Lamela

[$hoguN]

Lamela has more assists than anyone else in the First Team Squad this season, he has scored a couple of outrageous goals showing his talent and importantly you can literally see his game evolving. Under Pochettino he has started to cover more ground and become stronger on the ball.

Yes he isn't playing like a £30 million player at the moment, but like others have said, we paid for the potential.

Anyone who wants to give up on the lads needs their head examined. Go back and watch Bale before his last 18 months with us and look how he used to get shrugged off the ball, and he was brought up playing this physical game. Lamela has the potential to be an absolute star, and due to his injuries last season this is like his first season with us. Lets give the lads time enough to learn his game and how to apply it completely to this league before we beat him with a big stick.

 

[Spursidol]

Of course, that's true... and I agree that one goal doesn't prove anything. But it is an indication at least, that this guys has something special to him. Now, it's up to him and us as a club to nurture that. And if we can be the club to do that and have him mature through being one of our own, then we're going to come up smelly pretty good at the end of it. Lamela has the potential to be a great, great player. And I'd like to see that happen, for him and most importantly for the club.

I think anyone that watches him and can't see that something is there (or won't admit it), is beyond convincing anyway. He's not been an amazing signing so far...

... but he CAN be. I think that's a reasonable stance to have. And again, he's only 21. Giving up on him at this stage is crazy, especially considering the work ethic the guy has. No player gives as much as he does without the hunger to improve. I think, we just have to give it time and let that improvement happen.

He had had 3 seasons playing first team football for two very well known top class clubs (River Plate and Roma) before joining Spurs - we bought a player with a decent amount of experience.

Problem is we haven't seen much so far. A rabona against a 3rd class team is simply like a kid showing a set piece learned in a playground - we need to see a string of decent performances against top class sides

 

[Spursidol]

22 then... doesn't make too much of a difference really. If there's no major improvement next season, particularly after another summer (presumably in the gym) then yes, I would be concerned. But at the moment, time is on his side, this season he got to cut his teeth, I would expect (and hope for) a step up ... if it doesn't happen I'll hold my hands up and admit I perhaps, possibly backed the wrong horse... for this particular course anyway.

But I do have faith in his ability and think we'll start to see it soon.

23 in 10 days

Last season whilst not playing much he had plenty of time to learn English, see the PL and generally get acustomed to UK life - a full year !

So this season he should have been well prepared for the Pl. - should have 'hit the ground running' And so far he's not - and nor does he always look up to EL competition either. So its a concern

 

[Wirral Spurs]

Did you see him today for Everton?

Thought he did ok, his usual game really.

 

[Good Doctor M]

He had had 3 seasons playing first team football for two very well known top class clubs (River Plate and Roma) before joining Spurs - we bought a player with a decent amount of experience.

Problem is we haven't seen much so far. A rabona against a 3rd class team is simply like a kid showing a set piece learned in a playground - we need to see a string of decent performances against top class sides

Come on now, at least be fair. There is a big gulf in the physicality of the Italian League and the quality of the football in Argentina. A huge gulf. Do you remember being 21, what it was like? Adapting to life is difficult enough

We do need a string of good performances against top class opposition. But we don't need it NOW...Not this minute. Yes it would be useful, but we weren't buying a seasoned 25 year old premier league footballer. We bought an Argintenian wonderkid. He needs time to find his feet and everyone seemed to agree on that. Some people's idea of time seems to be 20 odd starts. Which just hasn't been enough for him. It would have been nice if it was, but it isn't, so either we wait or we throw the towel in and buy James Milner to replace him.

 

[Sanj]

I think a lot of the problem Lamela faces is that of football culture.
Too many fans expect Lamela to be a traditional british winger - pace, beat a man and put in a cross. We have grown up on this and have been very lucky to have had Bale and Lennon doing this for the last few years.
Lamela - is not a winger in my eyes. He's more of a wide midfeilder. His game is about getting the ball and moving the ball and recievig the ball again. What was clearly visible when watching Lamela closely today is that a number of times he lays a ball off, and wants it back with a defender close to him but the rest of our team are not comfortable passing the ball into that position (the frustration on lamela's face was clearly visible). Lamela likes the ball in those situations where his 1 touch passing and his movement drag players out of position.

Lamela will not pick the ball 40 yards from goal and beat a man on the outside. However if we get the ball to him in the last 20 yards of the pitch and ask him to beat a man 1v1 he can do this.
To see the best of lamela we may need to get more players like eriksen who are happy to give it to players in tight spaces but will move and recive the ball in 1-touch moves. some of the arsenal 1 touch play when they click is exactly the style that Lamela would appreciate.

While i believe the team can change its style and philosophy - from what i heard at the lane today, many of the fans are not ready to accept the more technical style Lamela wants to play, and would like wide men to be the traditional british style of winger.

Personally i though Lamela was our best player today - along with Bentaleb - and while he made some mistake, so did all of the other players. Lamela picked up some really good positions, and occasionally played passes where he and his teammates were not quite on same page. However he also opened up a lot of space with his 1 touch passes and flicks.

I'd like to see Lamela given another year or 2 to really prove himself. I'm not ready to write him off just yet - but he needs to adjust his style, as do the team. And also the fans.

 

[Spursidol]

Come on now, at least be fair. There is a big gulf in the physicality of the Italian League and the quality of the football in Argentina. A huge gulf. Do you remember being 21, what it was like? Adapting to life is difficult enough

We do need a string of good performances against top class opposition. But we don't need it NOW...Not this minute. Yes it would be useful, but we weren't buying a seasoned 25 year old premier league footballer. We bought an Argintenian wonderkid. He needs time to find his feet and everyone seemed to agree on that. Some people's idea of time seems to be 20 odd starts. Which just hasn't been enough for him. It would have been nice if it was, but it isn't, so either we wait or we throw the towel in and buy James Milner to replace him.

Yes - that's why I make the point that he had a year getting used to the UK and PL, even if he didn't play that much - although someting like 15 appearances should have been enough to get a decent understanding.

And rather than continuing to say 21 - why not admit he's almost 23 ?

And why say 20 odd starts rather than 45 or so appearances so far (about 30 this season and 15 or so last season).

Problem is that his play now is not that much better than at the start of the season - so at the current rate of progress it'll be a decade before he becomes anything like the player we thought we had bought.

And I certainl;y wouldn't have paid 30 million odd for James Milner so why compare Lamela to him ?

 

[Gbspurs]

I guess we are just grateful your wrong

Care to elaborate?

 

[DaSpurs]

I understand that we paid for the potential, but to me that still didn't justify the price at the time nor the future potential from here out given how he's performed to date. I don't deny that his upside is still tremendous, and that he is clearly a talented player, but even from watching him at the time and everything since I am just not convinced he has the mentality to make it in England. I've seen his type before growing up playing this game, many times, and I just don't think he's got the resolve it takes. Yes he certainly has the will and enthusiasm, but he's just not got the belief and mental resolve to get stuck in and do the little things to lay a foundation for him from which to work on. And so he must compensate by doing overly intricate things in attempt to constantly remind himself to himself that he is a quality player. He needs those to come off to keep going, a zipline across a crevice or even a chasm of psychological barriers, while he is not taking the time to steadily build the bridge.

I haven't seen it at this level before as they usually dropoff before they make it this far, but this boy has the excessive talent to have surmounted the gap to the big leagues. It's just a question of whether or not he finally makes the right decision to settle in and lay that groundwork, if he is to ever progress into warranting his price tag and the hype.

Take for instance the case of Bojan. He's only a year and a half older than Lamela, and they were each at Roma at the same time (although Bojan went to Milan on loan the second season). Lamela scored more goals in the season before we bought him than Bojan did in his two years in Italy. We buy Lamela, and Bojan goes on loan to the Eredivisie with Ajax where he only scores four goals in 24 games, and of course we know that chapter of Lamela's story. Bojan gets a 1.8m euro move to the Orc Pack, and has in only 16 games and just over half a season quadrupled Lamela's league goal tally. Bojan picked himself up, found a way to slot in (even with the most anti-footballing outfit in the top flight), and got it done. Lamela to date has not, and for nearly 15 times the price.

So IMO he's got to find a way to turn it around quickly before his value depreciates any further, or I wouldn't mind seeing him sold sooner rather than later back to Italy or to Spain for some of that money back. And I don't mean lighting up the league, I mind just deciding to finally keep adding to the cornerstone he's already laid with his defensive contribution. Just calmly and collectively expanding his game outside of his left foot and his insistence on only working through the middle (even while on the left). Otherwise, there are plenty of young right wingers who could contribute more rapidly even long term, and for considerably less outlay of money.

 

[DaSpurs]

Care to elaborate?

I hope you're not too bothered. Always find it rather amusing when someone blatantly tells someone else they're outright wrong about a matter and includes a very simple grammatical error in the process of doing so.

 

[Spursidol]

Lamela played as a no 10 for River Plate for one season and as a wide right forward for Roma for 2 seasons.

At Spurs he's been played as a right sided AM - and that in turn gives him licence to get into the penalty box and whatever else he needs to do attackingwise (similar to his role at Roma), as well as having a role to protect that FB.

Problem is that he does not make enough good quality attacking moves nor get shots on goal - in reality too often he looses the ball too often in the final third and gives away petulant fouls (and one day Spurs will end up with 10 men on the pitch because of that). And until he works out how to get forward enough- especially against the better class opposition (to date its mainly against poor EL sides), he's going to remain a marginal player - of course he';s going to look ok sonetimnes like today when we played badly, but we need him to look good in a run of games against Pl sides.

 

[alfie103]

I think a lot of the problem Lamela faces is that of football culture.
Too many fans expect Lamela to be a traditional british winger - pace, beat a man and put in a cross. We have grown up on this and have been very lucky to have had Bale and Lennon doing this for the last few years.
Lamela - is not a winger in my eyes. He's more of a wide midfeilder. His game is about getting the ball and moving the ball and recievig the ball again. What was clearly visible when watching Lamela closely today is that a number of times he lays a ball off, and wants it back with a defender close to him but the rest of our team are not comfortable passing the ball into that position (the frustration on lamela's face was clearly visible). Lamela likes the ball in those situations where his 1 touch passing and his movement drag players out of position.

Lamela will not pick the ball 40 yards from goal and beat a man on the outside. However if we get the ball to him in the last 20 yards of the pitch and ask him to beat a man 1v1 he can do this.
To see the best of lamela we may need to get more players like eriksen who are happy to give it to players in tight spaces but will move and recive the ball in 1-touch moves. some of the arsenal 1 touch play when they click is exactly the style that Lamela would appreciate.

While i believe the team can change its style and philosophy - from what i heard at the lane today, many of the fans are not ready to accept the more technical style Lamela wants to play, and would like wide men to be the traditional british style of winger.

Personally i though Lamela was our best player today - along with Bentaleb - and while he made some mistake, so did all of the other players. Lamela picked up some really good positions, and occasionally played passes where he and his teammates were not quite on same page. However he also opened up a lot of space with his 1 touch passes and flicks.

I'd like to see Lamela given another year or 2 to really prove himself. I'm not ready to write him off just yet - but he needs to adjust his style, as do the team. And also the fans.

I can't remember the last time he beat a man one on one.

 

[Eric_s]

Lamela takes too much time on the ball? What a ridiculously wrong and stupid comment. Townsend more productive than Lamela? People laughed at pool fans. I think some of ours is far worse.
Paulinhno was slated aganist forentina when the fan favourites were far worse.

 

[Eric_s]

So did you guys not watch the fiorentina game then? Townsend was probably our best player (i think fiorentina players would agree) before getting subbed for lamela who came on and did precisely jack shit apart from lose possession. Stop letting your prejudices blind you to new evidence. Lamela is going nowhere or getting worse and but there are encouraging things from townsend.

Running down the flank and running pass people but produce no good final ball to you is a good performance?
Blinded by prejuidice are your lot.

 

[Spursidol]

Lamela takes too much time on the ball? What a ridiculously wrong and stupid comment. Townsend more productive than Lamela? People laughed at pool fans. I think some of ours is far worse.
Paulinhno was slated aganist forentina when the fan favourites were far worse.

In the post you 'disliked' I said he lost the ball too often - look up the stats if you like, he recently held the record on the PL (and that's not good) - not that he took too long on the ball.

 

[Martinhotspur]

Looking at todays game he was good without the ball ran his socks off put himself about a bit got stuck in. But with the ball he gave it away and just invariably makes the wrong choices when he has the chance to play someone in. Does he deserve to start of Chadli no ahead of Townsend just about.

 

[Sanj]

I can't remember the last time he beat a man one on one.

Today with his quick feet he beat a west ham defender - but he was too far from goal and had to play the ball sideways into Erikson.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

So IMO he's got to find a way to turn it around quickly before his value depreciates any further

Is any depreciation in value really important? And in the words of @Bobbins - why does he need to become amazing so quickly?

 

[dwaynedibley]

The problem for me and for a lot of people is that if I could see a glimmer of hope that he could come good then I could see why people are keeping the faith but I can see no footballing brain or nous at all, running with the ball with no idea what he's gonna do with it, getting brushed off the ball easily and passing sideways all the time, I don't see the raw materials to be a success especially in this league!

 

[DaSpurs]

Is any depreciation in value really important? And in the words of @Bobbins - why does he need to become amazing so quickly?

I take it you didn't finish the paragraph then my friend.

I said he doesn't have to "light up the league" soon, he just has to start to show the signs of laying the groundwork and expanding his game, to build that sturdy bridge over the gap instead of trying to take the leaps.

Bojan picked himself up more quickly after more failures, and for considerably less money. He found a way to slot in and stand up, and then from there manage to be a solid contributor. It's high time Lamela do the same.