volpeazzurro

Slipping Daka in the behind? Ooh Matron!

Faes can be good but, just watch him in every game at around the 70 minute mark. His concentration seems to markedly disappear and his passing becomes very sloppy and haphazard.

You play in a different way. Pep has played with 4 centre backs before very successfully. Better players but still no pace. We have limitations on who we can bring on that's good enough.

JJ is faster but can't give Chelsea the ball from the bench. Ward is just there to give the drinks out I think 🤔.

Probably Forest at a push but these things seem nowhere near as heated or important as they used to be.

Exactly. We're still top by 1 point with a game in hand over second. Think any team below us would want to be there unless they're stupid. It's clearly in our own hands. If we get through today without any further injuries, then we'll be back after the international break with our best 11 available which hasn't happened for quite a while.

Arguably better in some ways, we got rid of the mamby pamby, lazy, couldn't be bothered, wanted to be somewhere else brigade. Good riddance. For all the current dip in form issues, at least this manager has instilled a bit of keeness and oneness again.

A lot of truth in that.

Is that because he was a poor player or poor because what he was asked to do by Rodgers? Using that as a maxim, then arguably we haven't got many, if any players for the Premiership. Currently when uninjured, he's one of our best players this year. Like most of our players, he declined drastically under the last manager whereas under Enzo, arguably he, Vestergaard, KDH and Ricardo have improved again.

1. Sensi - yes of course Enzo wanted him here, the club wanted him here also, but the deal changed at the death. Leicester wanted a loan until the end of the season as they couldn't buy unless they sold one first. Enzo new that, he repeated that on several occasions in the media in interview. Milan new that. Leicester couldn't buy because of well publicised FFP issues, what don't you get. Arguably Milan have bitten their nose off to spite their own face in the end. You never really know the truth in these things. 2. Bennett was a Rodgers signing because he said so in the media, he'd played for him before and knew him. 3. Players aren't necessarily allowed to get into the last 6 months of their contract out of neglectfulness because if no-one wants to buy them, or if the players don't want to move their's nothing the club can do. If you were a player with a family and you were offered a club that you didn't want to go to in order to earn less money, would you uproot your family and go? Better to stick it out to become a free agent and wait for the offers. 4. Ward from Liverpool, you've absolutely got me there, no defence that I can see, 12m? 🤣. He isn't going anywhere is he, he'd be a mug. It's just a job with very good wages at the moment, the likes of which I doubt he'll see again. 5. As for our financial position now or in the past who knows the truth eh. Plenty of media speculation much of which is probably guesswork to get clicks. As for past inflated wages that I'm sure seem ludicrous to both of us, I can only say that I too find it difficult. Perez for instance is a good example. He was definitely a Rodgers signing and I can only presume that if he was particularly pushing hard for Perez and if Newcastle, the players agent and player wouldn't budge from certain figures, then they have to make a decision, bearing in mind they probably trust and want to back a then relatively new manager, a decision has to be made. We as a club are perhaps a little bit like Middlesbrough of old, we're not a London or Manchester club, our prospects will only be perceived as being at a certain level, Leicester itself is hardly seen as a great place to be and therefore, the chances are, a certain amount of compensation may have to be paid in terms of an attractive salary to get certain players here in the first place. It's ok saying we should stick in for players that are gagging to come here at the right price but, there's no point in buying what are perceived to be inferior players at the time merely because they're cheap. Pressure is also piled on by agents waiting until the last minute before a new season starts. We also needed a squad that was ideally seen as being stronger in depth due to European commitments.

Firstly we'll never know who they tried to get or couldn't get. As for Bennett, yet another useless Rodgers choice. Neither do we know our financial position then. As for your comments re Ward, Souttar, Iheanacho and Praet, you can't sell what nobody wants to buy or who doesn't want to go! Think about it! Iheanacho and Praet, who's going to offer decent money for players nearing the end of their contract? Why would either of them leave when they can see the contract out on good wages and then negotiate another signing on fee, would you? As for Ward, who logically would want him and pay similar inflated wages as to what he's on? Why would Ward go for less money? Souttar too on probably big and fairly long contract. If I was him I too would hang around and wait for the best deal. It really isn't that easy to sell sell sell 🤣.

Rodgers had ample opportunities throughout his tenure, you only have to look how he and Congerton invested the money to see that it wasn't down to lack of backing for the clubs demise. As for Enzo, just how on earth do you expect the club to have backed him in January due to the financial position? In the summer, the club added either by purchase or loan, Hermansen, Coady, Doyle, Akgun, Mavidivi, Cannon and Fatawu. Do you not consider that reasonable backing? Together with certain academy products and existing players, bearing in mind you only have a squad of 25, that's plenty to try and get to gel and learn a new system when you've supposedly got one eye on FFP.

Rodgers spent a little over £250m during his tenure, hardly not being backed. Compare that with previous managers.

Stick in, that's still 1 minute more than Praet!

I think at the time Rodgers took over, compared with who opposition teams had at that particular time, our squad was worthy of top 5 with most decent managers. As our purchases in the transfer market waned in quality, opposition teams bought better and forged ahead whilst we deteriorated drastically. Whatever our budget was at the start of this season, a new young manager arrived to a depressed atmosphere, players sold including best assets, new players in either bought or on loan, many of them young and inexperienced let alone gelled as a team. All had to learn a new system of play very quickly. Quite frankly if we had been in the top 6 at Christmas then realistically, that would have been a great achievement in the circumstances I think. Instead, we were well ahead and arguably well over-achieving in the circumstances. That overachieving is being used by some to hammer a new young manager in his first season. Yes there have been mistakes but nowhere near the systematic dismantling in comparison to the already assembled talent and opportunities Rodgers had during his tenure.

I'd hardly look upon Vardy or Ricardo as bottlers. I'd certainly put the majority of the problems down to the manager in a variety of ways. He's now gone as are the majority of that team and to tar them with the dross of the past is mere football superstition.

How many of those players make up our first 11 now?

Those 2 subs were poor, great example! Since when would Mcateer change a game? He's usually anonymous! Not only that, his dithering and not getting involved against Leeds was partly responsible for their goal. Albrighton with balls into the box changes things from the norm. Playing two strikers with balls into the box changes things. Vardy, Iheanacho and Cannon, choose any two from three changes things. Just sticking Daka or Mcateer on to do more of the same isn't changing things or a plan B.

Very true indeed. I think the whole team struggled without him then though. My point remains though, that from Baresi, Maldini, Cannavarro, to Terry, Adams, Vidic and even VanDyke, none were/are renowned for their pace but all are for their reading and positioning, right place right time.

All the pace in the Premiership, how on earth did the slow coaches Huth and Morgan ever cope! Reading and positioning in a centre half is far more important than mere pace. People get obsessed with pace it seems the modern buzz phrase. Likewise if a centre half is 6'7" don't play him so far up the pitch that he can't get back at the rate of a racing snake. When playing well with us, Evans never had the pace but mostly didn't need it because he nearly always in the right place at the right time.

I agree. If Hull lose the ball you can rely on JJ to give it them back. If he's got to play it's on the right. He's not even championship standard for me on the left. Doyle is a fae superior passer of the ball in Enzo's system.

Unfortunately he missed it.

Quite possibly but my point was mainly that he's a better alternative than the two others. At least he busts a gut and put in a few tackles too. The other two are like playing with 10 men. Mind you, he's not the only one missing for fun lately! 😁🤣

How many of those 17 appearances have been full games and how many cameo appearances I wonder? For me he has far more about him than Praet and Mcateer. That's not saying a lot in fairness though.

Justin in that role on the left has become a bit of a joke and a liability even for Championship standards. Doyle isn't quick but he doesn't continually give the ball away like JJ and he has quite a range of passing which JJ doesn't. Since he's been here the one thing you can say with some certainty is that Iheanacho isn't a very good loan striker. He was getting very little game time before Afcon because out of our 4 strikers, he out of all of them struggle in Enzo's system of play. If the system changed then he becomes a very attractive option again. Totally agree re Vestergaard, he's our best defender and we've missed his passing. Who'd have thunk that last year!