Without rose tinted specs you can see Carragher is right
Fans are notoriously blind when it comes to their own club and own players, not just Tottenham fans but all fans. They tend to overrate and over value their own players or go to the other extreme and label them absolute rubbish and under value them.
Fans live in a hopeful world at time rather than a real world unable to see what the neutral sees or agree with neutral assessment. Regular readers of this blog will know the mental side of sport is he be all and end all of success. Success is determined by the decisions you make, skill is merely the application of a decision. Two people wit the same skill will perform at different standards simply because of their mental approach.
Paulinho is a case in point. He has ability, of that there is no doubt, but ability is not enough, what he doesn't have, as we have seen, is the right mental attitude when he is out of his comfort zone. He doesn't even look like a £7 million player now let alone a £17 million one. I pointed it out at the time but his remark last year about being too lazy to learn English sparked alarm bells.
If you are too lazy in one aspect of your character then that laziness will emerge in other areas. His midweek performances have been woeful, he looks totally disinterested and a million miles from being a Premier League player, he looks a waste of money. He'll flourish elsewhere where he can be in his comfort zone but that mental weakness is not what we require in a player.
Jamie Carragher, as has been well documented feels Paulinho, Lamela and Soldado are destined to be flops in the Premier League.
Taking rose tinted specs off it's hard to disagree. Lamela shows a flash a game and does little else, he gave a goal away against Arsenal, two against Man City for instance. I do think, although the club did everything they do for players and apparently they do a lot, he should have been given a buddy off the field, someone employed to help him settle into and find a South American community.
Mentally he gave up last season and then injuries compounded his mental state. This season it was vital he performed in pre-season and scored goals in pre-season to boost his confidence. He has had a few assists, his dribble against Man City before he passes to Soldado who slotted a ball for Mason when the score was 0-0 was an example of what he can do.
However you have to do things in an area that hurt the opposition. He plays a pass from which we score, that at the moment is keeping him in the team because he offers little else at the moment. He isn't worth £30 million, the Premier League is not the weaker, slower Italian league, he should be adjusting quicker. In an open game with space and room to attack City how many shots did he have, what did he do?
He doesn't put in performances over 90 minutes that are any better than a host of other players in his position at a fraction of the cost. Manchester City was the first game Pochettino has taken him off, until then he has always left him on even when he didn't deserve it.
I'll be watching the situation closely to see what Pochettino does with him next because he is a worry.
Soldado seems to create more than he scores, his shot falling with his left foot that Hart saved with his legs suggests his confidence is not shot, again it suggested a quality striker is there. He made runs and didn't receive the ball, an assist, the pass for Mason should have been another but then he misses his first penalty when even I knew where it was going. Right footers have a default setting to the keepers right and when the pressure is on they invariably revert to their default.
You want him to turn it around and succeed, it would take a run of goals but it's hope rather than expectation. Decry Carragher's words but he is just being honest and saying it how most people see it. If these three were at other clubs we would be labelling them flops.
Fans live in a hopeful world at time rather than a real world unable to see what the neutral sees or agree with neutral assessment. Regular readers of this blog will know the mental side of sport is he be all and end all of success. Success is determined by the decisions you make, skill is merely the application of a decision. Two people wit the same skill will perform at different standards simply because of their mental approach.
Paulinho is a case in point. He has ability, of that there is no doubt, but ability is not enough, what he doesn't have, as we have seen, is the right mental attitude when he is out of his comfort zone. He doesn't even look like a £7 million player now let alone a £17 million one. I pointed it out at the time but his remark last year about being too lazy to learn English sparked alarm bells.
If you are too lazy in one aspect of your character then that laziness will emerge in other areas. His midweek performances have been woeful, he looks totally disinterested and a million miles from being a Premier League player, he looks a waste of money. He'll flourish elsewhere where he can be in his comfort zone but that mental weakness is not what we require in a player.
Jamie Carragher, as has been well documented feels Paulinho, Lamela and Soldado are destined to be flops in the Premier League.
“Of all the players who arrived during that £100m spree, only Christian Eriksen looked good. But with Roberto Soldado, Paulinho and Erik Lamela you can never see it turning, irrespective of Spurs paying a fortune to sign them. They are not the first and won't be the last."
Taking rose tinted specs off it's hard to disagree. Lamela shows a flash a game and does little else, he gave a goal away against Arsenal, two against Man City for instance. I do think, although the club did everything they do for players and apparently they do a lot, he should have been given a buddy off the field, someone employed to help him settle into and find a South American community.
Mentally he gave up last season and then injuries compounded his mental state. This season it was vital he performed in pre-season and scored goals in pre-season to boost his confidence. He has had a few assists, his dribble against Man City before he passes to Soldado who slotted a ball for Mason when the score was 0-0 was an example of what he can do.
However you have to do things in an area that hurt the opposition. He plays a pass from which we score, that at the moment is keeping him in the team because he offers little else at the moment. He isn't worth £30 million, the Premier League is not the weaker, slower Italian league, he should be adjusting quicker. In an open game with space and room to attack City how many shots did he have, what did he do?
He doesn't put in performances over 90 minutes that are any better than a host of other players in his position at a fraction of the cost. Manchester City was the first game Pochettino has taken him off, until then he has always left him on even when he didn't deserve it.
I'll be watching the situation closely to see what Pochettino does with him next because he is a worry.
Soldado seems to create more than he scores, his shot falling with his left foot that Hart saved with his legs suggests his confidence is not shot, again it suggested a quality striker is there. He made runs and didn't receive the ball, an assist, the pass for Mason should have been another but then he misses his first penalty when even I knew where it was going. Right footers have a default setting to the keepers right and when the pressure is on they invariably revert to their default.
You want him to turn it around and succeed, it would take a run of goals but it's hope rather than expectation. Decry Carragher's words but he is just being honest and saying it how most people see it. If these three were at other clubs we would be labelling them flops.
2 comments
You have to make assessments and none of you have mentioned any skill to suggest you're right, all you have is blind hope rather than the evidence of eyes.