I honestly cannot comprehend this general satisfaction with the video highlights which are basically Lamela's whole contribution to the game. Is there anything in those highlights that screams "there's a 30mill player here waiting to come out??" Is this our level of expectation from the supposed star of our team? I appreciate that people desperately want Lamela to succeed - so do I - but this is now bordering on the ridiculous. There is absolutely not one decent pass, shot or dribble in that whole clip. There are at least three occasions when he dribbles himself out of control of the ball and the ball rolls harmlessly out, dribbles that don;t come off etc. In addition out of the 6:25 minutes, only 2:10 relate to the first half when we were playing against a full team; he had a full 30 minutes against a ten man Hull for GHod's sake!!!
The irony is that Fazio is getting pasted left, right and centre on another thread when to me he was more effective than Lamela on Sunday
I don't think anyone is saying that he was MOTM, had an 'outstanding game', or that he couldn't have done better against Hull. I don't think people are going overboard - they are simply just recognising him for what he did well during the game - kept the ball moving well, good 1-2s, drew fouls, WAS a threat at time, excellent workrate, real hunger and drive, was a threat at time and could have scored (should have scored perhaps).
To say he did not have 'one decent pass or dribble' is hyperbole and not actually true IMO. The highlights video shows the opposite. It also shows some mistakes – show me a Spurs player who ISN’T making mistakes right now??? And anyway, after the game and before the highlights video I already thought he had a pretty good match.
If you can't see the (obvious) potential in the guy based on the game - and other matches this season - then i am not sure what to say.
But I suppose that I, and others, am merely judging him for what he currently is (a clearly talented young guy who is still adapting to the PL and his team mates and who has areas for improvement) rather than what his price tag ‘says he should be’. Lamela cost £30 mil, so seems to be judged by this mythical standard. 'He cost 30 mil so he must be the absolute dogs doo dahs straight away'.
When I say judged, I mean hanged. I think people hang him by his price tag, like you appear to be doing. Lamela can't do anything about his price tag. it was probably a fair price tag given his form and hype at Roma, but it's a dangerous game to simply assume he'll walk into the side and look like the 'mythical £30 mil player'. He's had to face a lot of challenges - prolonged injuries, culture shift at a young age, a shifting and out of form Spurs team. His team mates, by the way, are themselves almost to a man experiencing the same fluctuations in form as Lamela is. But Lamela is good looking and hyped and cost £30 mil, so I think this is where the mythical different standard comes into play…
As africanspurs said, maybe Lamela isn't going to be the absolute STAR of this team, maybe he may "just" be a talented role player who supports people like Eriksen. This is a key role for any good team, so I don't have a huge problem if that's the case. Or maybe, just maybe, as the team grows, and he grows, and if people show some patience, he may grow to be a star, like he did at Roma.
Either way, I think most of the people you express frustration with simply recognise the challenges Lamela/Spurs face, and are prepared to show some patience, in light of the his clear talent and in recognising the difficult journey he (and we) are on.