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I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

Good chance he'll actually start if fit. Poch has started him in a few big games especially against teams that keep possession as he presses. Wouldn't be surprised to see Sissoko and Eriksen in the middle and then Son - Alli - Lamela behind Kane.
 
Could you humour me and share again? Whenever I’ve looked in isolation I’ve always thought Lamela’s stats were even worse than his actual contribution. Maybe because I’ve only used wiki and prem numbers for goals and appearances?

I will say there’s not much between him and Alli this season on the attacking numbers though!


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That stat goes to prove how fudging useless stats are, anyone who would prefer Lamela to Dele is insane.
 
Zaha was a big flop for ManU but doing well for Palace. Shows he is another small-club player who cannot handle the pressure of playing for any big clubs. Remember Bentley who were excellent for Blackburn but turned shyte after joining us ? Zaha will be like that.
There are plenty of reasonable questions regarding how the current version of Zaha would perform in a team with better players but higher expectation and likely less pitch time but the move for Man U was a long time ago, he was young and whether it was his behaviour or performances in training he was never really given an opportunity. Palace may well be a comfort zone for him but he’s improved season on season and been the stand out attacking player for them. I think he as a different set of attributes to our current attacking players and if he and the desire and the few isn’t ridiculous then I think we have room for him in the squad. There is also the Poch factor, the majority of our players have improved under his coaching, Zaha may benefit from this too.

Bentley seemed to think he’d made it when he got here and admitted himself that he fell out of love with the game due to the rigidity of training. I don’t think the situation with him is comparable.
 
Good chance he'll actually start if fit. Poch has started him in a few big games especially against teams that keep possession as he presses. Wouldn't be surprised to see Sissoko and Eriksen in the middle and then Son - Alli - Lamela behind Kane.

In place of who though? I don’t see any way he can leave Moura out. Eriksen is nailed on to start. Son has been our standout player of the season and there’s a good chance Kane starts. With that in mind, where do you play him? He’s fallen behind the other 3 in the pecking order.

If he’s fit he will be on the bench but I just don’t see who Poch leaves out to accommodate Lamela. Don’t forget Alli as well who Poch seldom drops.
 
Lamela on the bench. Son, Moura & Kane up front. Son & Moura will need to run a feck of a lot to keep the flanks safe...
 
In place of who though? I don’t see any way he can leave Moura out. Eriksen is nailed on to start. Son has been our standout player of the season and there’s a good chance Kane starts. With that in mind, where do you play him? He’s fallen behind the other 3 in the pecking order.

If he’s fit he will be on the bench but I just don’t see who Poch leaves out to accommodate Lamela. Don’t forget Alli as well who Poch seldom drops.

I reckon he'd drop Moura before any of the others, a lot depends on Kane's fitness I think in the eyes of fans Moura has elevated himself but for Poch I would imagine he still favours Lamela to carry out the other side of the game more, Lamela being a master of the dark arts etc. Pinning back/fouling Robertson and Alexander-Arnold will be key and he's the best we have at that sort of thing.
 
I reckon he'd drop Moura before any of the others, a lot depends on Kane's fitness I think in the eyes of fans Moura has elevated himself but for Poch I would imagine he still favours Lamela to carry out the other side of the game more, Lamela being a master of the dark arts etc. Pinning back/fouling Robertson and Alexander-Arnold will be key and he's the best we have at that sort of thing.

Moura has been different class in the champions league for us. I don’t think there’s any way he can possibly not start him. He offers much more of a goal threat than Lamela and more pace.

We’ve got this far because we’ve outscored teams and I think the final will be more of the same. A couple of years ago I agree he would have favoured Lamela in a big game but not now. We’ve got good defenders but I don’t think the final will be a cagey affair put it that way. It will be a shootout and we need all of our big guns (the ones who score) on the pitch.
 
Yeah, it's not like we'd line up with Son playing LWB or anything.

Ha I don’t think he’d make that mistake again. To be fair Son was banging goals in for fun and Poch felt he had to find a way to get him into the side. He’s a special player. I don’t think Lamela falls into that category. He’s a very good player, not on the same level as son, Eriksen, Alli and Moura though.
 
Ha I don’t think he’d make that mistake again. To be fair Son was banging goals in for fun.
Strange wunnit.
Maybe there was some masterplan like "we're going to play the wonky with Son ostensibly on the left of a back 5 but actually it is 433 and the right wingback needs to stay back and make it a 4... so we always have a solid 4 at the back and Jan or whoever can slide across and be left back but Cheatski won't know how to handle the movement and runs of Son from that deep left position"... then suddenly blammo it all went wrong.
 
I like lamela, he brings something to the team no one else does, but he shouldn't be starting the final.
It's a good problem to have that if everyone is fit who do we pick in attack.
Crutches and a wheelchair?

But on a serious note he has form for changing games vs pool like he did last year and he did well vs Ajax when he came on
 
He's one of the first players you'd want on your bench from our attacking options - generally always has positive impact as a sub. Whether that be chasing a game or seeing one out

I'd much prefer to bring Son or Moura on. Lamela works hard but, in my view, just doesnt hurt oppositions anywhere near enough...though I know there are two very different groups of opinions on here about him!
 
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