Christian Eriksen had a fantastic first half of the 2014/15 Premier League season, showing critics that we was worth a lot more than the mere £11 million paid for the young Dane back in 2013. However, in the second half of the season, the Danish Player of the Year did not hit the heights seen earlier that season, which coincided with a dip in Tottenham Hotspur’s form. In this article I will be trying to work out why this altered form occurred, and how it can be prevented next season.
The Two Halves of Christian Eriksen’s Season
Tottenham played a total of 58 games in all competitions in the 2014/15 season, so the first half of the season will represent the first 29 games and the second half will represent the following 29.
|
Goals |
Assists |
Average Game Time |
Average Minutes per Goal/Assist |
|
| First Half | 6 | 4 | 53 mins | 154 mins |
| Second Half | 6 | 1 | 77 mins | 319 mins |
So, Why the Dip in Form?
Training?
At the beginning of the season, Christian explained how intense and hard Mauricio Pochettino had the squad working; he was quoted saying “It’s been a pretty hard pre-season. There have been double sessions two times a week when we’re training at 10 o’clock and then again at four, so it’s a long day. Mentally as well it’s pretty hard”. May Mauricio’s intensive training have caught up with the Danish star, causing his form to dip?
Games played?
Tottenham played a total of 58 games in all competitions in the 2014/15 season, with Christian Eriksen featuring in 48. This will have been a tough season physically for the 23-year-old, featuring in 12 more games than last season. The two-time Danish Player of the Year award winner completed the full 90 minutes in 36 of the 48 games, being subbed on twice and off 10 times. However, more often than not. this was in the latter stages of games with Eriksen rested for the remaining few minutes. This increase in game time no doubt took its toll in the second half of the season, with Christian struggling to recreate the form he had managed in the earlier stages.
Squad dip?
Although Eriksen’s assist figures dropped significantly from four to one in the second half of the season, his tally remained the same, at six goals; this may point towards Eriksen still performing at the same level, however, the players who were previously taking the chances he created had now stopped taking them. This may be due to a dip in the whole group’s performances, which can be seen in the second half of the season, where only 13 games out of 29 were won, compared to 16 in the first half.
Home vs. Away?
It is evident to see that Christian Eriksen prefers playing away from home to at home, with only three home goals all season, two goals coming in the first half of the season and one in the second. Whereas, away from home, he’s scored nine goals all season with four in the first half and five in the second half of the season. This may be due to the way in which teams set up to defend when coming to White Hart Lane, which doesn’t suit the attacking midfielder, who likes to operate in the space between the opposition’s midfield and defence, which is often hard to come by when at home against a team who is sitting back.
Next Season
Next season, I expect Christian Eriksen to push on and, not only maintain his double figure goal tally from last season, but also reach double figures in terms of assists, as he becomes more accustomed to Pochettino’s high intensive, double training sessions during pre-season. This will then enable him to remain entirely fit for the full 90 minutes of all 50 odd games encountered next season. This, and the arrival of new teammates in the summer, will hopefully help the Tottenham Hotspur 2013/14 Player of the Year, carry on the form we saw in the first half of the season into next season, and help the side push for its Champions League objective.
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