Looking back, I think it’s fair to say that Andre Villas-Boas was fired not for the performances he got his team to produce (his win-rate is very respectable for a Spurs manager), but for the money he wasted over the summer.
Selling Gareth Bale was also going to result in the incumbent Tottenham boss getting a mighty impressive transfer kitty. That was certainly the case for AVB, who spent over £100m on new players. Thus far, the new additions have struggled to stamp their mark on the squad and the entire team has failed to gel. That’s left Spurs in their current position: they’re now a mid-table side.
A big chunk of that £100m+ was spent on a single individual, Erik Lamela. The Argentine winger cost the club £30m and thus far he has been one of the most disappointing newbies. At Roma, Lamela was sensational, with his quick, direct running often allowing him to get in behind and cause all kinds of nuisance. The man also had an eye for goal and found the back of the net 15 times last year.
But since he’s been at White Hart Lane, he has struggled. The only game that he has impressed in thus far was a Europa League clash against minnows Sheriff Tiraspol. He scored his first (and so far only) goal for Spurs and went on to win a penalty in a game-winning performance. But against the big boys (or the medium-sized boys), he has struggled.
The fact that he’s only made three Premier League starts is revealing. He’s clearly not trusted. It’s rumoured that he could be sent out on loan this January, to help him get the experience he needs to operate at the top level. The Mirror even goes as far as to suggest that Erik Lamela wants to go out on loan, whilst also claiming that Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are sniffing around.
This strikes me as a good fit. Both Milan and Madrid are top clubs, who could help grant Lamela more experience, more know-how and more game time. More importantly still, neither club plays its football in the Premier League, so Tottenham’s decision to send him out on loan won’t come back to bite them.
It’s a shame that he hasn’t settled in quicker, but needs must. The boy needs to play regular football if his career is to blossom, so it’s time for Tim Sherwood to do what he has to do. Now it’s just up to Lamela to pick his poison: Italy or Spain.
What’s your take? Should Spurs send Erik Lamela out on loan?
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not a loan to Italy … we know he can play in Italy … he needs to acclimatise to the Premiership
given his age and need to acclimatise to both a new country and league … I’d suggest his performances have been what the hierachy would have expected
Agree that they should not loan him out to Italy or Spain. Loaning out Lamela will only delay his ability to acclimatize to the EPL. When you have one of the hottest young footballing prospects in Europe, you do not give up on him after 4 months. What you do is supply him with all the support he needs to learn English and adjust to life in London, and give him first team football regularly so he can build an understanding with his team mates, so that by the end of the current season and the beginning of next season, he is firing on all cylinders and living up to the promise of his 30 million Euro price. Loaning him now will only delay all this and would require him to readjust all over again next year. Not a good idea. What Spurs also needs to do is to build him up physically so he can cope with the athleticism and pace of the EPL.
I think you are forgetting that it is Daniel Levy who completes Tottenham’s transfers not AVB so he cannot be held entirely responsible for what happened.