Emerson Royal

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This can't defend rhetoric has to be agenda driven, surely? I watched the game yesterday thinking it's a shame he offers nothing going forward because he looks decent defensively. IMO he's been very solid defensively for the last 4-5 games at least.

It is not agenda driven it is based on reality. He is only capable defending when given a limited role. That doesn't make him a good defender it makes him a liability. He needs consistent help from the RW and RCB.

We don't want players that need that level of support to be average defenders, especially when they offer nothing in attack.
 
He has a weird posture. Anyone noticed? He haunches forward, both at the neck and at the waist, and he bends his arms strangely. It seems to hinder his ability to run tbh.

This is a good example


It looks like it would result in a lot of aches and pains running in those positions.
Yeah. I've been thinking this was a strange way to run for the last few months.

What is it with us and buying players with awkward running gaits?
 
It is not agenda driven it is based on reality. He is only capable defending when given a limited role. That doesn't make him a good defender it makes him a liability. He needs consistent help from the RW and RCB.

We don't want players that need that level of support to be average defenders, especially when they offer nothing in attack.
I don't know why you care what level he is given you're not a Spurs fan.
 
He's not great at 1on1's but apart from that he's decent defensively
He's had like 4 good games defensively. I've lost count of how many games Romero would clear up his mess and then Dier would give him a bollocking.

I remember many incidents where Emerson was out of frame as Romero and Dier get beaten by a winger, only for Davies to come from the opposite wing to make a last ditch block.

He was also hugely at fault for the the two identical late goals Sotuhampton scored in their 3-2 win over us.
 
.......I am not a Spurs fan because I don't overrate every player?

No..... You're not a Spurs fan because it's obvious.

Your wardrobe alone is a dead give-away:

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I can't help it, but I think that there's something very lovable about him. I know we can probably upgrade him, but he's not as bad as some people make him out to be. There's footage on YouTube of him signing loads of autographs and taking selfies with supporters after the lap of honour, unlike some who don't give fans even a smile or a wave.
 
I can't help it, but I think that there's something very lovable about him. I know we can probably upgrade him, but he's not as bad as some people make him out to be. There's footage on YouTube of him signing loads of autographs and taking selfies with supporters after the lap of honour, unlike some who don't give fans even a smile or a wave.
100% this in an age full of players phoning it in he is giving his best. He's also putting his body on the line and his up tick in form gas come at a very important time . Do we need a more composed attacking full yes. But this kid needs to be shown a bit back now.
 
100% this in an age full of players phoning it in he is giving his best. He's also putting his body on the line and his up tick in form gas come at a very important time . Do we need a more composed attacking full yes. But this kid needs to be shown a bit back now.
He's a good defensive option. We can talk about his lack of attacking output until the cows come home. But against teams like City and Liverpool he is a fantastic option to have. Not to mention he is still young and we can work on his attacking output.
 
I actually think he's done alright overall in his first season in new league considering his age, new team and new position .
Works hard, runs up and down, no major fuck ups red cards, stays fit, strong enough, shows desire, good attitude, strength etc
We all know his flaws but those positives are not to be taken for granted
We shouldn't have gone into a season with him as main option but no reason why he can't be a decent squad option or if improved, starter in future.
People make out like he's a total liability, you don't get around Barcelona and Brazil national team and with a full season in Spain and England top leagues for nothing
We're not selling him that's for sure
 
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Very likeable and seems popular with the rest of the squad. He has certainly improved and become more reliable as the season has gone on, so at the very least his stock has risen.

Is he the long-term answer? I don't think so. Shame as he cares and is clearly happy to be here.
 

Emerson Royal's Tottenham transformation mirrors his side's upturn under Antonio Conte... now, with their Champions League fate in their hands, the ex-Barcelona man delivers a rallying cry to his team-mates to get the job done​

  • Tottenham need to avoid a defeat against Norwich to finish in the top four
  • Emerson Royal says it's Tottenham's 'obligation' to reach the Champions League
  • After a tricky start, the defender is getting more important for the London side
By JOSUE SEIXAS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 15:32 BST, 20 May 2022 | UPDATED: 17:19 BST, 20 May 2022

Emerson Aparecido Leite de Souza Junior had already anticipated the angle of attack and predicted where this interview was likely to start as he settled into his chair.

'Why do you call yourself Royal?' was the question and the Tottenham and Brazil defender laughed loudly. 'What did I tell you,' he says to nobody in particular. 'Everybody asks me that.'

The answer relates to a simple story from his childhood. One of his aunties first called him 'Royal' because she thought he resembled the mascot on the Royal brand of jelly sold in Brazil. And it stuck.

'These nicknames tend to go on if you get angry and I did get angry,' he tells Sportsmail. 'Now, I feel like it's a part of my personality so on the back of my jersey I have 'E. Royal' which is my name 'Emerson' and 'Royal', which I like to be called.'

So Royal it is, and the 23-year-old has started to make a name for himself with a series of consistent performances, transformed like the rest of the team under Antonio Conte as Tottenham made a late push into the Premier League's top four.

'Conte is a very positive coach,' he says. 'He has helped the team as a whole with this vision and way of working. Since he arrived, he demanded the maximum of everyone and it was no different with me. He helped me in my personal evolution, getting the most out of me in training and games.

'He expects me to be a box-to-box player and I've been doing that all my life. Defence, run, attack, run, defence, all the game. He always pushes us harder, he wants us to perform.

'The Conte you see on the television is the one we have in the dressing room. Very energetic, he wants to win every game. When he first arrived, at his first meeting, he made it clear we could do more.

'He made us understand we had an obligation to take Tottenham back to the Champions League. That was our main goal.'

The goal is suddenly within reach thanks to the 3-1 win against Woolwich in the North London derby and a 1-0 win against Burnley last week. Under pressure, Mikel Arteta's team lost at Newcastle on Monday and Spurs simply need to avoid defeat at Norwich to clinch fourth and qualification for the Champions League.

'The victory against Woolwich was essential to keep us alive in the Champions League spot,' says Royal. 'I believe it was the most important game of the season for us. All the work done as part of a process has been rewarded and now we are in the final phases. To move above them was what we needed most.'

'Logically, at the beginning, I went through a phase of adaptation in the way the Premier League is played, a competition that demands much more physical strength. With time, I've acquired this way of playing.'

Royal's recent performances have impressed the Spurs fans, who did not know he has been playing with a nagging pain in his pelvis, something he puts down to the load of games in his first season in English football.

'It hurt my performance,' he admits, but he has been more comfortable since the chance to rest during the international football in March. 'I could focus more on my recovery. The pain stopped and I went back to training at high performance. It was then, I think, that I managed to give my best and I got back to having a good sequence of games.'

Royal joined Spurs from Barcelona last summer and admits he was not expecting a transfer to the Premier League. After two-and-a-half years at Real Betis, he thought Barca were triggering their £7.5million option to buy to put him into the first-team squad at the Nou Camp.


They were, in fact, about to sell him on to Tottenham for £25m to ease their financial problems.

'I dreamt of playing in Europe,' says Royal, recalling the time he impressed Eric Abidal, then Barcelona's director of football, while playing for Atlético Mineiro against Grêmio in Brazil.

'My agent told me Abidal would be in the stands and I played one hell of a game. The Grêmio coach, Renato Gaucho, came to talk to me afterwards and said I should keep pushing and I could make it into the Brazil squad.

'When the chance came with Barcelona of course I said yes. I played a couple of seasons at Bétis to help me mature. I played a lot of games and studied a lot of Spanish, sometimes by myself.'

Royal worked hard to adapt to the European game. He was put on a programme to gain weight, build muscle and boost his physical strength but with caution so he didn't lose his speed or mobility.

'There was technical work, physical work. Then I was back at Barcelona where I wanted to stay and build a history at the club but it was not possible.

'Tottenham also had a great project for me in the biggest league in the world, and where the best football is played, where every game is like a derby, where every club wants to win. Man, I was in.'

Born in Sao Paulo, Royal learned his football in the streets of the favelas, like so many Brazilian players. 'That's why we're different,' he says. 'People seem to think that the pressure we have playing football is the greatest pressure we ever faced.

'I would hear gunshots close to my family home when I was young. Now we have tranquillity. Every player's dream to give better conditions to his family and I have been able to do it.

'But I am two Royals. On the pitch, I am very serious. I don't like to lose. I talk to my opponents to try to turn off their focus.'

Royal's Brazil debut came against a South Korea team including Heung-min Son, in Abu Dhabi in November 2019, and he was in the squad for last year's Copa America.

'Suddenly, I was alongside players I used to play in my video games,' he says. 'Neymar was my biggest idol. I was a Santos fan and grew up watching his team play. When we exchanged a few words at the training complex, I could see what a great person he was. A nice guy, an idol.'

Royal remains firmly in Tite's plans, despite his dismissal after two yellow cards in the opening 20 minutes of the recent World Cup qualifier against Ecuador, in February.

'My dream is to go to the World Cup,' he says. 'It's my biggest goal and there's no point in hiding it. It is my childhood dream. Things have happened very fast but I think what counts is maturity and the will to play. I have a lot of both.

'I have to deliver on club level to be in Tite's squad at the end of this year and I've been doing that. I believe I'm improving and will keep improving with Conte's management, too.

'Since I was young, every coach I had wanted me to succeed. They were all very good people and saw that I could present myself as a good footballer.'
 
I can't help it, but I think that there's something very lovable about him. I know we can probably upgrade him, but he's not as bad as some people make him out to be. There's footage on YouTube of him signing loads of autographs and taking selfies with supporters after the lap of honour, unlike some who don't give fans even a smile or a wave.
I think you’re right! It’s just tough to pinpoint what it is exactly. We know it’s not his first touch, passing ability, vision, dribbling skills, crossing ability, quickness, shooting, weak foot, footballing intelligence, lack of defensive mistakes or transfer fee.

But there is something… I just can’t pinpoint what.
 
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