BIG BOTHER
Tottenham star feared for the safety of his younger brother ..and admits he must accept ban
ERIC DIER leapt into the Tottenham stands because he feared for the safety of his younger brother.
The Spurs and England star said he had no choice but to step in – and is ready to accept whatever punishment comes his way.
Dier jumped into the stands minutes after Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat by Norwich on Wednesday, climbing over 10 rows of seats to come to the aid of his brother Patrick, 22, who had challenged a supporter for aiming “vitriolic abuse” at Dier during the game. Footage then shows Dier being restrained by stewards before being led away. The FA yesterday
TO lose one England star for off-field misconduct is unfortunate. To lose two begins to look like carelessness for Tottenham Hotspur.
Bans for Dele Alli and Eric Dier would highlight how it has taken only nine months to go from the Champions League final with Mauricio Pochettino, to a club in crisis under Jose Mourinho.
And how their luck and highenergy momentum in the last campaign has run out – perhaps along with an era.
The only upside to Dier’s diversion into the lower West Stand on Wednesday night was that the headline-grabbing incident overshadowed a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
Losing at home in the FA Cup to the Premier League’s bottom club ended their last realistic chance of silverware in this troubled season.
And Mourinho claimed after the penalties loss to Norwich that his long injury list will now force him to prioritise between the league and the Champions League in his next two matches.
He has worked slowly to change the culture at a club of traditional underachievers, the decline having started before Pochettino was sacked after only five wins in their first 17 games.
Serial-winner Mourinho was brought in to make the final step from challenging to winning. But instead it has all gone Spursy again very quickly.
The serious injuries to talismen Harry Kane and Heungmin Son have undoubtedly been massive blows.
The influential Christian Eriksen was offloaded in January before his contract expired, while Dier could now join Alli
(right) – who is facing an FA charge for his social media post mocking coronavirus victims – in getting banned for a lack of off-field discipline. Alli is planning to appeal the charge.
But there are also problems on the pitch. Mourinho teams are traditionally built on defensive solidity. In his first season at Chelsea in 2004/05 his Blues side conceded just 15 Premier League goals.
But the Portuguese manager has seen Spurs keep only two clean sheets in 13 home games since he took over in November.
Toby Alderweireld, who signed a new deal in January, was again left out against Norwich, with Jan Vertonghen deployed at leftback. “We had chances to kill the game but we didn’t,” said captain Vertonghen (with Troy Parrott, right). It’s a fact that we don’t keep enough clean sheets, that we concede too many goals.
“It’s not just now, the last week, it’s since the start of the season. Even more than a year ago we started to concede too many goals. It’s a problem we need to solve.”
Mourinho, who has criticised the displays of record summer signing Tanguy Ndombele, also took a shot at Spurs fans this week over calls to play teenage Republic of Ireland striker Troy Parrott. But the Parrott issue is symbolic for Spurs fans raised on those glory days who want to see a proper centre-forward. And they retain their suspicions about Mourinho’s reputation for negative football.
And not replacing Fernando Llorente in the summer or January transfer windows has been another mistake.
Mourinho showed his experience in handling tricky situations by simultaneously admonishing and supporting Dier. Now he must manage his injury-ravaged squad with equal skill against Burnley tomorrow and RB Leipzig next week – and win over the dubious Spurs supporters.
“I am really sad for the players and the fans, but I am thinking about what happens next and I am worried about playing in two days,” said Mourinho after the Cup exit.
“I have to think about a Saturday match and a Tuesday match and try to decide which one is the priority and which one is the one where I can give some of my boys under fatigue the best possible chance.”
Vertonghen added:
“We have other things to play for. We still have the top four or five, and we still have everything to play for in the Champions League.
‘‘We feel that we can turn it around.”
DIER MAY HAVE DONE GAME A FAVOUR – ANDY DUNN PAGE 61