STUHILL

CM's going into next season - N'didi, Silva. Drinkwater, James.... Mendy on trial for 6 months until January window. Amartey moved to CB. I will be really disappointed if we don't go out and buy a top CM like Silva, as Drinky has had a very poor season.

James>King Thracian???? Come back! I need a counterweight

This boy has serious talent. Not many can run at that speed with the ball under close control. I also saw him back helping Chilwell out a fair bit, although obviously he has a hard act to follow, with Albrighton. I really hope we get to see him more in these last handful of games but I am definitely impressed enough to get him tied down to a better paid contract, simply to get his mind off moving anywhere and focussed on his future here and developing his game more. Was disappointed with Chilwell defensively but if he can improve that area of his game (i have my doubts) then I can see him and Gray building a really decent relationship in attack down that left.

No one. I would have played him today. We didn't have the options to do otherwise. Doesn't mean I don't think we should improve on him in the summer when we have the chance

Not at the cost of performances like today. Fine if he isn't our back-up CM and 5th or 6th choice there, but should not be our 3rd choice CM in the Premier League. Not good enough.

Unfortunately, for every good game he has, he is anonymous for the next 3. Has been a brilliant servant for us over the years and has never complained at being a bit-part player, but if we have genuine ambitions of being a top 8 Premier league club, then we are going to have to be ruthless and even look to upgrade our reserves too. I think due to Drinkwater's continued poor form, we should really be looking to add a top CM in the summer, and that could potential push Drinkwater to the bench and with James coming back too, that could mean King is further away from the starting 11 than ever before, and part of me would prefer if he was starting every week in the Championship, rather than wasting here with us. If he could come in and boss it, then I'd love him to stay. When we beat Derby in the FA Cup and he was named captain, he was really good! Just typical that he disappears for the next few games after. Frustrating! Not singling him out, as I thought Drinky was equally as poor today. I just think that Drinky has shown more consistent form in the Premier League and always has the potential to reach the heights of last season again. Brutal decision but I would sign Silva in the summer to play alongside N'didi. Move Drinky to the bench and give James and Mendy full pre-seasons and 6 months to prove their worth but move King on this summer.

watched Brighton on Friday and had a good look at Knockaert for 90 mins, as I know some have suggested they would have him back. To be honest, I saw some really good things and similar to what we saw when he played for us in the Championship. He works extremely hard and his desire and passion is fantastic. He still has all the good traits that I remember, with a good delivery and decent trickery, as well as a really good eye for goal. On the downside, I saw a lot of the same limitations he had when he was with us. He lacks pace and agility and a number of times I saw him dribble the ball with his head down and right into 2 or 3 defenders, who easily took it off him and got a breakaway attack going. Something we all used to get frustrated with. I'm absolutely chuffed he will be back in the Premier League and I think he will get a fair chance at it with Brighton, as he has been their stand-out player this season. Similar to Chris Wood though, for all their success in the championship, I still see the same issues they had when they were with us and so have my doubts whether they can make the step up to be decent Premier League players. Prove me wrong Knocky!

He makes some great runs into the box and always seems to try and get on the end of things, but rarely does. He has the worst balance of any player I have ever seen, as no one should fall over as much as he does. Whether it is a tactic to win free-kicks I don't know. We will need him fresh for Wednesday as his work rate and pressing will be a massive help against a quality side. I'd rest him tomorrow.

They all hate him and his attitude stinks. Clearly thinks he is better than he is.. Shinji is a billy big bollocks if ever I saw one

Terrorists are everywhere! Vote Leave, to take back control of our football club.

Can you remember when Claudio would play him for 45mins then sub him for Ulloa? I'd be tempted to do the same now. Start him alongside Vardy. Get 45mins of him at 100%, closing down and running around like a mad man, giving the opposition no rest, then bringing on Slimani at half-time and getting him on full boost for 45mins. Simplistic way of looking at things I know, but there is some logic in there

He certainly deserves a full pre-season with us. I think a lot depends on where we see Amartey playing long-term. King will always be around and is a useful back-up, who seems content with being a bit-part player and filling in whenever needed. We also now have N'didi, who will start every game you would have thought, as well as Drinky alongside him. Mendy is an unknown and rightly deserves a pre-season and 6 months too. 4 games is not enough to write him off yet. I'd be tempted to give James the same and perhaps make a decision on both in January. I'm also cautious that we do need to make a step-up for next season, and we may be looking at signing a top CM, similar to an Adrien Silva. If we do, then a quicker judgement on James and Mendy may have to be made for the sake of both their careers. Will have to see what Shakey does, but be great to see him back playing for us in the Prem.

Then I can't help you there, unless we play a semi-fit Morgan alongside Wasil.

Amartey. but I think we will see Benny and Huth again with the only changes come in midfield and attack

I get what you are saying in terms of making us more solid but Gray and Mahrez have started both the last 2 games and we haven't conceded, so I don't think it's an area we should be too concerned about yet and I think having a player with Gray's speed on the left, really helps pin the opposition back and you could see against Stoke especially, they were terrified of him running at them. He looks like a guy desperate to make an impact and play, and so is perhaps forcing things and trying to score everytime he gets the ball. You could see Mahrez talking to him at half-time and he obviously has taken it well, with his instagram post. I think a little more patience with him and giving him these chances, will really pay off in the long-run. I can't imagine Albrighton or Mahrez were this good already at aged 20. I agree on Chilwell needing some more game time though, but it will be difficult whilst Fuchs is in such good form but I wouldn't be surprised to see Fuchs get a rest on Sunday, as he is no spring chicken!

I find that incredibly harsh when many pundits gave him MOTD against Stoke and he was a threat last night but on a couple of occassions chose to shoot when a pass may have been a better option, similar to what we see with Mahrez. The guy is 20 and needs to be playing and learning. No good, just pulling him out again after 2 games and especially not playing a LB over him. Albrighton was excellent when he came on and set up two great goals, but Gray in the first few minutes set up a great chance for Okazaki and had an audacious shot pushed wide by Pickford. I'd start him and Albrighton against Everton and bring on Mahrez for Albrighton during the 2nd half, ready for both of them starting against Atletico.

So we have Gray, Lawrence, Kaputska and now Harvey to all be considered for wingers/ACM/No.10s for next season. Not a bad situation to be in. I'd imagine Harvey and Kaputska will go out on season long loans to the Championship. Gray will continue to push for a starting place here and Lawrence may be sold unless he has an impressive pre-season, which I think he deserves before we call it a day on him.

Perfect answer. Also suggests the rumour of Gray's release clause is bogus and hopefully Shakespeare won't allow these dumb clauses to be included in the future. They hopefully have learned their lesson from Kante. Be interesting to see what happens with Mahrez this summer though.

Our future squad is looking exciting. We just need to manage these youngsters well, and get the balance right. I fear, just like many other clubs, we aren't brave enough to back our youngsters and get them involved early. I wonder if Chilwell, Gray, Lawrence and Kaputska etc, will accept another season not being that involved and just a promise of opportunities in the future. I know we shouldn't ever jeopardize results, simply by bedding youngsters in, but I'd like us to show a little more faith than we have in the past and give them a run of games, rather than 1 and then drop them for 10-20 etc. It's difficult I understand, when stakes are so high, but it could really pay off in the long-run.

Rarely playing Kane and then using him as a winger always baffled me. No wonder he was frustrated when he was here. I'm gutted we didn't sign Keane last summer. If the ITK's are correct about Claudio not thinking he was worth the 15-18 million or whatever it was, then I'm shocked. He will be playing for one of the big boys eventually. Hopefully we don't make the same mistake this summer and we stump up the cash for players who are clearly worth it. Gibson and Maguire would be two CB's I would be targeting.

I highly doubt it too. What we might see, is his agent chucking some rumours out there, to try get him a better deal here. I'm guessing he isn't on that much, probably similar to Gray and I imagine both will be linked to other clubs, purely to try get an improved weekly wage

Musa, like Mendy and Slimani, should really be given some more starts to help them prove to us that they can actually be successful here, unfortunately, I just don't see that happening for the rest of this season. We have such a settled starting 11 now, and even our subs are predictable and I can only see Slimani getting any starts and only if Vardy is injured or fatigued. I think we are all just going to have to rely on Shakespeare and his team who see all 3 in training every day, to make the decisions come the summer. What concerns me, is that neither of them get any real playing time from now until the end of the season, and we either sell them on without truly knowing if they could have succeeded here, given some patience and playing time, or we keep them, don't add to the squad, and soon realise next season, that they are indeed not good enough. The only safe solution, is to give them as much playing time as possible until the end of the season and also a really thorough pre-season to assess them. Easier said than done though, because we are not safe yet, and even when we are, the higher you finish, the more money you gain. If I was the management, I would try give them as many appearances from the bench as safely possible, and in the summer, aim high with recruitment for players like Silva, Andre Gray etc and if we get those targets in, then look to move on Musa and Mendy for as little loss as possible.

I'm sure there was another game where he impressed. The Derby one perhaps? Guess you could argue it was against crap opposition though. I still don't really know what his best position is. I would guess, as lone striker, similar to Vardy, where he doesn't have to worry too much about holding the ball up, he just needs to run the channels and look for through balls or latch on to high, lofted passes over the defence. The problem with that, is that Vardy does that exact role and quite often for 90 minutes, or at least most the game, so it doesn't leave Musa with many opportunities and he often gets pushed to the wing and usually only comes on when we are defending a lead or during our bad run, when the game was already over. I have a lot more hope for Slimani, as I just think he offers something different with his aerial ability in the box, but Musa just seems a bit of a poor man's Jamie Vardy Unless Vardy gets injured, then I can't see how he is going to play many minutes from now until the end of the season. Maybe a little harsh if he was pushed out in the Summer, but at least with the other signings, we have seen glimpses of real talent in their small cameos. Only thing Musa can do now, is try to have a huge impact from the little time he gets from the bench, but I'm doubtful he will able to now.

Would like to see him stay next season. We know he can come in a do a solid job. Obviously Wes and Huth haven't got long left at this level at all, so I would hope we will sign a young CB in the summer and with Hull and Boro going down, we might be able to poach Maguire and/or Gibson. I think Keane is destined for bigger things now, so we missed out there. I'm also curious to see where Shakespeare plans to use Amartey long-term. He is obviously a decent CB, and perhaps another option for us. Morgan, Huth, Benny, Gibson or Maguire and potentially Amartey for next season.

It was a strange decision by Shakespeare, as he adds nothing defensively. Amartey would have been a smarter decision or even Gray, who we know can hold the ball better. I think Shakespeare was probably trying to keep our quick counter and over the top balls as still an option, so thought he could play a Vardy role in that sense, but to bring Slimani on as well, didn't seem to add up. As I've said in other threads, to me it's simple. If we are defending a lead, then Amartey should come on for Okazaki and we go to a 5 man midfield, and Ulloa should come on for Vardy, as he is the only one who can win headers and holds the ball up pretty well. I would also bring Gray on for Mahrez at somepoint too, as think he could work well with Ulloa laying it off to him. If we need a goal or two, then Slimani and Gray are definitely the changes I would make and have Mahrez and Gray switching between the no.10 and right wing. I just don't see what Musa adds at the moment. He is clearly not a winger, and is actually less helpful in defence than Mahrez. His only real use, is his pace and so I would only use him for a direct swap for Vardy and play him high up the pitch, on the shoulders of the centrebacks, looking for those direct balls to run on to. I still don't think we can be that critical of him or Slimani, as they came into a situation where the team was exhausted and sitting extremely deep, and hoofing the ball clear, whenever they got the chance. It was an incredibly difficult situation to have any impact on the game, especially with their best attributes not being utilised, so I question Shakespeare's choices to bring them on, more than their performances overall.