Lucas Moura

[billyiddo]

I am not saying for one moment that those three aforementioned players should be cast asunder, rather just stating that having been bought in January that I believe Lucas has done enough to earn a start in his first league match in April.

Don't want to repeat myself (for a change...) so what i will say is that he is worth a start in a game like Tuesday (?) against Brighton where we will be looking to our squad options in order to rotate ahead of the semi, but has he done enough to be starting games like the Semi itself ahead of our established players? To me that's a clear no at this point.

 

[90291Spur]

When he comes on he has an impact

That normally warrants a chance to start if we have a defeat

With Poch it seems that he cares more about how a player trains rather than how they’ve played.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

I could see him starting in the game midweek as that would be a case of rotating certain players out ahead of the semi final, i imagine Rose and Aurier will play too, that's what we need good squad options for and a good performance then may give Poch a headache for the United game but it's unlikely as Son Alli and Eriksen have done enough over the season to be relied upon, one defeat doesnt change that and Pochettino isn't one to make drastic changes on a whim

Poch is not a great rotator.

 

[StephenH]

Don't want to repeat myself (for a change...) so what i will say is that he is worth a start in a game like Tuesday (?) against Brighton where we will be looking to our squad options in order to rotate ahead of the semi, but has he done enough to be starting games like the Semi itself ahead of our established players? To me that's a clear no at this point

Butting in
Wouldn’t that depend on were Pochettino see his priorities FA Cup wise?

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Don't want to repeat myself (for a change...) so what i will say is that he is worth a start in a game like Tuesday (?) against Brighton where we will be looking to our squad options in order to rotate ahead of the semi, but has he done enough to be starting games like the Semi itself ahead of our established players? To me that's a clear no at this point.

Ok
How did lamela get his place in the team back?

 

[billyiddo]

Poch is not a great rotator.

Really? What's your thinking there as i think we do quite well in that department - the full back rotation last season seemed to work well as an example and we haven't really been blessed with strength in depth for most of his time as manger, be that because of injuries or just a lack of quality in reserve

 

[billyiddo]

Ok
How did lamela get his place in the team back?

Lamela is currently a squad option and hasnt really gotten his place back in the team like you are suggesting

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

Really? What's your thinking there as i think we do quite well in that department - the full back rotation last season seemed to work well as an example and we haven't really been blessed with strength in depth for most of his time as manger, be that because of injuries or just a lack of quality in reserve

To be fair he has done it in the full back positions. I think though I should have said the are some in the squad who seem undropable.

 

[billyiddo]

To be fair he has done it in the full back positions. I think though I should have said the are some in the squad who seem undropable.

Id say our regular starters are fully justified in being so tbh minor quibbles maybe in one or two positions but minor all the same

Wanyama in for Dier as an example id say but there are plenty who would disagree with that - certainly don't think there are any glaring mistakes there

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Lamela is currently a squad option and hasnt really gotten his place back in the team like you are suggesting

Started games lately

Admittedly it came off the back of Kane being out

 

[billyiddo]

Started games lately

Admittedly it came off the back of Kane being out

Yeah he has but he's much more of an established player than Moura is and was probably ahead of him at the point Moura signed, not to mention that he provides different attributes to most others in our attack, attributes which obviously Poch relies on in certain types of games.

 

[parklane1]

I would start him against Brighton, he looks the type of player who will give us that bit of magic to unlock a tight defense which is what i expect Brighton to do.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Yeah he has but he's much more of an established player than Moura is and was probably ahead of him at the point Moura signed, not to mention that he provides different attributes to most others in our attack, attributes which obviously Poch relies on in certain types of games.

True
Maybe that’s a style issue we need to change some times

 

[billyiddo]

True
Maybe that’s a style issue we need to change some times

I think as supporters we can discuss what we prefer style wise indefinitely as it's a subjective matter but ultimately it can't really be argued that Pochettino himself doesn't obviously value that particular approach for key games and so until there's some competition for Lamela in regards to being the unfashionable defensive attacking player he's always likely to be involved at certain points, and won't be in direct competition with a player like Moura in those instances - similarly i think there will be plenty of games that Moura will get the nod ahead of Lamela for in the future where his attributes will be seen as more suitable for the game at hand - good to have the differing options in reserve for different circumstances, no?

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I think as supporters we can discuss what we prefer style wise indefinitely as it's a subjective matter but ultimately it can't really be argued that Pochettino himself doesn't obviously value that particular approach for key games and so until there's some competition for Lamela in regards to being the unfashionable defensive attacking player he's always likely to be involved at certain points, and won't be in direct competition with a player like Moura in those instances - similarly i think there will be plenty of games that Moura will get the nod ahead of Lamela for in the future where his attributes will be seen as more suitable for the game at hand - good to have the differing options in reserve for different circumstances, no?

Who do united, pool and city have as a defensive attacker?

Their the teams were trying to get ahead of and they don’t play an attacking player for his defensive ability

Lamela can create and we know that and he is a different option

I thought he was ok yesterday and better than most of our attackers

 

[billyiddo]

Who do united, pool and city have as a defensive attacker?

Their the teams were trying to get ahead of and they don’t play an attacking player for his defensive ability

Lamela can create and we know that and he is a different option

I thought he was ok yesterday and better than most of our attackers

Uniteds whole attack could be considered defensive attackers the way Mourinho has them set up!

Willian at Chelsea too of course although i note you didnt mention them but really I think it would be a mistake to compromise on our identity to copy how others are playing personally, and not to mention 'defensive attacker' does do Lamela a bit of a disservice as that's not all he has to his game, i was just using the term to highlight what he has that others don't and that Poch will value having that as an option

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Uniteds whole attack could be considered defensive attackers the way Mourinho has them set up!

Willian at Chelsea too of course although i note you didnt mention them but really I think it would be a mistake to compromise on our identity to copy how others are playing personally, and not to mention 'defensive attacker' does do Lamela a bit of a disservice as that's not all he has to his game, i was just using the term to highlight what he has that others don't and that Poch will value having that as an option

Hence why I added we know he can do more

I thought starting him was fine yesterday and he wasn’t a problem but he has to learn to pas quicker

City follow Barca’s philosophy now of no more than 2 touches before a pass

 

[Jurgen the German]

Hence why I added we know he can do more

I thought starting him was fine yesterday and he wasn’t a problem but he has to learn to pas quicker

City follow Barca’s philosophy now of no more than 2 touches before a pass

I would add he needs to learn how to use his right foot. Then again, a lot of left footed players are one footed.

 

[Raziel]

I would start him against Brighton, he looks the type of player who will give us that bit of magic to unlock a tight defense which is what i expect Brighton to do.

He's got something, every time he touches the ball, it makes you believe something will happen. Need to get into regular squad rotation soon.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Thought he was exciting last night. I’d be inclined to start him on Tuesday.

I really enjoyed his cameo. Id start him tomorrow too, especially with the Utd game next - might be good to give some players a rest.

Moura to start, maybe Lamela/Son to come on for him when he tires - Id be happy with that.

Against Brighton Id expect him to do well.

Could even set him up for a cameo at the weekend too...