Former England manager Sam Allardyce has stated his belief that Eric Dier is as good as Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, having outperformed him in last night's match.
Dier was part of the England side that defeated Spain 3-2 in Seville, putting in a commendable performance in a holding midfield role. Speaking on TalkSport this morning, Allardyce said that the Spurs man is just as good in that position as his Spanish counterpart.
Busquets is no better or worse than Eric Dier for me.
Busquets is a sitting midfield player that breaks it up, intercepts and passes it very simply, and is intelligent. That's what he is. He's not much more than that, but gets a huge amount of praise for it. Where as Eric Dier does a similar job but sometimes gets a lot of criticism for it.
I'm only saying he has got the capabilities of being that. If the rest of the team is as good as the Spanish have been with Busquets, and Busquets has been a great player for Barcelona, don't get me wrong.
He's very effective, and he's the first pick for every manager because he plays such a simple game, and because he plays such a simple game he's great for the team.
But we laud him as a genius, but with our own we don't. We criticised and that's all I'm saying. Eric Dier was far better than Busquets last night!
"Busquets is no better than Dier...
...Dier does a similar job to Busquets but he gets a lot of criticism for it!"
Sam Allardyce believes #THFC's @EricDier is as good as Barca's Busquets but doesn't get the same credit! 👀
📻 Take a listen & give us your thoughts! ↓ pic.twitter.com/WOhINsq4og— talkSPORT Breakfast (@TSBreakfast) October 16, 2018
Yes you heard it right, Eric Dier is just as good as 110 cap Spain international Sergio Busquets. The same Busquets who has won 31 major honours, including seven La Ligas, three Champions Leagues, and a World Cup. All of which were won as a member of the starting team by the way.
Then you have Dier, a player who has never won a trophy and is not a guaranteed starter for either Tottenham or England. It is true he has been maligned by both the media and footballing fans at times, and in some cases you could argue the criticism has been overblown.
But to suggest his impact is the same as that of the Barcelona man defies any sort of logic. Yes they play in a similar position, but the simplified breakdown Allardyce gave of Busquet's impact is ludicrous. If it were really that simple, any player could do it.
The Spaniard has been a vital cog in the Barcelona team for a decade, and has been one of the first names on the team sheet under multiple managers. In order for him to thrive at one of the wealthiest clubs in the world, he obviously does more than Allardyce gives him credit for.
Allardyce definitely has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to Englishmen being overlooked in the world of football, famously uttering that he would be a top four boss if his name was 'Sam Allardici'. To be fair, he is the only England manager in history with a 100% winning record.
