This has been a predominant theme in the match thread, but I really feel this needs to be separated and discussed on its own.
Christian Eriksen has been, outside of Adebayor, the most productive attacking footballer at our club in the past two months. He scored vital goals against West Brom, United, and Palace that saw us win points in those massive games. Since January, he also sent two picture perfect crosses for Adebayor's vital goals against United and Swansea (the first goals in both of those games where we looked poor up until those points).
Eriksen has a unique role in this team. He is the best free kick and set-piece taker we have and has the ability to cross with accuracy and shoot with both feet from outside the box. We don't have any other players who can do all of those things.
With all of that in mind, Eriksen was left out of the Newcastle game after a subpar performance against Everton (where almost everyone was dire). I wasn't happy, but assumed it was a one time thing and that if we were to go for the win at Dnipro, he'd surely start. Yet there we were last Thursday, with numerous regulars like Paulinho in the lineup and Eriksen on the bench. Why would we take Eriksen all the way to Ukraine and stick him on the bench? It's the type of move we saw AVB do with Soldado earlier in the season. It made no sense to me.
Most thought at the time that because Eriksen was on the bench versus Dnipro, he was being saved to start today. Yet, there he was, firmly rooted to the bench for the entirety of 90 minutes. Sherwood could've played him for the out of form Lennon, or subbed him on the injured Capoue, or opted for him instead of Townsend, but he didn't. There is no indication that Eriksen was injured. He was, afterall, named as a substitute.
So, why then, did one of our most important playmaking, productive players not see the pitch in a vital clash against a team we had to beat (and who he had played very well against in his home debut)? Why did he not start against Dnipro, if he wasn't going to start today? With Walker injured, who did Sherwood think would take free kicks today? At one point, Naughton took a corner kick late in the game when we were pressuring them. That is beyond inexcusable.
I can take losing and even finishing 7th in the league, but not when we unilaterally disarm ourselves by leaving some of our best players sitting on the bench.
This was the type of managerial error that can have huge repercussions down the road, long after Sherwood is relieved of his duties. Losing out on 4th place to Liverpool will be devastating to our growth as a club. They will invest heavily to consolidate their position, while we'll be forced to fend of suitors for our top players (Lloris & Vertonghen) in a World Cup year with little time to find adequate replacements, as we likely won't conclude deals selling our top stars until August (as has been the case with Berbatov, Modric, Bale, VdV, etc).
Christian Eriksen has been, outside of Adebayor, the most productive attacking footballer at our club in the past two months. He scored vital goals against West Brom, United, and Palace that saw us win points in those massive games. Since January, he also sent two picture perfect crosses for Adebayor's vital goals against United and Swansea (the first goals in both of those games where we looked poor up until those points).
Eriksen has a unique role in this team. He is the best free kick and set-piece taker we have and has the ability to cross with accuracy and shoot with both feet from outside the box. We don't have any other players who can do all of those things.
With all of that in mind, Eriksen was left out of the Newcastle game after a subpar performance against Everton (where almost everyone was dire). I wasn't happy, but assumed it was a one time thing and that if we were to go for the win at Dnipro, he'd surely start. Yet there we were last Thursday, with numerous regulars like Paulinho in the lineup and Eriksen on the bench. Why would we take Eriksen all the way to Ukraine and stick him on the bench? It's the type of move we saw AVB do with Soldado earlier in the season. It made no sense to me.
Most thought at the time that because Eriksen was on the bench versus Dnipro, he was being saved to start today. Yet, there he was, firmly rooted to the bench for the entirety of 90 minutes. Sherwood could've played him for the out of form Lennon, or subbed him on the injured Capoue, or opted for him instead of Townsend, but he didn't. There is no indication that Eriksen was injured. He was, afterall, named as a substitute.
So, why then, did one of our most important playmaking, productive players not see the pitch in a vital clash against a team we had to beat (and who he had played very well against in his home debut)? Why did he not start against Dnipro, if he wasn't going to start today? With Walker injured, who did Sherwood think would take free kicks today? At one point, Naughton took a corner kick late in the game when we were pressuring them. That is beyond inexcusable.
I can take losing and even finishing 7th in the league, but not when we unilaterally disarm ourselves by leaving some of our best players sitting on the bench.
This was the type of managerial error that can have huge repercussions down the road, long after Sherwood is relieved of his duties. Losing out on 4th place to Liverpool will be devastating to our growth as a club. They will invest heavily to consolidate their position, while we'll be forced to fend of suitors for our top players (Lloris & Vertonghen) in a World Cup year with little time to find adequate replacements, as we likely won't conclude deals selling our top stars until August (as has been the case with Berbatov, Modric, Bale, VdV, etc).
