Our system detected that your browser is blocking advertisements on our site. Please help support FoxesTalk by disabling any kind of ad blocker while browsing this site. Thank you.
Jump to content
Stevosevic

Gray - considering future

Recommended Posts

I've been quite supportive of Gray for most of this season, understanding his frustrations of not being selected, started, given a chance, my opinion hasn't changed, despite Mahrez being great in previous seasons, i'm not having the Algerian fanboys (Or English, Leicester, e.t.c) saying he's been consistantly good this season, tbh forget consistantly, let's just leave it as good, even when he's played well this season it's not been a patch on what we know he can produce.

 

I'm a massive fan of Mahrez but he's been shite this season and it makes it all the more frustating because we know how good he can be.

 

He's (Mahrez) looked lazy this season and I don't know if there is anything in it but is it coincidentally since the addition of a lazy (That's how he comes across to me) Slimani.

 

Gray is good, very good, he can be as good if not better (In the future) than Mahrez, he's not gonna show how good sitting on the bench, I really wish we'd dropped Mahrez several times this season, if he threw his toys out the pram, so be it, perhaps he should take a good hard look at himself, because i've said previously and i'm still saying now i'm confident no big team is even considering him this summer, unless they're planned a cheeky low bid thinking they can get him on the cheap because of his poor form, even so he'll be nowhere near the starting 11, he'll be on the bench, if he's lucky.

 

Gray needs a break and although I don't want him to leave, leaving may be his only option unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Charl91 said:

Gray has been woefully under-used. 

 

I feel sorry for the lad, to be honest. 

He played more games than Slimani who played every single game in Sporting last year. Who do you think feels worse? ^^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the past i've criticised Grays attitude on social media, but think some people need to remember he's 20. Mahrez is 26, 6 years may not seem a lot, but in 6 years Gray could develop to be a great player, maybe nearly as good as Mahrez, even if he's half the player of Mahrez we've got a gem.

 

A 20 year old with the ability he has, we should be rubbing our hands together rather than slating him for not being Mahrez 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We really need to hang on to the lad. His decision making will improve with experience but he's the most exciting 20 year old I've seen in many years at City.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ealingfox said:

An off-colour Mahrez still shits all over Gray there I said it.

No chance. Mahrez has done nothing all season and only the manager knows why he's still picking him. Yes he can win a game from his magic but that doesn't out weigh his shite performances. Greys progressed well, more direct than any other winger we have and has looked good this season and deserves to be playing ahead of Mahrez tomorrow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Tanner again stresses that there is no buyout clause in gray's contract

 

guess he just wants to drive some interest to increase his current deal 

I was wondering that.

 

Might also be trying to put pressure on Shakey to give him some starts or at least more minutes. Problem is I think Shakey seems the sort that would did his heels in the more he sulks.

 

It certainly seems odd that the hasn't been used more since the change of management. As others have pointed out though, he hasn't really taken his opportunities when they have arisen. All show and not much end product so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, toddybad said:

We really need to hang on to the lad. His decision making will improve with experience but he's the most exciting 20 year old I've seen in many years at City.

 

A more exciting prospect than 20 year old N'Didi? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People tend to forget wilfy is only 20. Because he's not a flair player he don't get the same plaudits but my word what a prospect we have. What was the mighty Kante doing at 20? Clearly not the mainstay of a premier league two man midfield and what has he gone on to achieve?. 

I still think armarty has time to grow too. The futures not all bad for us .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair play to the guy for wanting to play week in, week out. Plenty of players these days are happy to sit in the reserves and pick up their millions. Said all along if he can start to make better decisions and be more of a team player then he could become something very special. He's very talented but very wasteful right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck to him whatever happens. He's one of the Countries prospects and at this stage of his career he needs more than just sitting on a bench.

 

Sometimes footballers can't win. If they sit on the bench they are labelled "unambitious" yet if they want to leave to play they are criticised. 

 

I like Gray, always did when he was at Birmingham. Hope he has a good career. Dunno how he's not yet started ahead of a lazy Mahrez recently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would be madness to let him go. Look at his performances for the England u21s, he gets rave reviews nearly every time he plays, scoring and assisting goals.

 

He will only get better and it is surely only a matter of time before he establishes himself as a regular starter for us. Then we will see the best of him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming Gray's always wanted to play week in, week out the the answer for him, so far, has been to make more of his opportunities. For all the support he gets - some of it doubtless a biased spillover from his Birmingham days - neither his stats nor his general play have been especially notable.

 

Going public on his wants doesn't change the reality of how much he needs to improve, The question is whether he realises the fact, whether he's got the determination to effect those improvements and whether he develops the maturity to realise that the only way any sensible manager will pick a player regularly is if he delivers more than the guy he's replaced or is replacing.

 

That, of course, assumes a level playing field rather than a situation where the competition has his selection guaranteed or all-but guaranteed through his contract or the level of his wages.

 

No, that's not particularly relevent just now because Mahrez, even at 10% of his best - still has a considerably greater impact in terms of scoring and making goals.

 

And, again, it's not about whether he plays for longer or not. If Gray wants the privilege of playing longer, he needs to earn it by improving his decision-making and being sure to have some material impact for the better when he does get to play.

 

Because, if he does that, he just might end up with the time advantage himself and doubtless he wouldn't be complaining then.

 

Overall though, I'm not convinced he genuinely wants to be here for anything but himself rather than it being a quid pro quo like Mark Albirighton or Andy King whereby they accept that the manager manages and they give their all as and when they're asked to and whether they think they'd like to play week in, week out or not.

 

So far I rate Gray about 6/10 but with potential added value that's a bit slow to be seen as yet. As said before, he's not frighteningly rapid, not that strong on the ball, he's not a great decision-maker nor exponent of the final pass and his shooting more good to look at than ruthlessly effective, rather like Drinkwater.

 

Twist or stick? I don't much care. He doesn't strike me as the most mature individual or necessarily the best advised and I still have doubts that he'll ever reach his true best potential. The question I'd be asking is could I take a decent profit on him and buy better? My guess is that we could. the problem of what he "wants" would disappear and the more important issue of what Leicester City "needs" might be better and more quickly sorted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Blue Fox 72 said:

Would be madness to let him go. Look at his performances for the England u21s, he gets rave reviews nearly every time he plays, scoring and assisting goals.

 

He will only get better and it is surely only a matter of time before he establishes himself as a regular starter for us. Then we will see the best of him.

Trouble is we're not playing youth football. Yes, he SHOULD get better but a lot don't, and I don't know that Gray seems to have improved noticeably in the key areas I've mentioned since he's been here playing grown-up football.

 

That, of course, might be due to his lack of game time but might also be down to the manager being concerned that he's not ready, not effective, not responsible, not durable, not strong enough yet, or whatever.

 

As for his leaving, the lad won't likely find it any easier to get a starting place or regular football at any of the other clubs he's been "connected" to and I certainly wouldn't be influenced by anyone seeking to influence my management when I'd rather he were attending to his football because, really, his time could be better spent.

 

My point is that Gray needs to get a good deal better before he's regular "starter" material and if while there may be opportunity to start him during the closing stages of the season - and he might shine given his double incentive of trying to remain a starter and impress anyone watching - that wouldn't necessarily convince me he should represent the standard we need to be setting for that position.

 

I've seen lots of fabulous wingers over the years and he's nowhere near the level of any of those that come to mind. Yet that is the level we're aspiring too.  

 

For me the ball's in Gray's court. He can either move to another top club where he;ll find the competition just as tough, or tougher, and find he needs to cope or he can face the challenge of improving at Leicester. Either way he needs to think about his priority. Is it about money, about pressurising people, or about improving. I say that because if he moves to someone like Spurs or Liverpool and doesn't get to start,  he might just get a reputation for being a quitter and never make it at all. Yes, he'll doubtless get a lucrative contract, but he'll have nowhere exciting to go if he opts out again.

 

I truly wish him the best, whichever, but I'm a long way from being in the "convinced" camp.            

 

       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, WilfND said:

Reports saying spurs, Liverpool and Everton have agreed to pay the release clause. Believed to be 22m

Can't see him starting for any of those teams. He'd be further down the pecking order. He needs to reign in his agent. Make more of his opportunities. Improve his decision making going forward and tracking back and he'll find his opportunities increasing. Unfortunately for him, Mahrez and Albrighton are currently more effective and are rightly picked ahead of him in the first 11. Albrighton and Mahrez were our two best players today against Watford and both scored. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...