Tottenham have a defensive crisis on their hands right now.
With Cristian Romero suspended and Micky Van de Ven injured, Spurs only have one senior recognised centre-back available for selection at the moment in the shape of Eric Dier.
However, on Sunday, Dier didn’t even get the chance as Ange Postecoglou opted to use Emerson Royal and Ben Davies – two full-backs by trade, at centre-half.
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off Podcast, Chris Sutton has been discussing Dier’s omission from the team as of late, and he says the £4m man isn’t being picked by Postecoglou because he’s quite simply too slow to play his high line.
Dier is too slow
Sutton shared his verdict on the England international.
“It’s about the bigger picture and what he believes in. Postecoglou will not changeand the reason Eric Dier isn’t playing at centre-back is because he can’t run, he doesn’t have pace. I’ve spoken about this many time, the best two players in a Postecoglou team have to be the centre-halves because they get exposed,” Sutton said.
Pace is key
It’s a really simple way to analyse football, but there’s no getting away from the fact that pace is absolutely vital if you’re going to play a high line.
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There’s a reason Liverpool have always employed speedy centre-backs under Jurgen Klopp. That recovery pace is so important if you’re going to use this risky strategy, and, sadly, Dier doesn’t have that.
Now, that isn’t to say that Dier is a bad player, not by a long shot, but the fact of the matter is that he’s not got the necessary speed to play in such a way.
Sometimes you just don’t have the attributes needed to play in a certain system, and while Dier can be useful in certain situations, he won’t be the first name in Ange Postecoglou’s backline anytime soon.