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Townsend and Lamela playing together....viable option?

Pretty much this. In the last month Townsend has gone from undroppable to very droppable. Lamela deserves a chance, as does Siggy. It also allows more interchanging of positions, which we saw brief glimpses of last night.

The last month very droppable despite being our best player in league games vs villa and hull? Hmmm what?
 
I think Townsend can actually work on the left in our system. Not because I want him to play as a typical 'get down the line' winger but because he does seem able to cut in with his right as well. I don't think Lennon on the right and Townsend on the left would work as the standard system we would play because I think it requires the short options from the wide forwards coming inside.

People are getting on Townsend's back though and it's a bit strange. No, he doesn't play many through balls but someone with his pace, touch, dribbling ability etc (and he is excellent at this) can still be useful with how we are trying to play. But people are acting like because he isn't the quick, snappy, subtle passer that Lamela is that he is somehow a lesser player. But they are both good players. They both have their merits.

But ragging on Townsend for the player he is, is like saying that Lamela is a lesser player because he doesn't have Towsnend's pace or Crouch's height or whatever. In this day and age people are acting like there is only one right way to play the game - all the hipsters have this idea and if a player doesn't fit then it isn't good enough for them.

Even if Townsend hasn't scored or even assisted lately he has clearly still been a threat.
 
Townsend I fear is starting to have less and less impact on games due to hype and predicatability. But Bale went through this too and im sure we have the head coach to get the best from Andros.
Lamela is a special player, we have seen it against a european minow, but he is now confident, and has to be used with from bench or start v Saudi Sportswashing Machine, as he will want to effect games and want the ball!
Saudi Sportswashing Machine might not be ideal as they play a right footed left back and will be strong coming inside so i would actually start lennon on the right this weekend!
 
Lamela should at least be given a chance to play the number 10 role...AVB can't just rotate between Holtby and Eriksen.
 
The last month very droppable despite being our best player in league games vs villa and hull? Hmmm what?

Well, I don't agree with that at all. Whenever he gets the ball and starts running with it the attack breaks down. Some say he's the only one that looks like making something happen, that something has been conceding possession 9 times out of 10.
 
Sorry peeps, I made a mistake. obviously we have threads for Townsend & Lamela.....the gist of this thread was to get people's opinions on whether playing them both would be effective or not in the same side.....I didn't want a thread either praising Lamela or not and discussing Andros whether he is good enough...we have the other threads for that.

To my memory (though please correct me if im wrong) I don't think we have played Townsend left and Lamela right(for some reason I keep thinking Cardiff away but cant remember) If it isn't a combination we have tried is it worth doing so? or would it be counter productive to our gameplan?

To me it seems AVB is trying to keep a large squad(maybe to large) happy by keeping them all ticking over.....it seems obvious to me he doesn't know what his best team is........some people have touched on it and im grateful for there thoughts.........so in an attacking sense would this combination work? if not why? and if not what is people's ideas about our best attacking 4 in AVB's 4-2-3-1 formation?
 
Going back to AVBs Porto side - i believe they played with one inverted winger/wing forward and a more natural winger on the opposite side so im sure Townsend/Lamela would suit that.

Both look like they'd be capable of mixing it up (either cutting in or going outside) so should be able to avoid predictability.

Get that working and find a way to get Eriksen performing and we should start to look a lot more dangerous in attack.
 
Can they play together? Sure

Do I want them to? No

We are not a counterattacking side and I think we should go with Lamela. He offers us more.
 
id prefer a more natural winger on the other flank - especially with no width coming from the full back on the left atm. Im hopeful Chadli will impress when he's back to match fitness.

Think best Lennon can hope for is to be an alternative to Lamela on the right should we want to have some natural width down that side - more than happy for him to remain in the squad
 
They're not really wingers. They're not supposed to be hugging the touchline, but attack the space between the CB and the FB.

In theory Lennon should work well on the left, driving into the box or having the LB overlap, but doesn't look like it's going to happen.
 
I think we should always have a left-footer on the left, be it at left-back or left wing/forward. At the moment, Rose is injured and Vertonghen will be used at left-back in the league games. Because Vertonghen is at left-back, IMO we need pace in front of him, or we will invite pressure down that flank.

I think AVB recognises this, and it's why he used Lennon against Everton. Townsend could perform that role and, IMO, deserves a place in the side ahead of Lennon right now. I also think Lamela and Townsend would compliment each other, with their different skill sets. It'd be a good balance for our attack.

-----Lamela------eriksen------Townsend
-------------------Soldado

Works for me. Worth gambling on a Lamela start, coz his confidence could snowball and it might be a big turning point for us as a team.
 
id prefer a more natural winger on the other flank - especially with no width coming from the full back on the left atm. Im hopeful Chadli will impress when he's back to match fitness.

Think best Lennon can hope for is to be an alternative to Lamela on the right should we want to have some natural width down that side - more than happy for him to remain in the squad

Not entirely convinced by Chadli, he will most definitely have moments where he looks outstanding due to the high level of skills and technique he possesses but more often that no he'll disappoint/frustrate imo. Seems a little selfish in possession, his decision making is relatively poor and his end product leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not normally if ever overly critical regarding new players but in a short space of time he has displayed a fair few traits that frustrate me a fair bit in a player. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he has not played much but i don't hold much hope for him being a consistent starter for us in the future. Useful impact sub for me.

Out of all the midfield combinations we have available, Townsend, Lamela and Eriksen are most likely the best possible trio we have at our disposal.
 
That's a strange appraisal of a player that i believe has a very high 'chance creation' stat for the games he has played
 
There was one game Chadli was getting stick for not creating anything when in fact he had the highest number of crosses of all the players on the pitch.
 
if it were lamela and townsend on both wings, i'd prefer Lamela doing the cutting in.

Same here, although once he has settled in a little more i would be interested in seeing him tested in Bale's role last season, which was basically starting on the left and drifting in to a more central position. Early signs suggest that he could potentially have the game to play such a role in the future.
 
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There was one game Chadli was getting stick for not creating anything when in fact he had the highest number of crosses of all the players on the pitch.

He also got caned for the arsenal game where I thought he was very good in the first half.
 
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