funkyrobot Posted 23 January 2017 Posted 23 January 2017 9 hours ago, CloudFox said: How on earth does that make any sense? He was subbed because we needed to take a CM off to bring on Albrighton and revert to a 4-4-2, not because of his performance. For the 45 that he played, he did as I stated. Claudio didn't take off Ndidi because he was playing relatively well, so it would have been a choice between Mendy and Drinky. And he was never going to take off Drinky. If you get subbed at half time, even for a formation change, it's a reasonable indicator that your manager thinks you are expendable based on your 45 mins. If Mendy had played ok like some suggest (got to say I thought he was anonymous again) then he would've taken off Ndidi or even Drinky instead.
The People's Hero Posted 23 January 2017 Posted 23 January 2017 Drinkwater had an awful 45. Far worse than mendy. Mendy has fairly poor. Drinkwater was absolutely shocking.
RowlattsFox Posted 23 January 2017 Posted 23 January 2017 I'm yet to see anything from Mendy which is massively encouraging but going to give him the benefit of the doubt has he has played a weird inside left midfield position in the last couple of games. N'didi and even Amartey look better players to me.
AmarteyAndChill Posted 23 January 2017 Posted 23 January 2017 People saying Mendy is a bad player when he's playing in exactly the same position as Drinkwater yet people are blaming the position of Drinky on why his performances are so bad.
Babylon Posted 23 January 2017 Posted 23 January 2017 15 hours ago, funkyrobot said: Yeh I get that but this lad was bought to improve a team that had won the league and yet I'm not sure at the moment whether his performances can justify a place on the bench never mind the starting 11. Never mind the rest of the team, there's much more competition in the middle so he's more easily replaced. Ndidi Looks more effective and I'd expect Amartey to come back in as well based on comparative performances so then you're looking at him competing with Kingy to warm the bench, not a great output for a relatively expensive player. I just wish Matty James was fit. No he wasn't, he came in to replace one of the best players in football at the moment for we got a fraction of his real value for. He was never going to improve the team lets get that straight.
funkyrobot Posted 5 February 2017 Posted 5 February 2017 On 23/01/2017 at 11:11, Babylon said: No he wasn't, he came in to replace one of the best players in football at the moment for we got a fraction of his real value for. He was never going to improve the team lets get that straight. You seriously think Mendy wasn't bought to improve the team? Why else would we buy him then? Kante was still a city player when he arrived and don't forget that Mendy was the number 1 target the season before and Kante was second choice when Mendy's transfer was blocked. With this in mind and with him being a signing made after we were crowned Champions, it's totally reasonable to expect him to improve the team whether Kante was still with us or not. A new signing should be an improvement to the squad, Mendy hasn't been to the point that he is now below King in the pecking order and unfortunately seems a very similar player to Kingy. Maybe even a Kingy-lite. I appreciate he hasn't played much but nor has NDidi and yet the latter has shown much more potential IMO. Looking forward to the next desperately deluded thread - Wague is our Best Hope!
Babylon Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 8 hours ago, funkyrobot said: You seriously think Mendy wasn't bought to improve the team? Why else would we buy him then? Kante was still a city player when he arrived and don't forget that Mendy was the number 1 target the season before and Kante was second choice when Mendy's transfer was blocked. With this in mind and with him being a signing made after we were crowned Champions, it's totally reasonable to expect him to improve the team whether Kante was still with us or not. A new signing should be an improvement to the squad, Mendy hasn't been to the point that he is now below King in the pecking order and unfortunately seems a very similar player to Kingy. Maybe even a Kingy-lite. I appreciate he hasn't played much but nor has NDidi and yet the latter has shown much more potential IMO. Looking forward to the next desperately deluded thread - Wague is our Best Hope! First off Kante was the No.1 target, we bid on him before we even had a manager. We only bid on Mendy when Ranieri came in. Secondly, Mendy was brought in to improve the squad and not the team (two different things), he was never going to replace DD or Kante. The second Kante went he was the replacement... and he was never going to be better than him. I'm fairly sure the club knew Kante were going long before he actually did, he'd have been gone sooner had he not been at the euros.
funkyrobot Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 10 hours ago, Babylon said: First off Kante was the No.1 target, we bid on him before we even had a manager. We only bid on Mendy when Ranieri came in. Secondly, Mendy was brought in to improve the squad and not the team (two different things), he was never going to replace DD or Kante. The second Kante went he was the replacement... and he was never going to be better than him. I'm fairly sure the club knew Kante were going long before he actually did, he'd have been gone sooner had he not been at the euros. I don't agree about him being signed just as a squad player. For a start Mendy was Ranieri's number one midfield target ahead of Kante prior to city buying Kante before the 15/16 season (when it was clear Mendy was not for sale.) He was eventually bought for a fee of £10million+ this season (the fee would further indicate as a first teamer). He was bought irrespective of Kante staying or going. Ranieri himself likened Mendy to closer to a Drinky than Kante so not sure why you assume everyone thinks he was a replacement for Kante. Some did, but anyone looking at the you tube videos of him, or who listened to Ranieri or who watched him pre season could see he wasn't a Kante player. The point is having now played a few games, he hasn't even improved the squad never mind seriously pushed for a spell in the 1st team. He's currently lower down the pecking order than Kingy and appears to have skills more comparable with him than a player who is likely to have any significant influence on a game (be that as creator or a defender.) Like Kingy he appears to ghost around the pitch doing very little. I hope this changes but at the moment he's not looking likely to help us get out of this situation as the thread indicated or 'hoped'.
foxinsocks Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 I saw them training and mendy ws tenacious. .... dont get me started about king.... we need speed and strength. ..strength and speed. ...and courage we ned strength speed courage and...
Guest CityFan 06 Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 I still don't think he's been played in his most effective position, and that's sitting in front of the defence. I'm led to believe that's where he played for Nice, and he was very effective. He offered protection for the back four and used his vision to spread passes across the field. He's sort of been in the role in some games and done ok, steady.
Babylon Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 6 minutes ago, funkyrobot said: I don't agree about him being signed just as a squad player. For a start Mendy was Ranieri's number one midfield target ahead of Kante prior to city buying Kante before the 15/16 season (when it was clear Mendy was not for sale.) He might have been Ranieri's first choice, but he clearly wasn't Walsh's. And it doesn't really matter if he was first choice or not, the fact is Kante was exceptional and so was DD next to him. Also, are you not contradicting yourself to suggest the Mendy was more of a DD sort of player and then say he was actually first choice the the Kante position? 6 minutes ago, funkyrobot said: He was eventually bought for a fee of £10million+ this season (the fee would further indicate as a first teamer). He was bought irrespective of Kante staying or going. Ranieri himself likened Mendy to closer to a Drinky than Kante so not sure why you assume everyone thinks he was a replacement for Kante. £10m is nothing, it would have taken about £80m to buy DD and Kante if he didn't have a release clause. Everyone assumes he's a replacement for Kante because he's a DM. That's where he played for his last club and got a grand total of zero assists and created almost no chances in a poorer league than ours. His job was solely to sit in front of the back four, mop things up and keep the ball ticking over. The signing made no sense at the time as his stats clearly showed he didn't have the defensive attributes of Kante and zero creativity to take the other role. So he clearly didn't fit into our system unless we were going to play 433 and let him play the role he played at his previous club. 6 minutes ago, funkyrobot said: The point is having now played a few games, he hasn't even improved the squad never mind seriously pushed for a spell in the 1st team. He's currently lower down the pecking order than Kingy and appears to have skills more comparable with him than a player who is likely to have any significant influence on a game (be that as creator or a defender.) Like Kingy he appears to ghost around the pitch doing very little. I hope this changes but at the moment he's not looking likely to help us get out of this situation as the thread indicated or 'hoped'. Well no the point is what I said at the start, not a chance in hell anyone ever thought he was signed to improve the starting 11. Whether he's improved the squad or not wasn't the discussion.
ARM1968 Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 Quite simply Kante cannot be replaced. You only have to look at his Chelsea performances. He's liable to be their player of the season or close to it. The guy is the best player we are ever likely to see play for LCFC. His departure has fractured the link between midfield and forward line. It has left DD without the midfield enforcer he needs to play his game and it has left our defence woefully exposed. I always believed in the adage that 'one man does not make a team'. However it is painfully obvious now that one man actually did make our team.
funkyrobot Posted 6 February 2017 Posted 6 February 2017 27 minutes ago, Babylon said: He might have been Ranieri's first choice, but he clearly wasn't Walsh's. And it doesn't really matter if he was first choice or not, the fact is Kante was exceptional and so was DD next to him. Also, are you not contradicting yourself to suggest the Mendy was more of a DD sort of player and then say he was actually first choice the the Kante position? £10m is nothing, it would have taken about £80m to buy DD and Kante if he didn't have a release clause. Everyone assumes he's a replacement for Kante because he's a DM. That's where he played for his last club and got a grand total of zero assists and created almost no chances in a poorer league than ours. His job was solely to sit in front of the back four, mop things up and keep the ball ticking over. The signing made no sense at the time as his stats clearly showed he didn't have the defensive attributes of Kante and zero creativity to take the other role. So he clearly didn't fit into our system unless we were going to play 433 and let him play the role he played at his previous club. Well no the point is what I said at the start, not a chance in hell anyone ever thought he was signed to improve the starting 11. Whether he's improved the squad or not wasn't the discussion. I give up mate. He was bought to play in the 1st team. He was our major midfield signing at the beginning of the season. All the Ranieri comments, all the press releases when he signed were that we were signing a 1st teamer. I agree with you that his attributes should've given a warning that he wasn't good enough but we don't make the signings! Our transfers have been absolutely awful this season bar NDidi. Mendy hasn't been anywhere near good enough so he's been dropped but he was not signed purely as a squad player.
murphy Posted 7 February 2017 Posted 7 February 2017 4 hours ago, ARM1968 said: Quite simply Kante cannot be replaced. You only have to look at his Chelsea performances. He's liable to be their player of the season or close to it. The guy is the best player we are ever likely to see play for LCFC. His departure has fractured the link between midfield and forward line. It has left DD without the midfield enforcer he needs to play his game and it has left our defence woefully exposed. I always believed in the adage that 'one man does not make a team'. However it is painfully obvious now that one man actually did make our team. Anyone that thinks that everything would be rosy if only we had Kante is dreaming. Remember the great escape? Also we beat Sunderland and West Ham without him for our first two games last year, playing with spirit and passion. Our problems run much deeper.
ARM1968 Posted 7 February 2017 Posted 7 February 2017 Anyone who thinks we wouldn't be a different proposition with Kante in the side is dreaming. The guy is different class. He glued the whole team together.
The Doctor Posted 7 February 2017 Posted 7 February 2017 Just now, ARM1968 said: Anyone who thinks we wouldn't be a different proposition with Kante in the side is dreaming. The guy is different class. He glued the whole team together. Has anyone claimed that? Yes, we'd be better with kante, any side in the world would be, but it's not as simple as just missing him, there's far bigger problems.
ARM1968 Posted 7 February 2017 Posted 7 February 2017 Indeed, but would those problems have manifested themselves quite so readily if Kante was still here? I think not. One man papered over a number of cracks. As as I said he screened the defence, gave DD time and space as well as linked with the attack. Yes we've got problems, but with Kante I believe we would be comfortably mid table.
dmayne7 Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 Got to be the worst passer of a football I have ever seen (I'm not forgetting the Hoof brothers). I don't understand why he floats the ball sideways 30 yards at somebody's throat? Watched the game with a Gillingham fan today who was astounded just how awful he is which says a lot. Really think he shouldn't be considered for selection again this season. Still looks unfit. At least, I hope that's what it is, otherwise he is woeful.
VLC86 Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 Hahahhaha what a ****ing fraud. He's completely and utterly pathetic.
Fox 4 Life Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 So weird as in France he was known for his passing ability. He is ****ing awful.....
Guest Basildon Fox Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 Stealing a living as a footballer. Looks unfit and does absolutely nothing. £14.5m even with today's inflated prices was £14.5m too much. How was he so highly rated?
ousefox Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 Absolute dogshit today. The amount of money we have waster
Thracian Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 We haven't got Kante so it's totally irrelevent, Every manager and coach has to work with what he's got. On my coaching course we actually drew the players we worked with at random (and right little heroes they proved too). You look at what you've got, decide where the strengths are and what weaknesses need to be protected and make every component player feel like he's the best footballer in the world at doing what you're asking of him. We've had weeks and weeks where perfectly reasonable players are looking like First War infantry suffering from shell shock. Every setback makes them more nervous, more uncertain and as if the're wondering if their next breath will be their last. People will think I'm being melodramatic referring to our long runs of "nils" but that is what a lack of confidence and belief breeds in a club. People who can't even scored one-on-one from four yards. It is NOT all about the players but all about their psyche. Cautious managers like Ranieri seem to encourage uncertainty. Even (if anyone can still remember) when we get in front his instinct is then to defend that goal rather than to score again and be bloody ruthless. We need to have the mentality of warfare. Get on top, stay on top and do absolutely everything to prevent a turnaround. Even an injured enemy can shoot passing soldiers in the back if they ignore him.
Sly Posted 18 February 2017 Posted 18 February 2017 I get the feeling he's never truly recovered and just isn't match fit.
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