I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

[Jurgen the German]

Glenn Hoddle said before the game that Lamela "hasn't done it" so far. Got bags of ability and skill, but needs to be more direct, his end product isn't enough at the moment to justify starting ahead of Chadli. I'm not even a great fan of Lennon, but he has done well in the last couple of games. Lamela only seems to look a goal threat in the Europa League against weaker oppositon or in the league cup.

 

[Jordinho]

Agreed.
There is absolutely a player in there, and I believe it will happen, but for now he fights for his place. Lennon was much more impactful for us today and must play Wednesday.

I remember not too long ago when you couldn't move on here for the amount of posters bashing away at Lennon.

 

[Robspur12]

Agreed.
There is absolutely a player in there, and I believe it will happen, but for now he fights for his place. Lennon was much more impactful for us today and must play Wednesday.

IMO I think posters are reading it wrong. Playing Lennon, with his clever play and tremendous work ethic alongside 3 passing midfielders against an Everton team who themselves have good passing rather than an overly physical side, was the reason we played well. Dropping Lamela per se had nothing to do with it. I think if for example we had dropped Lamela and played Chadli, Townsend or dembele instead of Lennon we would not have played so well today. In fact, advance Kane and put Lamela rather than bobby behind him I would be interested to see if we had the same result.

 

[africanspurs]

IMO I think posters are reading it wrong. Playing Lennon, with his clever play and tremendous work ethic alongside 3 passing midfielders against an Everton team who themselves have good passing rather than an overly physical side, was the reason we played well. Dropping Lamela per se had nothing to do with it. I think if for example we had dropped Lamela and played Chadli, Townsend or dembele instead of Lennon we would not have played so well today. In fact, advance Kane and put Lamela rather than bobby behind him I would be interested to see if we had the same result.

again, good post

 

[NWND]

I remember not too long ago when you couldn't move on here for the amount of posters bashing away at Lennon.

I remember too as one of my biggest question marks I put against Poch in the Poch thread was his failure to make use of Lennon, despite Lennon having a good pre-season under him and IMO being exactly the sort of player that would on-paper thrive in Poch's system, in that he always listens to the manager and follows instructions, always puts the team ahead of his own glory and has a lot of stamina and work-rate.

I got slated by many (not all) for saying that Lennon still had a lot to offer both Poch and Spurs.

 

[Mosquito_Coasting]

I have no great confidence Lamela would have released the ball to Soldado in the way Lennon did. He is so frustrating, really reminds me of Dembele in his refusal to release the ball and the way he wants to beat men with his body. Dembele to be fair is much better at it. Lamela just seems like a moth to light, charging straight at the thickest area of defenders he can see!

 

[DHSF]

Agreed.
There is absolutely a player in there, and I believe it will happen, but for now he fights for his place. Lennon was much more impactful for us today and must play Wednesday.

There is a player of course and you can tell BUT the question is do you think he would do it in this league? I dont know and highly doubt it. Its not a criticism of him but more his style is suited to a league where he will be given time and alittle space - you can tell he needs time and space hence he is always taking the extra few touches to create that space. This league is too rough and tumble for him in my view.

 

[SPURSphenomenon]

In my opinion, what we have is a very talented player that's playing within himself. I completely share the frustration at his decision making, I think he needs a strong leader to coach some efficiency into his play.

When he starts doing that, we've got a real player on our books!

 

[AdamB]

I remember not too long ago when you couldn't move on here for the amount of posters bashing away at Lennon.

I agree, and the main things we've been lacking recently from an attacking perspective are pace and width. Lennon brings both of those and suddenly we play well when he's in the team.....

 

[Bonsaiboy]

I hate to reiterate previously made points, but could those in the "there's a player in there" please explain what evidence they base this on without resorting to the fact he's Argentinian, cost 30 Million and is a pretty boy?

I judge him only on what I see, and that is that he is too feeble to make an impact in this league, and he's not as good as he thinks he is. He's constantly trying to look cool by passing when looking the other way or casually stroking it with the outside of his boot. The trouble is, he often ends giving possession away doing that, and I've seen nothing to suggest he has enough vision to play killer passes.

He reminds me of an expensive version of Paul Moran.

 

[jhli2891]

I hate to reiterate previously made points, but could those in the "there's a player in there" please explain what evidence they base this on without resorting to the fact he's Argentinian, cost 30 Million and is a pretty boy?

I judge him only on what I see, and that is that he is too feeble to make an impact in this league, and he's not as good as he thinks he is. He's constantly trying to look cool by passing when looking the other way or casually stroking it with the outside of his boot. The trouble is, he often ends giving possession away doing that, and I've seen nothing to suggest he has enough vision to play killer passes.

He reminds me of an expensive version of Paul Moran.

He clearly has skill, and he has a huge amount of energy. His decision making is poor and can be infuriating to watch but i've seen enough potential there to believe he will be a class player. I'm not comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo but I am comparing his first couple of seasons. That guy didn't hit his stride until around the third season at united. Lamela needs to reduce the 'flashy flash' and have more conviction with his decision making but I'm definitely hoping spurs and poch stick by him. Kane got a lot of hate in his first season (still does) but he's slowly proving his worth. We definitely need more faith and patience with our young players, especially ones who have come from overseas and need time to adapt to the hustle and bustle of the prem

 

[harr1984]

Sorry but coming from Essex I have to question, how is Lamella a pretty boy?!

 

[Raziel]

He clearly has skill, and he has a huge amount of energy. His decision making is poor and can be infuriating to watch but i've seen enough potential there to believe he will be a class player. I'm not comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo but I am comparing his first couple of seasons. That guy didn't hit his stride until around the third season at united. Lamela needs to reduce the 'flashy flash' and have more conviction with his decision making but I'm definitely hoping spurs and poch stick by him. Kane got a lot of hate in his first season (still does) but he's slowly proving his worth. We definitely need more faith and patience with our young players, especially ones who have come from overseas and need time to adapt to the hustle and bustle of the prem

The work rate and skill are there, even the strength is improving. Lamela has to learn to take the easy option some days, the first/quick pass.

It amazes me how naïve people are about running a business, Lamela and Soldado represent a huge investment for Spurs, we cannot just write them off unless there is no doubt that they will not adapt, we must give them as many chances as possible without severely impacting team results.

Right now, Soldado is just about keeping his PL spot, Lamela for me needs to play every cup game, and come on for last 20/30 minutes against tiring opposition in PL.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Glenn Hoddle said before the game that Lamela "hasn't done it" so far. Got bags of ability and skill, but needs to be more direct, his end product isn't enough at the moment to justify starting ahead of Chadli. I'm not even a great fan of Lennon, but he has done well in the last couple of games. Lamela only seems to look a goal threat in the Europa League against weaker oppositon or in the league cup.

I wouldn't compare Lamela to Chadli - I think they are completely different players. For example I don't think Chadli could've come on yesterday and done the same job that Lamela did in terms of keeping Baines quiet.

Currently Lennon has to be our first choice right midfield player. He is simply the best we have. He contributes in both attack and defence and doesn't seem to lose us possession of the football. Lamela is currently battling with Townsend to be second choice behind Lennon.

 

[Finney Is Back]

I have no great confidence Lamela would have released the ball to Soldado in the way Lennon did. He is so frustrating, really reminds me of Dembele in his refusal to release the ball and the way he wants to beat men with his body. Dembele to be fair is much better at it. Lamela just seems like a moth to light, charging straight at the thickest area of defenders he can see!

Dembele and Lamela are also similar in that it seems both of them can only beat a player on the left. It also looks like the opposition have got wise to this (especially in Lamela's case) which is perhaps why he seems to lose the ball so much when he attempts to dribble.

 

[Bullet]

Could be an impact sub in a striker role, i.e. 20 minutes to go against tired centre backs, just whack it up the pitch and let him run like a gazelle.

Then you don't have to worry about him tracking back or passing, you just tell him to run until he scores.

 

[Rorschach]

Dembele and Lamela are also similar in that it seems both of them can only beat a player on the left. It also looks like the opposition have got wise to this (especially in Lamela's case) which is perhaps why he seems to lose the ball so much when he attempts to dribble.

Ha. This is true. Dembele drops the shoulder and goes left always, and to be fair it actually seems to come off more times than not.

I think the comparisons of Dembele and Lamela are accurate to a point. Both amazingly talented but have decision making issues especially just after they beat a man. You might throw Townsend into this bucket too.

Dembele has regressed in this respect, especially if you compare it to much earlier vids of him playing almost as a forward. Now he is content with retaining possession rather than taking a chance with a tricky pass or shot. Lamela also needs to recognise the right time for a pass, the sweet spot just after you beat a player and drag another out of position.

This certainly can be coached which is why I still haven't given up on Dembele just yet and have high hopes for Lamela and indeed Townsend. If they can add just this one thing to their games then they have stepped up a level.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I wouldn't compare Lamela to Chadli - I think they are completely different players. For example I don't think Chadli could've come on yesterday and done the same job that Lamela did in terms of keeping Baines quiet.

Currently Lennon has to be our first choice right midfield player. He is simply the best we have. He contributes in both attack and defence and doesn't seem to lose us possession of the football. Lamela is currently battling with Townsend to be second choice behind Lennon.

Did he really keep him quiet? He got booked and was lucky that Baines didn't go down after kicking him again otherwise it would have been a second yellow.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Did he really keep him quiet? He got booked and was lucky that Baines didn't go down after kicking him again otherwise it would have been a second yellow.

Yes he did.... Every time Baines pushed on Lamela went with him. I was worried when Lennon went off because he was doing such a good job of keeping Baines quiet. However Lamela was also very responsible in terms of his tracking back. Granted he did get needlessly booked for sliding in on Baines high up the pitch, but in terms of an attacking threat we didn't see Baines do anything other than deliver set pieces.

 

[Raziel]

Yes he did.... Every time Baines pushed on Lamela went with him. I was worried when Lennon went off because he was doing such a good job of keeping Baines quiet. However Lamela was also very responsible in terms of his tracking back. Granted he did get needlessly booked for sliding in on Baines high up the pitch, but in terms of an attacking threat we didn't see Baines do anything other than deliver set pieces.

Issue with Lamela is not work rate, or even his mindset re defending.

It's that he is plain ****ing awful at tackling, he just doesn't know how to do it and will just miss and/or get himself booked.

Poch needs to put him on some basic tackling training.