Andy King

[GingerrrFox]

I would go back to playing the diamond like against United and get Kingy playing at the top of it. Drinkwater and James on either side and Cambiasso at the base. Get Vardy and Ulloa up top and have a go at teams.

[kingfox]

Andy King has turned himself into the perfect all round midfielder, the last couple of season's he has shown dramatic improvements on the defensive side of things. We brought him on against Swansea, and within minutes there he is tracking back and breaking up two Swansea attacks.

 

He proved against Everton, that he is the type of midfielder we need to play regularly at this level. Barry & McCarthy were superb for Everton last season, good at keeping the ball, good at pressing, good at winning tackles; however they didn't do that to us, Andy King did that to them. 

 

At this level you need to have midfielders who have great amounts of energy, and work hard in both defensive & attacking situations. For me out of all our central midfielders, Andy King is our best midfielder when it comes to those two things. Cambiasso & Hammond are better defensively but do lack energy, Drinkwater depending on how he plays can be great at both, but as he is proving so far he seems scared again of getting stuck in against good quality players. Matty James is a brilliant midfield general, but lacks a bit of quality going forward, especially when it comes to creating chances & shooting. 

 

We have seen how good King is though going forward, but now the past two-three season's we have also seen how good he can be when tracking back. He needs another run in the side, because right now our other midfielders aren't cutting it. 

[Col city fan]

We could go through this thing about starting threads on individual players until we are blue in the face. Schlupp, Cambi, Nugent.. are they good enough, should they be playing? Etc etc etc.

For me, our midfielders are pretty much of a muchness. Ability wise, James, Drinky, King, Cambiasso, Hammond..you'd struggle IMO to get a fag paper between all of em.

It's HOW we are playing currently that needs addressing. See my comments in the 'defence' thread.

[Thracian]

What are other peoples thoughts on this man?

 

I personally believe he has to start particularly when we play 4-4-1-1 or 4-3-3 as i believe he's the best option we have for the number 10 role. Even against Swansea, it was his header than forced a top save from Fabianski which was about the only time in the game.... he's such an intelligent player and you will not seen any other of our CM's making the runs into the box like he does.

 

Nugent has been playing that role alot but he's not done great to be fair and I think King is better than him. Only other suitable option for that role is maybe Powell but god knows whats happening there.

 

Either way, what has King done wrong this season when he's featured?

 

 

You'll never convince some people. He's been treated abyssmally since our opening flourish. Easily one of our top two or three performers he's been left out for what I can only imagine are accommodational purposes...probably because he's an easy going guy who would never dream of doing anything but put the team first. I'd bet he's about the easiest to leave out temperamentally.

 

The problem with King when it comes to recognising his value is that he's a bit one-paced, he's not noticeably aggressive for all that he does get into the thick of things fairly and he's so quietly unfussy on the ball.

 

He just makes himself available and does the simple things well. He knows beforehand what he wants to do and just does it. Then he supports and that was the difference when King came on against Swansea. Constructive passing and supporting - not once or twice but countless times. And his header should have resulted in a goal.

 

I've said before that King should have left. I always believed he would find Premiership football easier than Championship football and in a good side he'd be in his element, providing endless opportunities and back-up for the stars.

 

Instead he's being treated like a makeweight and a lot of the fans don't mind cos they prefer all-action blind alley merchants with exotic names or anyone who's been at Manchester United where the pedigree is supposedly guaranteed for all that they weren't wanted.

 

King is Mr Consistency. Yes, he runs out of steam on occasions but otherwise he's Lennon-like reliable. A missed pass is a collectors item with him and he just keeps plugging away - a defensive header here, a snapshot there or a couple of dinky one-twos to provide space for others. He's hardly noticed til he's not there and we start playing without any rhythm, urgency or sense of direction.

 

It's no coincidence we've played shit since he's been out because even some of our better Championship players are struggling to cope with the pressures of the Premiership but not Kingy. He just does what he's always done - one or two touches at most and totally selfless.     

 

I could contrast his contribution with so many who are consistently falling short (partly because he's missing) but I won't because it won't help. They're the players we've got and we've got to make do.

 

But, honestly, some of the assessments of what makes a good, effective player for us are just contrived in the hope that their favourites are accommodated.

 

Some of those favourites might have strengths but their weaknesses more than cancel them out because weaknesses in the Premiership are so quickly seen and exploited.

 

Dyer was mocked by so many but how dreadfully he's been missed and I said as much at the time. Not because he's the world's best but because we've never replaced him and never got close to getting the best out of Schlupp. 

 

King's big strength is his biggest insurance against mediocrity. He does everything quickly. Tight marking has less impact on him because the ball's already gone whereas most of our players need at least one controlling touch and too often they never get full control of the ball at all so the move breaks down quickly.

 

All our weaknesses have been highlighted over the weeks by one poster or another and they're not going away this side of the New Year. The only players who can lift the performances of people around them are King and Cambiasso, but the latter just seems so risky in The Premiership.

 

Some already appreciate King. But far too many don't.      

[Captain...]

The midfield, a puzzle wrapped in and enigma wrapped in a conundrum.

 

How do we get functioning midfield out of 5 different, but talented players.

 

I do think we should play Cambiasso, but as part of a 3 in the middle, either in a 451, 433, 4231

 

There is a reason why most teams in the prem play with one of those formations, because winning the midfield battle is crucial.

 

Hammond is not someone I would start in most games, maybe against the big teams, he offers the best cover in front of the defence, but so little going forward that we need more attacking players round him.

 

Drinkwater and James were our best midfielders last season and if given a little time and a stable formation then I believe they will be again, but changing formations and personnel every game is not going to lead to any sort of understanding.

 

Unfortunately that means no place for King, a good player and one I like a lot, but I can't help feel that James and DD offer more consistency, and although they haven't been as good as we all thought, I do think they will come good especially playing alongside Esteban. Although if a couple of games in a stable formation and Drinky doesn't start playing better then I would bring King in.

[foxfanazer]

I'd play him but not at the expense of Drinkwater who despite some lacklustre performances is still our best player imo

The problem is King and Drinky hasn't been the partnership we've had

[Babylon]

Can we put a limit on the number of words in Thrac posts?

[Corky]

We could go through this thing about starting threads on individual players until we are blue in the face. Schlupp, Cambi, Nugent.. are they good enough, should they be playing? Etc etc etc.

For me, our midfielders are pretty much of a muchness. Ability wise, James, Drinky, King, Cambiasso, Hammond..you'd struggle IMO to get a fag paper between all of em.

It's HOW we are playing currently that needs addressing. See my comments in the 'defence' thread.

 

But style of play is important. King is a quicker thinker and mover of the ball than Hammond. James drives forward whilst King gets into good positions almost unnoticed. Drinkwater can take time on the ball where King doesn't, Drinky does have more of a cutting edge in terms of creativity. Cambiasso needs runners and he will spread the play well. Hammond can break up play but won't be sprinting around or making key passes.

 

The worst thing about Saturday was the carelessness and lack of composure on the ball. King offers a calmness on the ball and also won't be laboured in possession. Next to James, with his all action style, I think that partnership could be fruitful.

[Charl91]

You'll never convince some people. He's been treated abyssmally since our opening flourish. Easily one of our top two or three performers he's been left out for what I can only imagine are accommodational purposes...probably because he's an easy going guy who would never dream of doing anything but put the team first. I'd bet he's about the easiest to leave out temperamentally.

 

The problem with King when it comes to recognising his value is that he's a bit one-paced, he's not noticeably aggressive for all that he does get into the thick of things fairly and he's so quietly unfussy on the ball.

 

He just makes himself available and does the simple things well. He knows beforehand what he wants to do and just does it. Then he supports and that was the difference when King came on against Swansea. Constructive passing and supporting - not once or twice but countless times. And his header should have resulted in a goal.

 

I've said before that King should have left. I always believed he would find Premiership football easier than Championship football and in a good side he'd be in his element, providing endless opportunities and back-up for the stars.

 

Instead he's being treated like a makeweight and a lot of the fans don't mind cos they prefer all-action blind alley merchants with exotic names or anyone who's been at Manchester United where the pedigree is supposedly guaranteed for all that they weren't wanted.

 

 

Or maybe it's because it was the pairing of James and Drinkwater who actually got us promoted, not King? I like King, but I think you're over-playing his strengths and ignoring some of his weaknesses. His defensive game can be very good at times (which can be often unappreciated) but he can also go missing for games at a time, where the game will just pass him by entirely.

 

On his day, he is fantastic, but you could say that about most of our midfielders. If he was as great as you make out, then he would have nailed down a guaranteed starting place by now, especially with the amount of chances he has had to do so. I think the reality is he's no better or worse than our other midfielders, he just offers something slightly different.

[davieG]

Was he not dropped because he was utter wank against Stoke and DD and Cambiasso coming on changed the game?

 

May have been harsh considering some of his other performances, but at the time I didn't see many people complaining. It seemed like the right thing to stick with the team that performed much better second half at stoke. That team went into the Man U game and did ok, as did James and King when they came on.

We went from a 2 man midfield of Hammond and King to a 3 man of Hammond, Drinkwater and Cambiasso plus Schlupp replaced Vardy so you'd expect a more dominant midfield. 

[Buzzell]

I want to see him in the team vs West Brom. He's was brilliant when in the team then got dropped for some unknown reason. Time to get him back in now that Drinkwater and Hammond are out of form.

[deep blue]

But style of play is important. King is a quicker thinker and mover of the ball than Hammond. James drives forward whilst King gets into good positions almost unnoticed. Drinkwater can take time on the ball where King doesn't, Drinky does have more of a cutting edge in terms of creativity. Cambiasso needs runners and he will spread the play well. Hammond can break up play but won't be sprinting around or making key passes.

The worst thing about Saturday was the carelessness and lack of composure on the ball. King offers a calmness on the ball and also won't be laboured in possession. Next to James, with his all action style, I think that partnership could be fruitful.

Your last para sums it up. I would like to see last season's pairing but Drinky needs a game or two out of the pressure. King and James should work together well. There's a risk that James hasn't had enough game time yet but there's only one way to rectify that - throw him in.

[Dan LCFC]

Some very decent arguments for starting him against WBA.

 

My only worry is that I think he's far better in a 3 - as a result that will most likely mean playing 4-3-3, which as a result means we'll end up wasting Vardy out wide again.

[Carlos88LCFC]

Kings playing better than Drinkwater and James so I'd stick him in.

A big part of our game last year was how we commanded the midfield. I'm not saying we should be commanding now but certainly should be better than it currently is.

Drinkwater has been non existent all season and he is one I thought would shine. What's happened to him? Was last year just a good season for him? Is he a championship midfielder? Can he cut it in the top flight?

I think King is a better option because his positioning stands out for me, he's got like a lampard/Gerrard nack of being in the right place at the right time.

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[Callabinho]

I want the old Andy King back. The one who scored a shit load of goals.

[Buzzell]

Play a 4-4-2 diamond against West Brom with Cambiasso sitting in the DM role, Drinkwater and James as the CM pair with the mighty King in the AM role behind Ulloa and Vardy.

[lee7]

Kingy does tend to go missing in some games and it seems as though at times the game can by pass him but for me at the moment he needs to be starting, he's the only player we have who makes the bursting runs into the box and finds himself in good positions.

He did so against Swansea with a good header, I remember him doing similar against united too.

He just seems to have a knack of being in the right place at the right time and at the moment when we are struggling for goals and chances we need to find them from somewhere...drinky nor Hammond will provide them.