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Lamela tries to kick-start his Spurs career with summer fitness programme in Argentina

mawspurs

Staff
Jun 29, 2003
35,066
17,740
Yes I think he needs to build up his body strength to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.
 

SteveH

BSoDL candidate for SW London
Jul 21, 2003
8,642
9,313
Yes the lad has some hard yards ahead of him. The rest maybe in for a shock under Poch as well!:woot:
 

millsey

Official SC Numpty
Dec 8, 2005
8,735
11,504
Yes I think he needs to build up his body strength to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.
Greed. He looked. Completely lost when he did play in the prem. I'm sure he has the talent, just needs to bulk up, just like Ronaldo had to
 

kitchen

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2006
2,275
3,587
Not much bulk on Modric or Messi.

They both have a much lower centre of gravity than Lamela and Ronaldo. Taller players need to be stronger because they can't turn as quick and their strength on the ball is less condensed.
 

Greenspur

Very old member
Sep 1, 2004
2,681
3,090
They both have a much lower centre of gravity than Lamela and Ronaldo. Taller players need to be stronger because they can't turn as quick and their strength on the ball is less condensed.

Fair enough. Not much bulk on Crouch, though, and he's pretty tall;)
 

Greenspur

Very old member
Sep 1, 2004
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Yeah but try get them off the ball. It's not how they look, it's how strong they are, and Lamela isn't string enough for the prem

That was my point, actually. No need to bulk them up - just teach them to be elusive.
 

peteblue

Well-Known Member
Oct 14, 2005
852
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I think Lamela will come good next season under Poch. At least they speak the same language so the head coach can communicate what he want Lamela to do quite easily
 

michaelden

Knight of the Fat Fanny
Aug 13, 2004
26,386
21,685
Yes I think he needs to build up his body strength to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.

Such a typical British thing to say. Fuck talent, skill, poise or awareness, just get bigger & faster and knock 'em off the ball then run away from them.

Yet look at Spain, Barca, German youth team and you'll see its skill & discipline that are most important.

This point of view of physicality can beat skill is why England are so crap & why so many youth in this country are overlooked cos they not built like brick shithouses, and until this changes I believe England will continue to be also rans in every major tourney.
 

michaelden

Knight of the Fat Fanny
Aug 13, 2004
26,386
21,685
They both have a much lower centre of gravity than Lamela and Ronaldo. Taller players need to be stronger because they can't turn as quick and their strength on the ball is less condensed.

:confused: Zidane, over 6ft and spins on a penny :cautious:
 

michaelden

Knight of the Fat Fanny
Aug 13, 2004
26,386
21,685
But they do need to hit the weights. I bet you messi and modern are seriously strong for there size

Messi is on human growth hormone and has been for years. He is essentially on a legal steroid due to a growth defect he has.
 

Greenspur

Very old member
Sep 1, 2004
2,681
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But they do need to hit the weights. I bet you messi and modern are seriously strong for there size
Yeah, maybe - but if you hit them you'll probably knock them over. The problem is that you can't hit them. Elusive.
I agree with @michaelden - fast, skillful, intelligent is better than brick shithouse.
 

Gaz_Gammon

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2005
16,047
18,013
Such a typical British thing to say. Fuck talent, skill, poise or awareness, just get bigger & faster and knock 'em off the ball then run away from them.

Yet look at Spain, Barca, German youth team and you'll see its skill & discipline that are most important.

This point of view of physicality can beat skill is why England are so crap & why so many youth in this country are overlooked cos they not built like brick shithouses, and until this changes I believe England will continue to be also rans in every major tourney.


Spot on. Modric played well both here and at RM and he didn't need to "bulk up". Lennon isn't exactly built like a shithouse door either. If you want to go to extremes Best and Pele were hardly muscular in any way of the word.
 

peter_the_yid

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2003
2,015
353
But they do need to hit the weights. I bet you messi and modern are seriously strong for there size


Nah, not really.
I've been fortunate enough to talk to a few strength coaches that train players of this calibre and whilst they are stronger than the every day man most gym rats are stronger. I used to train along side a lot of the Harlequinns rugby team and it amazed me how little raw strength and power most of them had.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
Not much bulk on Modric or Messi.

They aren't comparable body-types and they don't play the same style of football, so it's an invidious and misleading comparison.

Modric is wiry and very strong and, like Messi, has a low centre of gravity. He doesn't need 'bulk' to be tough. He also rarely embarks on a lengthy dribble - he typically takes a few steps into space as he receives the ball to evade bigger, more powerful tacklers, before releasing the ball - elusive, as others have written, but also very strong for his size.

Messi is actually quite 'bulky' for his size - he has a short, chunky build, unlike Modric, with powerful legs. And I recall reading that he was indeed indeed put on a special diet and given HGH (with permission), as a young player, because his coaches were concerned about a genetic height-restriction issue (the details were left vague).

Lamela is tall and willowy and, unlike Modric and like Messi, his game does involve trying to dribble past multiple opponents. At present, he can't do it, at least not in the Premiership. I watched the same thing happen more than once in every single one of his appearances last season. He'd receive the ball, beat one or two men and then the third one would bully him right off the ball, thus wasting the good work he did in beating the first man or two.

I don't think he needs to 'bulk up', in the sense of lifting heavy weights to build bulky muscle mass. The last thing he needs is to emulate Christian Benteke. What he does need, desperately, is more upper body strength - he's visibly slight and slender above the waist and the result shows on the pitch, as I just described. Pilates will address that, as will high-reps gym work with medium weights or working against springs. When a bigger player barges him, he has to be able to stand his ground, barge back and keep going with the ball under control. He's visibly unable to do that with his current level and type of fitness.
 
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