Eric Dier Looking for Consistency when Tottenham Play
Eric Dier was not pleased when Tottenham’s early 1-0 lead would disappear before losing to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge once again.
Describing Tottenham’s form throughout this season has become very repetitive, but there’s no other way to describe their performance.
Though according to Eric Dier, the main culprit right now is finding consistency when they’re playing. Injuries, fluctuating form from players and constant formation changes are also issues that have plagued this team but right now playing a full 90 minutes, at a high level, has been few and far between.
“I thought we were fantastic for 44 minutes and then it was very disappointing to concede the goal before half-time. I think that changed things a lot,” Dier told Spurs TV (via Sky Sports).
“That’s where we need to have a strong mentality and not let it change the way we play. They had a lot of confidence after that.”
Chelsea did have a lot of confidence when they came out in the second half.
Prior to the game resuming, Antonio Conte decided to switch things up to combat Mauricio Pochettino’s high-press that was causing a lot of problems. The Italian manager knew what works well against Spurs and it showed over the course of the next 45 minutes.
With Tottenham’s early lead gone and the game level, their gameplan to continue attacking was stifled by a Chelsea side who sat deeper and high-pressed any player who was approaching the final third.
The script was flipped. Chelsea who were constantly defending before were now on the offensive. As a result, Spurs were forced to retreat. Chelsea caught Spurs off guard with the high-press which eventually led to counterattacks and the game-winning goal.
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On the few chances Tottenham pressed forward when in possession of the ball, Pochettino’s side were given plenty of space to work with but saw the passing lanes they took advantage of in the first half disappear.
There were too many bodies in the middle of the pitch and playing out wide isn’t a style that suits this team. Mauricio Pochettino prefers to play narrow and through the center.
Overall, the second half was a disappointment for Spurs to say the least.
Eric Dier knew that the first half against Chelsea was a great showing after Spurs struggled in recent weeks and getting eliminated from the Champions League. All they needed to do was win more games by closing them out when they’re ahead.
That is where the consistency issues comes in. As mentioned above, there have been a few games where Spurs played great for a full game. And if not for a full game, then more than 45 minutes for sure.
Stoke City, Manchester City, Arsenal and West Ham United are the four examples that immediately come to mind. Those are four matches from 13 games played in the Premier League this season. One-third of the season’s opening four months.
“We showed fantastic character to start the way we did after what’s happened in recent weeks and the Champions League.” Dier continued.
“It’s a matter of us playing like that for 90 minutes. It’s turning lots of draws that we have into wins and seeing out results. That’s massive for us.”
“We work very hard, we’re committed, we’ve got a lot of character – we showed that last week at West Ham and first half here – but we need to be more consistent.”
“If you look at the bigger picture, this is our first loss. Obviously we don’t want to lose against anyone, a lot less Chelsea, but it’s done with now.”
“I don’t think we can kick ourselves too much. We’ve got to be ready for Swansea next week, keep pushing and keep trying to improve and reach the levels we know we can.”
Next: Five Takeaways: Tottenham's Slump Continues with Loss a at Chelsea
After weathering the storm from a difficult stretch of games in November — even if it included three losses — December should be a much better month. The slate of games on tap aren’t hard, the only team who is inside the top six is Manchester United.
Swansea City and Hull City are in the relegation zone. Burnley and Southampton are sitting in the middle of the table. If anything, Tottenham could go on a run like they did back in September when they produced five wins out of six games in all competitions.
Whether or not they will play consistently well, that remains to be seen. It hasn’t happened often so it’s unlikely that it will happen right now.