Some of the criticism here of Townsend is ridiculous IMO, it smacks of trying to be football hipsters, as if we have somehow become too good for a pacey, direct dribbler to be utilised in our team.
Don't get me wrong, Lamela is going to be sensational. He will be a superstar. His touch, awareness and decision making are excellent. Particularly for such a young player. With AVBs coaching he will be world class. But some are already raving as if every little the guy does is amazing and perfect. I can't imagine the type of roasting Townsend would have gotten had he wasted the ball from the left that Lamela did, in a good position hitting the first man. Or when Lamela tried to dribble in from the right and made absolutely no impression on his markers, and lost the ball. Of course I'm being ridiculously harsh on Lamela there, but I swear if it was Townsend, he would have gotten almighty stick.
Here is a youth product who is putting in some great stats each game. Most of the time he gets the highest number of completed dribbles per week in the league. He can actually contribute well to our passing game on the edge of the box. He faces his man up, let's Walker take his position and can play neat one twos with the others in field. So he shoots! So ****ing what! News flash! It's his job! He has a good shot, and soon the goals are going to come. We can't expect Bale esque shots out of him everytime already though. The guy has played a few games this season, won a penalty against Swansea, was the standout player setting up two and scoring a long ranger in the Europa. Contributed to us looking dangerous against Norwich and helped drive us forward today. He beats players for fun, his pace is electric and his touch is class.
Stunned at the hipsters writing him off because he isn't the subtle playmaking type. He's been crucial to our shape so far.
