Erik Lamela was bought by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013 from AS Roma for roughly £30 million. Many Spurs fans expected Lamela to be Gareth Bale’s heir to the throne. Yet,he hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype, at least not in some people’s eyes.
While it’s clear Lamela has the “skills to pay the bills”, as we all saw with his spectacular rabona goal against Asteras Tripolis, there have been quite a few bumps along the road. His lack of consistency coupled with on field errors have played a large role in Erik being excluded in the starting eleven for large parts of the season. One of his errors that stood out the most this season was his poor judgement with the ball that led to an unfortunate goal at The Emirates, scored by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. While the game ended in a 1-1 draw these types of mistakes can’t become a recurring theme.
Perhaps Lamela’s inconsistency is due to the fact that he’s low on confidence, or that he’s still settling into his surroundings. Erik has only scored two Premier League goals this term, albeitone of them was a stunning strike from outside the area, and a player bought for a club record fee must be producing more than he currently is. One or two amazing goals simply isn’t going to cut it. Especially for a team that is trying to bring Champions League football back to White Hart Lane.
While there’s a lot to criticize Lamela for, there still are many positives about his game. At the end of the 2014/2015 season, Erik finishes as Spurs leading assist man with 7. With his latest being a fantastic split ball to Nacer Chadli against Hull. These assists can only be seen as a plus, and we must hope he continues producing more of these during his time at WHL.Thanks to Squawkas comparison matrix Lamela has averaged 2.35 chances created per match compared to 1.55 by his teammate Andros Townsend. Lamela has even created more chances per match this term than Bale (1.71) has in sunny Spain.
Lamela also possess a great work rate on the defensive side of the ball. Again thanks to Squawkas comparison matrix, Lamelahas averaged more interceptions, tackles, and blocks per matchthan his counterpart, Andros Townsend. In the matches that Erik has played this season, when he’s lost the ball he’s always tracked back and attempted to win it back. I cannot say the same about Townsend’s defensive work rate.
Many fans view Erik Lamela as a flop, and believe we should take the most we can get for him and run. Really? These views are simply foolish and childish. During the 2013/2014 campaign, Erik was injured for long stretches at a time, not to mention there were managerial changes at the club mid-way through the season with André Villas-Boas being relieved of his duties, and Tim Sherwood stepping in and bringing his own “philosophy” to the Lane. Once again, the new 2014/2015 season brought along a new manager – Mauricio Pochettino was brought in from Southampton. While Erik can be criticized, I can’t imagine wanting to sell a young player with so much potential after only his first full season at the club amidst another new philosophy being driven into his head.
Hopefully, reports coming out of N17 are true, when it was said that Pochettino told the club that he wanted to keep Lamela after this season. Unfortunately, there are also reports that clubs like Juventus and Atletico (with both team playing in Champions League) are eyeing a move for Lamela. While I am not the head of the club, I feel as though letting Erik go after such a short stint would be a mistake, especially for a player of his potential caliber.
Reports of him being on the market should only motivate him to perform better. Only time will tell how the Erik Lamela saga pans out, and for Spurs sake we must hope he begins the new season Lamela style, with a bang!
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Reports of him being on the market should only motivate him to perform better. Only time will tell how the Erik Lamela saga pans out, and for Spurs sake we must hope he begins the new season Lamela style, with a bang!
© e-Media Group 2015 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of @e_media_group
The problem with Lamela is largely one of Tottenham's making. Who pays 30m for a player that might develop into a good player in a three or four years. £ for lb he is the worst ever player Tottenham have ever bought. Perhaps if the fee had been a more realistic figure then expectations would have been more realistic too. After two years I still don't know what kind of player Lamela is supposed to be. He is not an attacking forward as his goal threat is negligible. He is not a winger as he has no pace and rarely takes a ball past an opponent. He is not a particularly creative player despite what the statistics appear to suggest. It is ironic that many fans are impatient for success which usually translates into calls for buying someone who can have an immediate impact. Yet here we have the club paying out a huge sum of money on a player that may come good in three or four years. I would argue that money could have been better spent and that if a club were to come in with an offer it should be taken.
ReplyDeleteWhat worse than Soldado?
DeleteSilyness! He has perfomed just as expected being played out of position.. Bale was a total flop to the right and Townsend has aswell. I suppose Lamela is a flop because he is not English? I can't understand why any real spurs supporter would want to damage the club in every situation, and have us sell our better players.. I mean go ahead and sell Lamela to Juventus or Atletico who have been mantioned as interested clubs.. clubs far better than us. The last years CL finalist and this years potential winners and get another lesser player from the PL which Juve, Real or atletico never would catch any interest in
ReplyDeleteHere here!!!
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