lacking impact on the field following the Euro 2016 qualifying loss to Portugal, but Pochettino has no such concerns.

“It’s his (Olsen’s) problem, not my problem,” Pochettino said.

“My problem is to keep my players at a good level.

“I am very happy with Christian Eriksen. He’s a very good professional. His commitment with the team, with the club, is full.

“I think he’s consistent and I’m happy with his performances this season.”

Eriksen scored the winner in Tottenham’s most recent match, the 1-0 win over Pochettino’s former club Southampton, which sends Spurs to Manchester City on Saturday in optimistic mood.

 

[Tomo]

Whether Eriksen has been good or not is irrelevant for a manager to publicly attack one of his players in the manner is very unprofessional, imagine if Sherwood had said that when he was our boss, this forum would have exploded.

Anyway shouldn't the manager take the blame and say my tactics were wrong I was shit sorry Denmark, gutless cunt.

 

[The Dane]

Morten Olsen's an idiot, although I do agree that Eriksen played a bad game. The whole country is crying out for a new national team coach

 

[Whateverworks]

I watched the full post-match press-conference with Morten Olsen and I believe Olsen's criticism of Eriksen is justified. Let me explain a little. Olsen spent a lot of effort emphasizing what a huge talent Eriksen is and just how large a potential he has. Inadvertently, that has not been adequately displayed in the national shirt. As Olsen said (not a direct quote but the general message is authentic):

"If a player with less skill than Eriksen makes a mistake, like a sloppy pass, it can be accepted. Simply because the player is not that skilled. If a player of Eriksen's quality continuously appears sloppy and unfocused, not only should criticism be voiced, but that criticism is also justified."

As a Dane myself I have no doubt that Eriksen is our best player by a mile. In Denmark we know that Eriksen is a true professional and a genuine good lad, unlike for example Bendtner. We know that Eriksen will take this criticism the way it ought to be taken; he will gain motivation instead of losing it.

Olsen is pushing Eriksen, so that Eriksen may reach the boundary of his large potential. The question of interest should be if Olsen should have voiced his criticism internally instead of externally. I personally do believe that public criticism will push Eriksen in the right direction and therefore I think Olsen made a calculated move - but it is solely due to the quality of Eriksen. Any other player below that quality would not have received that criticism - that is an important point.

 

[pdxspur]

Well justified or not it worked. That was by far Eriksen's sharpest game of the year.

 

[Nantynew]

Eriksen is one of too many current Tottenham players who just doesn't perform consistently.

Wherever we finish in the league, my main hope for Pochettino is that he can address this.

I accept that he and the squad need time but by this stage I'd expect better decision-making, passing accuracy and positional sense, consistently from our international players.

 

[Whateverworks]

Whether Eriksen has been good or not is irrelevant for a manager to publicly attack one of his players in the manner is very unprofessional, imagine if Sherwood had said that when he was our boss, this forum would have exploded.

Anyway shouldn't the manager take the blame and say my tactics were wrong I was shit sorry Denmark, gutless cunt.

"Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes." - Brian Clough

 

[Tomo]

"Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes." - Brian Clough

Why blame one player publically that's unprofessional, the manager should man up, if that's Olsen's view that basically Eriksen is Denmark then how crap are Denmark and if it's just players who win games why do we need managers at all.

Clough was a great manager but he did talk a lot of bullshit, I doubt Mourinho would agree with that statement one bit, he would view it as a combination, the guy obsesses over everything and you can see why, you only have to look at Sherwood and AVB, Sherwood in particular to see how lack of tactics could leave a team exposed.

 

[Whateverworks]

Why blame one player publically that's unprofessional, the manager should man up, if that's Olsen's view that basically Eriksen is Denmark then how crap are Denmark and if it's just players who win games why do we need managers at all.

Clough was a great manager but he did talk a lot of bullshit, I doubt Mourinho would agree with that statement one bit, he would view it as a combination, the guy obsesses over everything and you can see why, you only have to look at Sherwood and AVB, Sherwood in particular to see how lack of tactics could leave a team exposed.

Firstly sir, I have to agree with your opinion that Mr. Clough indeed did say a lot bullshit but every quote deserves context - and this one needs perspective as well.

Secondly, Olsen never did blame Eriksen for the loss as he constantly repeated at the press-conference. I have written why he criticized him in my first post. So read that. Has nothing to do with blame and all to do with inadequate quality on the pitch compared to the potential.
So you are completely absent from firm ground with that claim.

Now to the perspective. At Clough's time and even today there is an disproportionate attention to "tactics" and "players". It's evident with the flow of managers in EPL clubs: fired, hired, fired, hired, etc.
If a superior club losses to an inferior club, one can almost be hundred-percent sure that the media and fans will blame the tactics and therefore the manager. There's no problem with that, and in many cases that criticism of the manager is completely justified. Very rarely will a player, or a group of players be singled out, because you can always say:

"the manager used him the wrong way" // "the managers tactics were the root of the problem" etc.

I am NOT saying that managers are NOT too blame. I am saying what I started to say: The attention is disproportionate. Clough tried to even out that disproportion, and of course he is not to be taken literately, as few of his quotes ought to be. His specific quote was about England's exit from European Championship in 2000. Actually we see the difference in reaction in this specific case.

It is perfectly reasonable to assume that a match can be lost, using decent tactics but players who just doesn't perform. It's equally reasonable to assume that a match can be lost using decent players who perform in light of bad tactics.

EDIT: Btw Sir, I am fairly confident in my claim that your win to loss ratio in dominoes is 0:100.

 

[gibbs131]

I don't think he's on poor form at all... I just think towards the end of last season he was given the ball so often because he was our main attacking outlet, almost a 'one man team' if you will. This season though he now shares a lot of those responsibilities with Lamela and Chadli but also has defensive work to do as well.

He was given the ball late, or miles behind or in front of him via Lennon or Townsend.

Poch got it half right dropping them from the prem, but playing Soldado on his own up front is not the way to play him. He's not physical or fast enough to do it alone.

He simply has too many drawbacks.

 

[Tomo]

Firstly sir, I have to agree with your opinion that Mr. Clough indeed did say a lot bullshit but every quote deserves context - and this one needs perspective as well.

Secondly, Olsen never did blame Eriksen for the loss as he constantly repeated at the press-conference. I have written why he criticized him in my first post. So read that. Has nothing to do with blame and all to do with inadequate quality on the pitch compared to the potential.
So you are completely absent from firm ground with that claim.

Now to the perspective. At Clough's time and even today there is an disproportionate attention to "tactics" and "players". It's evident with the flow of managers in EPL clubs: fired, hired, fired, hired, etc.
If a superior club losses to an inferior club, one can almost be hundred-percent sure that the media and fans will blame the tactics and therefore the manager. There's no problem with that, and in many cases that criticism of the manager is completely justified. Very rarely will a player, or a group of players be singled out, because you can always say:

"the manager used him the wrong way" // "the managers tactics were the root of the problem" etc.

I am NOT saying that managers are NOT too blame. I am saying what I started to say: The attention is disproportionate. Clough tried to even out that disproportion, and of course he is not to be taken literately, as few of his quotes ought to be. His specific quote was about England's exit from European Championship in 2000. Actually we see the difference in reaction in this specific case.

It is perfectly reasonable to assume that a match can be lost, using decent tactics but players who just doesn't perform. It's equally reasonable to assume that a match can be lost using decent players who perform in light of bad tactics.

EDIT: Btw Sir, I am fairly confident in my claim that your win to loss ratio in dominoes is 0:100.

Firstly I am aiming my response mainly at Clough's quote which I think is just Clough being Clough, secondly I would argue that if you look directly at what Olsen said he is implying directly or indirectly that Eriksen is the main guy at fault and he did it in a pretty nasty and IMO unprofessional way. As a manager it's also your job to carry the can as it were which why I think he needed to show more character that than.

Obviously the players you have will always determine the potential of the football you can play, but it's the manager and support staff that will often determine whether a team is able to play to it's full potential in the first place.

My dominoes ratio is probably shit, can't even remember playing dominoes, maybe once or twice as a kid, feel like I am trawling through childhood memories trying to recall it.