don't ask why Torquay are in my article

I think we could easily play

Lennon Lamela Townsend behind Soldado

Holtby/Eriksen can come on for any player that is not performing by half time.

Loavirgo, could be done but i don't think AVB will go for that.

I'd like to see Lamela on the right and Townsend on the left. I know Andros has got a great shot on him coming from the right but the biggest issue at the moment is supplying the forward line with opportunities. Stick him on the left, tell him to whip a few balls in for Soldado and give Lamela a deserved Premier League run out on the right. I actually think we'll become less predictable doing that anyway, especially if they swap sides occasionally.

Agreed.

I would drop Townsend out of the 3, play Lamela and Lennon on the wings, Townsend has gone a bit dry recently, he does not put balls into the box and insists on shooting from range, 10 games in he has had no success. Lennon to provide genuine width and Lamela to cut in of the wing

Agree completely don mate, sadly I don't think avb does..

Please remember that lennon is the best genuine winger at the club, Townsend has started well and Lamela has shown a glimpse of what to expect in the future, but neither have done enough to oust a proven PL winger.

Don

I think AVB definitely has to start Lamela. Lennon has been very poor since returning from injury, and surely cannot warrant a place over Lamela.

Sandro, well maybe last night was the performance to give Avb the green light. Lamela was also impressive in spurts against hull so that's 2 decent games now, give the boy a chance.

I think it's easier to accommodate Townsend and Lamela rather than Lennon and Lamela. Townsend is left footed so is equally at home down the the left side as he is cutting in from the right. I've never liked Lennon on the left. It doesn't work for me. He's too predictable. He's always going to cut back on his right foot so show him the outside and he goes nowhere. Equally, Townsend has become predictable too. He flatters to deceive at times. It's all very well dribbling and shooting but if it doesn't go in, it's another attack gone without supplying the front man. He's no Bale.

Our left side is our biggest problem. If we insist on playing wingers that come inside then you have to have full backs that are great at pushing on, like Walker. We don't have that on the left at the moment so sticking Townsend out there as a traditional winger solves that issue while Rose is out. I don't know why we haven't tried it yet. Siggy is not a winger and Chadli for me doesn't get down the line enough. Left footer - left wing. Call me old fashioned but I still think it works.

Agree once again mate, I just think that avb will start with the same team that started against Everton. Would love lamela to start!

Its all about keeping the perspective and remembering who you are playing against.

I guess that's how AVB sees it. Horses for courses.
3 pts is vital and not conceding is part of that.

AVB may decide to play Sigurdsson and Townsend, as they can drift inside a play like extra midfield players, effectively having 5 in the middle!

I think Lamela has some deft touches, I said this before here, and he did track back to and +1 for his goal!

He has scored the same amount as Soldado from open play whch is a plus

However, AVB is cautious so cannot see Lamela yet. Hope I get proven wrong though

No he hasn't......soldado has scored from open play in the Europa....as well as once in the league.....

At home to Newcastle, caution shouldn't be on the agenda. That's been our biggest problem. It's all very well flooding the midfield and getting control of the game but control is only one part, you've got to make that control count. We've dominated possession most of the season but we're not creating. We need to stretch the pitch more and get round the back. I really hope AVB has faith in Lamela now because another spell on the bench will bring him down again. I'm not saying it to get his confidence up, I actually think it's our best option at the moment.

I think you're right though. I'll be amazed if we do give him a run out though.

fridgeboy

caution has nothing to do with it. if we were as cautious as you say we wouldn't be playing a risky high defensive line like we do.

our full backs wouldn't be as far forward as they are when we attack

paulinho wouldn't have the licence to roam across the pitch as he has done from day 1

its ridiculous that people are suggesting this tbh. We go out to win every game we play. its a completely different brand of football to what we had under Harry and i think a lot of people can't get over this, despite the current team delivering record breaking results

Lamela looks like he is capable of running right through the centre of defences, exactly what has been missing. I think he is a cert to start tomorrow. AVB may be a bit cautious, but he usually picks players who he considers are on form.

The bottom line is Sheriff yesterday were frankly no better or worse than most of the packed defences Spurs have already faced in the prem this season, and Lamela had a very fine game against what was effectively 9 behind the ball. Sheriff were not that bad a side as a lot are making out. Certainly they were well organised and definitely better than some of the rubbish in the prem.

Sandy - Gascoigne was brilliant at running through the opposition midfield he could swerve and ghost past people at will he was a genius !!!

Exactly sandy and we have failed to break down stubborn defences this season but Lamela found it easy yesterday. I'm one of AVBs biggest fans but I will be livid with him if he starts sigurdsson or Lennon instead of Lamela.

Don,

Firstly, no-one can deny Lamela had a really good game last night. But one good performance does not warrant a starting place in the next league match. Defoe has been playing out of his skin (although he was quiet last night) in every single EL fixture, yet the excuses that “it was only X, Y or Z” have been reeled out time and time again – so we should not be inconsistent just because it is a player you like.

I’m not a fan of AVB (as you know) but I have to say it seems the coaching staff / management have done a really good job on Lamela, to bed him in, give him time, not throw him in the deep end etc. He is a young lad and throwing him too early could (it doesn’t always, I admit) backfire. Well done AVB and Co for that

There are many players who have impressed in Europe, yet the only player you stick by is Lamela. Mate, you have to be consistent. Lamela has had one good period of play. It stretched over 90 minutes but he could be a liability in a pressured league fixture.

It’s rare that I praise AVB but I genuinely believe he is dealing with Lamela very well. He is slowly building up his confidence bit by bit and unless last night was a one-off (which we are yet to know) it is starting to show. I certainly do not think one 90 minute period justifies anyone a starting place in the next league fixture – if it did, then Defoe would be playing every week following a EL fixture.

Let’s be consistent and use the same analogy for each scenario. Lamela does not deserve to start Sunday because of a MoTM performance against the mighty Sheriff!

Don - we paid £33M for him so it is criminal to keep him on the bench and I appreciate that he has needed time to settle in at Spurs !!

LukaCorluka

That system of overlapping full backs works well when you have players like Marcelo or Lahm but they're rare. Walker is decent at it but he's the only one at the moment that's willing to take the ball down the line. That's my criticism. We're rarely going to get opened up because we're crossing from deep which means we're not caught out of position much, but equally, we're not scoring either.

Chicken, but it's not just 1 performance though. He was also one of the bright sparks in the carling cup game v hull and the penalty miss clouded what was a decent performance from Lamela. So that's 2 games where he has impressed and like I say Townsend got his chance after 1 good Europa performance so why not Lamela? Sorry mate but who else deserves to start instead of him? I don't think Lennon does and Chadli is currently injured. Just give the guy a chance in the league.


Numbers, I agree.... Criminal to be keeping a guy we paid so much money for on the bench especially when he clearly has unreal talent and we need to exploit that.

chicken

I kind of agree (as I normally do with most of what you say) but Numbers is right, we spent £30 million on this guy. If players were in the team on merit alone, I'd agree with you but Soldado has been a mainstay with little justification. Clearly, he's in there because of his price tag, so why not Lamela? I would keep banging on about the virtues of sticking Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right but I've already been there on this thread. I just think if AVB is showing blind faith in Soldado and leaving a better striker on the bench then he needs to do the same with Lamela. Give the lad a deserved run out. You have to reward players for playing well otherwise the 'first team' get too comfortable. The team that played Everton isn't working for me. Mix it up, try new things.