Lamela

Shea said:

I agree - I have often wondered if he could develop into a Messi type striker

He's got goals in him and is a good finisher in my opinion. Also he has the work rate to close down from the front like Augero

I think he needs to build up his strength as he's a little lightweight right now but I wouldn't be surprised if he could develop into a top striker (I've always felt his best position would be a number 10 anyway)

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I don't like him out wide either, think he suits the VdV role or the one that Kane is currently occupying, he's skillful but people have rose tinted specs on with this kid, he over complicates the majority of things he does in possession and if he simplifies his game he will start to shine.

Shea said:

Surely its perfectly natural for the transfer fees paid to have an influence on the expectations of a players performance

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Not when a huge part of that transfer feis because of his potential. And quite frankly, from what I have seen this season I would judge his ceiling as high or higher than anyone else in our squad.

If we were paying 25 million for an established Itl 28 yr old then yes I'd expect him to be the finished article-but Spurs re not in a position to compete for those really.

But when we sign a 21yr old (who didnt have hist 1st season) we are paying for his current ability, but more importantly we are paying for how big his ability CAN become.

Mr Pink said:

Off the pace today but who cares? We won and he's been bright in other games recently - Hull and the game on Thursday etc.

Why is there such a rush to judge him? He's talented and we just need to be patient. This is like his first real season anyway.

I do believe he'll be better in the number ten position though. I'd like to see us rotate over the festive period and try him in there from time to time.

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Surely the art of a good coach is to care about a players poor performance, and how it can be improved even when we win?

lukespurs7 said:

He needs to man-up.

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He has shown as much fight as anyone else in our squad this season, Whether or not you rate him as a player, you cannot question his attitude.

lukespurs7 said:

Do you really think he was that good on Thursday?

He made a decent effort in the last minute that he nearly curled in otherwise really nothing special against a very ordinary side we should be spanking.

He's put in a few good cup performances because the level is lower, for a £30million signing I would expect him to be fucking tearing them a new one. Stop being so nice, yea support him but be realistic, he is not good enough and no-where near justifying his value.

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He basically created every chance except the goal itself. And I hate this assumption that we should smash every team in the EL. We don't because we don't give any of the team any credit. The games they play against us are the biggest in their lives and they usually play very well because of it.

You can't just not count someone's performance because you have some condescending view of these teams we play against.

Partizan were BETTER than Everton were today. So were Asteras, even though we beat them 5-1. So is the level REALLY lower? Everton were much more ordinary than most teams we've played.

Yes, you can argue that the PL is more important so he should be doing better in that competition and it's what we all want to see. But the fact is that in cup competitions, Lamela's been great. Unfortunately, he hasn't transferred this to the PL.

As for being too nice- I'm pretty sure I said he was awful and I've criticised him on other days when most people said he was good.

P.S. Could your nan score a rabona?

Mr Pink said:

Off the pace today but who cares? We won and he's been bright in other games recently - Hull and the game on Thursday etc.

Why is there such a rush to judge him? He's talented and we just need to be patient. This is like his first real season anyway.

I do believe he'll be better in the number ten position though. I'd like to see us rotate over the festive period and try him in there from time to time.

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To be fair, the ball did not bounce even once for him.

lukespurs7 said:

Do you really think he was that good on Thursday?

He made a decent effort in the last minute that he nearly curled in otherwise really nothing special against a very ordinary side we should be spanking.

He's put in a few good cup performances because the level is lower, for a £30million signing I would expect him to be fucking tearing them a new one. Stop being so nice, yea support him but be realistic, he is not good enough and no-where near justifying his value.

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Also, why are you finding loads of excuses for Soldado but when it comes to Lamela, you're complaining?

only1waddle said:

Surely the art of a good coach is to care about a players poor performance, and how it can be improved even when we win?

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Yeah, but its also to look at the big picture with context.

Young lad, really only getting a proper run of games now etc.

Yes he does need to simplify things and I think he will, lets see what the age 24 Lamela looks like in the league. There have been many tricky young players go through this phase, is it really fair to take it out on Lamela because the club decided to spend so much money on him? I think he could turn out to be a player like Kaka in his prime if played through the middle.

I'm a fan of Lamela's, with reservations. You can tell by watching him with the ball at his feet that in terms of natural football ability he is probably the most talented outfield player in our squad. He also seems to have a good attitude/work ethic, albeit his decision making has tended to be poor during many of the appearances that he has made in our colors.

But natural talent and even a good attitude will only take you so far. What he has to do next is increase the amount of tangible end product in his game. Not just play technically good football, but play EFFECTIVE football. IMO Eriksen is our best attacking midfielder because even when he's having a poor game you know that he can always get you a goal or a direct assist in a flash. Lamela doesn't yet carry that same threat, and that's where he needs to step up, to get to that same level as Eriksen. But boy, if he can do that then we will have a hell of a player on our hands.

Mr Pink said:

Yeah, but its also to look at the big picture with context.

Young lad, really only getting a proper run of games now etc.

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I agree, i just don't think its in the right position.

His decision making really is quite poor being totally honest about it. If he improves it he can be a truly special player but if not he could turn out to be the most frustrating player in a long time, because anyone with a clue can see his talent. His talent gets him through against the poor sides we play in the EL group stages but unless he improves his decision i'm afraid he won't make the difference in the PL, especially against the top sides we need be beating to progress. I'm just gonna cross my fingers and hope that he does improve in that area because i really can't knock him otherwise

His first proper season really. Clearly talented but clearly still finding his feet. Should mean patience rather than suggestions of sale.

I'm still unconvinced Eriksen and Lamela can play in same team though. However after today's performance and balance to midfield that may not necessarily be bad thing. It allows us to, over a very busy period, perhaps rotate Eriksen and Lamela. Once Walker is back adding explosive pace on right hand side I'm quite comfortable with a backup option of Chadli, Paulinho and Lamela for what as said is a busy and big month.

scat1620 said:

I'm a fan of Lamela's, with reservations. You can tell by watching him with the ball at his feet that in terms of natural football ability he is probably the most talented outfield player in our squad. He also seems to have a good attitude/work ethic, albeit his decision making has tended to be poor during many of the appearances that he has made in our colors.

But natural talent and even a good attitude will only take you so far. What he has to do next is increase the amount of tangible end product in his game. Not just play technically good football, but play EFFECTIVE football. IMO Eriksen is our best attacking midfielder because even when he's having a poor game you know that he can always get you a goal or a direct assist in a flash. Lamela doesn't yet carry that same threat, and that's where he needs to step up, to get to that same level as Eriksen. But boy, if he can do that then we will have a hell of a player on our hands.

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Good balanced post, i think at times it's actually worse than producing effective football, even simply laying off the ball instead of taking 10 ineffective touches would suffice, maybe its still the shock of the league?
If he can add some more efficient pass and move to his game, similar to how Townsend needs to change his game, then as you say we could have a potentially special player.

He is frustrating. I think they made a good point on MOTD when talking about Kane, that he runs at the opposition better than Lennon or Lamela (or something along those lines) because he is effective. Now Lamela is more talented than both Kane and Lennon in a lot of respects but he's just unable to channel that ability to put in enough effective performances.

Someone with Lamela's ability should really have at least one league goal already

He just needs to stop running into opposition players and losing the ball.

Really torn on Lamela.

First and foremost, I can see he has something. His touch, the way he moves etc. He's young and I'm willing to give him a couple of seasons under Pocchetino to see if we can polish him into a top class player.

However, somewhere deep down I think that everyone who sees these qualities wants him to be that top class player so badly that we're giving him a LOT of slack - way more than some of our other guys.

You probably, like me, wince when he fucks up, runs into a defender, is easily dispossessed etc because you know it's there, you're just waiting for it to show on the pitch.

And that's where I am right now with him. If I didn't have so much patience I'd be extremely frustrated by his contribution this season.

Looking at his impact subjectively, I think his his one-footedness makes him horribly predictable and defenders don't lose much sleep over worrying about him taking them on. He really needs to start changing it up and making defenders guess.

He has a habit of running down blind alleys when he tries to beat a man. That, or he crashes direct into the defender and loses the ball.

I've made a point of watching this to work out why and it's pretty basic stuff. When he runs at a defender, most of the time they just shape their bodies to block his left side with pretty basic defensive positioning. When that happens, one of the above scenarios happens or he'll turn and play a backward pass.

Also, whilst he has a beatiful touch, he does need to understand when to release the ball in good attacking positions, and when to hold it or run with it. We've seen he's capable of it, but his decision making is very inconsistent right now.

Counter attacking is a tool we are clearly using to generate the all important chances at goal and his wastefulness in this area has to improve if we are to improve.

He's talented, sure. We should definitely give the talent time to blossom - 100%.

However, players should certainly not just be left in the team for 'experience' if they can't show the manager that they are improving their weaknesses. And, even though we see the talent and are willing him to become the player we want him to be, Lamela - like Townsend - needs to start showing this on the pitch.

Name any great skilfull attacking midfielder in the history of football and none of them could be called predictable.

he lacks control and composure too often. He also suffers from Holtby's headless chicken syndrome off the ball. Running fast at people and sticking out a leg isn't pressing.

Kendall said:

he lacks control and composure too often. He also suffers from Holtby's headless chicken syndrome off the ball. Running fast at people and sticking out a leg isn't pressing.

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Agree with this. You can't fault his effort but he needs to stand up and not go in guns blazing.

There was a reason why Ledley was such a good defender and that's because of his ability to stay on his feet and not dive in.

TaoistMonkey said:

Agree with this. You can't fault his effort but he needs to stand up and not go in guns blazing.

There was a reason why Ledley was such a good defender and that's because of his ability to stay on his feet and not dive in.

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Yup, similarly Carrick and Modric as midfielders.