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I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

Graham Roberts hails 'top class' Erik Lamela for Spurs

Graham Roberts acknowledged Erik Lamela's contribution to Tottenham Hotspur's win at Bournemouth.

Tottenham Hotspur recovered from the disappointment of a mid-match injury to Harry Kane by beating Bournemouth 4-1 at the Vitality Stadium today.

Junior Stanislas fired Bournemouth into an early lead but Dele Alli drew level for Spurs in the first half, after Kane left the field injured with an ankle injury.

A second-half double from Son Heung-min gave Tottenham a two-goal cushion, before Serge Aurier added gloss to the scoreline by grabbing a fourth in the closing stages.

Instead of using Fernando Llorente as Kane's replacement, manager Mauricio Pochettino made the brave decision to introduce Erik Lamela instead.

The Argentine has been getting a bit of stick from Tottenham fans in recent weeks, but he was excellent today and club legend Graham Roberts has praised the "top class" attacker.

Graham Roberts
@GrahamRoberts4
After a very hard 20 minutes fantastic performance and I want to single out @dele_official today very very good and also when @ErikLamela came on top class

Pochettino will be delighted with the response, but he will be eager to discover the extent of Kane's injury because Tottenham have a very big couple of months potentially.

Having gone out of the Champions League in midweek, Spurs' season is suddenly about winning the FA Cup and qualifying for Europe's elite competition next season - two tasks made a lot tougher if Kane is not around.

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/03/11/graham-roberts-hails-top-class-erik-lamela-for-spurs/page/1/

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No doubt, Lamela helped us to turn the game around against Bournesmouth. Not sure if we would have won if Llorente had replaced Kane instead.
 
Spurs7891 said:
Graham Roberts hails 'top class' Erik Lamela for Spurs

Graham Roberts acknowledged Erik Lamela's contribution to Tottenham Hotspur's win at Bournemouth.

Tottenham Hotspur recovered from the disappointment of a mid-match injury to Harry Kane by beating Bournemouth 4-1 at the Vitality Stadium today.

Junior Stanislas fired Bournemouth into an early lead but Dele Alli drew level for Spurs in the first half, after Kane left the field injured with an ankle injury.

A second-half double from Son Heung-min gave Tottenham a two-goal cushion, before Serge Aurier added gloss to the scoreline by grabbing a fourth in the closing stages.

Instead of using Fernando Llorente as Kane's replacement, manager Mauricio Pochettino made the brave decision to introduce Erik Lamela instead.

The Argentine has been getting a bit of stick from Tottenham fans in recent weeks, but he was excellent today and club legend Graham Roberts has praised the "top class" attacker.

Graham Roberts
@GrahamRoberts4
After a very hard 20 minutes fantastic performance and I want to single out @dele_official today very very good and also when @ErikLamela came on top class

Pochettino will be delighted with the response, but he will be eager to discover the extent of Kane's injury because Tottenham have a very big couple of months potentially.

Having gone out of the Champions League in midweek, Spurs' season is suddenly about winning the FA Cup and qualifying for Europe's elite competition next season - two tasks made a lot tougher if Kane is not around.

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/03/11/graham-roberts-hails-top-class-erik-lamela-for-spurs/page/1/

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No doubt, Lamela helped us to turn the game around against Bournesmouth. Not sure if we would have won if Llorente had replaced Kane instead.
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Well we probably have stopped crossing as we always seem to do that when he comes on...despite that bring his strength
 
Tottenham's Erik Lamela nearly back to best - Mauricio Pochettino

Erik Lamela is nearly back to his best, according to Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who says the winger's recovery justifies his caution with players returning from injury.

Pochettino has been at odds with Toby Alderweireld over the centre-back's readiness to play after a three-month hamstring injury, while he has also been cautious with Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks after lengthy spells out.

Lamela did not train fully for over a year due to chronic hip pain but he returned to the first team in October and has since made himself an important part of Pochettino's squad.

The former Roma player started the Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Juventus and he is expected to cover the injured Harry Kane in the next few games after replacing the striker at Bournemouth on Sunday.

"He's doing fantastic in the last few months but we need to be careful with him," Pochettino said of Lamela. "After one year of injury, we cannot force him to do something. That is the problem.

"We have information about every single player and we're professional and we try to look after everyone. But it's so difficult to translate that to our fans. I understand polemics and controversy about different things -- that's normal -- but in the way that we manage every single player, and in this case Lamela, it's to help them play at their best again.

"For me, Lamela is still not at his best but I think he's very close. And I think the way that we are managing him is fantastic."

With Spurs trailing 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium, Pochettino called for Lamela -- rather than striker Fernando Llorente or January signing Lucas Moura -- to replace Kane when the Tottenham talisman hobbled off with ankle ligament damage, which will sideline him until next month.

Within a minute, Lamela helped to create Spurs' equaliser, scored by Dele Alli, and he was also involved in their third goal in an impressive 4-1 win.

"He doesn't need to impress me because I know him very well and we know very well what we can expect from him," Pochettino added.

"I am so happy and the other day after Harry Kane's injury he was fantastic on the pitch. I think what he started to show against Juventus was fantastic too and Rochdale [in the FA Cup fifth-round replay], and every time he has had the possibility to play he's shown his quality.

"He's going to be a player that is going to help in the last period of the season in the FA Cup and the Premier League."

Pochettino admitted that Lamela was "suffering" during his time on the sidelines but he says the 26-year-old is now in a good place mentally and physically, and more mature since the birth of his first child in November.

"There are situations where afterwards you feel sad or little down -- when you cannot compete or when you're injured. But, for me, all the players are strong. I think Lamela, now, is in very good form, physically and mentally. And it helps that he is involved in nearly every game. "Of course, Coco is more mature now that he is dad. It's different, and that helps you to be more mature. When I was 22 and I had my first son, it completely changed my vision about life and helps you to be more mature."

http://global.espn.com/football/tot...amela-nearly-back-to-best-mauricio-pochettino

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It is clear Pochettino rates Lamela highly. Wish he can help Lamela score more goals.
 
Why Erik Lamela is going to be vital to Heung-Min Son during Harry Kane's absence through injury

The Argentine should continue to play a big role for Spurs

Erik Lamela continues to divide Spurs fans, but his return to full match fitness has culminated in another upturn in Heung-Min Son’s form, and for that we should all be thankful -- particularly in Harry Kane’s injury absence.

Mauricio Pochettino has always been keen on a small but perfectly formed squad, with limited rotation aside from that of the full-backs (a famously demanding position to play under Pochettino) and those with chronic injuries (such as Mousa Dembélé).

But his use of Lamela and Son over the past two months has shown that he is very much capable of using rest and rotation to his advantage to get the best out of his key players.

Son has re-found his sparkling form with seven goals in his last four matches. But prior to that he had gone nine games without scoring, and Pochettino must take credit for allowing him the time to re-charge his batteries with unexpected rests against Juventus and Crystal Palace.

Lamela was -- quite rightly – brought back slowly, building up over a long period of time after a lengthy absence. But his return to sharpness made resting Son that bit easier.

The Argentine is a divisive figure, and I sit so far on one side of that divide that I struggle to see why he is so. Runs hard? Check. Kicks Chelsea players? Oh yes. Laughs in Jack Wheelchair’s face? You betcha! Scores rabonas? Well, a rabona. What’s not to love? Aside from these surely-should-add-up-to-cult-hero elements, Lamela is consistently one of our most productive players.

He currently sits fourth in the squad in terms of his goals or assists per minute rate -- behind Kane, Son, and Dele Alli, and, somewhat surprisingly, ahead of Christian Eriksen. He averages a goal or assist every 144.5 minutes in all competitions this season, and 156.3 minutes across his Spurs career, despite a slow start due to, you guessed it, injury issues.

Assists are not always the most popular stat, so you may wish to look at chances created per 90 minutes this season; again, he comes out well at 2.5, just behind Eriksen’s 2.6. He has the highest 'through-ball chance created per 90 minutes' rate (0.6) of any of our players - the next highest (Eriksen, Dele, Son) manage a third of his average (0.2).

So we know that he puts up pretty impressive productivity numbers, but that’s just part of what you get with Lamela, who is also a pressing machine who undeniably helps to set the tempo.

Meanwhile, Son has been our second biggest contributor of goals this season with 18 (and nine assists) thus far in all competitions, having returned 21 goals last season (and 10 assists) at an astonishing rate of a goal or assist every 95.9 minutes (Kane’s rate was 75.1 for comparison).

This season’s rate of 102.4 is a little down, but that is to be expected, since we are basically down across the board (e.g. Kane’s rate has dropped to a paltry 82.6 minutes). Son’s general play has arguably improved on last year, and he has put in sterling performances against top class opposition.

Whilst Son and Lamela are competing for the same role, there's no doubt that they do very different things. Son leads the counter, beats a man on the outside, whips in a cross or cuts in and gets a shot away, using both feet impressively well. Whereas Lamela presses until he forces an error, picks up the pieces and threads a reverse pass through to an onrushing team-mate.

With Pochettino typically averse to resting Dele and the ever-important Eriksen, the pair have been left battling for the final spot in the ‘3’ behind the ‘1’.

However, if Kane is to be missing for the rumoured seven weeks, it might provide the opportunity for Son and Lamela to play together, and in theory they are a combination which should work well.

The prospect of Son making out-to-in runs to get on the end of Lamela's passes is a rather exciting one, and with Lucas Moura slowly building up to Pochettino-level sharpness, there might be a further rotation option too.

The shift on Sunday against Bournemouth to a flexible 4-3-3, with Eriksen deeper in midfield, and Lamela and Dele playing narrowly behind Son allowed considerable rotation, overlapping full-backs to stretch the defence, and pockets of space to exploit. This is definitely a tactic with legs given the skillsets of the personnel.

There’s no ignoring the fact that Kane’s injury will leave a big hole in the side, but the four goals scored without him on the pitch against Bournemouth will have given encouragement and confidence to his potential replacements.

Pochettino had his squad primed and ready for the run-in, and we looked poised to finish the season strongly. That might now become even more important with Kane’s absence to be felt.

https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/news/son-lamela-kane-injury-spurs-14412146

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Since Lamela came back from his long injury problems, Son, Eriksen and Alli has lifted their game. Lamela's creativity and work rate is going to be important for us in the remaining of the season, especially with Kane now out injured.
 
billyiddo said:
Can he play well v deep defenses?

Plays well v deep defense...

That deep defense wasnt good enough!
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Did I say deep defences?
I said against bus Parker’s and defensive sides
He had a great game today so credit where is due but their defence was really poor despite them trying to pack it
Let’s see him do it more often
It was a great goal and he also had some great runs
A few township he should have passed quicker but time today was a very good performance
But I’ll reiterate they were not a decent defensive side
 
Bedfordspurs said:
Did I say deep defences?
I said against bus Parker’s and defensive sides
He had a great game today so credit where is due but their defence was really poor despite them trying to pack it
Let’s see him do it more often
It was a great goal and he also had some great runs
A few township he should have passed quicker but time today was a very good performance
But I’ll reiterate they were not a decent defensive side
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I reckon had he not played well this deep defense would have been labelled a bus parker to prove your point- sides park the bus because they are effective at shutting out the opposition- don't know why this those games in particular are seen as the benchmark tbh
 
billyiddo said:
I reckon had he not played well this deep defense would have been labelled a bus parker to prove your point- sides park the bus because they are effective at shutting out the opposition- don't know why this those games in particular are seen as the benchmark tbh
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Bus Parker’s are teams like West Brom and palace who literally sit there
West Ham did it too
I’d argue Swansea did it at Wembley when they literally had 9 men on the edge of the area

Juve did it too

You could argue they tried that today but they where quite chaotic and not very organised which you have to be to do that

But you could also argue that it was a result of our excellent football too that made them less effective
 
Can't see what anyone can criticise in Lamela's last two games. I have not always been his greatest fan but he was outstanding. More importantly - and they also said this on MOTD - his presence is allowing us to play a front 3 with him - Son - Alli/Moura. As a result, Eriksen now has a free role between those three and the covering two from Dier/Wanyama/Dembele. It is no surprise to me that Eriksen was so influential in the last two games. Sure, the opposition was not exactly outstanding but the fact is that Eriksen was in his element, able to find pockets of space that only he can. It was no surprise that he had so much time on the ball and was able to use that time to devastating effect.
 
His timing of release to Eriksen for the first goal is an example of why Lamela is such an important player for us. He makes it looks easy but it really wasn't. The quality of the pass allowed Eriksen to take a good first touch and smash it in the top corner with his left foot. Hope he finishes the season strongly, resigns and gets a call up to the Argentinian world cup squad. Would be a great turnaround from a nightmare year.
 
awesome dawson said:
His timing of release to Eriksen for the first goal is an example of why Lamela is such an important player for us. He makes it looks easy but it really wasn't. The quality of the pass allowed Eriksen to take a good first touch and smash it in the top corner with his left foot. Hope he finishes the season strongly, resigns and gets a call up to the Argentinian world cup squad. Would be a great turnaround from a nightmare year.
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Memory is already fuzzy but didn't he also win the ball deep in our own half, lay it off, move, demand it back and drive forward with it before putting it on a plate for Eriksen?
 
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