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I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool

Jurgen the German said:
I like the comparison to Aaron Lennon. It's quite apt.
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Its been in mind for a while, but as I said I also think the Kuyt/Park comparison is very good as well.

Neither player, while in attacking positions, were ever especially attacking - but did do a hell of a job for the team in certain games.

Park could barely get on the field, but for a couple of seasons he started every meaningful game they had. And served in a very similar capacity to Lamela now...
 
Jurgen the German said:
I didn't say that has always been the case. As i said before, Alli and Eriksen's places in the team appear to be almost guaranteed for the moment, the other spot is still anyone's (although I believe Son is slightly ahead and so does Poch judging by how often he starts). Son started against Juve as he was in the middle of a purple patch. I'm not saying that Lamela only gets a look in when Son plays poorly but Son does also make himself almost undroppable when he's in good goalscoring form, regardless of Lamela's skillset being useful in big games.
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No, but you were saying that next season Lamela had to prove his worth, that it was a now or never season for him and my response to that was that Pochettino clearly see's Lamela value to the team already, and in certain big games he will value Lamela's pressing/defensive contribution higher than Sons goal threat - whether you or I prefers one over the other is by the by, Lamelas future isnt decided by the fans it's decided by management and as previously stated the evidence suggests Pochettino trust Lamela enough to start big games over the competition so i don't really see any basis in the idea that next season is make or break for him as it seems quite clear that the person who matters most already values his contribution.

Only question mark id imagine from Poch/the clubs perspective is his injury record - but assuming no problems there i fully expect a new long term contract for him in the summer
 
billyiddo said:
No, but you were saying that next season Lamela had to prove his worth, that it was a now or never season for him and my response to that was that Pochettino clearly see's Lamela value to the team already, and in certain big games he will value Lamela's pressing/defensive contribution higher than Sons goal threat - whether you or I prefers one over the other is by the by, Lamelas future isnt decided by the fans it's decided by management and as previously stated the evidence suggests Pochettino trust Lamela enough to start big games over the competition so i don't really see any basis in the idea that next season is make or break for him as it seems quite clear that the person who matters most already values his contribution.

Only question mark id imagine from Poch/the clubs perspective is his injury record - but assuming no problems there i fully expect a new long term contract for him in the summer
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We'll see. Lamela used to be preferred more often than not to Son regardless of the opposition. That has changed. Partly due to Lamela's injury but also because Son has improved.

Good to know you don't think the idea has no basis though :D
 
Jurgen the German said:
That's all fine but would you not accept that he needs to improve his end product if he is to usurp one of Alli, Eriksen or Son? 2 of whom have 10 league goals this season and Alli who has scored 10 league goals 2 seasons in a row. Eriksen who also creates more chances, covers more miles than any other attacking player including Lamela and gets more assists, Son who offers us something different i.e. pace and Alli who Poch almost never drops.
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Eriksen's our best player, I don't expect anyone to replace him.

As for the others, I prefer to look at the all-round game of each player rather than choose a couple of narrow categories that back up an opinion I formed a number of years ago.
 
scaramanga said:
Eriksen's our best player, I don't expect anyone to replace him.

As for the others, I prefer to look at the all-round game of each player rather than choose a couple of narrow categories that back up an opinion I formed a number of years ago.
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I think it is just horses for courses..... As you say Eriksen is our best player and therefore will always play if fit and available. The two or three who play alongside will depend entirely on the opposition, performance in the previous game and what they are showing in training. I think each of the three players in question have both attributes and deficiencies to their games and I'm not sure that any have done enough to get themselves into the Vertonghten, Dembele, Eriksen, Kane 'must pick' category. Personally I think that Ali is the closest to being in that category leaving a straight fight between Lamela and Son, but I don't see it as being a clear thing.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Its been in mind for a while, but as I said I also think the Kuyt/Park comparison is very good as well.

Neither player, while in attacking positions, were ever especially attacking - but did do a hell of a job for the team in certain games.
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Not sure about those as comparisons - Kuyt got goals. According to wiki, he got 51 in 208 for Liverpool, so roughly 1 in 4, whereas Lamela has 8 in 102 for Spurs, so 1 in 12

Lamela works hard, has a great attitude, good physique, decent control....lots of great raw materials but he really should hurt teams more than he does. Personally, I'd be happy for him to stay at Spurs as we need the depth in the squad, but equally happy if we can upgrade him to someone who has more of an impact
 
glasgowspur said:
The one thing lamela has that others in the squad seem to lack is the will to win.
He has Harry's intensity, Erikson work rate, dele dirty tricks (yes I know three things there).
I'd like to see him dropped back a bit, behind dele Erikson and son and in a two with Wanyama or dier.
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Not sure he's useful deep. The way I see it

- Our midfield players than can play deep -> Wanyama, Dier, Dembele, Sissoko, Eriksen, Dele (odd, but it works), Winks
- Our midfield players that can play forward -> Eriksen, Dele, Son, Lamela, Lucas

The additional value of Lamela (somewhat like Dele that people don't see) is his movement when we have the ball, they both make runs that even if they never receive the ball, created space elsewhere (usually for Eriksen to murder the opposition.

Funny part is I don't think anyone is disagreeing with each other anymore re Lamela, summary -> talented player that brings a mentality/workrate to team, but still short of hurting the opposition in a way his talent should enable. (and did when younger)
 
galeforce said:
Lamela hurts the opposition when they have the ball, it’s a crucial difference and equally important.
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Quite. Not much point in having people who can assist and score if you don't have the ball.

Lamela is always the one who makes the pass the opponent doesn't expect too. I'd imagine his xGchain figure is quite high.
 
He's a newer, more Argie version of Aaron Lennon. Defensively one of the best in the team, carrying ability with the ball and an eye for a tricky pass. But, he's not scoring enough for the amount of ball he's seeing. Can rarely recall him making any Eriksen distance efforts since the goal against Burnley about three years ago. He's been a good addition for the final half of the season, much to Moura's expense. We looked pretty damn good in those games Harry was out, with Lamela and Son in with Erisken and Alli.
 
scaramanga said:
Quite. Not much point in having people who can assist and score if you don't have the ball.

Lamela is always the one who makes the pass the opponent doesn't expect too. I'd imagine his xGchain figure is quite high.
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The big problem is he makes many passes ‘our players’ dont expect!
 
galeforce said:
Lamela hurts the opposition when they have the ball, it’s a crucial difference and equally important.
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I hear that a lot, but prefer that we have attackers who hurt the opposition more when we have the ball. We play with a back 4 and two CMs who generally dont score/assist that much, so need the CF and 3 behind to be contributing a lot. Dele, Eriksen and Son do, Lamela doesnt
 
AdamB said:
Not sure about those as comparisons - Kuyt got goals. According to wiki, he got 51 in 208 for Liverpool, so roughly 1 in 4, whereas Lamela has 8 in 102 for Spurs, so 1 in 12

Lamela works hard, has a great attitude, good physique, decent control....lots of great raw materials but he really should hurt teams more than he does. Personally, I'd be happy for him to stay at Spurs as we need the depth in the squad, but equally happy if we can upgrade him to someone who has more of an impact
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My point was the role, rather than the direct comparison (though if memory serves Kuyt had one really hot season, but otherwise was a less than 1 in 4 player?)

Kuyt wasnt there for goals, he was there for graft - and the balance that gave. Much like Park. I think Lamela fills that role for us currently.

Otherwise I do agree - he has everything to be more than he is currently. I think thats where much of this debate comes from, people see he isnt at his peak and has more to give.
 
AdamB said:
I hear that a lot, but prefer that we have attackers who hurt the opposition more when we have the ball. We play with a back 4 and two CMs who generally dont score/assist that much, so need the CF and 3 behind to be contributing a lot. Dele, Eriksen and Son do, Lamela doesnt
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A high pressing game is all about turnovers high up the pitch.

If it's only our back 6 that turn over possession, then the opposition is likely to be in front of the ball when we win it.
 
Not sure why Lamela was poor against ManCity. But we only had 3 wins over ManCity in the last 5 years. And Lamela had almost single handedly inspired us in 2 of those wins.
 
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