Hi guys, first off welcome back to the PL, it's been a while. Last year I'm sure you'll remember the hype over Taarabt coming back to the PL after a good season at QPR. As I'm sure you know as well, he failed spectacularly to deliver. Lallana is a player I've liked for a couple of years now. There is a strange lack of discussion about him, or indeed your team, when compared to, say, QPR. - Do you think he'll take the league by surprise? - Do you think he'll be at St Mary's after this upcoming season? - Looking forward to a successful campaign? No doubt you'll beat us anyway! I think you'll be the promoted team that finishes mid-table, there's always one. Cheers guys.
First off, cheers for the welcome Secondly, I think the difference between Taraabt and Lallana is that Taraabt was on his high horse all the time, had a bit of an attitude etc. Lallana doesn't seem to have that. Yes he has a certain swagger about him, but I wouldn't say it's to the detriment of the team. Thirdly, you're a Carrick lad I see?
Thanks Spirit. I do like Lallana but sometimes I think his rep is a little overhyped. There is no doubt the boy has ability. He has outstanding ball control and quick feet but for me he lacks pace and his finishing isn't clinical enough. Pace isn't everything and in time his finishing can improve but he's at the age now where he needs to execute otherwise it will never happen. I hope to see this improvement but if it doesn't happen he will always just be a good player not a great player. In response to your points - i think he won't storm the league but in games he will show his true potential (Needs to do it consistently) - He loves the saints and I'd be very surprised if he wanted to leave after next season - Really looking forward to next season. Hard to predict where we finish. We could finish anywhere from 9th to 20th
I personally think Lallana will do well, with Taraabt there was always that bit of doubt as to if he will do well due to him previously being at a Premiership club and also that he likes to have the ball all the time, something which you can't really do in the Premiership, so therefore Lallana is totally different as he don't control the ball all the time, so I think he will fit in well with the premiership.
I'm hoping Lallana will learn from being in the PL. Can be very easy to be the big fish in a little pond...he loves Saints, is loved and is one of our better players. Still young but has reached the age that he needs pushing to achieve his potential. Sure he will stay with us. Not sure of what will happen next season, apart from being 100% sure we will not be relegated.
Yes, and proud haha. Best preserved Norman castle in Britain I'll have you know! Ballymena on the other hand 'shudn' you be stickin' to 'at ther' rugby ther' baay?'
Thanks for the thread 'Spirit'. Lallana will do okay, not expecting him to shine especially over some of our other players; its a huge step-up for us, but think we can survive the coming season. Lallana has obvious talent, although last season there were spells where he was consistently average to below par. I actually think you should keep you eye on our Morgan Schneiderlin; he has come to the fore this season - especially after Christmas. I think the EPL will suit his style of play.
Think with the likes of him and Lambert you already have a better chance than the like of Wigan (but we say that every year and they manage to survive). I won the PL with you lot in FIFA 2011 so keep believing!
Striking the ball is definitely a weakness. He seemed to improve towards the end of the season though.
He has skill, vision and also seems to take it round people when it looks impossible. Another thing is his left foot is just as good as his right, which makes him such a threat as he can be unpredictable and can feint to go on his right but uses his left.This is why i think he will suprise many people next year.
I know they are different style players, but Taarabt reminds me of another notable Arabic African prospect - Mido. Remember him..? At one point I believe Saints were remotely interested. Bags of extra special talent, but a bit of damp squib in the end. Could Lallana be of the same ilk..? It's entirely possible. However, Adam's attitude has always been right, and I think he'll succeed brilliantly.
Carrick ain't a bad part of the world at all I was never good at rugby so that kinda screwed me over. Ballymena's a minor ****hole
I don't think he'll take the league by surprise, he's recognised as one of our best players and most teams, if they feel the need to concentrate on stopping any of our players, would probably pick him. I don't think he'll particularly stand out amongst the superstars in the premier league, but he has the quality to be a very useful player at that level. He'll have some games where he is anonymous and he'll have some games where he inspires us with some really impressive play. It remains to be seen in what ratio those two things will be! He'll definitely still be here after this season, and I'm sure he will be around for a while longer.
Definitely a different style of player. Apart from being north African and full of himself the comparison eludes me. Certainly Mido bears no similarity to Lallana. If i was thinking of a north african footballer in the premier league, Hadji was probably as similar as we can get in playing style and that's not particularly similar. I think there was another egyptian player called Zidan who was ridiculously skillful
Taarabt has an awful attitude. Thinks he is as good as Ronaldo and even retired from international football for only being a sub for a friendly game... Lallana will go far and is very down to earth
Some of the worst moments of my life have been playing rugby against Ballymena. It's just not fair, and there's always dogshit everywhere. I captained my team to a glorious 70-0 or so loss earlier this year haha I played well and gave an excellent death or glory (mainly death) speech though!
What team were you playing? Was it the Ballymena team, or one of the school teams like the Academy? It wouldn't be Cambridge House surely
