A bit like Adel Taarabt without the temper tantrums

[Dynamo Naive]

is one Cardiff site's description of Lallana, which made me laugh.

 

Also described him as "the brightest talent currently plying his trade outside the Premier League"

 

http://bluebirdsbanter.co.uk/2011/09/beware-adam-lallana.html

[sambosa75]

Can't argue with it. He is like a hard working Adel Taarabt. Perhaps doesn't quite possess Taarabt's long range passing ability but his close control, energy and dribbling skills are more than a match.

[Raging Bull]

Can't argue with it. He is like a hard working Adel Taarabt. Perhaps doesn't quite possess Taarabt's long range passing ability but his close control, energy and dribbling skills are more than a match.

 

Far less selfish too.

[sambosa75]

Far less selfish too.

 

Agreed.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

If he can just bring his finishing up to the level of the rest of his game he'd be truly brilliant.

[merrimd]

If he can just bring his finishing up to the level of the rest of his game he'd be truly brilliant.

 

I fear if he did that, he would be truly world class, and we would not stand a chance of keeping him. This is the shame of it all really.

[SO16_Saint]

If he can just bring his finishing up to the level of the rest of his game he'd be truly brilliant.

 

If he could head the ball, we'd have won on Sat

 

[Dig Dig]

If he could head the ball, we'd have won on Sat

 

 

He gets his fair share of headers considering his size and height!

[trousers]

Cue Lallana being chopped down and injured for months....

[mitch01]

Taraabt's shooting is miles better to be fair.

[Jez]

Taarabt has hit the post 3 times so far this season in the EPL fact fans without scoring. Draw your own conclusions as to whether this means Lallana is better/as good/worse.

[West End Saint]

I woudnt swap Lallana for Taraabt I think he is better he works his socks off & has sublime touch & control the most skiffull Saints player since Le God & could well go on to be a Saints ledgend nice to see good & accurate article on him.

 

Lallana & Lambo are our most important players in my mind.

[Tom28]

I fear if he did that, he would be truly world class, and we would not stand a chance of keeping him. This is the shame of it all really.

 

I think the one thing that will prevent him from being world class, is unfortunately the one thing that he can't change. Pace. He doesn't have it. If he had pace, he'd be unbelievable good, but he wouldn't be with Saints anymore. The fact he lacks pace is, in my opinion, the reason he's still with us and not the likes of United, Arsenal, Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Spurs....

 

I think we could all agree that Lallana was better than Chambo last season, but the reason Chambo was believed to be the better target for the big clubs was because he was lightning quick.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

If he could head the ball, we'd have won on Sat

 

 

True, though his goal against Preston was a header.

[Minty]

Don't let the last game blind you to his heading ability. For a short guy it's pretty good. JPT trophy final for example. He has and will scored good headers.

 

As for pace, well he's quicker than MLT, and can hold his own when breaking through an opposition back line... look at his last effort vs Burnley when put through and pulled back... he got ahead of his man. The first yard is in the head anyway, and Adam has that ability to know where to be and when to run (hence why he gets on the end of a number of heading opportunities, despite being quite short).

 

All in all, he is a talented, intelligent footballer who will continue to improve and IMO, will definitely make a name for himself in the Prem, with us.

[Saint_clark]

Don't let the last game blind you to his heading ability. For a short guy it's pretty good. JPT trophy final for example. He has and will scored good headers.

 

As for pace, well he's quicker than MLT, and can hold his own when breaking through an opposition back line... look at his last effort vs Burnley when put through and pulled back... he got ahead of his man. The first yard is in the head anyway, and Adam has that ability to know where to be and when to run (hence why he gets on the end of a number of heading opportunities, despite being quite short).

 

All in all, he is a talented, intelligent footballer who will continue to improve and IMO, will definitely make a name for himself in the Prem, with us.

 

Dare I make a comparison to Tim Cahill in that respect?

[Toadhall Saint]

If he can just bring his finishing up to the level of the rest of his game he'd be truly brilliant.

 

I'm sure its something he/NA work on.

[niceandfriendly]

I think the one thing that will prevent him from being world class, is unfortunately the one thing that he can't change. Pace. He doesn't have it. If he had pace, he'd be unbelievable good, but he wouldn't be with Saints anymore. The fact he lacks pace is, in my opinion, the reason he's still with us and not the likes of United, Arsenal, Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Spurs....

 

I think we could all agree that Lallana was better than Chambo last season, but the reason Chambo was believed to be the better target for the big clubs was because he was lightning quick.

 

If that really is the reason, then I'm glad he doesn't have pace. He makes up for his lack of pace with his technical ability. Matt Le Tiss didn't have much pace, yet was still world class.

 

I think the major thing missing from his game to take him to that level is his finishing - and that he can improve on.

[Deano6]

Taarabt has hit the post 3 times so far this season in the EPL fact fans without scoring. Draw your own conclusions as to whether this means Lallana is better/as good/worse.

 

Why - how many times has Lallana hit the post and scored this season?

[Mowgli]

If he could head the ball, we'd have won on Sat

 

 

I've finally seen the highlights from Saturday and have to say that a draw was a decent result for us given the chances both sides had. I think Lallana was going for just inside the post so the miss is nowhere near as bad as people make out. Had he hit it centrally it would have been an easy save. Just look at his other goals and see how he puts them well out of the reach of the keeper.

 

Of course Burnley winning 5-1 last night puts our result more in perspective and over the length of the season we will probably see this asa point gained rather than 2 lost.

 

Lallana for me is well capable of playing in a Man U or a Chelsea. In reality though I think he is enjoying his football here and sees no desire to risk that.

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

If he could head the ball, we'd have won on Sat

 

 

Could say the same about Lambert!

[sambosa75]

I think the one thing that will prevent him from being world class, is unfortunately the one thing that he can't change. Pace. He doesn't have it. If he had pace, he'd be unbelievable good, but he wouldn't be with Saints anymore. The fact he lacks pace is, in my opinion, the reason he's still with us and not the likes of United, Arsenal, Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Spurs....

 

I think we could all agree that Lallana was better than Chambo last season, but the reason Chambo was believed to be the better target for the big clubs was because he was lightning quick.

 

Exactly what is wrong with the game in this country. Picking players with pace over technical ability. I shudder to think how the likes of Xavi or Iniesta would have faired if they came through the same academy as Jermaine Pennant and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

 

The fact that an England team was never built around Paul Scholes is my case in point. Our best player in decades and he's shunted out to the left wing.

[Legod Third Coming]

Exactly what is wrong with the game in this country. Picking players with pace over technical ability. I shudder to think how the likes of Xavi or Iniesta would have faired if they came through the same academy as Jermaine Pennant and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

 

The fact that an England team was never built around Paul Scholes is my case in point. Our best player in decades and he's shunted out to the left wing.

 

Brilliant observation.

[Fowllyd]

Taarabt has hit the post 3 times so far this season in the EPL fact fans without scoring. Draw your own conclusions as to whether this means Lallana is better/as good/worse.

 

That's pretty impressive actually. It must be far harder to hit a post which is less than a foot wide than a goal which is eight yards wide. But are the posts in the Premier League harder to hit than Championship ones?

[Fowllyd]

Exactly what is wrong with the game in this country. Picking players with pace over technical ability. I shudder to think how the likes of Xavi or Iniesta would have faired if they came through the same academy as Jermaine Pennant and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

 

The fact that an England team was never built around Paul Scholes is my case in point. Our best player in decades and he's shunted out to the left wing.

 

Indeed. Even for wingers or wide players, change of pace is often more important than out-and-out pace. Those of us old enough to remember John Robertson will vouch for that.

[Flyer]

If he scores 19 goals and gets 23 primary assists, he can be compared to Taarabt, until then....

[Toadhall Saint]

If he scores 19 goals and gets 23 primary assists, he can be compared to Taarabt, until then....

 

Go tell it to Cardiff - they are the ones comparing. They may or may not have similar attributes - we can compare at the end of the season (BTW is that all competitions or just the league?)

[Thedelldays]

Taraabt was player of the season in this league last year.

 

Let's see of Lallana even gets nominated

[Jez]

Why - how many times has Lallana hit the post and scored this season?

 

No idea how many times he has hit the post. He has scored 4 though.

 

That's pretty impressive actually. It must be far harder to hit a post which is less than a foot wide than a goal which is eight yards wide. But are the posts in the Premier League harder to hit than Championship ones?

 

I believe they are the same, and I would agree it probably is harder to hit the post than score. The posts are significantly less than a foot wide by the way.

Please therefore continue to draw your own conclusions as to their similarities and ability.

[The9]

Dare I make a comparison to Tim Cahill in that respect?

 

You could, but comparing the end products would make you look very silly. Lallana's heading is at best average, even if his positioning to get to the crosses in the first place is excellent.

[The9]

Exactly what is wrong with the game in this country. Picking players with pace over technical ability. I shudder to think how the likes of Xavi or Iniesta would have faired if they came through the same academy as Jermaine Pennant and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

 

The fact that an England team was never built around Paul Scholes is my case in point. Our best player in decades and he's shunted out to the left wing.

 

What it shows, is why Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott got signed by Arsenal and Lallana hasn't been. At the top level you need pace AND skill, which both Pennant and Wright-Phillips have a ton of. Lallana is actually quite quick off the ball when he gets going, but he's not a pacy dribbler, he tends to cut back and beat players again - that was illustrated in the last seconds at Burnley when he couldn't get away from the pursuing (fouling) defenders to win the match. There's a reason people say "you can't defend against pace" and that's why it's so important - you can harry, jockey, pull players back and double up on opponents, but you can't become faster, and quicker players will always get places sooner.

 

Don't get me wrong though, I think he's awesome, but his straight line speed with the ball is one of his weaker points (along with heading and often scuffing shots).

Edited 29 September, 2011 by The9

[Flyer]

Go tell it to Cardiff - they are the ones comparing. They may or may not have similar attributes - we can compare at the end of the season (BTW is that all competitions or just the league?)

 

Just in the league, we dont do cups anyway!

[sambosa75]

What it shows, is why Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott got signed by Arsenal and Lallana hasn't been. At the top level you need pace AND skill, which both Pennant and Wright-Phillips have a ton of. Lallana is actually quite quick off the ball when he gets going, but he's not a pacy dribbler, he tends to cut back and beat players again - that was illustrated in the last seconds at Burnley when he couldn't get away from the pursuing (fouling) defenders to win the match. There's a reason people say "you can't defend against pace" and that's why it's so important - you can harry, jockey, pull players back and double up on opponents, but you can't become faster, and quicker players will always get places sooner.

 

Don't get me wrong though, I think he's awesome, but his straight line speed with the ball is one of his weaker points (along with heading and often scuffing shots).

 

Yeah lack of pace has really held the likes of Scholes, Lampard, Iniesta, Xavi, Zidane and Le Tissier back over the years. I have stopped reading in to Arsenal and the fact that they signed Walcott and AOC. They and Arsene Wenger are not the same proposition as they once were. People said "you can't defend against pace" until Mourinho came to England and introduced us to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation which gives pacy wingers less time and space to run in to. I totally disagree with your thoughts on pace. It's an old school view. Passing ability and close control should be infinitely more important than all-out pace and we will continue to lag behind the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Brazil until we realise it. Don't forget a quick player can run 40 yards in around 5 seconds. A great passer can get the ball there in 1 second.

[Giordano]

Agree that Adam is not the quickest but also agree that he has more than balanced that with his other attributes. If he was a Top Trumps card he would be very valuable for dribbling, set pieces, crossing, assists, shooting and scoring but not so good for tackling, pace and headers.

 

I wonder if theres someone with time on their hands willing to draw up the Saints forum unofficial Top Trumps rankings by catagory for our first team squad in that way? I know TUI have got the rolling player score but this would be more detailed an exercise...

[The9]

Don't forget a quick player can run 40 yards in around 5 seconds. A great passer can get the ball there in 1 second.

 

And who's going to get to any loose passes quickest ? The fast player or the slow one ? Sheesh. You still have to have the quickness to get into the right positions before the people around you. For some players that quickness can be made up for by speed of thought, but if everything else is equal, pacy players are better than slow ones. Fast players can also compensate for any positional errors more quickly as well.

 

The existence of offside and the ability of defences to play a high line and press the ball in an enclosed area murders any team which is completely devoid of pace, because all you do as a defence is wait for the through ball and outpace the opposition to the ball, or catch them in possession as they fail to get away from you.

 

You can pass and pass and pass all day, but if you don't have someone with pace to get in behind, you're either hoping the defence drops deep so you can play football in front of them and work tight openings which can't be stopped in time, or you're shooting from 30 yards all the time.

 

As I said, you need pace AND ability for the vast majority of positions nowadays, the exception probably being central midfield, where everything is tight and the ability to find a tiny amount of space to work a pass is still possible at walking pace.

 

The Mourinho comment is pushing it when both formations had been in use for years in England in various hybrid defensive 4-3-3 or attacking 4-5-1s, not least of which was used by the Dutch getting to World Cup Finals in the 70s and Ajax winning the European Cup in the 90s.