I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

[sc25]

Judging him entirely by his price tag, basically. Which is actually relatively irrelevant.

Nope, its not. What if it were 50mil, or a 100. A few have bought in to this, (and I'm willing to listen), so at what point does it become relevant? At some point it is. What if the money had been spent on other player(s), is it relevant then? How come when we buy a player for 5mil, that its money well spent and we got good value? And then there's 'The lad has had all the pressure of the price tag' (aswell as the signing on fee and wages to go with it). So I guess before we go any further, its relevant somewhere, huh, at least to him anyway. (And of course, something we as a club should have taken on board and anticipated). And him being homesick, and us having 2-3 managers, is of our doing, too. How come in the transfer thread people say 'so and so isn't worth this or that'? We can basically splash 30mil on any promising youngster and its not relevant how it turns out? We on our budget, as a team and our success, is not tied or correlated to how it turns out? Sorry, don't buy it, and doesn't make sense to me. Which is not to say I don't necessarily understand why we did it in his case,, but in our position we need to 'hit' on those. And so as such, its relevant. Very.

 

[thfcsteff]

Nope, its not. What if it were 50mil, or a 100. A few have bought in to this, so at what point does it become relevant? What if the money had been spent on other player(s), is it relevant then? How come when we buy a player for 5mil, that its money well spent and we got good value? And then 'the lad had the pressure of the price tag'. So I guess its relevant somewhere, huh? Him being homesick, and us having 2-3 managers, is of our doing. How come in the transfer thread people say 'so and so isn't worth this or that'? We can basically splash 30mil on any promising youngster and its not relevant how it turns out? We on our budget, as a team and our success, is not tied or correlated to how it turns out? Sorry, don't buy it, and doesn't make sense to me. Which is not to say I don't necessarily understand why we did it in his case,, but in our position we need to 'hit' on those. And so as such, its relevant. Very.

Fine.
I think next season he will explode. He's having a very decent year. The fact he has not been spunking rabonas all over the shop is irrelevant. Pity last season's managers couldn't have helped him bed in a little better or given him some encouragement; one in particular instead of supporting the player took the tinkle out of him in a press conference. Nice.

 

[sc25]

Fine.
I think next season he will explode. He's having a very decent year. The fact he has not been spunking rabonas all over the shop is irrelevant. Pity last season's managers couldn't have helped him bed in a little better or given him some encouragement; one in particular instead of supporting the player took the tinkle out of him in a press conference. Nice.

Well, I guess I'm going to need to see some physical evidence of that . You know, he may explode next year (assuming he's here), and hope he does. Didn't you say today that there would likely be no big money signings in the summer? Why's that? And someone else said, not til after the stadium is built. I am asking you now, how the 30 mil out of the coffers isn't relevant to our club in our situation, and how we are not correlated to its success. Now, not sure you personally have said that yourself. But you are aware, as am I, that some have. Our first priority is the club, right? Since when did Spurs buying a 30 mil player become irrelevant to us? Maybe I missed the boat on that one, but I'm willing to hear about it. Is he the first player in our history where the money spent isn't relevant? I don't recall many others. If we had spent 10 mil on him, would we consider him a bargain? We might, but the 'bargain' part would be tied, at least in part, to the money spent, right? Thus the relevance.

 

[milo]

The reason I say apologists is simply because we did not pay 30 mill for him to "run around and make tackles". He should be a (if not the) key creative force in our team and he absolutely isn't. He knew what he was expected to provide and, just as he accepted the signing on fee, also accepted the expectations that came with it.

Same thing with Soldado - he was bought to provide goals; end of story. No amount of running again can justify his failure to provide what was expected of him.

The last thing on my mind is to put fellow posters down - but I see the "positives" being rattled out for these two players as apologetic excuses. We can agree to disagree though...

Why not argue your point rather than make generalised dismissive comments about people who hold a different opinion?

The approach that you are taking doesn't leave a lot of room for discussion and will get people's backs up.

 

[Yiddo]

Can all the people who think he will still come good convince me of this as i really want to believe there is a player there but I am so far unconvinced. Please state what you have seen other than his work rate.

 

[milo]

Can all the people who think he will still come good convince me of this as i really want to believe there is a player there but I am so far unconvinced. Please state what you have seen other than his work rate.

I'm not sure it will convince you but these are worth a look

http://www.squawka.com/comparison-m...n/interceptions/total_shots/shot_accuracy#avg

 

[thfcsteff]

Well, I guess I'm going to need to see some physical evidence of that . You know, he may explode next year (assuming he's here), and hope he does. Didn't you say today that there would likely be no big money signings in the summer? Why's that? And someone else said, not til after the stadium is built. I am asking you now, how the 30 mil out of the coffers isn't relevant to our club in our situation, and how we are not correlated to its success. Now, not sure you personally have said that yourself. But you are aware, as am I, that some have. Our first priority is the club, right? Since when did Spurs buying a 30 mil player become irrelevant to us? Maybe I missed the boat on that one, but I'm willing to hear about it. Is he the first player in our history where the money spent isn't relevant? I don't recall many others. If we had spent 10 mil on him, would we consider him a bargain? We might, but the 'bargain' part would be tied, at least in part, to the money spent, right? Thus the relevance.

It becomes very hard sometimes to see the angle of your questions - I find I can't take them strictly on face value simply because there appears to be a means to an end. Not a criticism, just an observation. That being said, first-off, no, I don't believe I said there would be no big money signings this summer. Interested to see where you feel I did? Might suggest I need medical attention for dissociative disorder!!!!!! What I believe is that he will continue to build around youth and cherry pick a couple of 'name' signings to complement that.

I'm not sure on your '30 million' angle. I didn't bring up his price tag as I think it is a red herring. He is an 18-20 million pound player whose 'value' rocketed thanks to the Bale sale/cash. But as you ask, given that the money spent on him did not come from our allotted transfer budget, but from the fees made from sales, I DON'T think it's especially 'relevant'. IF the Bale situation had stuck to the course it was on, he'd have gone to Madrid last summer for around 60 -65 million I'm guessing. We gouged a ludicrous price from them because they destabilized him mid-summer once again. Thus we got more than we expected. Thus the player we went after suddenly cost more. Thus 30 million versus bringing in what 86? 90? 96 million? Yeah, it becomes less relevant when measuring his 'output' IMO. Our 'need' to 'hit' on these sorts of signings is not quite as drastic as it might appear, as the club will not be in massive debt on a 'gamble' purchase due to his being budgeted from a surplus pile of cash.

 

[Finney Is Back]

I thought he was appalling in the first half, I don't think a pub player would've looked any worse.

Second half was a bit better though.

If he never starts a game on the left again it will be too soon.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I wouldn't necessarily use the word "apologists" to describe people defending him. But I do feel certain posters (not naming names) are quite protective of him. He has a poor game, but people say "he works hard". Eriksen on the other hand has a quiet ish game where things don't quite come off for him and he gets a 4 or 5 out of 10. There needs to be some consistency. People seem to be more patient with Lamela than with any other player in our squad.

I honestly think we should start him on the bench for a few games. Eriksen played very well when they were not both playing. Maybe it's a coincidence, but Eriksen is the more important player who is more likely to influence/win a game for us.

Just for the record as well, I am willing to be patient to a degree. I would give him at least another full season. But I'm not in the frame of mind where I believe he should play regardless of form just because he has potential.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Fine.
I think next season he will explode. He's having a very decent year. The fact he has not been spunking rabonas all over the shop is irrelevant. Pity last season's managers couldn't have helped him bed in a little better or given him some encouragement; one in particular instead of supporting the player took the tinkle out of him in a press conference. Nice.

I'm all for giving him a bit of time to realise his potential, but I just can't accept that he's having a "very decent year". He's been one of our most disappointing players this season along with Soldado. He works harder than Chadli, but that's the only thing he's superior to him at the moment.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Is Lamela not leading the way in assists this season? He should have a lot more as well with the chances he has created for others.

christ he is such an easy target for criticism because of the price tag.....Sky & BT pundits cant wait to tell us he is a flop.....oh a poor touch here and there sure, they never seem to elaborate the good stuff he does, and he really does do good stuff, very good stuff.

What many on here fail to grasp is that there are many who are desperate for him to fail, its just very sad for me that there are many spurs fans who feel this way also.

Look at it in a reasonable way please Mr Falcon, he is young comes to a foreign country, totally different lifestyle, and then finds a manager in AVB who didnt want him! + the injuries, we sack AVB and Sherwood rocks up and then the injuries again, this all = first season a write off! perhaps we can agree on that. The lad did not have the environment to suceed, he had the pressure of the price tag and homesick and two managers who would not give him the time of day.

This season he has a manager he can work with, but poch has had a long road and is only just starting to get us into the pressing game. I do not think his performances have been a disaster I feel he is taking time to adapt and showing us glimpses of quality.

feck me I would like to think we invested that 30m for our future, this player is the best dribbler on the ball in our squad, he can do things many players cant, if you cant see his potential then wow I guess. Fecking Patience is required and not an attitude of he cost x amount so should be scoring/assisting x amount per season.

If we count the players who really GET poch's way of playing then he is right up there! those players who really have adapted the best are Rose, Mason, Bentaleb, Eriksen, Kane and yes everyone's favourite Eric Lamela.

Why cant we have a bit of patience and give the lad the support and environment he needs to succeed??? I sure as sh** dont want us to wast 25-30m whatever the fee was so lets at least remain hopeful that he will succeed because I believe there is an amazing player in there who will come out if we do things the right way.

Or maybe I just think that because of his slick hair, his gloves and the tat on his neck ffs!

Sky and BT pundits are no harsher on him than they are on any other player in my opinion. They are just giving their honest assessment of him. Some may feel they are being harsh, I don't think they are personally. Price tag aside, he's been disappointing this season. I also don't agree that people are desperate for him to fail, why would this be the case? Besides our rivals and their fans, who does it benefit if he continues to not impress? Doesn't help Spurs as we will more than likely sell him in another season or two. We could do with the goals he could provide. Also, pundits do not have any vested interest in him, so why would they want to give it an entire season or two before offering their opinion of him?

I have some sympathy re AVB, I think it's clear he wasn't an AVB signing and he had no real intention of playing him, hence the start he gave him away to Emirates Marketing Project, superb man management there! But he has been in this country over a year now. He should be over any homesickness by now and be relatively acclimatised to life in England. I think you have to give South Americans at least a full year to adjust to the fact that it gets dark at 4pm in the winter for example, but after that, they should be somewhat adjusted.

Can you also tell me why you think he is a good dribbler? He can be at times, but I see him run down blind alleys and attempt to many stepovers more often than not.

 

[Spurmac1974]

Its his passing that worries me the most, the simplest of passes look difficult and he continually holds on for just a second too long!

 

[Spaceman]

such a bad player. he really isnt producing the goods we need but poch will always start him

 

[ALtottenham_hotspur]

I'm not sure it will convince you but these are worth a look

http://www.squawka.com/comparison-m...n/interceptions/total_shots/shot_accuracy#avg

Cheers Milo

When you compare him against Erickson and Chadli looking at those stats the only thing thats letting down is goals.

The lad is creating chances, and working hard for the team thats a fact. He can be frustrating to watch at times miss placing a simple 5 yard pass but we have to remember this is his first full season playing for us and the whole team was playing poorly until December.

For me I would give him until this time next year if he hasn't started to add goals to his game sadly its time to get rid. I don't think we would get more then 10m for him at the moment.

 

[LCLC]

Sky and BT pundits are no harsher on him than they are on any other player in my opinion. They are just giving their honest assessment of him. Some may feel they are being harsh, I don't think they are personally. Price tag aside, he's been disappointing this season. I also don't agree that people are desperate for him to fail, why would this be the case? Besides our rivals and their fans, who does it benefit if he continues to not impress? Doesn't help Spurs as we will more than likely sell him in another season or two. We could do with the goals he could provide. Also, pundits do not have any vested interest in him, so why would they want to give it an entire season or two before offering their opinion of him?

I have some sympathy re AVB, I think it's clear he wasn't an AVB signing and he had no real intention of playing him, hence the start he gave him away to Emirates Marketing Project, superb man management there! But he has been in this country over a year now. He should be over any homesickness by now and be relatively acclimatised to life in England. I think you have to give South Americans at least a full year to adjust to the fact that it gets dark at 4pm in the winter for example, but after that, they should be somewhat adjusted.

Can you also tell me why you think he is a good dribbler? He can be at times, but I see him run down blind alleys and attempt to many stepovers more often than not.

I could count the number of times he has actually beaten a man dribbling, such is the rarity of success he achieves.

Usually he runs down a blind alley, loses it or is forced to toe poke the ball to a team mate under pressure.

He may be a good player next year but this season he has been poor and has been the worst player on the pitch in numerous games. The price tag isn't his fault but 30m on this is looking unbelievable right now.

 

[Huddy]

I watched him a fair bit for Roma and thought he'd end up as a good replacement for Bale, but the kid just can't seem to adapt to the pace of the PL, and I am losing faith that he'll ever kick on for us and show his potential. He's struggling with even the basics like passing at present, even his high workrate shouldn't be labelled as a positive really in a Pochettino team; it's expected of a player. I'm not seeing any signs of improvement in his game from the start of the season, I fear we've ended up with another young player with great potential that fails to develop, it's just this particular one cost £26m.

 

[braineclipse]

He was poor and struggled to get into the game playing from the left I thought. Much better after moving to the right and was good overall when the momentum swung.

As per usual I don't get the criticism and lack of patience with Lamela.

 

[Modric THFC]

It becomes very hard sometimes to see the angle of your questions - I find I can't take them strictly on face value simply because there appears to be a means to an end. Not a criticism, just an observation. That being said, first-off, no, I don't believe I said there would be no big money signings this summer. Interested to see where you feel I did? Might suggest I need medical attention for dissociative disorder!!!!!! What I believe is that he will continue to build around youth and cherry pick a couple of 'name' signings to complement that.

I'm not sure on your '30 million' angle. I didn't bring up his price tag as I think it is a red herring. He is an 18-20 million pound player whose 'value' rocketed thanks to the Bale sale/cash. But as you ask, given that the money spent on him did not come from our allotted transfer budget, but from the fees made from sales, I DON'T think it's especially 'relevant'. IF the Bale situation had stuck to the course it was on, he'd have gone to Madrid last summer for around 60 -65 million I'm guessing. We gouged a ludicrous price from them because they destabilized him mid-summer once again. Thus we got more than we expected. Thus the player we went after suddenly cost more. Thus 30 million versus bringing in what 86? 90? 96 million? Yeah, it becomes less relevant when measuring his 'output' IMO. Our 'need' to 'hit' on these sorts of signings is not quite as drastic as it might appear, as the club will not be in massive debt on a 'gamble' purchase due to his being budgeted from a surplus pile of cash.

£20m is closer to what Roma got for him than £30m. If you consider the fee is paid in euros and I doubt we paid it all up front. Its probably instalments over 3 or 4 years. The euro to sterling rate has crashed since then. The final fee will be around £23-24m

 

[thfcsteff]

I could count the number of times he has actually beaten a man dribbling, such is the rarity of success he achieves.

Usually he runs down a blind alley, loses it or is forced to toe poke the ball to a team mate under pressure.

He may be a good player next year but this season he has been poor and has been the worst player on the pitch in numerous games. The price tag isn't his fault but 30m on this is looking unbelievable right now.

I'm sorry, this is a massive, massive overstatement.

 

[thfcsteff]

£20m is closer to what Roma got for him than £30m. If you consider the fee is paid in euros and I doubt we paid it all up front. Its probably instalments over 3 or 4 years. The euro to sterling rate has crashed since then. The final fee will be around £23-24m

Right. But for detractors it won't make a difference.