Replacement for Mendy

[Babylon]

20 hours ago, psychonaut said:

Unnecessary? Regardless of Mendy's injury we are desperate for a CM! 

 

Edit. I think we all agree we need another CM anyway. 

Were we? Numbers wise we had the same as last season, actually more if Inler stays because James is back... and I don't remember people being desperate for one like they are this year.

 

Drinkwater

Mendy

King

Amartey

James

Inler

 

Currently all on the books, we're going to need to shift one or two before we need more CM's.

[les-tah]

8 minutes ago, justfoxes said:

Totally agree that Amartey can play in that position give him a chance to shine he's quick good on the ball and does like to tackle hard,you never know could be the ideal replacement !

I like amartey but hes not quick in them first 10 yards in which kante was.. thats why he cleaned up every loose ball and 50:50. If that makes sense. 

[ClaphamFox]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

Were we? Numbers wise we had the same as last season, actually more if Inler stays because James is back... and I don't remember people being desperate for one like they are this year.

 

Drinkwater

Mendy

King

Amartey

James

Inler

 

Currently all on the books, we're going to need to shift one or two before we need more CM's.

It isn't about the numbers - it's about the quality. Obviously we won't be able to buy a player who can perform exactly the same role as Kante for the simple reason that none exists. But that does not mean we should not try to buy a high quality replacement. Overall, without Kante, our midfield is considerably weaker than last year. This is not a healthy state of affairs in our first ever Champions League season.

Even if Kante had stayed, we’d still need more quality in the midfield to provide competition and allow for some rotation as we negotiate the fixture congestion that the Champions League will inevitably bring. Without Kante, one high quality new midfielder is imperative; two would be better. As things stand we’re very threadbare in that department, and it will cost us if we don’t do something about it.

[Ric Flair]

11 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Were we? Numbers wise we had the same as last season, actually more if Inler stays because James is back... and I don't remember people being desperate for one like they are this year.

 

Drinkwater

Mendy

King

Amartey

James

Inler

 

Currently all on the books, we're going to need to shift one or two before we need more CM's.

We're going to be playing more games and it's quite clear we're in a transition period without Kante so it's feasible there'll be some rotation due to not knowing whose best to partner Drinkwater yet. James won't feature for a long while as he needs to be able to put together more than 60 mins of football which he seems incapable of doing. Inler is set to join Marseille or Besiktas so that leaves 4 and Mendy could well be injured for a chunk of this season.

 

We need one more not just for numbers sake but for quality sake, it's our weak link in our team in my opinion and our most important if 4-4-2 is to continue to work.

[Babylon]

13 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

It isn't about the numbers - it's about the quality. Obviously we won't be able to buy a player who can perform exactly the same role as Kante for the simple reason that none exists. But that does not mean we should not try to buy a high quality replacement. Overall, without Kante, our midfield is considerably weaker than last year. This is not a healthy state of affairs in our first ever Champions League season.

 

Even if Kante had stayed, we’d still need more quality in the midfield to provide competition and allow for some rotation as we negotiate the fixture congestion that the Champions League will inevitably bring. Without Kante, one high quality new midfielder is imperative; two would be better. As things stand we’re very threadbare in that department, and it will cost us if we don’t do something about it.

 

So, are we basically writing off Mendy and Amertey as not going to be good enough? Are we saying James will not be good enough, despite him always being quite a good player for us.

 

Will a new guy get more than 50 minutes to show their capabilities?

 

I get the worry that we've not replaced Kante, but it feels like people want to get someone else in case what we've got isn't good enough... despite them not actually being given a chance yet.

 

I've got that worry as well don't get me wrong, but the club will look at assets like Amartey and say he's never going to get a chance if we bring someone else in ahead of him before he's even been here 8 months. If we don't have faith in them, then we need to get rid of some of them and bring ones in we do... as I'm not a fan of stock piling and not trying players.

[ClaphamFox]

11 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

We're going to be playing more games and it's quite clear we're in a transition period without Kante so it's feasible there'll be some rotation due to not knowing whose best to partner Drinkwater yet. James won't feature for a long while as he needs to be able to put together more than 60 mins of football which he seems incapable of doing. Inler is set to join Marseille or Besiktas so that leaves 4 and Mendy could well be injured for a chunk of this season.

 

We need one more not just for numbers sake but for quality sake, it's our weak link in our team in my opinion and our most important if 4-4-2 is to continue to work.

Agreed. The convention these days is to pack the midfield, hence the popularity of the fairly narrow 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 formations. We bucked the trend last year - and enjoyed extraordinary success as a result - by playing with only two central midfielders and two wingers. We were able to do this because Kante covered so much ground that it was effectively like having three central midfielders in addition to the two wingers. 

 

Mendy may turn out to be ok - I'm not convinced personally, but let's give him time - but even if he does, he's not a direct replacement for Kante. We badly need a high quality, ball-winning midfielder to enable us to continue playing to our strengths. Mendy is not that player, and neither is King. I thought Amartey might be, but Ranieri does not seem to trust him. Inler is surplus to requirements and none of us have any idea whether James will ever get back to his best. There's no doubt about it - central midfield is a major weak link for us.

[Mezeker]

1 hour ago, Babylon said:

Were we? Numbers wise we had the same as last season, actually more if Inler stays because James is back... and I don't remember people being desperate for one like they are this year.

 

Drinkwater

Mendy

King

Amartey

James

Inler

 

Currently all on the books, we're going to need to shift one or two before we need more CM's.

This sentiment reminds me of the current one at Arsenal. We  replaced Kante with another Drinkwater which made the midfield predictable and uninventive. We have no ability to propel the team forward from the center of midfield. King, James, and Inler are not at the level of our first team. Amartey and Mendy are but they don't offer our team what we ned from that other midfield slot unless we change formation and tactics. We are and were in desperate need of a creative midfielder that is good on the ball, that can beat people with the dribble and drive the team forward. We do not need a CDM but a true Box to Box or least one with the qualities of eventually becoming one. 

[Mezeker]

43 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

We badly need a high quality, ball-winning midfielder to enable us to continue playing to our strengths. Mendy is not that player, and neither is King. I thought Amartey might be, but Ranieri does not seem to trust him. Inler is surplus to requirements and none of us have any idea whether James will ever get back to his best. There's no doubt about it - central midfield is a major weak link for us.

I think this is a misdiagnosis of our situation, we don't need a high quality ball winner. Yes Kante was exceptional at that and it was a tremendous asset to how we played but that was not why he was so good in our system. His primary asset was after interceptions he was able to get forward with pace, beating one or two players and lay off the ball to mahrez or Vardy. We are desperately missing that penetration from the midfield. 

[Babylon]

2 minutes ago, Mezeker said:

This sentiment reminds me of the current one at Arsenal. We  replaced Kante with another Drinkwater which made the midfield predictable and uninventive. We have no ability to propel the team forward from the center of midfield. King, James, and Inler are not at the level of our first team. Amartey and Mendy are but they don't offer our team what we ned from that other midfield slot unless we change formation and tactics. We are and were in desperate need of a creative midfielder that is good on the ball, that can beat people with the dribble and drive the team forward. We do not need a CDM but a true Box to Box or least one with the qualities of eventually becoming one. 

I would agree, if anything happened to DD we'd be in the shite massively, he's the only one we have with that ability. If / when Inler goes I'd much prefer a player like you describe to come in rather than another CDM.

[tsintskaro]

Desperate for new CM

 

here is Danny's work against Arsenal

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/61603/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

Mendy

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/86881/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

King

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/13152/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

none of them good enough to partner Danny

[dbtcity]

5 minutes ago, tsintskaro said:

Desperate for new CM

 

here is Danny's work against Arsenal

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/61603/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

Mendy

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/86881/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

King

 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/statszone/8-2016/matches/855182/player-stats/13152/OVERALL_02#tabs-wrapper-anchor

 

 

none of them good enough to partner Danny

How do you get to that conclusion by those stats??? 

[tsintskaro]

1 minute ago, dbtcity said:

How do you get to that conclusion by those stats??? 

 

Just watch a game 

Its all clear about King,Mendy still has time to show himself

But its obvious he cant tackle 

[st albans fox]

drinks could play a more holding role if we bought a more creative player who can get up and down (with good acceleration) 

[dbtcity]

1 minute ago, tsintskaro said:

 

Just watch a game 

Its all clear about King,Mendy still has time to show himself

But its obvious he cant tackle 

I'm guessing the mendy can't tackle is based on Kante ridiculous ability to tackle??? I personally thought mendy looked really tidy before picking up the injury

[st albans fox]

1 minute ago, tsintskaro said:

 

Just watch a game 

Its all clear about King,Mendy still has time to show himself

But its obvious he cant tackle 

No it isn't yet. He has to adjust to the pace of the PL before you can judge. Took NG a half dozen games. 

 

Go look at a tape of Spurs last Aug when he came on or Bournemouth away. Stoke away he came on at half time and made a difference. I think that was after he played at bury or Stockport in the league cup. 

 

NG really came onto his game away at Norwich. The previous game home to arsenal he was found wanting a few times, as were many of the players.

[Loggy88]

We need another midfielder, Carvalho would be awesome but just can't see it happening.

[tsintskaro]

2 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

No it isn't yet. He has to adjust to the pace of the PL before you can judge

 

Watched few Nice games,looked for his stats and pretty sure Tackles aint hes strengths 

but as i said he has still  time,maybe he will learn how to do it

[goose2010]

I don't get this ' Mendy isn't good enough' attitude some of our fans have got already. You do realise that Kante wasn't in the team this time last year? he didn't start his first match in the middle of a two man midfield until September 19th against Stoke ? Mendy has been chucked in straight away and helped us keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. Give the guy a break jesus.

[Ric Flair]

11 minutes ago, goose2010 said:

I don't get this ' Mendy isn't good enough' attitude some of our fans have got already. You do realise that Kante wasn't in the team this time last year? he didn't start his first match in the middle of a two man midfield until September 19th against Stoke ? Mendy has been chucked in straight away and helped us keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. Give the guy a break jesus.

Agreed but it was clear from the first few minutes of Kante's debut that he was a phenomenon. He just whizzed about the pitch taking the ball and liberties. He played right wing the first few games and was still unbelievable. Mendy is a different story, I believe he's got a massive job on his hands settling in here due to our fans love in with Kante who is impossible to replace and the way we play. Mendy looks the perfect player to play in a 3 man midfield but in a 2 man partnership he could struggle. The same happened with Inler and it can quickly unravel.

[FoxesFourLife]

Why are people comparing him to kante? He's Inler's replacement the club are still looking for a ball winning defensive midfielder. 

[filbertstreet]

33 minutes ago, goose2010 said:

I don't get this ' Mendy isn't good enough' attitude some of our fans have got already. You do realise that Kante wasn't in the team this time last year? he didn't start his first match in the middle of a two man midfield until September 19th against Stoke ? Mendy has been chucked in straight away and helped us keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. Give the guy a break jesus.

to be fair, he was shit against hull and second half against arsenal

[psychonaut]

1 hour ago, Babylon said:

Were we? Numbers wise we had the same as last season, actually more if Inler stays because James is back... and I don't remember people being desperate for one like they are this year.

 

Drinkwater

Mendy

King

Amartey

James

Inler

 

Currently all on the books, we're going to need to shift one or two before we need more CM's.

 

Inler is on his way - he cant be in our plans as he hasn't been given a squad number. James isn't fit and I cant see him hitting the ground running after being out of action for so long - requires game time perhaps at a lower level. So that's effectively 2 off the list.

 

The reason I say desperate is because out of those 4 CM's 3 are too similar a player with Drinkwater being by far the best of the 3. I'm not sure about Amartey I still cant place him - I'm not even sure CM is his best position. For me Mendy is much closer to  Drinkwater than Kante in style of play and I think you've said this before yourself. From what I've seen so far and based on his season in the french leagues I really don't think he is your typical CDM at all. So it's really a lack of particular CM that suits our system. Perhaps we can adapt too so possibly a more creative CM to take the pressure off Mahrez.

[Babylon]

4 minutes ago, psychonaut said:

 

Inler is on his way - he cant be in our plans as he hasn't been given a squad number. James isn't fit and I cant see him hitting the ground running after being out of action for so long - requires game time perhaps at a lower level. So that's effectively 2 off the list.

 

The reason I say desperate is because out of those 4 CM's 3 are too similar a player with Drinkwater being by far the best of the 3. I'm not sure about Amartey I still cant place him - I'm not even sure CM is his best position. For me Mendy is much closer to  Drinkwater than Kante in style of play and I think you've said this before yourself. From what I've seen so far and based on his season in the french leagues I really don't think he is your typical CDM at all. So it's really a lack of particular CM that suits our system. Perhaps we can adapt too so possibly a more creative CM to take the pressure off Mahrez.

Ranieri has said a few things now that make me think there is going to be a change to the shape / tactics. Can't remember when it was exactly or the precise quote. But he seemed to say that we'd look at how we start the season, how the players fit together and tweak things to make it work. He was very good at spotting issues last season and his tactical / shape changes always worked a treat. So perhaps he'll take his time to see what does / doesn't work and change the shape to suit rather than change the players. He said after the game on Sat "“Yes, of course (it was 4-4-2). Sooner or later we change something, but everyone knows this is our shape, everyone knows the movement and that is much better.” Hard to know what he means because of his English, but it does seem to suggest us looking at something else.

 

Mendy played in a 3 last year, so is probably more suited to that... and Musa doesn't seem to fit the system other than being a Vards replacement. So a tweak to the shape could mean you get to include both of them and make it work as a unit.

[ClaphamFox]

9 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Ranieri has said a few things now that make me think there is going to be a change to the shape / tactics. Can't remember when it was exactly or the precise quote. But he seemed to say that we'd look at how we start the season, how the players fit together and tweak things to make it work. He was very good at spotting issues last season and his tactical / shape changes always worked a treat. So perhaps he'll take his time to see what does / doesn't work and change the shape to suit rather than change the players. He said after the game on Sat "“Yes, of course (it was 4-4-2). Sooner or later we change something, but everyone knows this is our shape, everyone knows the movement and that is much better.” Hard to know what he means because of his English, but it does seem to suggest us looking at something else.

 

Mendy played in a 3 last year, so is probably more suited to that... and Musa doesn't seem to fit the system other than being a Vards replacement. So a tweak to the shape could mean you get to include both of them and make it work as a unit.

He looked pretty damn good on the left wing on Saturday - his natural position and the one he apparently played in most for CSKA. I'd love to see him start there on Saturday.

[Ric Flair]

22 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Ranieri has said a few things now that make me think there is going to be a change to the shape / tactics. Can't remember when it was exactly or the precise quote. But he seemed to say that we'd look at how we start the season, how the players fit together and tweak things to make it work. He was very good at spotting issues last season and his tactical / shape changes always worked a treat. So perhaps he'll take his time to see what does / doesn't work and change the shape to suit rather than change the players. He said after the game on Sat "“Yes, of course (it was 4-4-2). Sooner or later we change something, but everyone knows this is our shape, everyone knows the movement and that is much better.” Hard to know what he means because of his English, but it does seem to suggest us looking at something else.

 

Mendy played in a 3 last year, so is probably more suited to that... and Musa doesn't seem to fit the system other than being a Vards replacement. So a tweak to the shape could mean you get to include both of them and make it work as a unit.

Which makes it all the more scandalous we aren't giving it big licks in the market to get another central midfielder in. If you're going to play 3 then you need at least 5 to manage you through the amount of games we've got coming up. We currently have 3 fit central midfielders. Very, very worrying. We rival Arsenal in the amount of time it takes to get transfers sorted as well so with 9 days left we're baffling.