Goodbye to Eric Dier, and goodbye to something less tangible at Tottenham. These days, farewells in N17 are rarely sentimental. Mauricio Pochettino wrote his on a whiteboard. One-time heroes leave with a whimper, out the back door, long established relationships ending with a fizzle rather than fanfare. So Dier departs for Bayern Munich, one of the last of the greats of Spurs’ greatest modern era. Isn’t it a pity it had to end like this?
Dier the man has always felt uncomplicated, an appealing level-headed picture of steadiness and loyalty. The player will be a difficult one to explain to the grandkids. The only man in history to score the winning penalty in a tournament shootout for England. A Champions League finalist who, with the rest of his team-mates, embarked on a downward trajectory never to be recovered after that famous night in Madrid.
Despite a decade of service, Dier is not alone in being quickly and quietly forgotten. There were no testimonials for Hugo Lloris or Danny Rose either, just matchday squad exiles and rumours until they finally – inevitably – went their separate ways.
It was Dier who scored the first goal of Pochettino’s reign, on debut away at West Ham in a summer of infinite possibility in 2014. He played under six managers, making 365 appearances, just shy of Danny Blanchflower and Glenn Hoddle. That is the only yardstick by which Dier will draw those comparisons, but constancy is such a rare commodity that it deserves to be acknowledged.
It is impossible not to feel Dier was a victim of the chaos at Spurs over the past 10 years. Pochettino used to ask his players to draw their names on a chart, with boxes covering “good”, “very good”, “excellent”, “world-class”.
Dier never claimed to place himself in the last category and moving the dial was the great challenge of his Tottenham career. Instead, the wheel of fortune tipped anti-clockwise, his form collapsing and a series of hip and muscle injuries derailing his progress.
At his peak, he was not just reliable, but a brilliant alternative to Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama as a No 6. Both felt invincible, but they were not, and Spurs’ title challenges – including in their unbeaten final season at White Hart Lane – could not have happened without Dier. He was, instinctively, a ball-player, and so it followed he would be an artful centre-back rather than a battering ram.
There was too little opportunity for him to excel in that role under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Indeed a handful of his ex-colleagues – Harry Winks among them – might wistfully look back at the sliding doors moments that for better or worse, shaped their time in north London.
These were the luxury midfielders who thrived in the fast pace of a flowing midfield, but did not possess the creativity to make it flow themselves. Dier, a Portuguese speaker signed from Sporting Lisbon, where he had spent most of his childhood, hoped Mourinho might be the making of him.
It did not work out that way. Dier then played under two caretaker managers (Ryan Mason and Cristian Stellini), was part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s three-month reign, and remained at the club through the worst of its 2019-2023 identity crisis.
His versatility too, may well have contributed to his downfall. By 2020, he voiced his desire to play as a centre-half going forward, suggesting he had needed to be “politically correct” on his preferred position under Pochettino. But Dier was a muck-in-er and Bayern, with a deal costing just €4m (£3.4m) and the seal of approval from Agent Harry Kane, have stumbled upon something valuable.
Having been snubbed by Radu Dragusin, who opted instead for Spurs, and instead signing the man he is replacing, Bayern have undeniably got the sore end of a deal.
Thomas Tuchel is pragmatic, however, about what Dier can bring. “He is more or less a specialist in the central defensive role. He’s played as a holding midfielder in the past. He can play as part of a back four and three at the back – we can free up Leon Goretzka in midfield, so he doesn’t have to switch between playing as a No 8 and being deeper”. A medical will be completed in Munich on Thursday.
Like all modern Spurs cult figures, he will be remembered only in part for his abilities. Their legacies are entwined as much with what did not happen as what did. That Champions League final was lost, as were two League Cup finals and two FA Cup semi-finals.
Dier’s fall has at least escaped the scrutiny of his best friend’s, Dele Alli, because the highs never felt quite so unimpeachable. The standing up of attackers, the sliding interceptions never the gave the heady thrill of Dele’s goals and tricks.
Still, it was Dier who went on to become the club’s second longest-serving player. The handshakes and dances were long gone, the camaraderie with Dele appearing to wane as the vibes shifted throughout the club and the mood soured.
Some will remember Dier for his errors. Throughout his time at Tottenham, he made seven leading to goals in the Premier League – even Virgil van Dijk has made five. No defender can be measured in isolation by their weakest moments. He also helped save the life of a fan in the crowd at Newcastle with his quick thinking, ran off to the loo in the middle of a match, and jumped into the crowd to pick a fight with a supporter who had insulted his family. Dier’s was a wild ride indeed.
Yet it was undoubtedly time to move on. Rejecting the overtures of Saudi Arabia in the summer, Bayern’s was the best possible deal for all parties. Asked recently if he could afford to lose Dier given the ongoing injury crisis in defence, Ange Postecoglou replied bluntly: “Yes.” Dier was already under no illusions. It is credit to Postecoglou that nobody is clinging to the era of old any longer.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/fXPwTzi
Post a Comment