Stats from The Football League site. Lallana 11 goals 91 shots 10 assists (*corner taker) Guly 10 goals 71 shots 7 assists Guly had a very good start to the season and I will say there is two reasons he stopped contributing in terms of goals and assists. One is that he lost confidence because of the fans getting on his back like idiots. The second one is he played more defensive roles, he'd play as a deep RM sometimes or a roaming possession player with a high defensive work-rate to allow Lallana a license to stay forward more on the left side hence the fact Lallana ended the season with a lot more shots. So why is Lallana thought of so highly this season? I have read on here people being stupid enough to say he deserved to get player of the year instead of Lambert which is complete nonsense. He hasn't done himself any favors in my book by becoming a diver either. The contrast in the treatment of the two players by the fans is absolutely disgraceful really when their performance is reviewed properly like this. For me the best Saints players this season were Lambert, Hoovield and Davis. Lallana doesn't make the top 3.
You're significantly understating Lallana's importance to the team. If we judge players from goal and assist counts alone then Schneiderlin and Cork need to be out the door. Lallana's attacking movement and ability mean he's a threat at all times, even if he's not having a very good game the opposition needs to watch him very carefully allowing other players to slip in. This is a very underrated talent, Adebayor does it particularly well, taking defenders out of the game through his dangerous positioning allowing other players to exploit the space left behind. He plays a part in most attacking moves, his general skillset is brilliant. That said his habit in the latter stages of the season of throwing himself around is not something I like to see. I'm by no means a Guly hater, I love the guy, but you can't use him to devalue Adam's contributions.
It's the same reason United fans don't like Berbatov despite his impressive record. They like to see their team play a certain way. Lallana personifies the style that we want to see from our team. Besides, I'm sure you could find more detailed statistics which would reflect Lallana's overall involvement - pass completion, dribbles made, etc. On the subject of diving, I can only remember the one instance against Portsmouth. There have been plenty of times I've witnessed him stay on his feet when he could have gone down. Robbie Savage made an excellent point a couple of weeks ago - every single footballer is regularly dishonest. Every time a player appeals for a throw in or corner when he knows the ball went out off him, he's being dishonest. Every time a player tries to make a foul look worse than it was by screaming and grasping his leg, he's being dishonest.
I think Guly will shine in the Prem. I really hope he takes to the league. It should suit his style more and he will have a little more time on the ball to create as will Lallana. The stats mentioned between the two dont lie and i love Lallana and the way he plays but in terms of Guly, he was made a scapegoat for the team when we had our "blip" and that wasn't fair. He will shine....i'm sure of it!!
Funnily enough, I don't think Lallana had that great a season, at least certainly not as good as many people are suggesting. The year before he was outstanding and I get the feeling that people think he can do no wrong. I don't want anyone to think I'm criticising him, I'm not, however with his obvious natural ability I think he is capable of achieving even more. He is occasionally guilty of beating himself as he can over complicate things. Sometimes an easy lay off is more effective than trying to beat someone. Also, I think he will need to add a bit more defence to his game. If we come up against a good winger, it has been shown that Fox tends to struggle in a kind of nomansland position in between where you'd expect to see a full back and the centre backs. Lallana could certainly take some pressure off him. That said, I fully expect Lallana to be the main man next year.
You cant judge everything on stats. Funnily enough whenever were on tele or neutrals watch us play Lallana get commented on why? because hes got class oozing out of him. His passing is top draw his movement and awarness are aswell. theres more to football than beating every player or scoring goals sometimes the things which appear simple are what sepeartes a class player from the rest. Without Lallana this year I doubt we would have been top two.
You cant judge this as a representative of their seasons although i agree it looks like Guly's contribution is rather good i've lost count of the amount of times Lallana got us out of a tight space at the back or tracked back and made a tackle vs Guly etc.
Mainly a gut feeling, but I think Guly is going to shine next year, Strength and power are still important in the PL, Guly always looks robust and may enjoy the atmosphere, tempo, and style of game. Conversely I can see Lallana struggling, whilst he has bags of skill I can see him being shut out of games, he lacks genuine pace to get behind and although he has definately filled out over the last couple of seasons he still appears to me to be a little lightweight. Next season may be very instructional for Lallana although I believe he will improve to eventually become a real top class Premiership player, just probably not next season.
I think it wrong to compare the two players on the field of play as both rolls are so different. Yet the goals for is only different by 1 and the assists are only different by 3. Yet both players contributed a lot more than just those stats. We have had the Guly haters on here and it would not surprise me if he heard this booing of him at games, then that could explain a dip in form. I personally have not heard it, only thing I have heard is the shouting of his name and the applause his play at times undoubtedly warranted. Yes he made a big error of judgement in the Pompey game trust me he will learn from that. Lallana by his own admission has not had the best of seasons he hasn't been bad by any means but he has been better. It will be interesting how both cope next season with better than average players up against them including full internationals. It will be interesting to say the least, I will lay odds that both will shine at the higher level.
Guly is the ultimate pass and move footballer, he will flourish in the prem where he will get a little bit more space. Lallana may struggle as he will be a marked man, however this will allow others to influence the game as others concentrate their efforts of Lambert and Lallana. Guly could well prove to be an absolute hero next season and I think he will reach double figures for goals again. FWIW, I also think Schneiderlin will chip in with 5-10 next season as I think he'll develop that side of his game this summer. He's our best defensive player by a mile, best passer all he needs is to add that striking ability from 20-25 yards and he will be a star player.
The main reason I made this thread was to highlight Guly has been very harshly treated by a lot of people. To think that some Saints fans I've spoken to think Lallana is our best player and Guly is our worst defies logic. The best way for me to compare them was goals, assists and shots as they mainly play attacking roles so main job has usually been to contribute with end product. Although Guly did play a lot deeper roles as the season progressed where his focus was possession and defensive work more than anything else. The assists were unfair on Guly as well as he doesn't take corners. So these stats favoured Lallana anyway. Actually surprised by the amount of good responses here.
I think against Pompey, there was a little contact, and if he was a clever diver, he`d have gone down immediately, not once the ball was running out of play. At Peterborough, just before he crossed for the first goal, he was clearly fouled, but stayed on his feet. And at Boro he was hacked down when clean through - how did Bates not get sent off ?? Anyway, I don`t consider him as a diver.
