Have you ever had a significant other who you knew was amazing for you, but at a certain time in your life, just wasn’t the right fit? Enter Emerson Royal, the teammate we all need, but not as of this current moment.
All of the special things outside of the pitch make Royal one of our favourite Tottenham Hotspurs personalities. However, on the pitch, his support can be night and day depending on who you ask. Nonetheless, his over-the-top personality comes with unwanted flair, questionable decisions, and results that can leave you desiring more. But no matter what, this is MY guy.
As president of the Emerson Royal fan club, I saw a lot of hate and very little support for the lad. It was a difficult first year when he was purchased from Barcelona for £25.8m (BBC) as a right-back in a four-back system with Nuno Nuno Espírito Santo as the manager. After seeing some games at his designated position come few and far between, Nuno was sacked and replaced by trophy-winning Antonio Conte, who is notorious for using his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
This shift in ideology meant that our natural right-back would now be moved to right-wing-back. He would be expected to not only be stout defensively but also help be creative in the build-up, moving forward with crisp crosses and being higher up on the pitch as an outlet.
This is where I apologize to those who remember his play during this regime change as I bring you down memory lane.
It was rough, to say the least.
From crosses that were sent to the stands as memorabilia, to shots so wide of the target you thought he had a vendetta against the fans, to the erratic ground passes. It was a familiar sight to see teammates abruptly stop after the play and let out a sigh loud enough for God to hear.
If you scrolled through any social media platform and searched his name, you could see there was an overwhelming amount of negative comments about his play. I pleaded with supporters to give him time to settle into his new role, but it was met with more criticism and less patience.
But just as I predicted, he improved rapidly the more playing time he earned on the pitch.
Then came his best performance of the campaign when he was tasked with marking Jack Grealish and Manchester City on February 5th 2023. With every twist, turn, and manoeuvre Grealish performed, Royal was there before his own shadow to greet him with his signature smile. This helped the Spurs defeat the overly favoured City team that eventually won the Premier League title at the end of the season.
This let me know that there was a player there, we just needed to use him correctly.
Heck, he’s earned some caps for his national team Brazil. They can’t be idiots as well right?
Let’s not forget that when Pedro Porro was brought in for the 22/23 season, he rode the bench behind Royal for a good stint.
The 2023/24 year is when things took a nose dive for him. Ange Postecoglou joined the club, and returned the club to a back four system, but requested his full-backs to be inverted, further up the pitch and even MORE offensive. This spelt the end of Royal’s run at Tottenham in my belief. While Porro started a majority of the games if he wasn’t injured, Royal earned some minutes but was very underwhelming.
The same poor decision-making crosses were sent to the fans, and errant passes returned. During this season, he was asked to not only play right-back but left-back and centre-back as we battled through injuries. Things got so bad that Oliver Skipp, a homegrown defensive midfielder had been moved to left back to provide better coverage than what Royal provided and seemed more comfortable with the tasks at hand.
As the president of his fan club, I had to put the banners, the posters, and the articles back into the kiddie box and proclaim that his time at the club was officially over.
Should Tottenham sell Emerson Royal this summer?
I still believe Royal to be an exceptional right-back, but as I explained in this long-winded article, I believe it takes the right system and the right manager to get the best out of this player. If we are looking to challenge for the Premier League title, we will need a stronger inverted right back to provide coverage for Porro in case of injuries or loss of fitness. And with the Spurs playing more games next season due to Europa League qualifications, the next right-back in place needs to be of the same quality as Porro, and Royal just isn’t that as of right now.
I’m going to miss my guy and I wish him well on his next journey, as it has already been reported that the Spurs are looking to offload him in the summer window, with AC Milan as a potential target. (Football London). I believe the next team that gets him will not only get a bargain but a player who will be a defensive cog if used correctly. While he doesn’t work in our system, I know he will work in the next one.
Verdict: Sell Emerson Royal and purchase a decent backup