I really do not make a habit of getting on the back of young players. But it just jumps out at me, that number of 6 months. I would be amazed and delighted if he started looking the part in *only* 6 months' time. Bearing in mind that he looks pretty much the same as when he first arrived 18 months ago. Like everyone I really want to see this incredible metamorphosis that we all hope for but I...just...cannot see it happening any time soon. What evidence do we *really* have that it will happen? He shows (literally) flashes of skill and quick feet but I just cannot see him really looking like an effective Premier League player for at least another year. And that's if it happens at all. I just do not see the progress and if I had to bet one way or the other as to whether he will ever look like a top player for Spurs I would regretfully have to vote "no". I just can't see any sign of it happening. But, as with most people I still do have some weird, utterly illogical hope that he will suddenly become the next Ronaldo. Pathetic but true.
And you know what? People say (correctly) that Lamela's price tag leads to unfair expectations. But on the other hand how many of us would still be living in hope that he will one day become a useful player to us if it was not for the fact that someone, at some point, thought he was worth 30m. I mean - imagine if he'd come through the academy like Townsend. Townsend has done far, far more in a Spurs shirt than Lamela. Yet I would imagine that many on here (myself included possibly) have some fantasy belief that Lamela will prove to be the better player. I honestly believe that we would not think that if, like Townsend, no one had ever seen fit to pay 30m for him.
I think we live in the hope Lenny that the people at Spurs who decided he was worth so many millions are not complete berks and they had some kind of scoobie that he was worth it. IF they have not then we have the wrong people making these decisions which does not bode well for our future team building. I would hope that we are spending 30 million on a player because he is very special or will be in the future. I admit that atm he looks worth about 4 million have they really got it THAT wrong?
I still think there’s a really good player in there who’s likely to get out eventually. He had a bunch of goals and assists in preseason and in the cups, and at one (quite early) point may have won more games for us than any other player. He replaced Messi and did what Messi couldn’t do, which was score against Germany, and a cracker at that. But he went downhill for whatever reason, while Townsend, and a number of others, like Kane, have improved vastly. But someone like Townsend has never and will never, I think it’s safe to say, be able to produce goals like Lamela already has. That’s not to say I wouldn’t pick him over Lamela now, because I would. It’s also not to say I’m certain Lamela will become the player I hope he will. Confidence issues, which he seems to have, don’t always go away. But I personally would give him at least another year.
Of course his attitude also wins him support from the fans - he always looks genuinely delighted when we score, puts in a very solid shift, gets stuck in and generally does the things that made Steffen Freund a fan favourite. Now he just needs to work on the bit where you kick a ball - the part that Freund also found tricky.
It's hard to judge as to whether he'll truly reach his undoubted potential but I think he shows the willingness to succeed and I feel there have been gradual improvements in his game. What he lacks in my opinion is his decision making. He spots the right passes yet his timing of the pass is wrong and there are times he runs himself into trouble by trying to take too many players on. Both of these can be improved with time, maturity and experience of the English game. Players around the world just seem to develop at different rates, if you compared Eriksen to Lamela, both are the same age yet Eriksen is miles ahead right now, that however doesn't stop me believing that Lamela can reach or even better Eriksen's level. It's taken Mason 6 years since his debut to finally become a first team regular, many had written Kane off prior to this season and is now seen as one of our key players so for me there's a lot of hope and patience that Lamela will come good.
sometimes players just don't work out at some clubs. Lamela looked a player worth £25m+ for Roma, especially considering his age and added potential. It must be very, very difficult for a kid (basically he was still a kid) to move to a country so alien to him where initially he doesn't speak a word of the language
I think that's right and I believe it took him about 12 months to get used to living in England and that I think has slowed his development as a player. Next season will tell us more about him.
How many of us here have actually emigrated to a different country? I haven't, but i'm waiting to. I'm a good decade older than Lamela AND i'm going to a country where they speak the same language (sort of, America). It's a pretty daunting task nonetheless.
Chips are fries. Crisps are potato chips. Trousers are pants. Trainers are sneakers. Football is soccer. Nappy is diaper. Hand egg/ gridiron is football. Tottenham Hotspur is The Hotspurs. That should help you settle, Spurm. You're welcome
I'm already having to continuously correct my missus when she says "The Spurs". "Nope, that's San Antonio"
And their suspenders are our braces. Can get into a world of trouble discussing sexual fantasies with that one.
Of course, i still need to keep up with my The Spurs. I might be a bit AWOL during evening midweek games once i get a job, but weekend games are actually more readily available over there and are conveniently timed at 9am (for 3pm kick offs) I'm still awaiting my visa , and then we have to arrange a wedding, so its likely to be next season before i go anyway.
I married an American, but she came to live over here. Should have done it the other way round really. Though she was from Wisconsin.
Best of luck for when you do get out there mate. Like SD said, hope you can still get on here often enough Not sure if the early KO is a good or bad thing, can set the mood for the rest of the day for you
Thanks I see it as an improvement, especially on Sunday. If you are a 4pm on a sunday and you lose that is pretty much the rest of your weekend ruined with only the prospect of work to look forward to. At least if we are done losing by midday i have time to cheer myself up somehow. My thinking behind this is that i much prefer losing on a saturday than losing on a sunday The downside will be that it will be harder to calm the nerves with alcohol prior to a big game like a NLD or a cup final.
My condolences. We don’t speak the same language. Pies don’t have meat in them over here. They just don’t. They’re always sweet, and usually fruit filled. "Just about" means "not quite," not "just barely." A foul is "on" the person who committed the foul, not the one who was fouled. The biggest difference may be that there is no community over here. It’s entirely up to you to cobble together the pieces of your life. If you’re lucky, good at it, and in a good place this can be a godsend. With none of those, it’s a nightmare. The big problem is that’s becoming the no-fun zone. Nobody much drinks past the age of 25 or so. Says it all, really. Who was it who said Americans aren’t aware they’re alive? It’s a very apt comment, I think. Well, Colorado gives me some hope. Also, American women are impressed by an English accent, any English accent, and think it’s a sign of social distinction, even if the accent is Derbyshire. That’s something. I spent two of my first six years in Germany (ages three and six) so I’m endlessly intrigued with emigration. To get back OT...Lamela makes fewer mistakes these days, but we haven’t seen any flashes of brilliance since his first PL goal. I hope the acclimatization will lead to him becoming the kind of player for us he was for Roma. I’d be surprised to see him against Arsenal. The question to me is whether to play Townsend on the right, Chadli on the left and Eriksen in the middle, or Dembele in the middle, Eriksen on the left and Townsend on the right. I would worry about expecting Eriksen to defend against Sanchez. I suppose Dembele on the left, Eriksen in the middle, and Townsend on the right has its merits as well.
