Eric Dier

[Typical Spurs]

Only Spurs fans could point out after a game is finished, decisions that the opposition should possibly have got!
Should he have tried the flick? No. But Dier was absolutely solid last night. Him and Toby weren't bullied by Wood and Barnes 1 bit.

Plus, if the handball wasn't given I'd favour Eric and Toby in a 2v2 against Wood and Barnes

 

[robin09]

Only Spurs fans could point out after a game is finished, decisions that the opposition should possibly have got!
Should he have tried the flick? No. But Dier was absolutely solid last night. Him and Toby weren't bullied by Wood and Barnes 1 bit.

Plus, if the handball wasn't given I'd favour Eric and Toby in a 2v2 against Wood and Barnes

I don't think it's unusual to point out events that could have changed the game. Whether they were for us, or against us. Only a biased fan would deny when we get a bit of fortune.

The fact we won 1-0 doesn't mean everything was perfect, just like a loss wouldn't automatically mean we were bad. The flick wasn't the only poor decision from Dier in the game. I assume Jose continues to pick him, so hopefully he improves to the point where we don't even have anything worth mentioning about him, like Toby last night.

 

[dickieven]

I thought Dier had a good game. Yes he made a mistake in the second half when trying to flick the ball over his head but he handled the attackers well, they really only had a few long range shots in the whole game. No real scares other than Kane off the line. I'm happy with Dier as our main centre back.

 

[robin09]

People on here make far too much of minor instances when analysing players.

We can overreact, but minor incidents are what lead to major incidents and goals, right? Look at the West Ham game. We could have done any number of tiny things differently in the last 10 minutes and we'd have won that game. That's why the minor incidents can be important, and worth discussing.

 

[chrissivad]

We can overreact, but minor incidents are what lead to major incidents and goals, right? Look at the West Ham game. We could have done any number of tiny things differently in the last 10 minutes and we'd have won that game. That's why the minor incidents can be important, and worth discussing.

I think there is a fine line when looking at these things.
If you over analysis and keep telling players they did this wrong, or that was poor then the next time a small thing happens all this runs through their head. And we all get nervous.

We need a better mentality that we just need to put it behind us, move on and deal with what comes next.

 

[Shadydan]

We can overreact, but minor incidents are what lead to major incidents and goals, right? Look at the West Ham game. We could have done any number of tiny things differently in the last 10 minutes and we'd have won that game. That's why the minor incidents can be important, and worth discussing.

I'm speaking in broader terms, a player could do 99% of things correctly and make a minor error and that error tends to define them despite doing everything else correctly, this is called over analysing. I don't think Jose will be too worried that Dier tried to flick the ball back over his head but would rather focus on how well he played throughout the match, it's only fans that worry about these sort of things because they're moments that stick out in their mind, no one remembers the stuff that tends to get overlooked but are far more important to a player's overall performance.

 

[robin09]

I'm speaking in broader terms, a player could do 99% of things correctly and make a minor error and that error tends to define them despite doing everything else correctly, this is called over analysing. I don't think Jose will be too worried that Dier tried to flick the ball back over his head but would rather focus on how well he played throughout the match, it's only fans that worry about these sort of things because they're moments that stick out in their mind, no one remembers the stuff that tends to get overlooked but are far more important to a player's overall performance.

But at this level, it's that one poor decision in 90 minutes that is often the difference.

 

[robin09]

I think there is a fine line when looking at these things.
If you over analysis and keep telling players they did this wrong, or that was poor then the next time a small thing happens all this runs through their head. And we all get nervous.

We need a better mentality that we just need to put it behind us, move on and deal with what comes next.

Agreed, the coaching staff have to deal with it differently to me on an internet forum.

I'd expect each little mistake, Davies losing possession twice, Doherty once and Dier once, as well as Dier's flick to be shown on video to them, and reinforced what they SHOULD be doing in that scenario next time. Then move on, you're right.

 

[Shadydan]

But at this level, it's that one poor decision in 90 minutes that is often the difference.

You'd be hard pressed to find players who don't make at least 1 poor decision in 90 mins at this level, players that don't tend to make mistakes are normally world class players and even then they are prone to the odd error.

 

[idontgetit]

I am still not convinced by Dier at CB although I'm open to it.

 

[TPdYID]

Agreed, the coaching staff have to deal with it differently to me on an internet forum.

I'd expect each little mistake, Davies losing possession twice, Doherty once and Dier once, as well as Dier's flick to be shown on video to them, and reinforced what they SHOULD be doing in that scenario next time. Then move on, you're right.

You make football sound like engineering. It’s not, there are many moving parts and endless variables.

Take Diers ‘flick’ for a hard and fast example. If Lloris is in a better position to receive could it be argued Dier would have been more inclined to pass the ball back to the GK? Or, Toby giving better information such as “clear your lines” may have resulted in Dier clearing the ball to safety.

My point is that you can’t just solely pin point the blame on Dier, it would take the defensive unit to be involved in any feedback and not just the player who touched the ball last.

 

[brasil_spur]

I thought Dier had a good game. Yes he made a mistake in the second half when trying to flick the ball over his head but he handled the attackers well, they really only had a few long range shots in the whole game. No real scares other than Kane off the line. I'm happy with Dier as our main centre back.

I think he's a very good CB apart from the one or two fairly vital mistakes he makes each game. Last night it was only really one mistake and he got lucky with the result. If he can cut this out of his game he could be excellent, but that the moment he's letting his game down with this.

 

[Tucker]

Aside from the silly flick he was brilliant. And those saying it’s not handball need to reread the laws of the game. Any contact with the hand that leads to a goal is handball. End of.

 

[robin09]

You make football sound like engineering. It’s not, there are many moving parts and endless variables.

Take Diers ‘flick’ for a hard and fast example. If Lloris is in a better position to receive could it be argued Dier would have been more inclined to pass the ball back to the GK? Or, Toby giving better information such as “clear your lines” may have resulted in Dier clearing the ball to safety.

My point is that you can’t just solely pin point the blame on Dier, it would take the defensive unit to be involved in any feedback and not just the player who touched the ball last.

Agreed, tell the entire defensive unit.

But it's a good example as Dier's safest option, to clear the ball, was not reliant on his teammates doing anything. A player of his experience, should be able to realise that getting rid of of the ball out of play when running towards your own area, is a better option than trying to dink it over the striker at his back. But if he needs it highlighted, then that's what the coaches are for. It's an easy fix. But it's a matter of how frequently you have to keep rectifying basic errors, as to whether he's worth sticking with at CB.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

Was it a silly flick or a calculated move

 

[brasil_spur]

Aside from the silly flick he was brilliant. And those saying it’s not handball need to reread the laws of the game. Any contact with the hand that leads to a goal is handball. End of.

It's not a handball in the way we all expect the game to be played, but you're right that the rules are the rules (as silly as they are). Either way though Dier did not intend to kick the ball into the oncoming players lower arm in a way that would be clearly visible to the referee (or VAR) so that he could ensure a breakdown of the attacking move. He fucked up and got lucky, simple.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

It's not a handball in the way we all expect the game to be played, but you're right that the rules are the rules (as silly as they are). Either way though Dier did not intend to kick the ball into the oncoming players lower arm in a way that would be clearly visible to the referee (or VAR) so that he could ensure a breakdown of the attacking move. He fucked up and got lucky, simple.

It wasn't all that bad. The arm was where it was and the attack was stopped. If the arm hadn't been there, the ball would have landed well away from the situation anyway and the attack would still have been stopped. This really is a non-issue and Dier handled that well.

 

[chrissivad]

Was it a silly flick or a calculated move

It was a poor flick.
Idea want bad, but needed to go over his head, not around the side where the attacker was.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

It was a poor flick.
Idea want bad, but needed to go over his head, not around the side where the attacker was.

Ok, maybe. Then the question is was it THAT bad or important? If the arm wasn't there, the ball would have gone between the two players and landed behind them. It really isn't that big of a deal.

 

[taidgh]

Not sure where you’ve been fella, but for attackers the ball hits the arm anywhere in an attacking situation and it’s hand ball, natural position or not. As it was away at Sheff Utd when Moura was fouled last season. And as it was when Llorente got the benefit of the doubt in the CL Qtr final 2nd leg at City 2 years ago. Those are the rules. You might not like them but it is fact. I personally think it’s a ridiculous rule but it’s the rule. The handball interpretation change this year is about handball in defensive situations, not attacking one’s. Last night if the ref had missed it and they’d scored VAR would definitely have ruled it out for handball.

I don't want to be that guy who quotes the rules, so I won't go quite that far. I'll just say you're operating under a misapprehension. If you're certain you're right and so filled with righteous indignation that you want to go look up the text of the rules and let me know, you're more than welcome: https://www.theifab.com/laws/chapter/32/section/92/

The fact that you use the Llorente handball as an example of what the rule is just shows how behind you are in the evolution of the handball Law, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.