Musa

[AKCJ]

4 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Sometimes it just takes one thing for people to change. I remember Savage being uselss (ok he was never amazing), but in the cup game against Sunderland he just charged into someone and got a massive cheer. From that moment on he seemed to realise who he was and what we wanted and you could see his confidence grow. From that moment on he just charged around like a mad man and changed everyones opinions. Never the greatest, but put in the effort and made the most of his ability.

Remember Savage admitting that he read newspaper reports and got upset if he felt hard done by to the point he'd ring the journalist  

 

Some people have that confidence other people find it fluctuates.

 

Would sooner give Musa another season than sell him for a loss.

Edited 14 July 2017 by AKCJ

[foxes21]

I know Albrighton is fuching fantastic, but if Musa keeps up his pre-season form is it worth starting him against Arsenal at LW?

 

We will be sitting deep & counter attacking all game and Mahrez's creativity on one wing & Musa's pace on the other should cause a lot of problems.

 

As Babylon said, Musa is a confidence player. If he puts in a great performance against Arsenal it could set him up for a very good season.

[ozvaldo]

Those clips make him look immense.
I remember thinking in that Hull game (and that Barca pre-season) that we had a seriously great player with good potential.
Shame it didn't work out for him last season.

 

I'd be interested to see how his first season compared to Vardy's?  

[CosbehFox]

2 hours ago, AKCJ said:

There was a point around October last season I think it was where he kept getting the ball down and just running at the opposition and he was causing quite a lot of problems because he was starting to get a run in the side.

Yeah he had a decent run as a winger. Played well against Palace and then Spurs away until he got taken out. 

 

He's a better winger than a striker I think. He's probably better as a winger in a forward 3 where his physicality isn't such a weakness. 

 

The interest part of the Morgan video is that Simpson doesn't bat an eyelid which suggests it's not just one person's odd opinion that he's had a good pre-season. 

[Jimmy]

he played wide left for CSKA, we bought a player based on the form he showed in a position we don't use then wondered why we didn't see the same player

[UPinCarolina]

5 hours ago, ozvaldo said:

Those clips make him look immense.
I remember thinking in that Hull game (and that Barca pre-season) that we had a seriously great player with good potential.
Shame it didn't work out for him last season.

 

I'd be interested to see how his first season compared to Vardy's?  

How many clear cut chances did we blow that first match? That's 3 nailed on goals if we could finish! 

 

I honestly think we win that day and the entire season goes differently

[Papasmurf]

I remember Taggart being awful for a start too. 

[Finnegan]

I agree with a lot of what is said in his defence on here. I agree he's got a steep learning curve to adjust, agree he didn't get a solid run, agree he looks shot of confidence, agree we played him out of position, all of that.

 

But I still really, really struggle to imagine him actually being effective here. There just seem to be so many fundamentals missing, mentally as well as technically. 

 

You look at someone like Kapustka in his brief forays on to the pitch and even though you could understand why he wasn't getting picked (he's very raw and very skinny) he still managed to glide around finding space and moving well.

 

Musa just seems to really lack an appreciation for what's going on around him on a football pitch and how he can best influence that. 

 

 

[Stadt]

He never performed that well in Russia where he had more than long enough to adapt - I don't think he's a bad as he was last season but I don't think he's good enough to be starting for an ambitious PL side. He's quick but that's not enough unfortunately.

[volpeazzurro]

Perhaps if as he was getting paid, he'd concentrated more on his feet and less on his nob he'd have done a little better. 

[Wymsey]

Is he really a winger?

Perhaps he's lacking in confidence due to being played out of position, where his ideal position (wasn't he a centre forward or something in Russia?) had others more effective than him.

 

Can't see him hitting Sadio Mane's level any time soon the season starts and that any game time he has, he won't learn the same poor passing and poor ball control mistakes that hindered his performances last season.

Edited 14 July 2017 by Wymeswold fox

[ozvaldo]

2 hours ago, UPinCarolina said:

How many clear cut chances did we blow that first match? That's 3 nailed on goals if we could finish! 

 

I honestly think we win that day and the entire season goes differently

Vardy should have had a first half hatrick

[HoustonFox]

3 hours ago, Wymeswold fox said:

Is he really a winger?

Perhaps he's lacking in confidence due to being played out of position, where his ideal position (wasn't he a centre forward or something in Russia?) had others more effective than him.

 

Can't see him hitting Sadio Mane's level any time soon the season starts and that any game time he has, he won't learn the same poor passing and poor ball control mistakes that hindered his performances last season.

Left forward I think vs winger. Better in a 433 than a 442 so he doesn't have too many defensive responsibilities. I can see us playing that formation a bit this season, as well as 4231 and possible the new in in vogue, 343 (where I think he might be useful too). 

 

A good (and proper) pre-season to get him fit and beefed up a little would hopefully see him start to shine. 

 

We, the fans, need to show him some love too, I think that will encourage him. Lots of "run at him, you can do it!" would be good. There's a good player in there somewhere! 

[Harry96]

He sees himself as more of a winger than striker apparently 

[volpeazzurro]

I seem to remember the Moscow supporters saying that their coach played him out of the position on the wing and it wasn't until he played him as a forward that he got some success. Either way they commented that he was frustrating due to his control. That lack of control was to be highlighted in a faster playing premiership. Reasonable defenders are also soon able to cope with a winger whose only weapon is pace. With players like Maguire and Ianacho arguably you've at least seen they can cope in the premiership, foreign players can be more of a risk. Sometimes you get a Kante but sometimes you get a Musa. 

[SheppyFox]

He's bossing Pre Season, hope people get off his back, he had to live in Russia and move here, huge changes in his life.

[weller54]

57 minutes ago, SheppyFox said:

He's bossing Pre Season, hope people get off his back, he had to live in Russia and move here, huge changes in his life.

And he needs to get married and settle down... 

[RODNEY FERNIO]

9 hours ago, Wookie said:

He never performed that well in Russia where he had more than long enough to adapt - I don't think he's a bad as he was last season but I don't think he's good enough to be starting for an ambitious PL side. He's quick but that's not enough unfortunately.

Didn't play well in Russia ? 125 appearances and averaging a goal every three games isn't too shabby

[norwichfox]

1 hour ago, weller54 said:

And he needs to get married and settle down... 

[Bossman Blessed It]

Vardy was dreadful when he started too and took similar touches, made similar runs and had similarly bad efforts on goal as Musa did. Now the season has been and gone and we've had time to reflect on it, Musa in my opinion was used as a bit of a scapegoat in a lot of games - perhaps because he was new to a side that we were so used to winning before that. At 23 years old, he moved to a brand new environment - into an incredibly hostile situation at the club where all of ours players were suffering a huge decline and the media was pinpointing our every weakness. Whatever happened with Ranieri obviously would have taken its toll too. Combine that with what must have been a torrid and rather embarrassing time at home (once the papers caught wind). You're left with an incredibly tough spell and I doubt any of us would have come through that shining. It's testament to his character that at his age, with all that going on he still finds the energy to go back to Nigeria and help people in need. At 23, I could barely pack my own lunch. It's refreshing to see that after all that, he's clearly gaining recognition for having a great pre-season and might be finally settled here now. Given that he's our player, we'd be foolish not to give him another try because we were trying to forget all the negatives of last season. Similar thing applies to Slimani imo - we should aspire to be a club that nurtures, not simply discards like other rich teams do. 

[Col city fan]

4 minutes ago, Bossman Blessed It said:

Vardy was dreadful when he started too and took similar touches, made similar runs and had similarly bad efforts on goal as Musa did. Now the season has been and gone and we've had time to reflect on it, Musa in my opinion was used as a bit of a scapegoat in a lot of games - perhaps because he was new to a side that we were so used to winning before that. At 23 years old, he moved to a brand new environment - into an incredibly hostile situation at the club where all of ours players were suffering a huge decline and the media was pinpointing our every weakness. Whatever happened with Ranieri obviously would have taken its toll too. Combine that with what must have been a torrid and rather embarrassing time at home (once the papers caught wind). You're left with an incredibly tough spell and I doubt any of us would have come through that shining. It's testament to his character that at his age, with all that going on he still finds the energy to go back to Nigeria and help people in need. At 23, I could barely pack my own lunch. It's refreshing to see that after all that, he's clearly gaining recognition for having a great pre-season and might be finally settled here now. Given that he's our player, we'd be foolish not to give him another try because we were trying to forget all the negatives of last season. Similar thing applies to Slimani imo - we should aspire to be a club that nurtures, not simply discards like other rich teams do. 

Spot on. Vardy was always a goal scorer. He'd been pinging them in in the lower leagues for years. Where he improved dramatically with us was in his first touch. It's almost unrecognizable from the player that joined us.

The difference imo is that Musa has actually played at the top level before joining us. In the Champs League no less. Is he really going to learn close control of the football NOW?

I'd like to see it, but I'm dubious 

[RODNEY FERNIO]

8 minutes ago, Bossman Blessed It said:

Vardy was dreadful when he started too and took similar touches, made similar runs and had similarly bad efforts on goal as Musa did. Now the season has been and gone and we've had time to reflect on it, Musa in my opinion was used as a bit of a scapegoat in a lot of games - perhaps because he was new to a side that we were so used to winning before that. At 23 years old, he moved to a brand new environment - into an incredibly hostile situation at the club where all of ours players were suffering a huge decline and the media was pinpointing our every weakness. Whatever happened with Ranieri obviously would have taken its toll too. Combine that with what must have been a torrid and rather embarrassing time at home (once the papers caught wind). You're left with an incredibly tough spell and I doubt any of us would have come through that shining. It's testament to his character that at his age, with all that going on he still finds the energy to go back to Nigeria and help people in need. At 23, I could barely pack my own lunch. It's refreshing to see that after all that, he's clearly gaining recognition for having a great pre-season and might be finally settled here now. Given that he's our player, we'd be foolish not to give him another try because we were trying to forget all the negatives of last season. Similar thing applies to Slimani imo - we should aspire to be a club that nurtures, not simply discards like other rich teams do. 

Excellent post

[Thracian]

I would love Musa to come good - and anyone else who's underperformed - but I'm not convinced.

 

He's got speed and skill in abundance but he's shown no signs of being tough enough for the robust adventures of the Premier League.

 

Lots of fancy feet footballers do well in friendlies when they're not getting intimidated, pushed and tackled in an instant. 

 

Musa needs to show he can cope with that as well as his domestics before I'll be convinced but if he does - and he learns quickly to get his head up - he might be as good a talent as we've got and exactly the sort who could help us achieve things. 

 

Trouble is, there's a big chasm between talent and its best application.          

Edited 15 July 2017 by Thracian

[M0901]

17 minutes ago, Bossman Blessed It said:

Vardy was dreadful when he started too and took similar touches, made similar runs and had similarly bad efforts on goal as Musa did. Now the season has been and gone and we've had time to reflect on it, Musa in my opinion was used as a bit of a scapegoat in a lot of games - perhaps because he was new to a side that we were so used to winning before that. At 23 years old, he moved to a brand new environment - into an incredibly hostile situation at the club where all of ours players were suffering a huge decline and the media was pinpointing our every weakness. Whatever happened with Ranieri obviously would have taken its toll too. Combine that with what must have been a torrid and rather embarrassing time at home (once the papers caught wind). You're left with an incredibly tough spell and I doubt any of us would have come through that shining. It's testament to his character that at his age, with all that going on he still finds the energy to go back to Nigeria and help people in need. At 23, I could barely pack my own lunch. It's refreshing to see that after all that, he's clearly gaining recognition for having a great pre-season and might be finally settled here now. Given that he's our player, we'd be foolish not to give him another try because we were trying to forget all the negatives of last season. Similar thing applies to Slimani imo - we should aspire to be a club that nurtures, not simply discards like other rich teams do. 

Spot on this

[Old Fox]

I am sure like the vast majority of reasonable fans that we want all of our players to grow and develop.

 

I never want to see anyone we signed fail or enjoy being critical but facts are facts.

 

Hopefully Musa has settled, acclimatised and sorted his complicated personal life so we see a completely different Musa. However I personally fail to see how it will help him trap, control and pass a ball but confidence is a funny thing!

 

I hope to be 100% wrong and that there is a prem footballer in his make up but yet to see it and a few good preseason warm up sessions count for sod all.