Eric Dier

[LexingtonSpurs]

Dier back in Mid and scores 2 goals. Wanyama is a beast but what do we do here.

I'm a massive fan of Dier and want him back in midfield.

:shrug:
I'm a massive fan of Dier, and want him to stay in a back 3. (And was one of the first to recognize his value as a DM last season)

As a midfielder, I think he is a "tweener". If you look at the two roles - we (and Chelsea) use a DM, with defensive responsibilities, and a CM, with attacking/possession responsibilities. Wanyama is a better Defensive Midfielder than Dier, and Dembele (and Winks) are better in attack/possession than Dier.

Dier is a better attacking option than Wanyama - but that is not what is most important in that particular position. And, Dier is a better defensive option than Dembele/Winks, but that position requires more of an offensive skill set than Dier possesses.

But - as a RCB, or even just CB, he is developing the kind of ball-playing skills that make this formation dangerous where he (and Toby and Jan) can contribute in the attacking third, and also can launch quick counter attacks with quality long balls and/or diagonal passes. Its harder for teams to defend when we have 3 CBs capable of stepping into the attack - much like a Midfielder who gets beyond a striker is hard to pick up.

If we did not have Wanyama, I would not hesitate to keep Dier in midfield, but we have Wanyama, and he is arguably the best DM in the league...

 

[jimbo]

I just like it that he drives a Land Rover Defender. Perfect vehicle for a midfield destroyer.

 

[NeverRed]

:shrug:
I'm a massive fan of Dier, and want him to stay in a back 3. (And was one of the first to recognize his value as a DM last season)...

Pffft, that's bandwagon ;-) See before he'd even played there (for us): Defensive Midfielder- Who should we look to?
[shameless self-plug/strub]

This nails the current situation:

If we did not have Wanyama, I would not hesitate to keep Dier in midfield, but we have Wanyama, and he is arguably the best DM in the league...

 

[DJS]

Loved it last match (I think) when Dele was getting a bit Dele-smash mode again as got hacked down and Dier just came from nowhere and removed him from the opposition played using one hand!

 

[FeilSpurs]

Has there been any comments from Dier himself regarding him playing defender or midfielder ?

Reason I’m asking is because of the medias opinion that he desperately wants to play in midfield..

 

[jonathanhotspur]

He's not really is he, he just happens to be a very good DMF and CB, I think his long term future is CB though.

I find Dier frustrating. Think he has big concentration lapses. If Man Utd are prepared to offer £40m, I would have to have a serious think about it.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

I would let him go too. He is too cocky and needs too much time on the ball. He is the main reason we come under pressure by teams who press. We need a more disciplined RCB - no idea who though tbf

I don't know if he cocky. He comes across very well in interviews, in the sense that he has a good grip on the psychology of the game, and makes balanced statements. He talks a fantastic game but he does mad shit out there on the pitch. It's the lack of awareness of runners that troubles me most, regardless of where he plays, and I think he needs to be quicker on the turn.
At the moment, I don't have faith in him if he's part of a flat back 4, and neither do I see him as the next Michael Carrick or anything.

 

[JAYSTAR]

I don't know if he cocky. He comes across very well in interviews, in the sense that he has a good grip on the psychology of the game, and makes balanced statements. He talks a fantastic game but he does mad shit out there on the pitch. It's the lack of awareness of runners that troubles me most, regardless of where he plays, and I think he needs to be quicker on the turn.
At the moment, I don't have faith in him if he's part of a flat back 4, and neither do I see him as the next Michael Carrick or anything.

I meant cocky in the sense that he believes he can 'get out of trouble' and is happy to 'try things' when they're really not on. As a person I like him, but his best position is DCM as back up / rotation with Wanyama. His risks rarely bare fruit and like you I don't trrust him on the ball. Toby and Verts are much better at knowing when to 'get rid', while Dier tries to outwit forwards and gets caught out. I feel he will want to play every game, but we need a better RCB to compete in a 343, so he may need to accept being part of the squad and rotating with Wanyama and being available to cover injury at CB.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

I find Dier frustrating. Think he has big concentration lapses. If Man Utd are prepared to offer £40m, I would have to have a serious think about it.

I would let him go too. He is too cocky and needs too much time on the ball. He is the main reason we come under pressure by teams who press. We need a more disciplined RCB - no idea who though tbf

Entitled to your opinions but what a load of rubbish. The guy is 23, he's going to make errors of judgement. He makes far fewer than people make out. No way would we have comfortably the best defence in the league, or the most clean sheets, with a liability anywhere in our defensive ranks.

We are blessed to have a strong, fast, versatile defender who is comfortable on the ball and confident to be proactive with it, and his best years are way ahead of him. Even better, he is playing alongside two top class defenders in their prime and will only benefit from this.

Can we improve on him? Yes, with great difficulty but yes. Same goes for every other player in our side. Something tells me that our manager, who has played him in almost every match in three years since signing him, does not share your concerns, it's not as if he's afraid to be ruthless with players who aren't performing. I'll trust his opinion over yours.

 

[Hercules]

WALOB You Dier get rid knobs. Short (very) memories many of you.

 

[Charly***]

Yeah selling him would be fucking stupid

 

[scat1620]

I would be gutted if we let Dier go. People say that one of the best things about our team is our fighting mentality... well for me, Dier is right up there with Kane, Rose, Alli and Alderweireld as one of the main pillars of that mentality. Would be madness to sell him for even a huge offer, we have to keep him.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

Entitled to your opinions but what a load of rubbish. The guy is 23, he's going to make errors of judgement. He makes far fewer than people make out. No way would we have comfortably the best defence in the league, or the most clean sheets, with a liability anywhere in our defensive ranks.

We are blessed to have a strong, fast, versatile defender who is comfortable on the ball and confident to be proactive with it, and his best years are way ahead of him. Even better, he is playing alongside two top class defenders in their prime and will only benefit from this.

Can we improve on him? Yes, with great difficulty but yes. Same goes for every other player in our side. Something tells me that our manager, who has played him in almost every match in three years since signing him, does not share your concerns, it's not as if he's afraid to be ruthless with players who aren't performing. I'll trust his opinion over yours.

I love Pochettino, too.

 

[JAYSTAR]

Entitled to your opinions but what a load of rubbish. The guy is 23, he's going to make errors of judgement. He makes far fewer than people make out. No way would we have comfortably the best defence in the league, or the most clean sheets, with a liability anywhere in our defensive ranks.

We are blessed to have a strong, fast, versatile defender who is comfortable on the ball and confident to be proactive with it, and his best years are way ahead of him. Even better, he is playing alongside two top class defenders in their prime and will only benefit from this.

Can we improve on him? Yes, with great difficulty but yes. Same goes for every other player in our side. Something tells me that our manager, who has played him in almost every match in three years since signing him, does not share your concerns, it's not as if he's afraid to be ruthless with players who aren't performing. I'll trust his opinion over yours.

Go for it BBLG - you're entitled to your opinion too. But Poch will make do too, he won't just drop players when there are no other options. Who else can play at RCB? No-one. At LWB he had to play Davies. Not his choice, Rose is the best in the PL. We are looking at how to improve our squad now, not at getting too sentimental about players with desire. We need to work out how to up the standard of the whole team and have better quality back ups in case injury strikes as it has, and in case we need to improve the standard of our first team. For me, Dier has done really well. He is not the finished article, and for me is best suited to DCM. We need to improve at RCB overall, Toby and Verts are top drawer, Dier is not. If we can improve here we should, especially as Wanyama cannot play every game and should be rested for cups / Europe etc.

 

[tiger666]

Selling Dier to Man U? Why the fuck are you all drinking on Sunday night. Mental talk. Probably the same lot wanted to sell Rose who, incidentally, was about the same age as Dier is now when loads wanted shot.

http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/index.php?threads/danny-rose.109168/page-2

 

[Shadydan]

I find Dier frustrating. Think he has big concentration lapses. If Man Utd are prepared to offer £40m, I would have to have a serious think about it.

I'd rather wait till he improves, he'll get better before you know it.

 

[Johnny J]

Obviously we shouldn't sell him, ffs.

I do think he's better as a DM than a CB tho. Unluckily for him, Wanyama is an even better DM.

 

[WiganSpur]

The thought of selling Dier to Man Utd makes me violently ill.

Of course he has concentration lapses and the odd game where he looks stodgy but he has a top attitude and can fulfil a variety of roles for us. He gives us great tactical flexibility in a game. I've been critical of him at CB but does that mean we should sell him? Absolutely no fucking way.

He will get plenty of playing time next season, as he's had this season.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Wow the meltdown is still on after last night, might check back later in the week when the idiots have been put to bed

 

[Spurs 1961]

Quality footballer ... which is what I said when I first saw him play for us. He gets better all the time and will in three or four years be getting to his best, based on the usual progression of defenders with experience. And a defender is what I think he really is and in a back three especially. The odd lapse, the odd bad patch is inevitable but hardly a cause for slashing of wrists. But I guess there must be scapegoats for a collective loss