Erik Lamela arrived at Tottenham two years ago with a huge price tag hanging over his questionable haircut. The results since then just haven't been there for the Argentinian starlet and Spurs fans have almost all given up on the Club's record signing. Nonetheless, he has continued to factor into the squad and most recently provided a sparkling assist to Ryan Mason's game winning goal at Sunderland. Still, Tottenham fans remain down on him which begs the question: what must Lamela do from this point forward to succeed at Tottenham?
Success means different things for different players. While Academy products like Tom Carroll or Harry Winks can succeed by coming part time starters for Tottenham the same cannot be said for high priced imports like Lamela. Our standard for his success must, justifiably, be higher. On the other hand, his price tag is now a sunk cost. To continue to judge him by his superstar purchase price seems a bit silly and unfair. Susequently, it seems logical that we should place his expectations somewhere in between those of an unheralded academy product and a player recently compared by Pochettino to Messi.
As always, the real devil is in the details. Lamela should be judged a success somewhere in the middle of that vast gap. I believe for him to succeed he must first, become a consistent starter. This does not mean he regularly starts Europa League and Cup matches, it means he must assert himself as a first choice attacker in our starting XI in the biggest games. This isn't to say that we should expect this to happen immediately. On the contrary, it's quite logical to use our lesser fixtures to build up his confidence in the immediate future. Ultimately he must become first choice to be a success at Tottenham.
Hang in though, simply being one of our starters still isn't enough to brand Mr. Rabona a Spurs success. He must thrive in that role to a certain degree and become a well above average Premier League player. To do this he must contribute double digit goals and/or assists for a successful Tottenham side. To provide a comparison he must reach the level of impact of a James Milner or In-form Kevin Mirallas to be considered good enough to be a success. He must become a player that strikes fear in the opposition and frankly, solicits praise and bids from opponents throughout Europe.
I must admit that prior to his substitute appearance at Sunderland my flicker of Lamela hope was all but extinguished. With his creativity in the game's closing moments he at least stoked the fire a bit. There is still a long way for him to go if he is to become a regular, above average starter for Tottenham and she his label as a flop.
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