Inler

[Ric Flair]

He wasn't even that bad, he'll be absolutely fine given time. Kante is looking a beast and Drinkwater is back to his best so Inler will have to get up to speed quickly which I'm sure he will.

[MC Prussian]

I watched the game again from start to finish and yes, he did give away the ball rather carelessly in two or three situations (twice in the first half, once in the second half with a mistimed long ball to Albrighton).

He also had some troubles chasing back and trying to break up a Villa attack somewhere near the 50th minute mark, but overall, he looked rather solid and composed, tried to keep the midfield together, switching between defensive and attacking duties in a tandem with Drinkwater, albeit Inler seemed a bit timid going forward (the one attempt on goal was a bit meh).

 

I saw glimpses of his genius distribution and a player who acts like a very decent sweeper just in front of the back four on that occasion.

He'll come good.

[Col city fan]

I watched the game again from start to finish and yes, he did give away the ball rather carelessly in two or three situations (twice in the first half, once in the second half with a mistimed long ball to Albrighton).

He also had some troubles chasing back and trying to break up a Villa attack somewhere near the 50th minute mark, but overall, he looked rather solid and composed, tried to keep the midfield together, switching between defensive and attacking duties in a tandem with Drinkwater, albeit Inler seemed a bit timid going forward (the one attempt on goal was a bit meh).

I saw glimpses of his genius distribution and a player who acts like a very decent sweeper just in front of the back four on that occasion.

He'll come good.

We keep reading about how Inler will 'come good'. And he might.

However...As far as I can see King, Drinkwater and Kante have pretty much 'come good' already this season.

The point I'm making is this...why risk those players who are ALREADY performing (Eg King) to accommodate a player who may well take some time to get up to speed?

Football is a results business and the reality was that playing Inler last weekend very nearly cost us our first loss of the season.

If the other midfielders hadn't been performing I could well understand it. But they had. King and Drinky had look quite assured give or take some lapses. Kante has come in and proved himself as more than able every time.

So why risk that?

The only reason in my mind is if Inler is clearly much better than any of em. As in, he's SO good that we need to accommodate him at all costs. Is he?

If not, then leave things alone and do what we pretty much do with all the rest of the squad..introduce him when others are either off form or injured.

If he is much better than the other midfielders, I get it... It makes sense.

But is he?

[steveherbe]

Bit like a car analogy. I've got a perfectly good Renault Modus that gets me to work every day. But if I was offered a Ferrari that just needed a bit of a tune up.......Substitute King and Inler there, and you get my point

[dominicmsb]

Bit like a car analogy. I've got a perfectly good Renault Modus that gets me to work every day. But if I was offered a Ferrari that just needed a bit of a tune up.......Substitute King and Inler there, and you get my point

 

... and you don't know whether the Ferrari will actually work or not in the end

 

 

Not after split 90 minute showings, its not an opinion, its a total lack of footballing logic..including also the over the top positive

comments....but thanks for replying Victor.

 

I've seen Inler play before. This isn't off 90 minutes.

[Ric Flair]

We keep reading about how Inler will 'come good'. And he might.

However...As far as I can see King, Drinkwater and Kante have pretty much 'come good' already this season.

The point I'm making is this...why risk those players who are ALREADY performing (Eg King) to accommodate a player who may well take some time to get up to speed?

Football is a results business and the reality was that playing Inler last weekend very nearly cost us our first loss of the season.

If the other midfielders hadn't been performing I could well understand it. But they had. King and Drinky had look quite assured give or take some lapses. Kante has come in and proved himself as more than able every time.

So why risk that?

The only reason in my mind is if Inler is clearly much better than any of em. As in, he's SO good that we need to accommodate him at all costs. Is he?

If not, then leave things alone and do what we pretty much do with all the rest of the squad..introduce him when others are either off form or injured.

If he is much better than the other midfielders, I get it... It makes sense.

But is he?

 

Case of the big name player isn't it, it happens at every club in the top levels. You may have a point and it does seem ludicrous to risk the current form of certain players to integrate a supposed quality player in to the team because they are expected to play but it happens. A good manager knows when to do it and when not to do it. It's the same when a manager has to decide whether a goalkeeper whose made a few high profile mistakes should be dropped or kept in the team, form is temporary and class is permanent. There is a bit of a mentality at this club, rightly or wrongly that big name players are something to be wary of. This probably stems from the Sven days and then the myth that Pearson couldn't handle experienced players but at the highest level to continue to improve you have to change everything at some point. Mentality, calibre of player etc. Sometimes it can go horribly wrong or look to be that way at first and fans will question it. The simple fact is, Inler is streets ahead of Andy King and probably Danny Drinkwater in talent. They may improve over a period of time to achieve what Inler has done in the game but anyone who thinks Inler isn't as good as either of these two needs their head testing. That is no guarantee that he'll be a success here, you'd hope he would be but we've seen high profile flops and the only worry is the pace of the game here. It's frenetic and he's used to the Italian way of play and he must learn quick. Cambiasso a true footballing great, did so very quickly and will be held as a hero at Leicester for a long, long time. Top drawer players have that ability to adapt and we've paid good money for Inler and we expect him to do so. I'm quite amazed we're really questioning him after less than 90 minutes of PL football but again it seems to be a fan mentality at Leicester where we must be wary of star players as they're a risk to the small and tight knit club we've proudly made. We daren't risk upsetting the apple cart, we must fight change.

 

Let's give this bloke a chance hey? It's embarrassing, he's been one of the best midfielders in Serie A and we should be encouraged we have him. Yes it was hardly a world class performance on Sunday but it weren't that bad, it was no worse than a fair few others in the first 45 mins of that game. If he's still off the pace after a few more games and is still getting in regardless then you may have a point but right now it's bizarre.

[ScouseFox]

i'll drop it in again just to point out he's not just being judged on a 45 minutes when nobody was very good. he was also awful, like really, stupidly bad against BURY. 

 

it's still not much to judge on and he will get better, i'm pretty sure of that, but he's played more than that villa game and was even worse. no way he should be starting on anything other than name. he's been our worst midfielder by some distance in this start of the season. 

[inckley fox]

He will need to find form very quickly now. We have players who have proved themselves already who were left out for him on Saturday. If the gaffer is going to take risks like that then the player needs to perform. Many more perforce like the one on Saturday with the gaffer still choosing him could lead to some disgruntled players on the wings.

If I was king I would have been furious. Seeing someone literally picked on name ahead of me after I had performed so well earlier. Even kante must have been frustrated after doing really well as a sub in many games already.

Inler has a lot to prove and he needs to do it quickly. I hope he can, he needs to adjust his game quite dramatically though. At international level he looked really good, I guess that's the difference in tempo showing.

 

I think this is fair enough. King has had a good start to the season and had to make way, Kante has looked very promising with barely more of an opportunity than Inler and didn't get the nod. When Kante replaced Inler the improvement was spectacular. It's not so much a matter of whether Inler is still the player he once was, nor even whether he can serve the sort of function we need him to - it's more a case of whether he can be effective for us any time soon. 

 

Firstly because we can't afford to give Inler the time to bed in, not if his presence in the game is the difference between the first hour of Sunday's game and the last half hour (of course there were lots of other reasons for our ineffectiveness on Sunday, but the difference between our midfield with Inler and our midfield with Kante was clear). That could be the difference between a sustained stay in the top half of the table - of which we looked well worthy by the end of the game - and a relegation battle.

 

Secondly, Inler himself might not be willing to warm the bench while players who have done more to earn a place have their chance. There was no problem with his midweek comments, but they indicate a player who wants to play a lot more football than his performances have warranted. Not only do you tend not to sign veteran high-profile players so they can spend months getting up to speed (Cottee's the first exception I can think of), but they also tend not to want to wait. We may come across similar issues with Fuchs and Benalouane before long, or even Okazaki if defences continue to cope with him as effortlessly as they have over the past few games.

 

On the other hand, if he can be patient and do his adapting on the training ground, via cameo appearances and in cup matches - and do it fast - then he has an excellent chance of fitting in.

[Ric Flair]

i'll drop it in again just to point out he's not just being judged on a 45 minutes when nobody was very good. he was also awful, like really, stupidly bad against BURY. 

 

it's still not much to judge on and he will get better, i'm pretty sure of that, but he's played more than that villa game and was even worse. no way he should be starting on anything other than name. he's been our worst midfielder by some distance in this start of the season. 

Was he stupidly bad against Bury, I wasn't at the game so can't comment. I certainly didn't read such comments but may be wrong. I thought against Spurs he looked promising, made some very intelligent passes, including a superb ball out to Mahrez which very nearly got us the winner from Morgan's point blank header. Break down what we've seen so far and it's not good enough from a supposed world class player but it's also hardly dog mess. If it's a toss up between Kante and Inler playing though, then Kante must start. The man will be every bit as good as Inler in his career, he's a superstar in the making.

[ScouseFox]

Was he stupidly bad against Bury, I wasn't at the game so can't comment. I certainly didn't read such comments but may be wrong. I thought against Spurs he looked promising, made some very intelligent passes, including a superb ball out to Mahrez which very nearly got us the winner from Morgan's point blank header. Break down what we've seen so far and it's not good enough from a supposed world class player but it's also hardly dog mess. If it's a toss up between Kante and Inler playing though, then Kante must start. The man will be every bit as good as Inler in his career, he's a superstar in the making.

 

yeah he was. anyone who said he wasn't was just pretending he was good because he's gokhan inler. if king or hammond or someone else had put in that performance he'd have been ruined. or if we were playing someone who wasn't bury so won anyway. 

 

yeah his cameo vs spurs was exciting but he's been naff since then in nearly two full games. he'll come good probably (hopefully) but based on what we've seen he can't be anything other than 4th choice atm, on everything but name. 

[hackneyfox]

How else will he get up to PL pace without playing PL games?

[Dan LCFC]

I was at Bury (scouse knows this) and he was pretty dismal.

[Ric Flair]

yeah he was. anyone who said he wasn't was just pretending he was good because he's gokhan inler. if king or hammond or someone else had put in that performance he'd have been ruined. or if we were playing someone who wasn't bury so won anyway. 

 

yeah his cameo vs spurs was exciting but he's been naff since then in nearly two full games. he'll come good probably (hopefully) but based on what we've seen he can't be anything other than 4th choice atm, on everything but name. 

 

Let's hope his performance against England was more of what he will bring to us rather than what he's done so far then. England have a habit of making players look better than they are but I thought Inler was very good operating the role he did. The one point

 that raises though is, in a 3 man central midfield. We saw this with Cambiasso, in a 2 man central partnership at times he could be well off the pace when the play was frenetic but his positioning and brain allowed him to be influential when he could. We need this from Inler whose strengths are wining the ball and making positive passes, in a 2 man pairing this is essential as there's not the protection. One thing I will say is what a rare position to be in to have players like Inler, Fuchs and Kramaric that by rights aren't going to be first choice the way it stands?

[ScouseFox]

How else will he get up to PL pace without playing PL games?

 

dunno, but we can't go to places like stoke away or play arsenal at home carrying someone who, on his two performances so far has been at best a passenger, and at worst actively positively contributing for the opposition. 

[Ric Flair]

I was at Bury (scouse knows this) and he was pretty dismal.

 

I've just re-read the Bury post match thread and there's a few curious comments about Inler but also some saying he looked very classy but off the pace. This off the pace seems a re-occuring theme that must be dealt with fairly quickly. If we've seen no improvement within the next few games then a good manager will resolve this.

[ScouseFox]

Let's hope his performance against England was more of what he will bring to us rather than what he's done so far then. England have a habit of making players look better than they are but I thought Inler was very good operating the role he did. The one point

 that raises though is, in a 3 man central midfield. We saw this with Cambiasso, in a 2 man central partnership at times he could be well off the pace when the play was frenetic but his positioning and brain allowed him to be influential when he could. We need this from Inler whose strengths are wining the ball and making positive passes, in a 2 man pairing this is essential as there's not the protection. One thing I will say is what a rare position to be in to have players like Inler, Fuchs and Kramaric that by rights aren't going to be first choice the way it stands?

 

yeah i thought he was good against england. different type of game though, suited him better. 

 

kante - inler - drinkwater could be amazing. we look pretty stuck involved into 442 though. 

[Ric Flair]

dunno, but we can't go to places like stoke away or play arsenal at home carrying someone who, on his two performances so far has been at best a passenger, and at worst actively positively contributing for the opposition. 

 

Arsenal is exactly the sort of game for him, Stoke away might not be. Arsenal sit off and piss about with the ball so much it'll be like taking sweets off a baby for Inler. He makes so many interceptions that it's hopefully the sort of game for him to make his mark. Kante must play on Saturday though, Stoke won't enjoy that.

[inckley fox]

i'll drop it in again just to point out he's not just being judged on a 45 minutes when nobody was very good. he was also awful, like really, stupidly bad against BURY. 

 

it's still not much to judge on and he will get better, i'm pretty sure of that, but he's played more than that villa game and was even worse. no way he should be starting on anything other than name. he's been our worst midfielder by some distance in this start of the season. 

 

How quickly are you allowed to come to a conclusion about a player? If people have watched Inler regularly over the past two seasons, which I haven't, then I could understand them thinking that we shouldn't waste too much more time giving him chances at the expense of better performers, simply because you probably wouldn't need to watch his next ten or twenty outings to know whether he's still got it.

 

Who knows, we may have taken a gamble on a player whom we believe to be long past it, for whatever reason, but who could be worth twenty times his fee if he can somehow recapture the glory days. If this were the case, and I'd be surprised if it were, then it might make sense to discard him as a failed experiment without much more game time.

 

For me, it'd be very wrong to dress his display up as anything other than very poor, but it would equally be hugely unfair to rush to any conclusions.

 

But all of us do rush to conclusions. Youth team players get twenty minutes before many of us, managers included, determine whether they're ready or not, Willis got a couple of matches before he was shelved for two whole seasons, Gunnlaugsson only ever made a couple of starts under O'Neill, Kalac got one or two league starts under McGhee. At the time all three were relatively big signings for Leicester. And there's plenty more names out there who were binned based on just a few outings, regardless of how high hopes might or might not have been - Ashley Ward, Charlie Miller, Joe Hamill, Kermorgant, Moreno, Bori, Bednar etc.

 

I'd have thought Inler's pedigree was the key difference here. Lots of people on here who say they've seen a lot more Italian football on me, of course, say that his pedigree has declined in the past few years. If so, maybe it wouldn't hurt him to be reminded of this and realise that he's a player who can't expect first team football, but has to get the bit between his teeth and show that he deserves it.

[Manwell Pablo]

Gokhan Inler is a very accomplished footballer, and as was demonstrated last night I think people need to lose the Premier League arrogance, it was once the best league in Europe, it most defintiely isn't anymore. It is quicker, not better, different, not better, so he is most certainly isn't "out of his depth" and I'm sure given time Inler will be a very good for us.

[KP Fox]

This will happen shortly ;He will play a fantastic through ball for Vardy to run on and score from. He will then score himself with a trademark goal from outside the area. We will all then sing his praises, every single one of us!

[fuchsntf]

Gokhan Inler is a very accomplished footballer, and as was demonstrated last night I think people need to lose the Premier League arrogance, it was once the best league in Europe, it most defintiely isn't anymore. It is quicker, not better, different, not better, so he is most certainly isn't "out of his depth" and I'm sure given time Inler will be a very good for us.

Ditto...mirrors my believes entirely.

[dominicmsb]

Gokhan Inler is a very accomplished footballer, and as was demonstrated last night I think people need to lose the Premier League arrogance, it was once the best league in Europe, it most defintiely isn't anymore. It is quicker, not better, different, not better, so he is most certainly isn't "out of his depth" and I'm sure given time Inler will be a very good for us.

 

Oh come on.. you think mid table teams in Italy could even think to get their hands on Shakiri, Payet, Inler & Ayew to name a few.

[Ric Flair]

Oh come on.. you think mid table teams in Italy could even think to get their hands on Shakiri, Payet, Inler & Ayew to name a few.

 

He didn't say there wasn't more money in the PL just that the dominance our league had over other teams in Europe is no longer as strong. Whether we'll see us regain that dominance is yet to be seen but right now irrespective of this extra dough clubs have got to spend we still seem unable to compete in Europe. The next two seasons will be telling.

[dominicmsb]

He didn't say there wasn't more money in the PL just that the dominance our league had over other teams in Europe is no longer as strong. Whether we'll see us regain that dominance is yet to be seen but right now irrespective of this extra dough clubs have got to spend we still seem unable to compete in Europe. The next two seasons will be telling.

 

That's not the definition of a strong league then.. that's the top teams not being as good as the other top teams.

[Callabinho]

Are some of you suggesting that he isn't good enough? I can't be arsed to sift through endless pages of drivel, but if you do then seriously have a word with yourself.