Ryan Mason sprung quite the surprise in terms of his Tottenham XI to take on Crystal Palace last Saturday after making some notable changes in defence.
The headline news was Eric Dier dropping down to the substitutes' bench after his struggles at the back in recent weeks, with Emerson Royal coming straight back into the team after his injury. Rather than just ease the Brazilian back into the side after his layoff, Spurs' acting head coach had no hesitation in naming Emerson in his XI and the player duly responded with a very impressive showing.
Previously always lining up in a 3-4-3 formation and very occasionally straying to 3-5-2 during Antonio Conte's Tottenham tenure, Mason demonstrated how flexible he is tactically with his plan to take on Crystal Palace. His side lined up in a 4-4-2 system when the Eagles were on the ball, before then switching to 3-4-3 when they themselves were in possession.
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The players handled the tactical tweak very well during the match when they had to change and were full value for their 1-0 win come full-time. Emerson's role in Mason's masterplan saw him operate as a right-back and then as a right-sided centre-back when the team were pushing on and looking to score.
His numbers (via FotMob) from his 90 minutes on the pitch were also very impressive as he won both of his tackles, came out on top in six out of his 11 ground duels and made four clearances, two interceptions and three recoveries. On the occasions when he looked to attack, Emerson contributed with an 89 per cent pass success rate, played four passes into the final third and was successful with two out of his three dribbles and the same for long balls.
His performance went down extremely well with Mason, who lauded him in his post-match press conference.
"Yeah he was outstanding," explained Mason. "I thought the whole team without the ball worked hard, they worked together. And obviously Eme has had a period out. But I trust him. We trust him. And I thought today he did a very good job along with the rest of the players on the pitch.
"When you keep a clean sheet it's a collective, it's everyone and everyone fought for the clean sheet. The players on the pitch but also the ones who didn't because in the training week, we've all worked hard together and they're the results you want."
A right-back by trade having played in the role throughout his career, the 24-year-old had to contend with playing in a more attacking position following his move to Tottenham as he was utilised as a right wing-back. Struggling with his play in the final third, many believed that the Brazil international could prove to be a success as a right-sided centre-back in Conte's system due to his defensive qualities.
Tottenham fans never got to see the Italian head coach trial Emerson in that position from the start of a game, though, as he instead either plumped for Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier or Japhet Tanganga there if Cristian Romero was absent. Mason's decision to play Emerson in the role did fully pay off against Crystal Palace and there's a very good chance we could see a little bit more of him there before the campaign draws to an end later this month.
Given it worked so well against Crystal Palace, the acting head coach may look to do the same this Saturday when they travel to Aston Villa. Having a plan in place to nullify Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha last weekend when Palace visited N17, Spurs' coaching staff will know the importance of stifling Jacob Ramsey, Emi Buendia and John McGinn as they need to ensure Ollie Watkins is kept very quite up front.
Whereas things looked extremely bleak for him at the start of November as he was booed by a number of Tottenham supporters during the 4-3 win over Leeds United, Emerson was cheered by supporters when his name was read out ahead of the Crystal Palace game and they continued throughout the match when he made some key bits of play. His transformation in 2023 has been nothing short of remarkable.
Capable of operating as either a wing-back or full-back, Emerson has now shown the incoming Tottenham head coach that he can also be an option at right-sided centre-back for next season if Spurs are to again operate with the same system. A few more opportunities in the role would certainly help him, with the player's performance last weekend demonstrating that he is certainly more than deserving of more chances in a back three.
Going on his 2023 to date, Emerson is more than making his case to play a big part for Tottenham under the next head coach.
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