Andy King - 10 consecutive seasons

[Ted Maul]

The bloke's a legend.

 

Played a massive part in rebuilding this club from its darkest days, and more than happy to play a supporting role now that the first team has outgrown his sort of level.

 

He will comfortably end up in our all time top 10 appearances and goalscorers.

 

Why would anybody want him gone? We paid £13m for Mendy, and I'd much rather have Kingy in the team.

[Grewks]

He's the sort of player that would've looked great in a 'peak' Swansea city side, and would've ousted the likes of Joe Allen there, purely based on the fact he could score goals aswell.

 

He just isn't a 4-4-2 midfielder though, especially not at this level.

[pleatout]

3 hours ago, C-man said:

Mental how many actual football managers have come in and trusted King to do a job - either starting or from the bench - yet many fans continue to question his ability and value to the squad.

 

350+ appearances

62 goals

3 titles

Still no respect. 

 

Find it embarrassing and bewildering.

Stranger still, his record is almost identical to Steve Walsh (you know absolute legend blah blah) with the exception that he has never let his teammates or the fans down by regularly being a total thug.

[C-man]

14 hours ago, STUHILL said:

You can have respect for a player but still wonder if we can do better.

Not sure why everyone takes everything so personal on here. 

He has been a fantastic servant for us.

How many managers have come in and trusted him enough to be a regular starter?

Shouldn't we want players on the bench really pushing our starting CMs? 

Can you honestly say he has done that in the last few years?

If he and the club are happy him being 4th/5th choice next season, then fair enough. 

I would prefer he was playing 46 games in the Championship and we were bedding in youngsters who have the potential to surpass King. 

 

Of course but some of the shite thrown at King on here goes beyond that to the point of stupidity. 

 

My post wasn't specifically aimed at you, you just happened to be the prior poster.

 

I just find it bizarre that people want to get rid of a player who is so obviously a fundamental part of the squad's team spirit and work ethic - you know the one that everyone fawns over - and transcends what the Club has been all about for near enough a decade now. 

 

No one is saying he deserves to start every game but for me he is more than worthy of a place on the bench and I am happy enough when he fills in. There are other areas I am far more concerned about.

[davieG]

The problem with trying to analyse King' s game is none of us know what he's been instructed to do. It seems obvious though that those instructions have led to a complete change in his play. It therefore seems unfair to criticise that especially when a succession of managers have continued to use him in that mould and happy to do so.

[dmayne7]

16 minutes ago, C-man said:

 

Of course but some of the shite thrown at King on here goes beyond that to the point of stupidity. 

 

My post wasn't specifically aimed at you, you just happened to be the prior poster.

 

I just find it bizarre that people want to get rid of a player who is so obviously a fundamental part of the squad's team spirit and work ethic - you know the one that everyone fawns over - and transcends what the Club has been all about for near enough a decade now. 

 

No one is saying he deserves to start every game but for me he is more than worthy of a place on the bench and I am happy enough when he fills in. There are other areas I am far more concerned about.

Fantastic post.

 

It is a shame that he doesn't have quite the same impact he used to but I think he is the perfect squad player because of his versatility in terms of central midfield roles. He, much like Matty James, has all the ingredients to fulfill different types of roles (aside from the Kante role but even then he makes a lot of important tackles/hold ups and interceptions)

 

But almost more importantly, he just gets better with better people in the team and that's why we were able to win the Premier League with him in every squad and playing 2/3 of our games. As long as we have the quality options to choose from that he can play alongside, he'll always be important to the squad. Unfortunately, at the moment, that means Wilf and Drinky need to be playing to the top of their game.

[STUHILL]

4 hours ago, C-man said:

 

Of course but some of the shite thrown at King on here goes beyond that to the point of stupidity. 

 

My post wasn't specifically aimed at you, you just happened to be the prior poster.

 

I just find it bizarre that people want to get rid of a player who is so obviously a fundamental part of the squad's team spirit and work ethic - you know the one that everyone fawns over - and transcends what the Club has been all about for near enough a decade now. 

 

No one is saying he deserves to start every game but for me he is more than worthy of a place on the bench and I am happy enough when he fills in. There are other areas I am far more concerned about.

I take your point, however I would personally prefer a better midfielder on the bench to come on and really change the game if needed. I would like to see us sign a top CM this summer to compete with Drinkwater. Someone like Adrien Silva. I also think Matty James could come back and put himself ahead of King too, which leaves King as 5th choice and unlikely to make the bench if everyone fit.

 

If we don't sign a CM, and Matty James gets injured again or is sold, then absolutely we will need to keep King. I would like us to be more ambitious though and aim for better options off the bench. 

I applaud his loyalty and contribution to our club over the last 10 years, but that doesn't affect my decision on wanting an upgrade in overall quality and impact on a game. 

 

I suspect we will sign a CM this summer. I also expect Matty James to come back, which potentially puts King as 5th choice. If he and everyone else is happy with that, then fair enough. I'm not going to push a 5th choice midfielder out who is a seasoned pro like King. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

1 minute ago, STUHILL said:

I would like to see us sign a top CM this summer to compete with Drinkwater.

Thing is, do you bring someone in a risk whoever is on the bench getting fed up and leaving? Then you're back to where we are now. 

[sk3since03]

4 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Thing is, do you bring someone in a risk whoever is on the bench getting fed up and leaving? Then you're back to where we are now. 

Not exactly got a strong bench of CM's though have we? 

 

Drinkwater and N'Didi are out strongest two obviously! They need competition 

[STUHILL]

Just now, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Thing is, do you bring someone in a risk whoever is on the bench getting fed up and leaving? Then you're back to where we are now. 

I think if we always worried about upsetting players on the bench, then we wouldn't progress. We would be stuck with the same players, whether performing well or not, just in case one may not be happy that he has more competition for his starting place.

 

I also don't mind a player leaving, if we have signed a better alternative. Damn sure most players would leave if they had a better alternative. If Man U come in for Kasper, he will be off. 

Loyalty is often overrated and naive in football. I'm all for having an amazing team spirit, but not at the cost of not improving our squad. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

5 minutes ago, sk3since03 said:

Not exactly got a strong bench of CM's though have we? 

 

Drinkwater and N'Didi are out strongest two obviously! They need competition 

That's what I'm saying though, say we get Silva in, one of him, DD or Ndidi would be benched assuming we stuck with 4-4-2. I can't see any of them wanting to stay on the bench so they might leave, then you've just got the same situation as now. Sven tried the "two first team players for every position" tactic, it doesn't work becasue people get pissed off they aren't playing. 

Edited 21 April 2017 by Sol thewall Bamba

[dayday]

16 hours ago, pleatout said:

Stranger still, his record is almost identical to Steve Walsh (you know absolute legend blah blah) with the exception that he has never let his teammates or the fans down by regularly being a total thug.

Most teams around the 70s/80s had there fair share of nasty players, yes Steve Walsh was a no nonsense centre half but your constant sniping of him makes me wonder what kind of Leicester fan you really are.

[les-tah]

not good or effective in the premiership anymore.  However would give his all for this club on and off the pitch and do anything for the team if he happened to be needed or called upon. Happy to keep him in backroom/squad even if its just for team spirit. why would he want to leave or play anywhere else, what else is their left for him to achieve. 

Edited 21 April 2017 by les-tah

[sk3since03]

7 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

That's what I'm saying though, say we get Silva in, one of him, DD or Ndidi would be benched assuming we stuck with 4-4-2. I can't see any of them wanting to stay on the bench so they might leave, then you've just got the same situation as now. Sven tried the "two first team players for every position" tactic, it doesn't work becasue people get pissed off they aren't playing. 

That's where competition for a place comes into it, perform well in training and on the pitch etc and you earn your place !

 

Drinkwater has spells where he doesn't deserve his place, quite frankly a majority of this season he's been pretty average! If we had a better option on the bench to replace him for example Silva as you mentioned then Drinky would be on the bench and have to work hard to earn his place back! 

 

Thats what we need! 

 

I'm sure Inler would of been great for us but obviously there was no budging drinky/kante last season 

 

Love Andy King but we could do alot better! Especially now! 

 

 

[Koke]

At 28 I just wonder what King's personal ambitions are. Is he happy being a squad player and starting 5-6 games a season? Does he want his peak years to be wasted bring 5th choice?

 

If I were him, at 28, I would want regular first team football and he obviously won't get that here. But if he's happy then I'm happy I guess.

[les-tah]

1 minute ago, Koke said:

At 28 I just wonder what King's personal ambitions are. Is he happy being a squad player and starting 5-6 games a season? Does he want his peak years to be wasted bring 5th choice?

 

If I were him, at 28, I would want regular first team football and he obviously won't get that here. But if he's happy then I'm happy I guess.

totally get what your saying but hes pretty much peaked and won all that he needs to, i would be happy to be a club player for 4 more years of his contract.

[STUHILL]

4 minutes ago, les-tah said:

totally get what your saying but hes pretty much peaked and won all that he needs to, i would be happy to be a club player for 4 more years of his contract.

He could be playing 46 games in the championship though and having a real impact. Just a bit sad to say, well I've achieved everything I wanted to. Although I am at a peak age for a CM, I am happy being 5th choice and just a handful of starts each season until I retire.. 

[Voll Blau]

2 hours ago, Koke said:

At 28 I just wonder what King's personal ambitions are. Is he happy being a squad player and starting 5-6 games a season? Does he want his peak years to be wasted bring 5th choice?

 

If I were him, at 28, I would want regular first team football and he obviously won't get that here. But if he's happy then I'm happy I guess.

Are you on commission to ask that question as often as you can or something?

 

Most footballers would give their right arm to spend their peak years playing for the champions of England and in Europe for their clubs. You'd have to be on crack to foresake that just to get first team football at clubs with little ambition other than to survive year on year.

[STUHILL]

5 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Are you on commission to ask that question as often as you can or something?

 

Most footballers would give their right arm to spend their peak years playing for the champions of England and in Europe for their clubs. You'd have to be on crack to foresake that just to get first team football at clubs with little ambition other than to survive year on year.

That was relevant this season. Not for next, which is what we are discussing. He will be 5th choice for a likely mid-table Prem team with no Europe next season. 

 

If he is happy with that and a handful of starts, then fair enough. Could think of a lot worse 5th choice options for us. 

[Koke]

1 minute ago, Voll Blau said:

Are you on commission to ask that question as often as you can or something?

 

Most footballers would give their right arm to spend their peak years playing for the champions of England and in Europe for their clubs. You'd have to be on crack to foresake that just to get first team football at clubs with little ambition other than to survive year on year.

 

We're not in Europe anymore and by next month we're not champions any longer. There's nothing glorious about sitting on our bench from next season onwards. Ulloa handed in a transfer request in January cos he wasn't playing. Weird how he'd rather get playing time at Sunderland  (bottom of the table) than sit on our so fantastic bench. Gray has made noises that he's unhappy with not playing. It's bizarre isn't it that football players actually want to play football. Weird I know!!

 

Some people here get awfully touchy about King. 

[Bossman Blessed It]

To move forward we need to be able to bring on a player who can actually influence the game a bit, or offer something different. King isn't as creative as Drinky, not as strong or as much of an ariel threat as Ndidi, hasn't got the passing range of either of those players, doesn't seem to have the dogged defensive abilities of either, isn't as fast, rarely gets in to the opponent's box any more, doesn't really read the game that well and certainly doesn't influence the game... among other things. He's a legend at the club, but he's an absolute passenger. If we get our hands on Adrien Silva or another CM, it's time to loan him out elsewhere. He's not the kind of one club player that Scholes or Giggs was. We need progression. 

Edited 21 April 2017 by Bossman Blessed It

[Viva]

He won't get near to the money he is on here anywhere else. He also wouldn't be a guaranteed starter at any other Premier League club. 

So he might as well be part of the squad here at a club he obviously enjoys being with, rather than taking less money for regular Championship football. 

 

[Voll Blau]

1 hour ago, STUHILL said:

That was relevant this season. Not for next, which is what we are discussing. He will be 5th choice for a likely mid-table Prem team with no Europe next season. 

 

If he is happy with that and a handful of starts, then fair enough. Could think of a lot worse 5th choice options for us. 

 

1 hour ago, Koke said:

 

We're not in Europe anymore and by next month we're not champions any longer. There's nothing glorious about sitting on our bench from next season onwards. Ulloa handed in a transfer request in January cos he wasn't playing. Weird how he'd rather get playing time at Sunderland  (bottom of the table) than sit on our so fantastic bench. Gray has made noises that he's unhappy with not playing. It's bizarre isn't it that football players actually want to play football. Weird I know!!

 

Some people here get awfully touchy about King. 

As a club though, we still have more ambition than the vast majority - and definitely more than any that King would be likely to depart for. Shakespeare said himself there's a hunger to challenge for Europe next year now.

 

Who says he is happy on the bench anyway? Maybe he's just professional enough to not go public on it and would rather keep his battle to fight for his place to himself? Wanting to fight for a place in a side which has its sights set again on European football to me shows more than enough personal ambition.

[STUHILL]

1 minute ago, Voll Blau said:

 

As a club though, we still have more ambition than the vast majority - and definitely more than any that King would be likely to depart for. Shakespeare said himself there's a hunger to challenge for Europe next year now.

 

Who says he is happy on the bench anyway? Maybe he's just professional enough to not go public on it and would rather keep his battle to fight for his place to himself? Wanting to fight for a place in a side which has its sights set again on European football to me shows more than enough personal ambition.

Lets hope you're right then, but more importantly, lets hope he has the quality to force his way into the starting 11 and actually make a real impact, something he has failed to do for a long time now. I have my doubts and think we will see him spend much of his career on the bench with us or even pushed off the bench too, if as expected, James does come back into the fold and we do sign another CM. 

 

N'didi, Drinkwater, James, New signing > King. That is how I see it and for his sake, I would prefer him to be playing every week or twice a week with a Championship team, and enjoying being heavily involved in a team. I also think we would benefit from having a space free for a top CM prospect like Harvey Barnes etc, who would benefit greatly from being our 5th choice and getting those handful of games King tends to get, allowing us to bed him in to this level. 

 

 

[SheppyFox]

He's done really well out of the club ain't he really.