No trouble with Troy says Walter
WALTER MAZZARRI has resolved his differences with Watford skipper Troy Deeney after clear-the-air talks.
The pair clashed after Deeney was dropped for the 4-0 defeat at Tottenham last Saturday.
Boss Mazzarri says there is no issue now with Deeney, below, set to start against Swansea today, but warned he will retain the final decision on team selection.
“There was no problem at all,” said Mazzarri. “I spoke to him, everything is perfect.
“As a manager I have a clear relationship with all my players.
“It’s based on mutual respect and the best for the team. He is loved by the fans. But no player or individual will be above me.”
Paul Clement says his players can handle the pressure of a relegation dogfight with Swansea two points adrift of safety.
Clement wants his experienced stars like Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson to help lead the way, saying: “We’ve a whole wide range of different players that have had different experiences.” CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN is nicknamed ‘Golazo’ by Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham team-mates because of his ability to net a wonder strike.
‘Golazo’ is the term used the Spanish-speaking world describe an amazing finish.
Eriksen scored a cracker from outside the box in the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in November and did pretty much the same against Southampton last month.
But the Dane may as well be known as Mr Happy because he is also one of the lowest-maintenance high performers in the league.
No one has created more chances this season than Eriksen, who is thriving alongside Dele Alli in a 3-4-2-1 formation spearheaded by the fit-again Harry Kane.
He is also joint top of the assists alongside Kevin De Bruyne, as well as having contributed 11 goals to the cause. He will be hoping for more in today’s home game with Bournemouth.
“He is so special,” said Spurs manager Pochettino. “We call him Golazo because he is capable of scoring unbelievable goals. It is true he is so quiet, so calm. He is a very relaxed person but he loves by to football. He is a player who does not need too much feedback from the fans, the media, the people outside.
“He always has a smile, he is a happy person and I like him a lot because he does not need to be recognised. He needs only to feel the love from us inside the club.”
Pochettino and his coaches thought long and hard about coming up with a system to get the best out of Kane, Alli and Eriksen.
Tottenham’s position in second place in the table, seven points behind leaders Chelsea but keeping the pressure steadily on, is proof that it works.
“That is what it means to be flexible, because if you have two players like Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, who both can play in the pocket, in behind the No 9, you must create a system that can fit them both,” said Pochettino.
“You can see Dele or Eriksen with a No 9, how they use the pockets and how we create many different things to try to swap the position, play on the right or left, drop sometimes to build from the back when teams play deeper.
“We try to play now with two No10s facing the opponents’ goal,