Several days ago, Tottenham Hotspur announced the arrival of an Eric Dier documentary on the platform SPURSPLAY. Upon reading the news, I shut my eyes and exhaled. I knew what was coming.
Sure enough, social media was awash with opinions and comments about the ‘timing’ of such a release, as well as a vast array of rather unsavoury remarks aimed at Eric and his capabilities as a footballer and where people think he should be plying his trade.
I think it is a fair enough point that last season at Tottenham was an unmitigated disaster – on so many levels. The team underperformed and in doing so played a brand of football that was insipid and uninspiring.
We let go a manager (and then his assistant) who, despite suffering a number of personal tragedies, never had Tottenham’s best interests at heart. Couple this with the growing toxicity amongst the fanbase towards the ownership and directors and you have a recipe for disaster.
However, one player has drawn the ire of the fans almost more than any other. The aforementioned Eric Dier.
I am sure he will be the first to admit that the 2022/23 season was by no means a stellar campaign for him personally; but the same can be said for almost every single member of the squad barring, inevitably, Kane and perhaps Bentancur, whose season was cruelled curtailed.
Some, such as Son, have openly apologised and addressed how they did not perform to the standards they set for themselves.
However, from Christmas onwards, the levels of vitriol and aggressiveness directed towards Eric Dier ramped up and up – until that fateful game against Newcastle, when it reached a fever pitch.
This ‘campaign’ – and it is a campaign – of hatred, is something that I have found difficult to fathom. Eric Dier has played at Tottenham for almost a decade and has been a model professional.
When Jose Mourinho was at United, there was strong interest in Eric (DailyMail), yet he remained and never actively sought a move.
He has always maintained that his favoured position is that of a centre-back, however, when played in midfield or as an auxiliary right back – as he did on his debut, where he scored the winning goal against West Ham, (a feat, let us not forget, that has ensured that Paul Stalteri will be remembered fondly in our hearts forever), he has always been a solid, if not spectacular, performer for Tottenham throughout his time at the club.
An argument levelled against him by his detractors is that when he played well others made him look better than he is, whether in midfield with Moussa Dembele or part of the back line with the likes of Jan or Toby.
Yes, perhaps this is correct. But the same could be said of Spurs legend Michael Dawson, who alongside Ledley King looked far better than when he was paired with the slightly more erratic Younes Kaboul.
Let us not forget that at the end of Conte’s first season, he was putting in immense performances alongside Romero and forced his way back into the England squad.
Obviously, being a Premier League footballer is a unique working environment, yet I am sure enough of us have been employed in situations where you have faced negativity and been put down.
How did it impact on your performance? My guess would be, like most people, you would struggle to hit your peak.
As much as I am loathe to make comparisons with ‘that lot down the road’, but there was a game last season when William Saliba scored an own goal.
The crowd’s reaction was to chant his name and cheer for him. The response from the player was obvious and we all know what kind of campaign he went on to have.
As a Tottenham supporter, I have not witnessed mass negativity towards our players since the likes of Jason Dozzell and Chris Armstrong played at the club in the 1990s.
But this season, the treatment of the likes of Dier and Davinson Sanchez has left a sour taste in my mouth. This is not the club I love. We should get behind our players in the ground and online.
If a player underperforms, or could do better, then, without doubt, fans should be able to articulate their frustration, whilst framing it in a way that doesn’t lean towards the malicious.
Berating players and humiliating them is quite frankly disgusting and in all probability counter-productive. Everyone, fans and players alike, want to see the club succeed.
It seems fitting in a way, that today Dele (one of Eric’s best friends in football) has opened up to Gary Neville (Overlap Podcast), in a most thought-provoking and emotional interview.
Indeed, he went as far as to name Eric as being a positive influence and having his best interests at heart – something Dele showed real gratitude for.
Having scrolled through Twitter since, it appears that a lot of people are feeling guilt, regret and a good deal of contrition about how Dele has been lampooned and vilified over the past years.
However, these feelings cannot just be a ‘flash in the pan’ – this needs to be a line in the sand. We need to consider how we treat our players.
Players that, in the main, want to do their best. They play football in a high-octane, high-pressure environment. If Eric Dier ends up staying, then I trust in Ange as to what role he plays in the squad.
However, if he does leave the club, I would like to thank him for the loyalty, the dedication and the professionalism he showed whilst playing at our great club and wish him all the best in the future. My hope is that others will too.
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