BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur takes a look around the pitch prior to kick off during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino calls out Christian Eriksen
Tottenham’s manager wants more out of Christian Eriksen
Tottenham have only managed three goals in their first five matches and manager Mauricio Pochettino has identified one reason why. The Spurs boss isn’t happy with midfielder Christian Eriksen’s production as of late.
The Argentine manager levied one of the heaviest criticisms he could against the Danish midfielder. Pochettino claimed that Eriksen lacks the sufficient amount of determination needed to score goals. If I were Eriksen, that sort of admonishment from Pochettino would make me very uneasy.
Pochettino certainly isn’t wrong. Eriksen is one of the most talented attackers in the squad and he doesn’t have a Premier League goal in nine starts. Three assists are a nice bonus, but Eriksen needs to be scoring goals to really help the club.
He certainly had several opportunities to make his mark in yesterday’s match against Leicester City. The Danish attacker was given several opportunities to hurt the Foxes via free kicks in dangerous positions, but failed to really trouble Kasper Schmeichel.
He also was very poor on corner kicks. The very least Eriksen should be doing from the corner flag is beating the first man. He failed in that respect on at least three occasions.
More troubling is the reality that Eriksen was relatively anonymous from open play. For some reason, he just doesn’t look comfortable sharing space with Dele Alli this season. The young Englishman has really begun to assert himself as a number ten, but that leaves Eriksen languishing on the wings.
If things don’t change soon, look for Pochettino to shake up his starting XI. He’ll give Eriksen the chance to play with Harry Kane again, but his production will need to increase almost immediately. Otherwise, Spurs are going to have to make changes in their midfield.
I still wonder if Eriksen wouldn’t be better suited to play a deeper role in the midfield. If he were more physical he’d be an ideal partner for a defensive-minded midfielder like Victor Wanyama. Pochettino couldn’t deploy him there every match, but he could be a huge help when Spurs are going to enjoy lots of possession.
Ultimately, Eriksen is going to have to produce goals from the attacking midfield if he’s going to remain a key part of Tottenham’s future. He’s got too much skill on the ball, and too little defensive acumen to do anything else full-time.
Tottenham fans should watch the relationship between Pochettino and Eriksen closely as the season progresses. Hopefully Pochettino’s latest comments are just an effort at motivating the Danish attacker. If not, they could be the opening salvo to a meaningful conflict between the two.
