Kevin Campbell is full of praise for Emerson Royal for his performances at Tottenham this season.
The Brazilian joined the Lilywhites from Barcelona in the summer as the Lilywhites looked for a better full-back.
He came as an upgrade to both Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier, but Spurs struggled under Nuno Espirito Santo.
It’s easy not to notice the fine defensive performances he has been delivering at the club this season.
However, the Premier League recently revealed only Everton’s Allan (35) has made more tackles than Emerson (34) this season.
This stat may surprise some fans, but former Arsenal man, Campbell says it just confirms the Brazilian has been in excellent form since he joined Spurs.
“I think his performances are going under the radar a little bit,” he told Football Insider.
“I’ve been watching him since he was at Betis and he is a really good player. He has a lot to offer.
“It has taken him a little while to settle. But, ooh I must say, that tackle stat just goes to show that he is adapting.
“It’s remarkable for the amount of games he’s played. It shows that he is physical, sticks a foot in and can get up and down.
“He has gone under the radar a little bit. He is a top player and I think he will prove that at Spurs.”
The Boy Hotspur Says
Emerson will become one of our most important players now that Antonio Conte is his gaffer.
The Italian sets his team up to make good use of its wing-backs and Emerson will be given more attacking responsibilities.
His performance so far suggests he will thrive in that role. The competition for a starting berth with Doherty should also push him to continue to raise his game.
Did he though? Aurier wasn’t as bad as Davies, but still crossing wasn’t his forte.. It baffles me because amateurs can cross the ball. It’s not difficult is it.. It takes two to tango as well.. The crosser needs players in the box attacking the ball. Until Conte arrived players weren’t busting a gut to get in there. Just Kane was there with his head turned.. This will change now in no time.. We will attack in numbers as well as defend in numbers.
Emerson assisted a nice cross for Lucas to head against Burnley to take us in to the quarters.
Kane, Moura, and Dier have created 3 big chances. Ranked from 22-36 in the prem.. Most of our players are on 0 like Emerson. More glaring is the 4 big chances missed by Son and Kane.. Trent is the second best passer in the whole league at the moment so none of our players are close to his range and standard. Emerson will be fine mate he can defend, he’s strong, he’s confident, he can read the game and looks to drive forward, he’s a fighter with the right mentality. He’s only just unpacked his suitcase, is still learning the language, and he’s already first choice in the toughest league in the world.. Walker at his age we were loaning to Villa.. Give the lad time, he’s only going to get better.
I agree. Haven’t seen much to get excited about but he’s still settling so hopefully he comes good.
Kyle Walker use to race up and down the right flank, produce little or nothing by way of crossing the ball in the box. i watch him for 5 years and I cannot remember him crossing the ball at waist height. He was out of position more often than not chasing to recover taking bad angles to the goal. Pep change that, he plays behind the ball now and overlap on accassions, and being an outlet for Edison which happens to be the fundamental way of using wingbacks to assist the attack. I do agree modern day football calls for it, but the reality are the players that support the attack rather than be the attack fair better at the defensive end. You mention Trent AA, he does no go deep on his own, so as much as he is not a good defender his recovery time are much shorter since a winger in Salah is a head of him and he cannot go crowd his space. Trent plays tactically better. He whips the ball in often times a few yards over the half line instead of going deep and hook it as we use to say in the old days. So his production comes in front the defenders not deep and behind. It is the same with Walker, Pep always have a winger in Sterling or Silva on one side and Sane of old on the other so it keep the backs tucked in. Walker these days are drifting into the middle far often than not. Klopp saw that and copied it too with Trent. The huge difference with these teams and wingbacks are the team that are successful has productive wingers. We don’t even have wingers. I would say Royal will look way better once the team is winning. He is quality just being used a hair too much going forward. You need to give him credit for coming to the league and adopting so quickly. Not too many players are able to assimilate so well in the first year. His problem is the language and you can tell by his deer in the headlight reactions to his teammates.
He doesn’t look much of an upgrade on Aurier to me, perhaps a bit less rash, but Aurier had better crossing ability. Not really of the quality we need to break into top 4. But hey he was relatively cheap which is Danny boy’s yardstick of success.
I am sort of in the middle for this.
I dont watch a lot of games now but I can recall him getting skinned in 2 different games but hopefully he can learn to stick to the attacker without getting turned it is not a good look for a FB/WB.
Lies, damn lies and statistics. Tim Krul has made the most saves in the EPL. This tells you more about the team than the keeper. I personally set my standards higher than the likes of Emerson (so God only knows why I have stuck with them so long!). If I was an opposition manager I would target Emerson, therefore most attacks would go down our right. Consequently, he’ll have to tackle more regularly increasing his tackle count. I would like to know comparable data on the number of occasions Emerson has let his runner go or got beat by the wide player. Have we already forgotten Leeds and Man Utd?
Modern day full backs have to offer an attacking option, in many ways they have to be better in this respect than defending! TAA at Liverpool is not the greatest defender to put it mildly, but the quality he possesses going forward makes him stand out. When Trent gets the ball the game opens up. I don’t see this when Emerson plays. It looks like he just wants to play square or backwards. Think about why Wan Bissaka struggles to get anywhere near the England team. He is a far better defender than most other EPL full backs but he offers very little in attack. Great when he was at Palace where the team camped on the edge of the box, but not so hot in a forward thinking team.
Emerson will only become an important member of Conte’s team when he improves in the final third. He has had plenty of opportunities to contribute this season, but hasn’t yet made the grade. I would like to know how many goal scoring opportunities he has created.
Our full backs need to help out the attack because our midfield is too defensive minded at present to help out Son and Kane. I don’t think Emerson can do this, but time will tell. He was a cheap punt at £25m and if we hadn’t signed him I doubt we would know his name.