I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

[billyiddo]

Btw Billy, I'm really not comparing Lamela to Townsend and Lennon. Towsend isn't the answer, Lennon hasn't been consisitently effective for years. He looked good today and more of the same in cameo appearances and he will deserve another shot in the starting lineup, maybe.

I'm comparing Lamela in the context of having 4 players competing for 3 slots in attacking midfield; Lamela, Kane, Eriksen and Chadli.

Chadli - Not a world beater, but has been clinical in front of goal, would be harsh if he was dropped.

Kane - Has improved a lot in the last calendar year, deserves the run he is being given now.

Eriksen - Need to see more of him, but looks like our most dangerous player even when he's anonymous can still create a big of magic from nowhere. I just don't see that at the moment from Lamela.

Trouble is Jurgen, right there you have 3 goal scorers - you need someone to lay on the chances for them and statistically Lamela is the one doing that.

It is a tough decision and my only issue with those saying Lamela should be dropped from the team is that they always, always quantify it by using his price tag against him or second guessing those who think he should be in the team by saying it's for reasons other than what they put forward - which frankly is insulting to those who take the time to argue their case.

 

[diego_maradona]

Trouble is Jurgen, right there you have 3 goal scorers - you need someone to lay on the chances for them and statistically Lamela is the one doing that.

It is a tough decision and my only issue with those saying Lamela should be dropped from the team is that they always, always quantify it by using his price tag against him or second guessing those who think he should be in the team by saying it's for reasons other than what they put forward - which frankly is insulting to those who take the time to argue their case.

Good post Billy.

Lamela looks a different player for Argentina. He just plays it a lot easier. He is actually pretty creative with his passing even though he misses the blindingly obvious at times

 

[Bonsaiboy]

Nothing I've seen has changed my mind. He's a duffer, destined for an average La Liga side or a return to Serie A. Every transfer window we keep him his value declines by 5M. We should take what we can in the next one. 15 Mil would be a good deal.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Trouble is Jurgen, right there you have 3 goal scorers - you need someone to lay on the chances for them and statistically Lamela is the one doing that.

It is a tough decision and my only issue with those saying Lamela should be dropped from the team is that they always, always quantify it by using his price tag against him or second guessing those who think he should be in the team by saying it's for reasons other than what they put forward - which frankly is insulting to those who take the time to argue their case.

I think the price tag is a factor as to why he is in the team yes. But if the 4 of them are fit, he should be dropped because he is in the worst/least good form of the 4. I don't believe that people want him in the team because of the price tag, I just think some are a bit more protective of him than they are of say Eriksen for example.

 

[braineclipse]

Great energy yesterday. When we were running out of steam in the final 5-10 minutes he was one of the few players still busting a gut to win the ball back.

Needs a goal to boost his confidence and help him settle further I think.

 

[Mumorn]

Great energy yesterday. When we were running out of steam in the final 5-10 minutes he was one of the few players still busting a gut to win the ball back.

Needs a goal to boost his confidence and help him settle further I think.

Agreed. His best game since QPR. Just a shame his chance didn't come from him cutting in from the right.

 

[Finney Is Back]

By constantly refering to his price tag and saying that's partly why the manager is playing him and why fans want him in the team i can't help but see it as exactly how i describe it, if im honest - otherwise why bring it up? If he isn't doing enough then you shouldn't need to mention his price tag.

He's shown more than Townsend this season and more than Lennon has in GHod knows how long - he has created 1 more goal than Erksen has scored (5 v 4) whilst Eriksen has not layed on any assists for the team. They both need to be doing better, our midfielders should be both creating AND scoring goals ultimately and between them both are just about doing enough to keep themselves in the team. But both should be pitching in with more.

Surely Ericksen's free kick yesterday counted as an 'assist' for Kane's goal?

 

[Finney Is Back]

The problem with Lamela is that right now he doesn't deserve his place in the team, yet he is getting picked every week... And when a football team is picked containing players that do not deserve their place then it will always create disharmony in the squad.

I find it strange that Lamela has so many people defending him off the back of him 'working hard'.... Lennon is a player that always works his socks off for the team. He is also better than Lamela currently in both an attacking perspective and in terms of improving our team's shape defensively.

I am actually shocked at how often Lamela loses the ball, either with a dribble where he doesn't seem to have the ball under control or with a really poor pass.

I hope it happens for Lamela at Spurs and I commend the fact that he hasn't let his workrate drop, but his 'talent' just hasn't been evident for us in the Premier League.

Those that are still defending Lamela on here - try to watch his next performance while imagining that he is a £2.6 million, English player we have signed from the Championship. I think your analysis of his performances then would be far less praising.

 

[Millsy_Yiddo]

Those that are still defending Lamela on here - try to watch his next performance while imagining that he is a £2.6 million, English player we have signed from the Championship. I think your analysis of his performances then would be far less praising.

If we signed a 22 year old from the championship and he had 4 assists in 12 games and shown glimpses that he is capable of the sublime I'd be pretty over the moon to be honest!

In all seriousness, it probably lies somewhere in between. He is absolutely not performing like a player of the value we paid for him, but he's not been absolutely awful either. His performances have mirrored the teams performances. A combination of fantastic moments, average moments and downright awful moments with no seemingly predicatble pattern to any of them.

 

[metalgear]

i thought lamela was our best player when hull city was piling it on us. never gave up, took some and gave some, and i think he had like 3 successful tackles/turnovers singlehandedly. during that time eriksen was nowhere to be seen.

showed heart showed character when we needed it most, and certainly deserves a continued starting place. he isn't uprooting trees, but i can't think of anyone else who can contribute in the way he does at the moment. maybe dembele but definitely not bentaleb.

be careful for what you wish for!

 

[mudshark]

I think the focus for him needs to be on his one- and two-touch play and on working him into positions where he'll have more opportunities for first-time shots. At the moment, he wants too many touches and too much thinking time, and he's always running into traffic and losing the ball. He's gradually getting better at shielding it, but you just don't get the time to take two or three extra touches on the edge of the opposition box in this league.

His passing stats leave a fair bit to be desired as well, and although I suspect that might be partly about poor movement on the part of others, because they seem to be a lot better when he plays for Argentina, it always concerns me when I see him playing a perfect, precision ball straight to the feet of an opposition player. He's not the only one who can't seem to knock it five yards sometimes without creating a problem, mind you.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Surely Eriksen's free kick yesterday counted as an 'assist' for Kane's goal?

That's why assists can be a bogus stat at times. I'm sure Soldado got an assist for Townsend's goal at Villa last season when all he did was play a 5 yard pass, Townsend then crossed it, but nobody touched it. I'm not trying to devalue an assists completely, but I would say chances created are a more accurate stat. I'm all for giving him time, I realise he isn't going to become a world beater overnight as he is still young and South Americans do sometimes take more time to adapt to England. The only problem I have is, Chadli, Eriksen and Kane are all playing better than him, in my view anyway. The only other options would be to:

1) Play Chadli up front as he's been our biggest goal threat.

2) Drop one of Mason or Dembele/Capoue and play Eriksen deeper, but even that would remove some of Eriksen's goal threat.

 

[Spurs@HKMaOnShan]

Agreed. His best game since QPR. Just a shame his chance didn't come from him cutting in from the right.

beat 3 players on the left. Good play!!!.

 

[billyiddo]

Assists can be misleading in the instances you highlight i will agree to that, but each of his so far have been genuine chances created (iirc...)

 

[SpurMeUp]

Defiantly worth his place in the team. Maybe Chadli could challenge his place. He undoubtedly has technical ability and he should develop at 22. He has the ability to score goals as well as dribble in tight areas. He's still finding his role and developing his game.

That said, both Lamela and Eriksen are not great defensively. No surprises there. But it does leave us vulnerable sometimes. They show willing and chase the ball, but its not their game.

 

[Modric THFC]

The problem with Lamela is that right now he doesn't deserve his place in the team, yet he is getting picked every week... And when a football team is picked containing players that do not deserve their place then it will always create disharmony in the squad.

I find it strange that Lamela has so many people defending him off the back of him 'working hard'.... Lennon is a player that always works his socks off for the team. He is also better than Lamela currently in both an attacking perspective and in terms of improving our team's shape defensively.

I am actually shocked at how often Lamela loses the ball, either with a dribble where he doesn't seem to have the ball under control or with a really poor pass.

I hope it happens for Lamela at Spurs and I commend the fact that he hasn't let his workrate drop, but his 'talent' just hasn't been evident for us in the Premier League.

Those that are still defending Lamela on here - try to watch his next performance while imagining that he is a £2.6 million, English player we have signed from the Championship. I think your analysis of his performances then would be far less praising.

Lennon is a player with no potential. He give up improving his game after he played in the world cup for England.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Defiantly worth his place in the team. Maybe Chadli could challenge his place. He undoubtedly has technical ability and he should develop at 22. He has the ability to score goals as well as dribble in tight areas. He's still finding his role and developing his game.

That said, both Lamela and Eriksen are not great defensively. No surprises there. But it does leave us vulnerable sometimes. They show willing and chase the ball, but its not their game.

I agree Lamela has more potential and will ultimately become a better player, but I just don't know how we can justify dropping Chadli when he has 6 goals and Lamela has 0. Chadli is a far bigger goal threat on current form.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Assists can be misleading in the instances you highlight i will agree to that, but each of his so far have been genuine chances created (iirc...)

2 against QPR were good pieces of play.

The one against Arsenal - a fairly straight forward pass IIRC but he didn't **** it up so again, good play.

Can't remember the other two If I'm honest, refresh my memory.

Like I said before Eriksen created two sitters for Ade against West Brom and he missed them both (one of them he even missed the ball :lol, I'm sure Lamela created chances for others that were also missed. Ultimately goals and general play are the most important factors for me.

 

[Jordinho]

[video=youtube;9MBR5Ot3J40]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MBR5Ot3J40[/video]

Someone made a compilation of his involvements against Hull. Just remember to turn off the GHod awful music.

 

[SpurSF]

I agree Lamela has more potential and will ultimately become a better player, but I just don't know how we can justify dropping Chadli when he has 6 goals and Lamela has 0. Chadli is a far bigger goal threat on current form.

I don't disagree with your argument that Kane, Chadli, and Erkisen are all possibly in better form than Lamela, however I do wonder whether there's enough creativity and good balance in a team of
-----------Soldado--------
Kane---Eriksen----Chadli
-----Mason---DM---------

For me, that team is short on creativity with only Eriksen really capable of creating many chances and none of them particularly apt at taking a player on. I love Chadli as a footballer and his goals have been huge for us, but he's mostly a finisher, really. I think he's a little bit like Kane in that respect. They both can create, for sure, but they are at their best getting on the end of chances. Like him or loath him, Lamela offers quite a different dimension than those two, and for me, I think we work best with one of Kane or Chadli plus a dribbler/creator like Lamela to open up space for others on the pitch.

The one that I think could challenge Lamela is Townsend, but he's been pretty patchy this season, so far. I still think Lamela deserves his place until Townsend takes it from him due to better form or possible injury.

--------------Soldado----------
-------------(Adebayor)
Lamela------Eriksen----Kane
(Townsend)------------(Chadli)