Johnny Giles; one of the finest players this country has ever produced, long time RTE analyst and column writer for various publications, known hater of Eric Dier.
In what has now grown into something bordering in the territory of 'strange obsession', Giles took aim at the Spurs midfielder in his column for The Herald [via Independent.ie] as he pointed out the failings of Mauricio Pochettino's side against Chelsea last weekend.
But before we address Giles' point this time, let's look back on what he's said about Dier in the past.
In October of last year, while everyone was talking about Wayne Rooney being dropped by Man Utd and England, Giles suggested that Rooney would still offer more than Dier if he was 'at half pace and with one leg in a wellington boot':
For a start, Rooney at half pace and with one leg in a wellington boot is a better midfield option than Eric Dier.
Then in May, he elaborated on why he didn't like Dier, seemingly because he was a defender playing in midfield and thus couldn't play the sublime passes we all know Giles was majorly fond of from his playing days:
I’ve watched Eric Dier for Spurs over the last few weeks do almost nothing of any consequence as a holding midfielder and I find it baffling that Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t see that too.
He would probably be appalled by my assessment of a player he seems to value highly but seriously, Dier is a defender playing in front of two other defenders. He’s no midfielder.
Now Giles' has singled Dier out for criticism again along with teammate Victor Wanyama, claiming that both were 'exposed' by the side of the Wembley pitch.
I thought it was very telling how Spurs struggled with the possession they had against Chelsea, given room to play and would point firmly at the change from the tight confines of White Hart Lane to their temporary new home as the reason.
The bigger pitch exposes players like Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama who simply cannot do anything positive when they get on the ball.
At White Hart Lane they could get away with that but at Wembley, with players like N’Golo Kante and Willian facing him, Wanyama didn’t know what to do except pass the ball back or sideways and usually to Dier.
The quotes back in May upset a lot of Spurs fans who saw first hand the value Dier brought to their side, so the latest ones are unlikely to go down well either.
Many of them argued then, and will do now, that Dier and Wanyama are in the team to win the ball back and provide it to the likes of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, which both do a good job of, but Giles has made it clear in the past that he wants his midfielders to both defend or attack, rather than one or the other.
