Seriously worried about lack of any central midfield ?

[Fatty Arbuckle]

Luckily we've got decent games to begin with so a drinkwater/king partnership might be ok. Need a couple before the deadline though.

A Drinkwater and King partnership has never been ok. Every time they've lined up as a 2 it has been terrible.

[Gerard]

I wonder if the club are panicking?

 

Rudkin & Walsh must be blushing by now after discussing targets with Ranieri and coming back saying "he doesn't want to come either". 

 

We're still a relatively attractive club to join for most players from anything but the top shelf.

 

Maybe we should go a bit leftfield and take a chance on some 22 year old highly rated kid from South America that has potential but not quite highly rated enough to get on the better European clubs priority lists. 

 

The Mendy refusal was a body blow though when we can't attract French players who play for similar stature clubs as ourselves and even them doubling their wages isn't tempting enough.

[midland_red]

I wonder if the club are panicking?

 

Rudkin & Walsh must be blushing by now after discussing targets with Ranieri and coming back saying "he doesn't want to come either". 

 

We're still a relatively attractive club to join for most players from anything but the top shelf.

 

Maybe we should go a bit leftfield and take a chance on some 22 year old highly rated kid from South America that has potential but not quite highly rated enough to get on the better European clubs priority lists. 

 

The Mendy refusal was a body blow though when we can't attract French players who play for similar stature clubs as ourselves and even them doubling their wages isn't tempting enough.

 

This. I think the failure to keep Cambiasso (for which I don't blame Ranieri BTW) will have influenced potential signers negatively

[NotTheMarketLeader]

In answer to the OP's question.

As I write, in 2 weeks we will playing Sunderland - the season will have began. I consider that if we played Drinkwater, King and Hammond all season we would be relegated.

So yes I am very worried about our midfield as things stand.

[Xen]

Last season, our starting midfield in the first 4 PL games was:

1. King/DD
2. King/Hammond
3. King/Hammond
4. King/Hammond

We took a respectable 5 points from those games. Considering that they were against Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Stoke, I'd say that was very good going.

 

Those same midfielders are likely to be the ones starting the season for us. Except instead of playing top of the table teams, we've got Sunderland, West Ham (who look weak atm), Spurs and Bournemouth.

 

If that midfield can hold their own against teams like last season, then we'll be fine with the same players for the first few this season.

 

 

 

Obviously, we need more top-quality CMs to last the season, but there's over a month to go before deadline day, and then 2 weeks after that for a player to settle in before Villa. (Same as EC's debut vs Stoke)

 

Plenty of time to get someone in. (Although I'd hope we sort it out sooner).

 

[Loggy88]

We need two centre midfielders, one who is a box to box and then one who is more defensive minded. Everywhere else we look sorted, we keep getting linked with strikers which we don't need. Kante doesn't want to join which is a disappointing because he looked like just what we needed.

[NotTheMarketLeader]

Last season, our starting midfield in the first 4 PL games was:

• King/DD
• King/Hammond
• King/Hammond
• King/Hammond

We took a respectable 5 points from those games. Considering that they were against Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Stoke, I'd say that was very good going.

Those same midfielders are likely to be the ones starting the season for us. Except instead of playing top of the table teams, we've got Sunderland, West Ham (who look weak atm), Spurs and Bournemouth.

If that midfield can hold their own against teams like last season, then we'll be fine with the same players for the first few this season.

Obviously, we need more top-quality CMs to last the season, but there's over a month to go before deadline day, and then 2 weeks after that for a player to settle in before Villa. (Same as EC's debut vs Stoke)

Plenty of time to get someone in. (Although I'd hope we sort it out sooner).

I hope you are right, and I admire your optimism.

However, I wouldn't be so quick as to take the four game sample you mention as a measure of how they will fare this season. Predicting outcomes of football matches is not that simplistic.

I know the abilities of these three players, and while you can say they did well in those few games I do not believe on their own they are a viable midfield that is of PL quality to sustain us through a season. Tbf you have agreed that we need reinforcements.

To take the point further, really and truly if we are planning to be an improving squad Hammond should be knowhere near the starting 11 imo.

As things stand we have less midfield options than we have had for two seasons, which is even on the back of two successful seasons, when we should have been buying from a position of strength.

This aspect of recruitment is very, very poor on the part of the club.

[BigC]

We had GTF come on to play CM against Chelsea (A) last season, so can't get worse than that.

Need some additions and quick.

[Fox92]

Yes. Been saying it for weeks now that we need a quality central midfielder, or two. We can't seriously go into this season with King, Drinkwater, Hammond and a currently injured James.

[jimmeh]

Ranieri was accused of possibly changing too much when he first joined. People saying he will do a sven. Now he isn't signing anyone and it's not good enough?

[Babylon]

Ranieri was accused of possibly changing too much when he first joined. People saying he will do a sven. Now he isn't signing anyone and it's not good enough?

I don't get your point. The complaint was buying shit players under Sven, not that we signed too many.

[IsItMuzzy]

king king andy andy king gets the ball passes it to a teammate they lose it he gets it back andy andy king

Catchy. I like it.

[jimmeh]

It's all down to impatience which I understand. Ranieri has made it clear we don't start the season without a leader. 3 or 4 signings he says. Just give it time. I think over the next 3 or 4 days we will see a few incoming.

[NotTheMarketLeader]

Ranieri was accused of possibly changing too much when he first joined. People saying he will do a sven. Now he isn't signing anyone and it's not good enough?

I'm not saying it's Ranieri's fault - he's only just got the gig.

For me, the hierarchy / Rudkin - whoever has this responsibilty should have done more before this. They've had two months since the season ended and a year before that to get together a contingency plan, to prepare to be without Esteban.

[Col city fan]

I'm not saying it's Ranieri's fault - he's only just got the gig.

For me, the hierarchy / Rudkin - whoever has this responsibilty should have done more before this. They've had two months since the season ended and a year before that to get together a contingency plan, to prepare to be without Esteban.

I agree with this.

I wonder whether the back room staff think our current midfielders are good enough?

Hasn't Ranieri himself though said we need to strengthen in this area?

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Ranieri was accused of possibly changing too much when he first joined. People saying he will do a sven. Now he isn't signing anyone and it's not good enough?

Exactly my point, of having the  "What's Up With People " thread.

[MC Prussian]

Ranieri was accused of possibly changing too much when he first joined. People saying he will do a sven. Now he isn't signing anyone and it's not good enough?

I don't see how craving for the signature of at least two more central midfielders (where we have a shortage of class and in numbers alike) is comparable to "changing too much".

 

It's at most two out of eleven on the pitch.

[dpjfox]

we are never organised at the start of the season,  weeks to get prepared but we never do, 3 friendlies this week should be used to finely tune the starting 11 yet were still at the "speculation of targets stage"!

[Royston.]

a midfield 3 of king, hammond and drinkwater is pretty damn sexy to be fair

[fuchsntf]

At first , where are all these experienced CMs that are queueing up to play for our beautiful misunderstood club.

I dont want us to sign anybody just for the sake of it, Foreigner or UK lad.

So other middle clubs in the PL, have made 'exotic' signings, dont mean they will fit.

Spurs, Newcastle, even Everton did it for years..nothing special came out of it, they stayed either avg, or just kept their top

6 position viable, and they signed some so call great names.

With QPR, everybody seen what happenned.

Maybe going to a european top club and ask for 2 top players on season loan, who are just on the cusp.

[southfox66]

On reflection of my original question, it may seem I'm having a dig at new manager, but in essencse it is more a genuine concern that we are badly lacking in CM at the moment and lack of any progress in that area, given position at end of season, this should have been our number one priority and I like you all here want to see Leicester being able to play to their best ability, I believe we very promising strike force and solid defence, but this needs a solid CM to back it up, the heart and lungs of the team. I just would have liked to see us prepared in all areas of the pitch at start of season, not a make do,let's hope for the best, surely that's a reasonable view to have before the start of the new season

[DanTheFox07]

At the end of the day Cambiasso was a big linchpin in our team last season and we haven't replaced him, plus the fact we have Matty James out we are short on defensive option's in Midfield. I believe in Danny Drinkwater and think he can be a good influence when it comes to the creative side of our attacking play, but I do not feel we have a midfielder that has the quality to link defense to midfield and midfield to attack. 

 

I like the players we were linked to from Chelsea Ake and romeu but if we were seriously interested in them then I would have though something concrete would have been done with those player's. Anyway I hope the club are still pushing to sign the right player's, I don't think it's ideal that we only have 2 weeks until the season start's but unfortunately not all transfers are straight forward. 

[Finnaldo]

Very. The situation wouldn't look half as bad with a decent cm or two but my initial optimism has faded somewhat. We need some quality at the start of the season to get points out of those early games, we'll need them for some of our unforgiving fixture runs later in the season.

[Livid]

Very. The situation wouldn't look half as bad with a decent cm or two but my initial optimism has faded somewhat. We need some quality at the start of the season to get points out of those early games, we'll need them for some of our unforgiving fixture runs later in the season.

This ^ I still check regularly through the day hoping we're going to pull that "Holy mother of god! YES!!!" signing out and my optimism will come bounding back.

At the moment it's like a slow torture and my usual exuberance about the opening fixture just isn't there.

[benpicko]

I agree with this.

I wonder whether the back room staff think our current midfielders are good enough?

Hasn't Ranieri himself though said we need to strengthen in this area?

The owners even said in an interview after the season ended that we would be looking to strengthen our midfield and defence, with strikers not a priority. So far, we've signed a striker, a defender who we already had on loan, an attacking left-back, and no midfielder... I imagine this is really not how they expected the summer to turn out.