Ange Postecoglou gets it wrong as Emerson Royal starts for Tottenham v Crystal Palace
Ange Postecoglou could live to regret his decision to start Emerson Royal against Crystal Palace after the right-back’s display against Wolves last time out.
Spurs will welcome their South London rivals to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a big Premier League clash on Saturday 2 March.
Postecoglou and his players will be keen to get back to winning ways after they suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Gary O’Neil’s Wolves last time out (17 February).
They have had two weeks to prepare for their clash with the Eagles and will be fully focussed on the task at hand, although during those two weeks, a lot has changed at Selhurst Park.
After Roy Hodgson left his post as Palace boss (Crystal Palace Official Website, 19 February), Oliver Glasner was named as the club’s new manager and made a winning start to life in England with a 3-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday 24 February.
Palace will therefore arrive in North London full of confidence, boosted by the return of Eberechi Eze, while Spurs’ injury woes continue.
The hosts will be without both Richarlison and Pedro Porro, which has left Postecoglou with little choice but to name Emerson in Spurs’ confirmed starting lineup which was shared via the club’s official X account (2 March).
Emerson Royal must improve against Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
While Postecoglou was certainly left with few options due to Porro’s absence, Emeron’s most recent performance will have some supporters believing that the Australian should have done whatever he could to leave the 25-year-old out, even if that meant a formation change.
Emerson suffered a difficult afternoon against Wolves as he looked to replicate the inverted full-back role which Porro has made look so easy at times this season with his effortless displays.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about Emerson’s attempts.
While he had his moments both defensively and offensively, his overall performance still left a lot to be desired.
As per Sofascore, he did make three interceptions and four tackles, but he was also dribbled past once and won just 10 of the 16 ground duels which he contested.
In possession, he completed 93 per cent of his passes, but a lack of quality let him down in the moments that mattered.
He completed zero key passes while zero per cent of both his crosses into the box and long balls forward were accurate.
Finally, he gave possession away 13 times in a performance which wasn’t necessarily a nightmare display, but a big drop-off in quality from the levels which Porro provides.
Hopefully, for Postecoglou, Emerson can get closer to matching those levels against Glasner’s Palace.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs could already have their understudy for Destiny Udogie lined up after a contract decision made yesterday.
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