I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

[Gazzasrightboot]

I think that's artificial because of his late return due to the Copa America/lack of a pre-season.

He was ahead of Townsend and Dembele on form for the majority of last season

Perhaps but that's my point. On current form I'd rather have Dembele. You said that you would take Lamela over Dembele any day.

As for Copa America, I'm not sure I buy that. A lot of the South Americans that played in that tournament are playing ok having played more games. I desperately want Lamela to do well, and I have trust in Poch that if we end up keeping him it is because Poch thinks he will deliver. However, at what point does he call it quits in his attempts to get the best out of him. I think Lamela was starting to look good at the end of last season, but the start of this season has not been great.

 

[mudshark]

I never thought he would be sold outright this window; his value on the books is too high still at £18m and we'd never recoup anywhere near that all in one go. The loan deal has real legs, though, if you ask me. His book value will have dropped to £12m by the end of the season, so receiving €20m = £14m in combined loan and transfer fees plus his wages off the books for the duration... yep, that sounds like Levy-style accounting to me.

 

[Finney Is Back]

I think that's artificial because of his late return due to the Copa America/lack of a pre-season.

He was ahead of Townsend and Dembele on form for the majority of last season

But isn't that just like being the tallest midget? (and I'd actually say second tallest after Dembele)

 

[Finney Is Back]

I'd like this too. I think with speedsters around him his game will pick up. The players around him all want ball to feet , they're not chasers , in fact at times they're statuesque

I would rather he first proved himself able to successfully pass the ball 10 yards to a static teammate, let's not try getting him to run before he can walk!

 

[Gazzasrightboot]

I would rather he first proved himself able to successfully pass the ball 10 yards to a static teammate, let's not try getting him to run before he can walk!

I'm sure plenty of evidence can be provided to show that!

I think that shows plenty of examples of where he has successfully passed the ball 10 yards and more! But that's not the point you are making though is it!

 

[Rorschach]

I'd like to see Lamela in tandem with Nigel and Berahino

I'd certainly rather see him at RWF than Dembele any day

So you'd take a player out who was roundly voted our MOTM in the last match, and two decent shifts in the other two matches, and put Lamela in his place? Doesn't make a lot of sense really.

Lamela has had his chances. Time for him to spend some time on the bench (or back in Italy).

 

[wiziwig]

I would rather he first proved himself able to successfully pass the ball 10 yards to a static teammate, let's not try getting him to run before he can walk!

Okay Finney, we get it that you think he's the worse footballer ever but you yourself have to admit that there have been plenty of games where he's not featured and our game is still full of unforced errors too or are you simply playing into the old spacegoating game ?

At times we're are ponderous in our passing , there's not enough quick one and two touch football , players making themselves available for the pass. There were a couple of times, like on Saturday , Lamela played the first touch quick obvious pass and the receiver was rooted on his heels allowing the Leicester player to intercept, making it look like it were a poor pass. Granted there are deficiencies in his game but let's not just brick on him.

Last summer I saw Lamela play for Argentina in a friendly against the new World Cup winners Germany, the German's first game as champions. He were impressive and I were happy to call him a Spurs player.
There is a player in there, I'm sure of it.

 

[DublinSpur]

I don't get how anyone could play Lamela ahead of Dembele right now. Whatever the position. Maybe hypothetically you could say "Lamela, if he fulfils his potential, will be better than Dembele". Which, sadly, is starting to look a lot like speculation based on a huge transfer fee.

But based on current form (i.e. our first three matches) there is just no comparison. And a very brief look at the three match ratings threads so far - which is all we have to go on aside from personal opinion - shows almost universal consensus on this. In the Man United match there is one person who rated Lamela above Dembele. Three have them tied, and six people thought Dembele was better.

The (roughly) 2 hours since then where they've both been playing (the Stoke and Leicester ratings threads) have Lamela rated our worst player on average, and Dembele in the top 2 or 3. Even GB - who would play Lamela ahead of Dembele - rated the Argentine a "3" against Stoke, and the Belgian a "6".

And the idea that Lamela's form would dramatically improve if he played on the right flank (rather than up top as he did when he came on against Stoke - or as the #10 against Leicester) doesn't make a great deal of sense either. The problem isn't positional (in fact he spent a fair amount of the Leicester game out on the right and Dembele drifted in a lot) - the problem is the fact he's just not playing well right now. Whether he ever will (for Spurs) is an open question. But to start him ahead of Dembele at this moment in time would be a perfect example of damaging the team by picking a player based on name / reputation / transfer fee / personal favouritism... instead of picking the in-form player.

In the Leicester ratings thread, the majority of people who posted have rated Dembele as Man of The Match (or gave him the highest rating). To drop him for someone who the majority rated as the worst player on the pitch? Pure craziness.

 

[Gutter Boy]

So you'd take a player out who was roundly voted our MOTM in the last match, and two decent shifts in the other two matches, and put Lamela in his place? Doesn't make a lot of sense really.

Lamela has had his chances. Time for him to spend some time on the bench (or back in Italy).

The wing pairing of Dembele and Chadli is just crippling us. We need someone with a bit more penetration in at least one of those roles - be it Lamela, Townsend, Nigel or Pritchard

You don't need a 'defensive AM' against Leicester and Stoke

 

[imcallingbullsh*t]

I could get the argument more in the 3 games this year were the exception against an upwards curve of development the previous year. Some things i dont agree with but i understand the viewpoint, soldado may come good, ade is the devil, dawson just hoofs the ball etc etc.

However the Lamela has been offering assists viewpoint and we can see development with him baffles me. I also think defensively he is weak as well, its alright getting back and showing willing but he does affect the play once he is there like lennon for all his faults was very good at doing.

I admit i never saw him play for Roma though.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Okay Finney, we get it that you think he's the worse footballer ever but you yourself have to admit that there have been plenty of games where he's not featured and our game is still full of unforced errors too or are you simply playing into the old spacegoating game ?

At times we're are ponderous in our passing , there's not enough quick one and two touch football , players making themselves available for the pass. There were a couple of times, like on Saturday , Lamela played the first touch quick obvious pass and the receiver was rooted on his heels allowing the Leicester player to intercept, making it look like it were a poor pass. Granted there are deficiencies in his game but let's not just **** on him.

Last summer I saw Lamela play for Argentina in a friendly against the new World Cup winners Germany, the German's first game as champions. He were impressive and I were happy to call him a Spurs player.
There is a player in there, I'm sure of it.

I don't think he is the worst player ever. He is just the weakest player in the 2015/2016 Spurs team. I always think that the best way to improve a team is to replace the weakest component(s). There are also other players in our team that I would like to see upgraded, but upgrading them is a lower priority than upgrading the weakest link.

I honestly think that if Lamela had been an English player coming through from our youth team instead of being a £26 million Argentinian then he would’ve been written off as being not good enough by now. He has poor control, is completely one footed, gets tackled a lot, misplaces far too many easy passes, has an anaemic goal scoring contribution and his defensive contribution consists of playground football style charging in the direction of the opposition player that has possession of the ball, with no actual thought to the team’s general defensive shape, then on the occasions where he actually gets to the player before they offload the ball he commits a foul and leaves us defending a set piece.

I know it’s galling to have to admit that we’ve wasted £26 million quid, having already spunked a similar amount on our previous weak link that we now look to have managed to upgrade (fingers crossed that we actually do bring in Berahino!) However after two years with no noticeable improvement in Lamela’s performances I think it is time for us to face facts and try to recoup some money on him before his value plummets even further.

 

[Finney Is Back]

The wing pairing of Dembele and Chadli is just crippling us. We need someone with a bit more penetration in at least one of those roles - be it Lamela, Townsend, Nigel or Pritchard

You don't need a 'defensive AM' against Leicester and Stoke

I would rather we didn't replace either Dembele or Chadli with Lamela, who is a player that has even less penetration.

 

[Yiddo]

So are we in talks with Inter or is it that rumours?

 

[Spur of the moment]

I don't think he is the worst player ever. He is just the weakest player in the 2015/2016 Spurs team. I always think that the best way to improve a team is to replace the weakest component(s). There are also other players in our team that I would like to see upgraded, but upgrading them is a lower priority than upgrading the weakest link.

I honestly think that if Lamela had been an English player coming through from our youth team instead of being a £26 million Argentinian then he would’ve been written off as being not good enough by now. He has poor control, is completely one footed, gets tackled a lot, misplaces far too many easy passes, has an anaemic goal scoring contribution and his defensive contribution consists of playground football style charging in the direction of the opposition player that has possession of the ball, with no actual thought to the team’s general defensive shape, then on the occasions where he actually gets to the player before they offload the ball he commits a foul and leaves us defending a set piece.

I know it’s galling to have to admit that we’ve wasted £26 million quid, having already spunked a similar amount on our previous weak link that we now look to have managed to upgrade (fingers crossed that we actually do bring in Berahino!) However after two years with no noticeable improvement in Lamela’s performances I think it is time for us to face facts and try to recoup some money on him before his value plummets even further.

Spot on, every word.

 

[Millsy_Yiddo]

I honestly think that if Lamela had been an English player coming through from our youth team instead of being a £26 million Argentinian then he would’ve been written off as being not good enough by now. He has poor control, is completely one footed, gets tackled a lot, misplaces far too many easy passes, has an anaemic goal scoring contribution and his defensive contribution consists of playground football style charging in the direction of the opposition player that has possession of the ball, with no actual thought to the team’s general defensive shape, then on the occasions where he actually gets to the player before they offload the ball he commits a foul and leaves us defending a set piece.

So Andros Townsend then..............

I think Lamela could still come good, but it's hard to argue what you've said there.

 

[Rorschach]

The wing pairing of Dembele and Chadli is just crippling us. We need someone with a bit more penetration in at least one of those roles - be it Lamela, Townsend, Nigel or Pritchard

You don't need a 'defensive AM' against Leicester and Stoke

Or is it you simply have an irrational dislike for Dembele and can see no good in anything he does?

Aside, I think our movement is appalling too with almost nobody running in behind from midfield. Too many similar players who all fancy themselves as a number 10 on the pitch at the same time (Dele Alli being the exception), but on evidence of the first three matches Lamela is not the solution. He is in fact compounding the problem.

 

[glasgowspur]

Or is it you simply have an irrational dislike for Dembele and can see no good in anything he does?

Aside, I think our movement is appalling too with almost nobody running in behind from midfield. Too many similar players who all fancy themselves as a number 10 on the pitch at the same time (Dele Alli being the exception), but on evidence of the first three matches Lamela is not the solution. He is in fact compounding the problem.

I have to agree with your second paragraph. To many no 10s and none of them seeming willing to stand up and take the number. Go out there and show you deserve it. See the oppositions set and pick holes in it. Tell your forwards where to run and make pass.
For Glory

 

[Yiddo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/636235652963635200

 

[NaijaSpurs]

So you'd take a player out who was roundly voted our MOTM in the last match, and two decent shifts in the other two matches, and put Lamela in his place? Doesn't make a lot of sense really.

Lamela has had his chances. Time for him to spend some time on the bench (or back in Italy).

Let it be so

 

[NaijaSpurs]

https://twitter.com/x/status/636235652963635200

Yay