Steve Earle

You don't think the most skilful player ever to play for Leicester is a top four player? A Player of the Year award winner? A Ballon d'Or finalist? One of the principal reasons we won the league? He's not a top four player but, say, Gigi Winaldum or John Stones or Ashley Young or Eric Dier is???!! Give me strength... There is literally no fee they could offer this late in the window that would tempt me to sell Mahrez if i were one of our owners. He'll leave one day, with the club's blessing, but not for less than £100M. Dear oh dear.

Would make it a nigh on perfect window, were it to happen IMO

Ian, Ian Ian, Ian Ian, Ian Ian Nacho!

Given that we play at Goodson on the Wednesday after, I’m pretty sure it’ll be roughly the team that beat Fleetwood. I expect Simpson & Huth to feature, Mahrez not to.

I might just have to curb my enthusiasm for Deeney based on today’s showing. Still think he’d offer us more than Slim or Ulloa, but he didnt today quite carry his usual threat...

He's an outstanding defender playing in a poor team. And I'm not using 'outstanding' lightly. He'd walk straight into any team outside the big six, and a couple of those in there!

Agree on long term potential - but Evans is currently better than both and I'd have him in a heartbeat...

What big money? I’m thinking straight swap or pay no more than we get for Slim. And in today’s market, would £20m (say) in return for improving our squad and our first XI for a couple of years really be ‘big money’?

Apart from me and Geoff Peters, isn’t there anyone else who’d replace Slim with Deeney in a heartbeat?!?

Almost entirely agree! Though Albrighton will start IMO

Poor first 45 but loads learned tonight. -Dragovic is easily good enough to be 3rd/4th choice CB -Benny is a madman, a red card waiting to happen (against League 1 opponents too!) and must go asap -Good 90 for Iborra -Even better first 90 for Silva, reminded us of the quality he showed v Huddersfield -Iheanacho came alive after scoring & finally looked a player -Puel has something about him too - Mahrez & Vardy wearing the armband But what to make of Slim’s substitution? On his way?

Lambert, if I recall correctly, is the bozo who thought the best uncapped wide player in the PL shouldn’t be offered a new contract..

Huth in squad surely?

I’d expect more or less the same team that played the first match. This time Puel has PL games either side of it and needs to keep Mahrez et al fresh for Watford. On the other hand, that XI can be told to get us out of the mess they got us in. Huth to play in a full strength (for now) back four; King & Silva are certain starters. Gray and Slimani very probable. Id probably add Barnes & Iborra to that to finish the XI. Vardy on the bench with Iheanacho, James, Choudhry & Benny + 2...

You’re entitled to your opinion. I don’t share it. He’s a better 9 than Slim & Leo, and would be good competition for Shinji at 10. Gerrimin!

On the positive side, we now know all we need to know about Benny and Slim (if we didn’t know already). And goalie, Silva & Barnes got game time. And...no, that’s it I think

Time to go Slim. I’m with Geoff Peters on this one - straight swap for Deeney. Vardy, Shinji, Deeney & one other good enough for me. Ulloa & Musa need to go too, and it might be a good thing to loan out Nacho.,.

Good question. I hope Mahrez never takes another for us, his record is abysmal. Vardy's now missed three which isn't good. Perhaps he moves to second, third choice after our Iberian midfielders?

That's good - so we agree on everything part from Slim v Deeney?! I and others are right about Slim. He showed flashes last season and v Liverpool at the weekend, but his performance v Bournemouth has left an indelible imprint on me; truly atrocious! Deeney could cut it in the top 10 no problem (I can't be bothered looking for evidence, but my opinion is based on his two years in the PL with Watford from which I have no sense that he only turns it on against the lesser teams), and would be a great foil for Vards.

Numbers is one thing, quality another. We have too many midfielders who are either not quite good enough or unproven either in terms of quality or durability. Likewise we have too many 'can do a job' strikers, but only one, do far, of the quality to start in a top 8/10 side. Iheanacho & Deeney would treble that. Clear out required!

Ah but we do! We've barely touched the prize money earned from the title & the UCL run... I was there throughout the club's mis-spending times so I get where you're coming from. But we had/still have an opportunity to put clear blue water between us & PL never-will-be's like Stoke, Palace & Albion. An apparent ITK on here says Iheanacho will be our last 'big' signing of the summer. So we might be spend £50-60m (leaving Mahrez & his future to one side for now). Well I think we still need a top quality CB like Evans, and at least one other source of goals (Deeney would be my choice). That would take us close to £100m. Then we'd have receipts from Mendy, & whoever else would be surplus to requirements such as Ulloa & Musa, Would that be a top half squad?

I was certain when last season ended that we'd spend £100m plus this summer and in a way I'm disappointed that we're now very unlikely to. It would seem that last season's disastrous recruitment, plus results and 12th place, left us a significantly less attractive proposition to potential targets. What an utter shambles summer 2016 was, when it could & should have been one to cement our place in the top 6!

Me too - well, left there in 1967 for the West Midlands, but I'd already been to my first match (0-0 v Northampton in their only season in the top flight) and got my first replica shirt, so the die was cast... I don't remember a Neil Rudkin though. In fact I only remember one name from that school, also a Neil (Painton). Curiously, I bumped into him at Filbo many years later, both of us recognising our 9/10 year-old selves in our adult faces...

However poor he was today, what on earth was Shakey thinking of in replacing Shinji with Musa rather than Gray, King or Amartey??!? BTW, Slim wasn't much better...