Pochettino has improved Lamela but Spurs fans don't want to believe it

Discussion in 'Tottenham forum' started by Josh Bolton, November 26, 2014.

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  1. Josh Bolton

    Josh Bolton Active Member

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    The term ‘it’s a game of opinion’ is frequently applied in football to draw an ongoing argument, in which both parties profoundly express that their opinion is the correct one, to a peaceful conclusion.

    The term ‘it’s a game of opinion’ could be applied to Lamela more than anyone in a Spurs shirt; some see him as having potential to reach footballing glory, while others disagree – what a waste of £30 million you’ll hear them say, whilst pointing to Baldini as the only reason as to why we ever considered buying him.

    Comments on this site, as well as others analysing Spurs’ every move and match, were very critical of Lamela after the Hull game – a criticism that is completely unjustified.

    What do the stats show

    Say what you want or what you will about statistics, but they are becoming ever-present in the game with more coaches and managers applying them to training methods and team selection. In return, us writers use these statistics to then justify or ridicule opinion.

    After the win at Hull there were obviously more negatives than positives (when is there ever not at present), and the positives and praise were solely reserved for: Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane and Ryan Mason.

    Would it interest you to know that Lamela scored a higher WhoScored rating than all of these three players, with an overall score of 8.3. Lamela was also WhoScored’s man of the match.

    This rating is justified, as Lamela was accurate with 92% of his passes, completed 8 out of 12 take-ons successfully and created two chances. How did that happen I hear you ask? But as we were emotionally engrossed in the game for 90 minutes, we are unable to judge and analyse Lamela’s contribution fairly.

    Watch the video of Lamela’s performance at the KC and judge for yourself.


    Price-tag puts on the pressure


    If we’ve learnt anything the hard way at Spurs, it’s that some players are not worth the money we have paid for them. But for Lamela, this is far from the truth.

    Criticism of the lad has come in the form of paying £30 million = you’re buying a player for the present, not for the future. And without this price tag, or the title of our ‘most expensive signing’ a lot of pressure would’ve been removed from the Argentine’s shoulders.

    Of course it’s that old cliché that a player ‘hasn’t said to the club, buy me for X amount’, but there is a reason as to why it took Roma the money it did to part with his services, just as it took a hefty sum for us to sell Gareth Bale over to the Real.

    Can we stop with the comparisons?

    Even though Bale has long gone, and fans will admit Lamela isn’t as much like the Welshman as we expected, there is still a demand from us to see Lamela produce the same product delivered for us by Gareth.

    We want Lamela to score spectacular goals, complete mazy runs and try outrageous skill, so much so we neglect the other important parts to his game – his passing, his work-rate and his positive attitude to go forward.

    And when he does complete these aspects well, what response comes from fans – ‘we didn’t pay £30million for someone who runs around and can pass.’

    For me, Lamela is already ahead of Bale to a certain extent. The Buenos Aires-born player is in his second season at Spurs – he is in the starting XI and is also showing steady progress and promise.

    It took Bale until January 23, 2010 in a 2-2 draw at home to Leeds in the FA Cup to start his real run in the first team – nearly three years since he had signed from Southampton. That for me, is enough to put Lamela’s development in to context.

    If anything, the only comparison that can be made with Lamela and Bale, is fans desire to see them fail so early into their Tottenham careers.

    Improvement under Poch

    My article yesterday considered the fact some players had gotten worse under Pochettino’s management, but it is important to clarify that Lamela isn’t one of them.

    Okay, so Lamela hasn’t been breath-taking under his new manager, but neither has many other players in the squad. However, it is hard to argue against Lamela being the most positive player in our squad – someone who has intent and purpose when in possession.

    That’s not to say he is without mistakes, but it’s a joy to see his confidence growing after his torrid time at Tottenham last season, hampered by injury and unnecessary criticism.

    Just as many of us argue we need to give Pochettino time, and that he can’t be judged one season alone, maybe it’s time we applied this mentality to Erik Lamela.

    So is he really worth £30million? Well, that remains to be seen. But, if anything, he is worthy of protection and patience – something that us fans have a duty to provide!
     
  2. Mark_77 Guest

    He is starting to show glimpses of what he is all about, all we need to do is put a goal scorer in and around him. This season he should really start to find his feet and next season we will see why we paid £30 million for him.
     
  3. He's been improving all the time, his work rate is improving, he appears to be getting to grips with the physical aspect and his ball rentention and passing are among the best we've got. He just needs to add a few more goals and assists to his game and he'll have many of those doubting him convinced. That said, some Spurs fans don't seem happy unless they've got somebody to target and moan about - so his price tag makes him an easy target for the boo boys.
     
  4. abe Guest

    Not sure about your headline, from multiple levels. First Lamela hardly played last season so there is no real baseline to compare in terms of improvement. If was a case of him starting 20+ games last year, then we can compare goals, assists and whatever other stats. So we cannot say Poch has improved him, as he simply giving him a chance. I think we know that lamela is talented, but he does need to work on several aspects. He is young and this really is his first season. He does tend to lose possession a bit too much (although against Hull I must say he looked a lot better), and he has made some biggish mistakes when defending (eg Man City, Arsenal). He also tends to dwell or hold onto the ball a bit too much at times, rather than playing a quick pass. On the positive he is enthuasastic, and hard working, and very talented
     
  5. Marc New Member

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    He's playing really well, my only concern is the amount of time he still likes on the ball. It's very frustrating at times, he seem's to want to play all on his own sometimes. I also often wonder if he would be more suited playing up front or just off the target man, I think we may benefit from him more if we give him less defensive responsibility(on the wing) and move him up top, similar to what Barca did with Messi.
     
  6. Felon82 Well-Known Member

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    potential
    pə(ʊ)ˈtɛnʃ(ə)l/
    adjective
    1.
    having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future.

    The problem with Potential is that it is a gamble. We are at a stage where we have a squad full of supposed 'potential' which only equates to very little end product and disjointed performances.
    To bring Potential through properly you play them alongside the bedrocks of the first team the seasoned pros that deliver consistently. Its how you get them to learn/grow/flourish, Bale had this Lamela does not.
    I have been saying this repeatedly you cant just buy potential all the time with the main purpose of making money off them long term it is detrimental to the first team as you are not making a functional TEAM. At tops there should be 3 'potential' players in the starting 11.
    The transfer policies at the club have lost sight of what the first team needs in chase of Berbatov, Modric & Bale type sales. We are now over stocked with 'potential' and not enough seasoned consistent do the job players.
    What do we as a first team RESULTS wise get out of having a player fumble his way into finding his feet then by the time he does we flog him for a massive fee other than money? Its totally flawed in bringing success to the club on the pitch which is what we all crave.
    Price Tag for Lamela is a factor but youve got to look at what your buying in relation to what the team needs when you are spending them sums at a club like Spurs- a show pony chancer? Or a 15+goals Prem proven Striker? I know what id rather have. And this is why people may be harsh on him.
     
  7. Mr. Greaves Guest

    I find the whole concept of this article strange, and am in complete agreement with Abe in his assessment.

    Lamella is doing ok but is mile's away from being worth £30m. Generally most fans are happy to see how he develops in the next year I think, but develop he must.

    The step-overs I can live with for now as he is young. The fact he keeps turning into, rather than away from, defenders is something I can only hope will change with experience, but his biggest problem right now is that he slows play up too much as he won't release the ball quickly to people in better positions. That hurts us as a team, and needs to change quickly, which is but one of many things that MP should be sorting out if he himself has any future with us.
     
  8. Ari43 Guest

    Believe it or not Lamela only lack physical strength to reach the top flight. and also his shoot was always lady like
     
  9. Matt_p Guest

    One of the biggest things holding him back is that he can be so one footed at times, which makes defending against him far easier than it should be when you consider the skills he has..
     
  10. big fran Guest

    Very far fetched to say poch has improved him. Has he improved? Yeah probably so but that's more down to physical development through nature and maybe his working in a gym after a succession of injuries last term while he barely played. He looks nothing like a 30m player as yet and more than likely never will but felon remember berba bale and in particular modders all took time to turn into world class performers. We probably got suckered into paying a very over inflated price due to the amount we had to spend and that lofty tag has increased expectations and pressure on a very young BOY on very unforgiving shores and fans starved of success !!
     
  11. Paulski Guest

    Best article I've read for ages, probably because its more or less what I think of Lamela. Nobody works harder, no, not even Mason, and he possesses that little bit extra with his touch and ability to see a forward pass. Might it be that the reason he seems to dwell on the ball too long for some people is that he is looking to play a meaningful pass rather than pass it for passing sake ? He does have a bit to learn but we all had better start to appreciate the MAN because I would wager that he will go the same route as Bale and Modrich
     
  12. Mattj78

    Mattj78 Well-Known Member

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    He is talented and what he has started to do is work much harder for the team. He needs to simplify what he does though. At times he is like a show pony. Bale came good by putting some beef on and Lamela needs to do the same.
     
  13. Sam Guest

    I thought he was great against Hull. Really showed his true ability. For me right now he is one of our hardest working players on and off the pitch- you can see his physical improvement under Poch. Last season he'd get pushed around easily when he played but he's built a lot of strength. His only 3 issues in my opinion are:
    -he goes down too easily (hardly going to improve fan opinion of him.)
    - he holds onto the ball just a fraction too long
    - his left foot is fantastic but if he's pushed onto his right it's rarely accurate: (there's a reason he went for that amazing rabona technique, it let him shoot with his left.)
     

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