I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

[Dr Rosenrosen]

And then played dembele, Alli and Bentelab in the middle

Purely in terms of how fun it would be to say, a midfield of Mousa Dembele, Bamidele Alli and Nabil Bentaleb would be pretty special.

With a back four of Walker, Caulker, Dawson and Naughton.

And of course Keane and Kane leading the line.

 

[africanspurs]

Good morning African,

starting 11 & instead of who - At the moment I think he is slightly behind others in terms of the pre season he has had, so without being the coach and able to see where he is compared to others, fitness and form wise(on training pitch), probably not at the moment...thinking ahead if everyone's sharp, then yes he would make my starting 11.....

---Kane---
---Lamela--- ---Njie---

---Eriksen---

To explain...yes I would play Lamela as along with Eriksen, always basically especially at home as I believe they are our most creative players, I would want Lamela to come inside and play the supporting striker role making a link between Kane and Eriksen, defensively I would want him to track the opposition full back as well so quite a job. Now while I think that Eriksen, Lamela & Kane can all link up well I have put Njie in there and taken out Chadli, reason being Njie provides the pace to our attack the others dont have, In all honesty I cant vouch for Njie has havent seen him play, Not being harsh on Chadli who chips in with goals but he would miss out I suppose, so to clarify a winger with pace on one side, Lamela cutting in getting close to Kane on the other and Eriksen play the no 10 role being the link between cm's and atttack.

Impact player - difficult question to answer because it depends on the circumstances and performances of others, but yes I would bring him on to chase a deficit as I rate him but in terms of player style, no I dont think he would be our best imapct player from the bench, if we are chasing a goal then I would want another striker, or some directness/pace against tired legs if Njie was on the bench. As above I would start him and would depend more on others to impact things from the subs bench if things are not going well for us. I think your question is...do you trust him??? its obvious my answer is yes.

Trying to control a lead - No Erik would not be the first name that springs to mind if I wanted to shore things up...he is an offensive player, but again it depends on the circumstances of the match...as in which area of the pitch are we losing a battle.
Both the above questions relate to the clubs failure of going into two competitive matches with only Kane as a recognized striker, This is not Lamela's fault, and in some ways he drew the short straw replacing Kane last week...but that does not excuse his level of peformance against Stoke that wat quite clearly below par.

Hope that answers your questions ok, I need to get a bowl of porridge now.

Thanks bro, this completely tells me where your mind is at and why you rate him

I disagree on quite a few of the points

First of it would seem that you think you are replacing chadli with Njie..the truth is you arent......you are replacing chadli with lamela. dembele is played out there ahead of lamela currently, that is the position that is up for grabs by somene new.....i.e most likely Njie...ythe position that you have replaced is chadli with lamela......by which you have replaced Chadli's key stats...actual tangible key stats...like assists and goals which directly relate to point ....with someone that you favour above him. I wouldnt do that personally
Then there is the pace and directness aspect.....chaldi is faster than lamela so i am not really sure where that comes in? Not to mention Lamela to me feels like a person least likely to beat a player on our team out of our attacking mids.

Impact player? for me no, chasing a deficit? for me perhaps as i cant seem many options but townsend would be my choice ahead of lamela...and i dont even like townsends style of game over erik's but i know he would be more impactful when chasing a game ...again IMV

Trying to control a lead? For me Yes.....his defensive aspects and work rate are pretty clear to see plus we dont lose numbers in attacking players

In short your opinions are near enough the complete opposition to mine LOL

 

[africanspurs]

I didnt personally compare him to Bale, others before me pointed out he took his time to come good and stated maybe we should give Lamela more time.

I dont think it helps to compare him to Berba, Bale, modric or anyone else.

but peeps will always compare him to bale as we spent big money on him to replace Gareth and thus far he has not managed to have reached the levels that Bale did wearing our shirt.

yeah i know that wasnt you. More GB

 

[africanspurs]

Tbf, none of that necessarily proves that he isn't any good.

I hate to bring this back to Bale as i agree the comparisons are unfair on Lamela, but as the situations are similar i feel as though it's necessary. If you asked yourself the same questions when Bale was in that run of bad form would the answers have been any different? Back then, could Bale be relied upon to be an impact player? no. Could he be trusted to control a lead? no. Was he an automatic starter? no. Does any of the above prove that he is a bad player? no.

I don't think anyone that is defending Lamela believes that he has been in glittering form, far from it, but on the few occasions that it has clicked for him he has looked an exceptional talent. His potential, not his form is the main reason why i'd personally still like to see him be given a generous amount of opportunities to prove himself.

when bale was having a mare...i wouldnt necessarily start him, but i would bring him on to chase a lead ...
i wouldnt bring him on to shore up the defense.
But then all this in conjuction with the length of time it took bale to show is exceptional talent and also for him to show in game what he would be despite shocking individual moments ... all streaks ahead of lamela IMO

Its like bentaleb...alot of focus is placed on his errors but the fact is that his talent is on show all the time...he is 'considered' to be playing badly but his performances are of a very high standard

 

[africanspurs]

Tbf, none of that necessarily proves that he isn't any good.

I hate to bring this back to Bale as i agree the comparisons are unfair on Lamela, but as the situations are similar i feel as though it's necessary. If you asked yourself the same questions when Bale was in that run of bad form would the answers have been any different? Back then, could Bale be relied upon to be an impact player? no. Could he be trusted to control a lead? no. Was he an automatic starter? no. Does any of the above prove that he is a bad player? no.

I don't think anyone that is defending Lamela believes that he has been in glittering form, far from it, but on the few occasions that it has clicked for him he has looked an exceptional talent. His potential, not his form is the main reason why i'd personally still like to see him be given a generous amount of opportunities to prove himself.

I dont think lamela is a bad player...i just dont think he is exceptional to the point that selling is completely out of the question

 

[Maltese Falcon]

FFS, who should have started instead? Eriksen was injured. Would you REALLY havve started Alli there instead for his first PL game??

Some people....

YES and if that is not clear enough YES

We have a coach who has a reputation to be the one that encourages youth. Yet he has never had the guts to do what Bilic did in his first ever EPL game in charge... play a 16 year old away against a team many are putting down as a genuine title contender.

Would I REALLY have started Alli? Oh No! I would have started BOTH Alli alongside Dier or Mason in midfield and Pritchard behind Kane. Bl**dy hell, this is Leicester we are talking about!

Alli will become a fixture in the side in the next three months but - just like with Kane - it will happen not because Poch has the vision to see it but because the kid will make himself impossible to be left out.

 

[africanspurs]

But TODAY was he as bad as last week? Was he TODAY worse than Chadli or Vertonghen?

sorry brother.....can i just confirm that chadli actually got an assist? the subsequently fudged up by not tracking his man LOL

 

[africanspurs]

YES and if that is not clear enough YES

We have a coach who has a reputation to be the one that encourages youth. Yet he has never had the guts to do what Bilic did in his first ever EPL game in charge... play a 16 year old away against a team many are putting down as a genuine title contender.

Would I REALLY have started Alli? Oh No! I would have started BOTH Alli alongside Dier or Mason in midfield and Pritchard behind Kane. Bl**dy hell, this is Leicester we are talking about!

Alli will become a fixture in the side in the next three months but - just like with Kane - it will happen not because Poch has the vision to see it but because the kid will make himself impossible to be left out.

to be fair Leicester are rocking the brick out of this league at the moment you know

 

[africanspurs]

Whilst many of here believe that a manager has 100% autonomy in deciding who plays I doubt it very much when the club in question has made a £30m investment in a player who is, to put it kindly, struggling.

I'm just suggesting that levy/the board have indicated they want Lamela out there on the pitch on a more regular basis. I doubt Poch's job depends on it but it is important we have a coach who tries his absolute best in getting Lamela to fulfill his potential.

I'll be honest when I say the kid is on the knife's edge of success/failure but if he succeeds at this club I really believe he'll show that the club paid £30m for a reason.

Great post, losts of potential truths in here

Infact i actually think one of the reasons that Poch was hired was that the thought would be he would bring out the forcasted lamela in our current lamela...that would have definately been a question in the interview in my view

 

[africanspurs]

interesting that there aren't as many "apologists" on here as they were on the soldado thread because of course Roberto was perceived to be a "nice guy". Lamela is as big a flop as Soldado and I don't know why we haven't got rid of him as well, the only time he looked half decent was playing monkey teams in the Europa, maybe cos he and the manager are both argies, there's some kinship and he's staying but the longer he's with us, the less we'll get back for him.

soldados was supposed to be the ned product. there isnt any time at all for development with him...his time was NOW or NEVER from the moment he signed .

another thing is that his value was depreciating MUCH faster than lamela....whereas potential and talent is lamels life boat...those two factors dont exist for solly cause he has realised his already...his life boat is his production and direct contribution....not doing those means he was sinking fast..and his anchor weighed a ton

 

[Hashegotthesackyet?]

I suggest you try to see the highlights yourself

Whilst you're doing the summary for him, any chance of a cuppa and a couple of biscuits?

 

[Finney Is Back]

soldados was supposed to be the ned product. there isnt any time at all for development with him...his time was NOW or NEVER from the moment he signed .

another thing is that his value was depreciating MUCH faster than lamela....whereas potential and talent is lamels life boat...those two factors dont exist for solly cause he has realised his already...his life boat is his production and direct contribution....not doing those means he was sinking fast..and his anchor weighed a ton

I think the problem is that after 3 years of failure for Lamela the depreciation will be very high, I don't think we can afford to let that happen. Maybe we should loan Lamela to Italy?... Perhaps some good performances in a weaker league that he is more suited to might encourage one of the Italian big boys to give us back two thirds of our money for him at the end of this season?

 

[AdamB]

I think the problem is that after 3 years of failure for Lamela the depreciation will be very high, I don't think we can afford to let that happen. Maybe we should loan Lamela to Italy?... Perhaps some good performances in a weaker league that he is more suited to might encourage one of the Italian big boys to give us back two thirds of our money for him at the end of this season?

Agree. Loan him back to Italy; he doesnt look like he'll contribute much for us this year so may as well try to get his confidence back

 

[africanspurs]

I think the problem is that after 3 years of failure for Lamela the depreciation will be very high, I don't think we can afford to let that happen. Maybe we should loan Lamela to Italy?... Perhaps some good performances in a weaker league that he is more suited to might encourage one of the Italian big boys to give us back two thirds of our money for him at the end of this season?

That is definately an option....seeing as there is a significant mental aspect to his performances it might be good to send him back to a league where he was man..get his confidence up and subsequently his value and his possible future performances up for us as well

 

[glorygloryeze]

sorry brother.....can i just confirm that chadli actually got an assist? the subsequently fudgeed up by not tracking his man LOL

Indeed. Lamela has done that (and been VILLIFIED for it) several times before. So i ask again was Lamela during the time both were on the field worse than Chadli or worse than Vertonghen?

 

[glorygloryeze]

Some of the stuff being written about "how could Poch be so stupid as to start Lamela is getting truly surreal.

Let's be clear (again) that i think Lamela is due a spell on the bench as he is not up to speed atm and is playing below par. I believe he WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE BENCH if not for Eriksen's injury and for me it was almost a no-brainer that he started in Eriksen's first team place ahead of the likes of Alli, Pritchard, N'Jie and Bentaleb, away against an in-form and vibrant Leicester side.
Ask yourselves simply what had any of the first 3 EVER done in the PL (NOT pre-season, NOT EL "against tinpot opposition" as many of you say , NOT League Cup, i mean PL) to immediate warrant a start over Lamela?

Alli - the nutmeg in the PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY? Woohoo, Lamela did a Raboner in an ACTUAL EL game you know, should that guarentee him his place now? The late booking vs Manure when he "took one for the team"? Now i'm sure Lamela has been criticised for his yellow cards and free-kick giveaways too. So starting Lamela over someone with ZERO comparative experience in the PL was a no-brainer.

Pritchard - again, what has he done in the PL before now? Gamble to start him, especially with his fitness issues. I would have been ok if Poch did make this gamble, but again it was a no-brainer for him to play it 'safer' and start Lamela who has more PL experience at this stage.

N'Jie - i was surprised he wasn't even in the squad, but maybe it's because his fitness isn't yet up tp Poch's famed high ceiling yet. Again, starting him over Lamela would have been a big gamble, and it's again a no-brainer that in tgeh absence of Eriksen Poch didn't go for this away vs Leicester.

Bentaleb - have you seen his previous games vs Leicester, never mind how he has played this season so far?? Again, no-brainer.

As i say, Lamela is due a spell on the bench and i think he'll get it. I think some of your hates for the guy has frazzled your brain to the point you are seriously thinking Poch should take mad gambles in our stating line-up away vs a very good time right now. Imagine if Poch did take those gambles and they backfired: the spewing on here by the same people would be constant, plus the players who were gambled on would be under even more pressure FROM OUR OWN FANS than necessary.

The fact is that Lamela was NOT at fault for our throwing away a well-earned lead and win; one which would have probably vindicated the coaches selections overall: play Lamela and co get a foothold in game then push Leicester back second half, gamble with later substitutions and take the lead. I'm sure at 81 mins Poch, like most of us, would have looked at the game and thought "we should be good to hold out now" before in front of his and our eyes Chadli, Davies and esp Vertonghen went to sleep and threw things away. Lamela was irrelevant to how we threw things away and many of you need to remember that.

I have to say, until we get a recognized DCM/DCM-minded player we will likely be rotating our fingers of blame across our midfield and Kane-support players. Alli, Mason, Lamela, Chadli, Bentaleb will all benefit with playing alongside one and will not have their games exposed as much as they are right now imo for not playing alongside one. I really hope Levy and the board pull a rabbit out of the hat by Tuesday week.

 

[Nigeyman]

Thanks bro, this completely tells me where your mind is at and why you rate him

I disagree on quite a few of the points

First of it would seem that you think you are replacing chadli with Njie..the truth is you arent......you are replacing chadli with lamela. dembele is played out there ahead of lamela currently, that is the position that is up for grabs by somene new.....i.e most likely Njie...ythe position that you have replaced is chadli with lamela......by which you have replaced Chadli's key stats...actual tangible key stats...like assists and goals which directly relate to point ....with someone that you favour above him. I wouldnt do that personally
Then there is the pace and directness aspect.....chaldi is faster than lamela so i am not really sure where that comes in? Not to mention Lamela to me feels like a person least likely to beat a player on our team out of our attacking mids.

Impact player? for me no, chasing a deficit? for me perhaps as i cant seem many options but townsend would be my choice ahead of lamela...and i dont even like townsends style of game over erik's but i know he would be more impactful when chasing a game ...again IMV

Trying to control a lead? For me Yes.....his defensive aspects and work rate are pretty clear to see plus we dont lose numbers in attacking players

In short your opinions are near enough the complete opposition to mine LOL

lol no problem african.

As stated last night I am gonna back off from this thread for a bit and let things play out, I really cant add anymore to what I have previously said and I dont want to keep repeating myself .

Chadli is an enigma for me, I know he chips in with goals which er in football is pretty damn important, its just alot of the times I feel he doesn't contribute enough to our attack, same with Erik, maybe the answer is neither of them.

But even if our opinions are on opposite sides of the spectrum I still enjoy having a decent debate with someone who explains there own thoughts and puts in it a constructive manner, far more useful than than short burst post's just stating he is s**t and making out I must live in an asylum.

 

[Nigeyman]

Some of the stuff being written about "how could Poch be so stupid as to start Lamela is getting truly surreal.

Let's be clear (again) that i think Lamela is due a spell on the bench as he is not up to speed atm and is playing below par. I believe he WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE BENCH if not for Eriksen's injury and for me it was almost a no-brainer that he started in Eriksen's first team place ahead of the likes of Alli, Pritchard, N'Jie and Bentaleb, away against an in-form and vibrant Leicester side.
Ask yourselves simply what had any of the first 3 EVER done in the PL (NOT pre-season, NOT EL "against tinpot opposition" as many of you say , NOT League Cup, i mean PL) to immediate warrant a start over Lamela?

Alli - the nutmeg in the PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY? Woohoo, Lamela did a Raboner in an ACTUAL EL game you know, should that guarentee him his place now? The late booking vs Manure when he "took one for the team"? Now i'm sure Lamela has been criticised for his yellow cards and free-kick giveaways too. So starting Lamela over someone with ZERO comparative experience in the PL was a no-brainer.

Pritchard - again, what has he done in the PL before now? Gamble to start him, especially with his fitness issues. I would have been ok if Poch did make this gamble, but again it was a no-brainer for him to play it 'safer' and start Lamela who has more PL experience at this stage.

N'Jie - i was surprised he wasn't even in the squad, but maybe it's because his fitness isn't yet up tp Poch's famed high ceiling yet. Again, starting him over Lamela would have been a big gamble, and it's again a no-brainer that in tgeh absence of Eriksen Poch didn't go for this away vs Leicester.

Bentaleb - have you seen his previous games vs Leicester, never mind how he has played this season so far?? Again, no-brainer.

As i say, Lamela is due a spell on the bench and i think he'll get it. I think some of your hates for the guy has frazzled your brain to the point you are seriously thinking Poch should take mad gambles in our stating line-up away vs a very good time right now. Imagine if Poch did take those gambles and they backfired: the spewing on here by the same people would be constant, plus the players who were gambled on would be under even more pressure FROM OUR OWN FANS than necessary.

The fact is that Lamela was NOT at fault for our throwing away a well-earned lead and win; one which would have probably vindicated the coaches selections overall: play Lamela and co get a foothold in game then push Leicester back second half, gamble with later substitutions and take the lead. I'm sure at 81 mins Poch, like most of us, would have looked at the game and thought "we should be good to hold out now" before in front of his and our eyes Chadli, Davies and esp Vertonghen went to sleep and threw things away. Lamela was irrelevant to how we threw things away and many of you need to remember that.

I have to say, until we get a recognized DCM/DCM-minded player we will likely be rotating our fingers of blame across our midfield and Kane-support players. Alli, Mason, Lamela, Chadli, Bentaleb will all benefit with playing alongside one and will not have their games exposed as much as they are right now imo for not playing alongside one. I really hope Levy and the board pull a rabbit out of the hat by Tuesday week.

ha ha glory, I am officially ducking out of this thread for a while and passing the baton to you.

good luck my son...its a jungle in here!

 

[glorygloryeze]

ha ha glory, I am officially ducking out of this thread for a while and passing the baton to you.

good luck my son...its a jungle in here!

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Thanks bro, this completely tells me where your mind is at and why you rate him

I disagree on quite a few of the points

First of it would seem that you think you are replacing chadli with Njie..the truth is you arent......you are replacing chadli with lamela. dembele is played out there ahead of lamela currently, that is the position that is up for grabs by somene new.....i.e most likely Njie...ythe position that you have replaced is chadli with lamela......by which you have replaced Chadli's key stats...actual tangible key stats...like assists and goals which directly relate to point ....with someone that you favour above him. I wouldnt do that personally
Then there is the pace and directness aspect.....chaldi is faster than lamela so i am not really sure where that comes in? Not to mention Lamela to me feels like a person least likely to beat a player on our team out of our attacking mids.

Impact player? for me no, chasing a deficit? for me perhaps as i cant seem many options but townsend would be my choice ahead of lamela...and i dont even like townsends style of game over erik's but i know he would be more impactful when chasing a game ...again IMV

Trying to control a lead? For me Yes.....his defensive aspects and work rate are pretty clear to see plus we dont lose numbers in attacking players

In short your opinions are near enough the complete opposition to mine LOL

Affy we brought him on to help us control a lead last week and and he got caught out every time on his side