Tim Sherwood told Premier League Productions (21/02/21 at 12:55 pm) that he was ‘surprised’ Jose Mourinho’s substituted Erik Lamela during Tottenham’s defeat at the London Stadium on Sunday.
With Spurs 1-0 down, Mourinho opted to bring on Gareth Bale for Lamela at the half-time break, whilst Matt Doherty replaced Japhet Tanganga.
It worked a treat because Spurs conceded within minutes of the restart!
Anyhow, whilst Spurs let themselves down again, from a defensive standpoint, during that moment, the second-half display was a lot better than the first, with Bale making a difference.
It was clear a change was needed from Mourinho at the break, and whilst Sherwood didn’t agree with Lamela going off, he understood why Bale and Doherty were brought into the action.
“I am surprised Lamela’s going off,” said Sherwood at half-time.
“I am not surprised Bale’s coming on and I am certainly not surprised that Doherty is coming on to give them that bit of thrust down that right-hand side.
“He scored four goals for Wolves last season in the Premier League. He’s a goal threat.”
In 2013, as Bale was headed towards Spain to begin life in Madrid, those in North London sought to replace their left-footed speedster.
Well, a certain left-footer from Roma was the one who they splashed big bucks on, as Spurs paid the Serie A side £28 million for Lamela’s services (Guardian).
Lamela was seen as Bale’s replacement back then, and in truth, fast forward to today and he is struggling to have a bigger impact than a seemingly half-cooked Bale, which shows where his career at Spurs is at.
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