From the Guardian...
In some respects Érik Lamela is the ideal player for Tottenham. The Argentinian international is expensive, frequently infuriating but provides occasional flashes of brilliance: it is tough to imagine a more perfect pairing between player and club. Lamela’s magnificent goal against Burnley was his first in the league for Tottenham in his 26th Premier League appearance but Mauricio Pochettino spoke after the game of a new beginning for the player. “We need to understand Érik is still young, he has a big talent but it was difficult his first season in England,” said Pochettino. “This season he is fit – in the beginning it wasn’t easy for him to play but he just needed time.” The patience seems to be paying off for Spurs, as does an acceptance that form trumps reputation. Their current revival (two defeats in the last nine games, one by Chelsea and the other with a very ‘Europa League’ team against Besiktas) has been built round picking such as Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane, often over more expensive and/or more established players like Paulinho, with Roberto Soldado eventually relegated to the bench this weekend as well. There is not a massive amount flashy about Spurs at present, just patience and an intelligent use of the best available resources – what in other walks of life would be called ‘common sense’. They are not particularly used to thatt at White Hart Lane but such revolutionary thinking could be just the thing to set them back on track. Nick Miller
In some respects Érik Lamela is the ideal player for Tottenham. The Argentinian international is expensive, frequently infuriating but provides occasional flashes of brilliance: it is tough to imagine a more perfect pairing between player and club. Lamela’s magnificent goal against Burnley was his first in the league for Tottenham in his 26th Premier League appearance but Mauricio Pochettino spoke after the game of a new beginning for the player. “We need to understand Érik is still young, he has a big talent but it was difficult his first season in England,” said Pochettino. “This season he is fit – in the beginning it wasn’t easy for him to play but he just needed time.” The patience seems to be paying off for Spurs, as does an acceptance that form trumps reputation. Their current revival (two defeats in the last nine games, one by Chelsea and the other with a very ‘Europa League’ team against Besiktas) has been built round picking such as Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane, often over more expensive and/or more established players like Paulinho, with Roberto Soldado eventually relegated to the bench this weekend as well. There is not a massive amount flashy about Spurs at present, just patience and an intelligent use of the best available resources – what in other walks of life would be called ‘common sense’. They are not particularly used to thatt at White Hart Lane but such revolutionary thinking could be just the thing to set them back on track. Nick Miller
