Despite a season thus far of underwhelming personal performances, and turgid team displays, one of the bright spots has been Eric Dier.
That’s not to say that he has solved our defensive issues (we’ve hardly set the world alight in that department), but what had impressed me is how calm he looked in a back four, but especially in a back three – the system that has been employed under Antonio Conte.
Of course, central defenders are naturally more protected when accompanied by two others, but there has been a noticeable difference in Dier’s composure of late.
The most telling statistic of all, to prove this point, is the number of tackles that he has made. Emerson Royal leads the side with 36 tackles in the league this season.
How many tackles has Eric Dier made? Three. Just three. That’s fourteenth on the list of all Spurs players.
Some may see this as confusing, but to me, this just shows how less rash Dier has been this season. Last year, in particular, it felt like he was an accident waiting to happen.
One moment which comes to mind was his inexplicable tackle on Timo Werner, which gave Chelsea a penalty and proved decisive during our meeting in February.
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But this season, he has clearly removed himself from dicey personal situations. Far from putting himself under pressure, whether under the influence of Antonio Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo, or just himself, I think he has dropped deeper and is tailoring his game to his advantage by focussing on his best attributes.
One need only look at the clearance stats within the club to see just how much emphasis Dier is placing on being the ‘last line of defence’.
He has made a whopping 54 clearances in the league this season – that’s 19 more than any other player in the squad. It may sound simple, but I think this season, our number 15 is thinking about stopping goals, and that’s it. And that can only be a good thing.
The next step for Dier is tightening up his passing forward. Back when he played as a midfielder, he was not only effective at breaking up play and putting a foot in, but at being a competent passer of the ball.
It’s understandable that he may be rusty in this department. And if he were to gain greater confidence in this aspect of his game, he will impress even further.
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