Christian Eriksen

[Fapuccino]

That's his job. Avoid risk, cycle, find another lanes to penetrate the midfield. That has been our style since I don't know when. Eriksen is better at that than Gagliardini, that's why he's starter.

Why we are cycling so much in the back is because there isn't too much movement these days up front.

Basic stuff looks basic until you have someone who's incompetent doing it. Then you see it's not as easy it looks.

I'd rather take a quality player being played somewhat out of his position/role, then a mediocre player in his position.

 

[Universe]

I think it's pretty clear what's going on here. Conte has completely broken down the player into a glorified grunt. He's not authorized to be creative, demonstrate flair, or even try and penetrate the defense. Eriksen has two jobs in the system: drop back towards the CBs to serve as an outlet when the team is being pressed, and to distribute the ball to the wingbacks using lateral passes.

It was only a couple months ago that Eriksen was completely humilated by Conte as a 93rd minute sub. There was a purpose behind that. He's neutered Eriksen as a player into being what he wants. Eriksen is petrified that any passes, movement, or decisions that don't conform with Conte's ideals will lead to him being benched again. Think about midweek against Spezia. He instructed Eriksen to spend all match dropping deep to help build from the back. He then subbed off Eriksen for Sanchez, who he deployed as a playmaker behind the strikers

The end result is we're absolutely wasting money. We could task a cheaper player to perform these routine functions at a higher level. It makes no sense to keep him under the current conditions, but no one is going to pay us money to inherit this large salary. The end result is square peg, round hole for the indefinite future.

Brilliant post. Exactly this. And yet we have people like rfU failing to realise this and coming in here 5 minutes after every game to say "shit game".

 

[Candreva Crosses]

Brilliant post. Exactly this. And yet we have people like rfU failing to realise this and coming in here 5 minutes after every game to say "shit game".

He aint wrong though, it is a shit game since rfU has expectation of him playing like Kaka without having the freedom to do it. It is stupid though to expect him to do it since he is limited by Conte.

 

[NimAraya]

Brilliant post. Exactly this. And yet we have people like rfU failing to realise this and coming in here 5 minutes after every game to say "shit game".

Well, considering the quality of Inter performances specially in these past weeks, he's not entirely wrong. He's just wrong though to actively saying that in the Eriksen thread solely. Conte, Lukaku, Handanovic, Perisic and many other threads also deserve a visit.

 

[CafeCordoba]

Basic stuff looks basic until you have someone who's incompetent doing it. Then you see it's not as easy it looks.

I'd rather take a quality player being played somewhat out of his position/role, then a mediocre player in his position.

Exactly. It's basic stuff for Eriksen. Gagliardini is unable to do that kind of job, like he has no business AT ALL playing like Eriksen in Eriksen's current role.

I don't agree 100% of the latter paragraph but in this case (Eriksen <-> Gagliardini) I do, because we simply play better with Eriksen in his different role than how Gagliardini would play in his.

 

[rfU]

Basic stuff looks basic until you have someone who's incompetent doing it. Then you see it's not as easy it looks.

I'd rather take a quality player being played somewhat out of his position/role, then a mediocre player in his position.

Agreed but we're not paying Eriksen to do basic stuff. He's being paid to be our creative outlet in midfield, unlock stubborn defenses and provide goals/assists. As of yet he's not providing any of that. And for the umpteenth time Eriksen is not being played out of position:

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/10/06/christian-eriksens-contribution-as-a-deep-lying-play-maker-sugge/

With his 200IQ and passing ability he's well suited and should prefer this quarterback role. It gives him a vantage point to see everything in front of him and he can influence and pick effective passes without being pressured. With Hakimi and Perishit running tirelessly either side of him and the towering Kaku as a target, Eriksen should be thriving

Brilliant post. Exactly this. And yet we have people like rfU failing to realise this and coming in here 5 minutes after every game to say "shit game".

You're confusing me with someone else mate. I usually come on here to comment when Eriksen has had an average game but I read things like "he was our best midfielder", "it's conte's fault", "he was tired", "it's a new role", "he needs more time", "Brozovic", etc. It's nonsensical to me. At what point does Eriksen became accountable for his own performances?

He aint wrong though, it is a shit game since rfU has expectation of him playing like Kaka without having the freedom to do it. It is stupid though to expect him to do it since he is limited by Conte.

Modern football mate. Can you name a single midfielder who has as much freedom as Kaka in today's game? I guess you guys envision some sort of midfielders utopia where you can just run around passing the ball, but even world class De Bruyne doesn't get to do that.

Conte, Lukaku, Handanovic, Perisic and many other threads also deserve a visit.

All the aforementioned already get bashed adequately enough, no reason for me to chime in. Eriksen on the otherhand has some kind of immunity from criticism for some reason. No single critique, just praise after praise for mediocrity or deferring blame to someone else, namely Conte. But it's never ever Eriksens fault.

 

[Harpsabu]

Agreed but we're not paying Eriksen to do basic stuff. He's being paid to be our creative outlet in midfield, unlock stubborn defenses and provide goals/assists. As of yet he's not providing any of that. And for the umpteenth time Eriksen is not being played out of position:

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/10/06/christian-eriksens-contribution-as-a-deep-lying-play-maker-sugge/

With his 200IQ and passing ability he's well suited and should prefer this quarterback role. It gives him a vantage point to see everything in front of him and he can influence and pick effective passes without being pressured. With Hakimi and Perishit running tirelessly either side of him and the towering Kaku as a target, Eriksen should be thriving



You're confusing me with someone else mate. I usually come on here to comment when Eriksen has had an average game but I read things like "he was our best midfielder", "it's conte's fault", "he was tired", "it's a new role", "he needs more time", "Brozovic", etc. It's nonsensical to me. At what point does Eriksen became accountable for his own performances?

Modern football mate. Can you name a single midfielder who has as much freedom as Kaka in today's game? I guess you guys envision some sort of midfielders utopia where you can just run around passing the ball, but even world class De Bruyne doesn't get to do that.

All the aforementioned already get bashed adequately enough, no reason for me to chime in. Eriksen on the otherhand has some kind of immunity from criticism for some reason. No single critique, just praise after praise for mediocrity or deferring blame to someone else, namely Conte. But it's never ever Eriksens fault.

Agreed. I'm baffled. He's immune to criticism here for some reason. Spurs fans said he'd been in decline for 18 months before he left for us.
A few weeks ago when he started performing better people were going mad saying conte was playing him on his wrong position before and he should have played him in this role from the beginning. Now we are back to it being the wrong position for eriksen again. I don't understand why people like eriksen better than a coach who is going to bring us out first scudetto in 11 years. (not like its a competition between them, but I suspect many would lose conte to get a manager to play eriksen in a more focal role)

 

[varmin]

Eriksen is a shell of his former self and most people just refuse to realize it. They think that if we change the coach, the system or his teammates, he suddenly will turn to top player. The hope dies last, I guess.

 

[rfU]

Agreed. I'm baffled. He's immune to criticism here for some reason. Spurs fans said he'd been in decline for 18 months before he left for us.

Exactly. Subpar for 18 months and Conte is supposed to give Eriksen a carte blanche role in midfield

Should've gone to City if he didn't want to have to tackle.

 

[Harpsabu]

Exactly. Subpar for 18 months and Conte is supposed to give Eriksen a carte blanche role in midfield

Should've gone to City if he didn't want to have to tackle.

Had also seen more of the bench under poch and was benched by mourinho (who many wanted us to hire at the start of the year) so it's all a bit confusing for me why he gets free reign. Lukaku wages are constantly thrown up about how those could be better allocated for a player with such a large output, but for eriksen, it's not his fault.

 

[_OC_]

Exactly. Subpar for 18 months and Conte is supposed to give Eriksen a carte blanche role in midfield

Well, no, but that's the thing you can't seem to quite to grasp no matter how many times it's explained to you; the reason he's now starting games is exactly because he's not waddling around in a carte blanche role in midfield, but rather is playing like the coach instructs him to.

Contrarily, it's also part of if not the primary reason why he's not giving the output in terms of assists and goals or offensive fire-power you're requesting. If he tries to just break free from his role and wanders upfield, he's hurled off the field in an instant like in Cagliari and in Genova against Genoa, and will go back to getting humiliating five minute cameos at the behest of Conte. He also puts himself above the good of the team, circumventing a role that has worked very well and has earned him a guaranteed starting birth. Conte doesn't want him to do anything but what he's doing.
It's like stubbornly critizicing and pointing fingers at Perisic for not playing like a winger - well, duh, he's not playing as a winger, but why do you think that is?

Complaining about a apparent lack of effort and intensity when you have Sensi the stickman and Gagliardini the donkey who almost always wanders out of position no matter what position the team finds itself in as the two main alternatives is hilarious to me.

No, he's not playing the sort of football you'd expect form someone of his repetoire and wages, and he hasn't had the grandiose impact one could've hoped for, but most importantly he's more than fulfilling the role that's given to him.

 

[rfU]

Well, no, but that's the thing you can't seem to quite to grasp no matter how many times it's explained to you

My reading comprehension isn't all that bad actually

the reason he's now starting games is exactly because he's not waddling around in a carte blanche role in midfield, but rather is playing like the coach instructs him to.

But the majority of Eriksen fans want Conte to give him that free role. My argument is that it makes no sense to do so given that Eriksen's form has been poor since 2019.

Contrarily, it's also part of if not the primary reason why he's not giving the output in terms of assists and goals or offensive fire-power you're requesting.

I think that's what many of you fail to understand... assists/goals and tackling/balling winning are not mutually exclusive. You can do both. Only players the caliber of Messi and CR7 get a free role. Everyone else has to work their ass off, pressing and winning the ball back. Even Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan, Modric, Di Maria, Thiago, etc.

I don't even care about goals/assists (I regret bringing it up) what I demand from Eriksen is creative influence, drive and passion. We desperately need a creative virtuoso in midfield (see Verona game) but Eriksen won't step up. You can do that from deep (see Modric) so this is not an excuse. The problem is not Conte (see Fabregas) so that's not an excuse either.

Complaining about a apparent lack of effort and intensity when you have Sensi the stickman and Gagliardini the donkey who almost always wanders out of position no matter what position the team finds itself in as the two main alternatives is hilarious to me.

To be clear, I am not criticizing Eriksens effort. I was the first one here to post his distance covered per game stats in the Premier League. I know that he runs his ass off all game, every game. But intensity he lacks and he's simply unwilling or unable to impose himself in midfield. Again i'm not talking about goals and assists... He doesn't demand the ball, he asks for it. He doesn't create opportunities, he waits for them. He doesn't fight for the ball, he waits for someone to feed it to him.

Listen, I've been an Eriksen fan since that Dortmund game in 2013. He would be a Dortmund legend by now if it wasn't for Mhikitaryan. So don't take my words as blind hate. I genuinely want Eriksen to succeed at Inter. But given my expectations (and many others given the poll results above) he's failing.

 

[CafeCordoba]

The problem for Eriksen is definitely not Conte since Conte has been using Eriksen as a starter for the past, what 3 months.

Eriksen has no problems. But some fans seem to have problems with Eriksen. Conte doesn't have those problems. Eriksen isn't failing at Inter in the role he's tasked to fulfill at the moment. As for the management-perspective, he might be failing because of the allocation of resources (=big salary, output is not up to par to the resources spent). But on the pitch, he isn't failing. He is playing, we are winning. He's the best option in the squad for that role Conte wants to have on the pitch (or more like Conte wants that specific role to the pitch Eriksen can fulfill).

There are two separate discussions/arguments over Eriksen. Tbh I expect changes in the summer regarding all that but let's see. The

 

[Il Drago]

The problem for Eriksen is definitely not Conte since Conte has been using Eriksen as a starter for the past, what 3 months.

Eriksen has no problems. But some fans seem to have problems with Eriksen. Conte doesn't have those problems. Eriksen isn't failing at Inter in the role he's tasked to fulfill at the moment. As for the management-perspective, he might be failing because of the allocation of resources (=big salary, output is not up to par to the resources spent). But on the pitch, he isn't failing. He is playing, we are winning. He's the best option in the squad for that role Conte wants to have on the pitch (or more like Conte wants that specific role to the pitch Eriksen can fulfill).

There are two separate discussions/arguments over Eriksen. Tbh I expect changes in the summer regarding all that but let's see. The

I certainly agree with your comment about Eriksen and Conte but i partly agree about the resources allocation thing. Eriksen doesn't currently offer as much as we would expect from someone with his salary and the same can be argued about Alexis and Vidal. I just find it funny when people complain our budget allocation isn't optimal when we still own Nainggolan, Dalbert, Joao Mario, Lazaro, Vecino, Gagliardini. Get rid of those first and then we can talk about Eriksen, Sanchez and Vidal, 3 players who have important roles in the squad.

 

[CafeCordoba]

I certainly agree with your comment about Eriksen and Conte but i partly agree about the resources allocation thing. Eriksen doesn't currently offer as much as we would expect from someone with his salary and the same can be argued about Alexis and Vidal. I just find it funny when people complain our budget allocation isn't optimal when we still own Nainggolan, Dalbert, Joao Mario, Lazaro, Vecino, Gagliardini. Get rid of those first and then we can talk about Eriksen, Sanchez and Vidal, 3 players who have important roles in the squad.

That's a different discussion altogether, as they are not even part of team (Nainggolan, Dalbert, JM, Lazaro). Gagliardini is very cheap while Vecino is indeed going out aswell. So we cannot take players to that resource-allocation discussion since those guys are already out (of the project). Management just haven't been able to get rid of them for good. It's the same money but not the same money. That money spent on unwanted players is going to them anyway (tried to offload them, wasn't possible). While players in the squad are the ones management focuses do they bring enough to the table to justify their annual costs.

 

[Universe]

MOD FIGHT

Also:

There are two separate discussions/arguments over Eriksen. Tbh I expect changes in the summer regarding all that but let's see. The

..the what? Fucken leave me hanging like this.

 

[CafeCordoba]

Sorry, I have no idea what I was about to write. Probably something stupid.

But not a fight! I kind of understand Il Drago's point of view but I feel it's a bit different thing, as I said, the same money but still different money.

 

[brehme1989]

We came to see a fight. Don't chicken out on us.

 

[Il Drago]

We came to see a fight. Don't chicken out on us.

 

[Bluenine]

I fully agree with Fapuccino, this post articulated what I was trying to say much better than I could:

Basic stuff looks basic until you have someone who's incompetent doing it. Then you see it's not as easy it looks.

Eriksen is not a grunt in Conte's Inter. While he is positioned as a mezzala, he plays more like a regista. Eriksen pretty much directs our play. It may look like basic work, but thats coz of Eriksen's ability.

It may not be the role we signed him for, but I wouldn't say he is being wasted here. Far from it. He is performing a key role in the team now, and he is looking more and more comfortable in it.