Arsenal.. Away: pre match thread...

[Countryfox]

I would not start Mahrez.  The danger for me is that he might want to show the world how good he is and would try to dribble past one too many players, not make any early passes and shoot instead of passing if someone else is in a better position (which Iheanacho DID do, much to his credit, the other night). Combine that with all his effort going into offence rather than defence and, in a game where it is certainly going to be a grind, we would only have in effect 10 men.   He could be brought on if we are losing and need a boost and it would also send out a message that no one is indispensable.  It would also send a very strong positive message out from Shakey that would not go unnoticed by the rest of the team.     

[AKCJ]

20 minutes ago, ronnup said:

Love it when people pop up with random formations. It'll be 442, surely that we do know. 

 

Usual team I'd say with King for DD. Even with Kelechi fit I'd say we still need the 'box to box defensive striker'. Can't remember who described Shinji like that but it made me howl. 1-1

It is a 4-4-2 but it's not really as though we play like it.

 

We might line up that way but we definitely play more of a 4-2-3-1.

 

o

o     o     o     o

o     o

o     o     o

o

 

The second striker usually plays in front of the defence and the two midfielders sit to let the wingers press forward.

[lgfualol]

More curious who will make the bench if it's our usual 442 lineup, James on the pitch and Okazaki with Vardy.

 

Jakupovic, Amartey, Slim, Iheanacho, King, Chilwell. Lawrence?

[Buzzell]

Kasoer

 

Simpson

Maguire

Morgan 

Fuchs

 

Mahrez

James

Indidi

Albrighton 

 

Nacho

Vardy

[Buzzell]

Ignore me. I forgot we signed Nacho

[MrSpaM]

8 minutes ago, lgfualol said:

More curious who will make the bench if it's our usual 442 lineup, James on the pitch and Okazaki with Vardy.

 

Jakupovic, Amartey, Slim, Iheanacho, King, Chilwell. Lawrence?

No way Lawrence is getting on the bench ahead of Musa

[filbertway]

Iheanacho has about 17 minutes football to his name in pre season doesn't he? He won't be starting.

 

I would definitely go three in the middle but imagine Shakey will go with the old usual.

 

I just want to see some attempt to actually have a go tonight and not spend 85 minutes wasting everyone's time on the edge of our box waiting for Giroud to give Morgan the slip and score.

 

Hopefully Maguire will help us keep hold of the ball a bit better (just don't pass it to Simpson or Morgan).

[TheUltimateWinner]

With the Borussia game in mind, I think we could win this if we play like we did in the second half and if Nacho plays.

 

He's in the squad to some extent so that's a good sign.

[Col city fan]

I've not read the thread all thru but I presume the gist of it will be Lacazette will probably score, Wenger will have some sort of tantrum and Babylon is telling us all that our midfield will be fine because we'll play Matt James?

Along these lines....?

[filbertway]

2 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

I've not read the thread all thru but I presume the gist of it will be Lacazette will probably score, Wenger will have some sort of tantrum and Babylon is telling us all that our midfield will be fine because we'll play Matt James?

Along these lines....?

Couple of mentals suggesting King is a better choice than James as well.

[Johnthefoxrayner]

4 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Couple of mentals suggesting King is a better choice than James as well.

James must start imo. King Is no way better than James 

[filbertway]

Just now, Johnthefoxrayner said:

James must start imo. King Is no way better than James 

To be fair, in this instance I would prefer all three as Okazaki is just going to be pointless.

 

But when Shakey names his two, it's nailed on to be James instead of King.

 

Maybe he'll just have a right laugh and go with Amartey and King

[dedlock]

While we have not beaten the Ar#e since the year dot our recent record at the Emirates has not been all bad. In 2016 we only lost in 'Fergie time',having played much of 2nd half with 10 men. Last season was a grim rearguard denied only by that late heavy deflection of a shot heading wide. Ar#e are generally slow starters,so I fancy a share of the points. The Gooners I know are not optimistic, but retain a sense of entitlement.

[LCFC1996]

King is the perfect midfielder to bring on with 20 minutes to go when you're tying to see out a result - he'll keep things calm, play it simple and seems to be a good communicator - but he isn't going to grab a Premier League game by the scruff of the neck from the first minute so it has to be James from the start tonight imo.

 

Although playing King-Ndidi-James as a three probably wouldn't be the worst option if Iheanacho isn't seen as ready to start.

[Babylon]

18 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

I've not read the thread all thru but I presume the gist of it will be Lacazette will probably score, Wenger will have some sort of tantrum and Babylon is telling us all that our midfield will be fine because we'll play Matt James?

Along these lines....?

That and Col being a bit of a **** as usual.

 

Oh and just for clarity, I've never once suggested our midfield will be brilliant or "fine" because of James. I've just argued he's better than people give him credit for. That doesn't mean we won't get hammered, because Arsenal are capable of battering anyone. Just as we found out even with Kante in the team.

 

I do await you attempting to pin every single thing on him all season like you did Cambiasso, just because you can't bare to be wrong about anything, ever.

[Babylon]

I'd go with Slim or Nacho, give them something to worry about rather than doing the same old same old.

[mod hero]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

I'd go with Slim or Nacho, give them something to worry about rather than doing the same old same old.

I know Nacho isn't match fit and won't last the 90 but I would defo start him ahead of Okazaki. Bet he's got 60 mins in him.

 

Hes a massive threat 

[lgfualol]

James has more to prove than King. King has started tons of games and it's telling that the majority want someone that hasn't played in the first team properly since April 2015 to start instead. 

 

I think Shakey will go with a King, James and Ndidi midfield. We'll camp in our own half and launch it up field whenever we get the ball back. We'll bring on Iheanacho second half for King and suddenly we'll give them a lot of problems. 

[Izzet is God]

2 hours ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

What? So we need 5 first choice centre midfielders in case the first 3 get injured? 

 

By that logic we need to sign about 10 new players to make sure we have 1st team standard cover in case our starting 11 all get injured.

 

2 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

Exactly. I sometimes get the feeling that various folk want us to buy EVERY SINGLE PLAYER GOING.

I think your both missing my point here.

 

I earlier said that IF we are to aspire to what most of us see us as (top 6 side) then we need better quality. This includes in central midfield.

 

For me, I would like to see us have 3 quality box to box midfielders to take into account injuries. I personally, don't think we currently have 3 (top 6) quality midfielders at our club. I never said we need 5 first choice midfielders - I also don't think we are anywhere near being a regular side in the top 8 of the Prem.

 

Sell the rest/deadwood when the others are brought in as they are no longer required. That's football.

If people are thinking that our Central Midfielders of N'didi, Drinkwater, Iborra, James and King are consistent top 6 quality then I'm worried that they are miles off what we are as a club (or have been for a long time). The first 3 are good enough for the Prem, yes, and N'didi has potential to be included in the quality category. But Iborra is unproven in this league, Drinkwater blows hot and cold and IMO James and King are not good enough to fit into what some fans say we should be aspiring to. Yet, it's quite clear they aren't going to be sold as they are included in the first team regularly.

 

Being a Leicester fan for as long as I have - we never dip heavily into the transfer market. The only exception to this was last season with CR. So I don't expect us to sign many but those we do I imagine should be 1st choice or better than what we have.

 

For example, this season we have signed 2 youngsters, 1 from Chester and 1 from Cov. What hope have they got if they are already behind a backlog of players? Including our youth team already and those on the fringes?

 

 

[Merging Cultures]

I'm a grown man and way too excited about tonight!!

[Sol thewall Bamba]

3 minutes ago, Izzet is God said:

 

I think your both missing my point here.

 

I earlier said that IF we are to aspire to what most of us see us as (top 6 side) then we need better quality. This includes in central midfield.

 

For me, I would like to see us have 3 quality box to box midfielders to take into account injuries. I personally, don't think we currently have 3 (top 6) quality midfielders at our club. I never said we need 5 first choice midfielders - I also don't think we are anywhere near being a regular side in the top 8 of the Prem.

 

Sell the rest/deadwood when the others are brought in as they are no longer required. That's football.

If people are thinking that our Central Midfielders of N'didi, Drinkwater, Iborra, James and King are consistent top 6 quality then I'm worried that they are miles off what we are as a club (or have been for a long time). The first 3 are good enough for the Prem, yes, and N'didi has potential to be included in the quality category. But Iborra is unproven in this league, Drinkwater blows hot and cold and IMO James and King are not good enough to fit into what some fans say we should be aspiring to. Yet, it's quite clear they aren't going to be sold as they are included in the first team regularly.

 

Being a Leicester fan for as long as I have - we never dip heavily into the transfer market. The only exception to this was last season with CR. So I don't expect us to sign many but those we do I imagine should be 1st choice or better than what we have.

 

For example, this season we have signed 2 youngsters, 1 from Chester and 1 from Cov. What hope have they got if they are already behind a backlog of players? Including our youth team already and those on the fringes?

 

 

We can't keep more than 3 'first choice' centre midfielders happy with enough game time as we play 442. You need 2 or 3 first teamers, then a couple who are happy to step in when required, that how EVERYONE operates, even Man City, Utd etc. 

 

As for having 3 "top six" centre midfielders, we won't. We're not at that level yet by some distance. 

[leicesterlad1989]

9 minutes ago, Izzet is God said:

 

I think your both missing my point here.

 

I earlier said that IF we are to aspire to what most of us see us as (top 6 side) then we need better quality. This includes in central midfield.

 

For me, I would like to see us have 3 quality box to box midfielders to take into account injuries. I personally, don't think we currently have 3 (top 6) quality midfielders at our club. I never said we need 5 first choice midfielders - I also don't think we are anywhere near being a regular side in the top 8 of the Prem.

 

Sell the rest/deadwood when the others are brought in as they are no longer required. That's football.

If people are thinking that our Central Midfielders of N'didi, Drinkwater, Iborra, James and King are consistent top 6 quality then I'm worried that they are miles off what we are as a club (or have been for a long time). The first 3 are good enough for the Prem, yes, and N'didi has potential to be included in the quality category. But Iborra is unproven in this league, Drinkwater blows hot and cold and IMO James and King are not good enough to fit into what some fans say we should be aspiring to. Yet, it's quite clear they aren't going to be sold as they are included in the first team regularly.

 

Being a Leicester fan for as long as I have - we never dip heavily into the transfer market. The only exception to this was last season with CR. So I don't expect us to sign many but those we do I imagine should be 1st choice or better than what we have.

 

For example, this season we have signed 2 youngsters, 1 from Chester and 1 from Cov. What hope have they got if they are already behind a backlog of players? Including our youth team already and those on the fringes?

 

 

Breaking the top six for a club of our size is always going to be difficult, so having 3 "top six" quality central midfielders is going to be difficult. How would we keep them happy?

 

The King bashing in the forum will never end. He does his job when required. Yes it's not pretty and unfortunately his goals has slowed down as he's got older but he's dependable, even if unspectacular. As people have pointed out, he's 5th choice. Providing we don't get injuries to Drinkwater, N'didi, Iborra and James, I can't see him playing many games at all. As for James, I'd give him a chance before getting on his back.

[ronnup]

27 minutes ago, Izzet is God said:

 

I think your both missing my point here.

 

I earlier said that IF we are to aspire to what most of us see us as (top 6 side) then we need better quality. This includes in central midfield.

 

For me, I would like to see us have 3 quality box to box midfielders to take into account injuries. I personally, don't think we currently have 3 (top 6) quality midfielders at our club. I never said we need 5 first choice midfielders - I also don't think we are anywhere near being a regular side in the top 8 of the Prem.

 

Sell the rest/deadwood when the others are brought in as they are no longer required. That's football.

If people are thinking that our Central Midfielders of N'didi, Drinkwater, Iborra, James and King are consistent top 6 quality then I'm worried that they are miles off what we are as a club (or have been for a long time). The first 3 are good enough for the Prem, yes, and N'didi has potential to be included in the quality category. But Iborra is unproven in this league, Drinkwater blows hot and cold and IMO James and King are not good enough to fit into what some fans say we should be aspiring to. Yet, it's quite clear they aren't going to be sold as they are included in the first team regularly.

 

Being a Leicester fan for as long as I have - we never dip heavily into the transfer market. The only exception to this was last season with CR. So I don't expect us to sign many but those we do I imagine should be 1st choice or better than what we have.

 

For example, this season we have signed 2 youngsters, 1 from Chester and 1 from Cov. What hope have they got if they are already behind a backlog of players? Including our youth team already and those on the fringes?

 

 

 

We were big spenders in the Championship. And for a team out of the top 6 we've spent heavily in the last few years too. 

[The Guvnor]

Tough opener , Kelechi to come on in the last 20 and score the winner.

 

[chris_lcfc_85]

If he plays 4-4-2 tonight then I think the side is near enough predictable bar the partner for Vardy.....

Kasper, Simpson, Wes, Maguire, Fuchs, Mahrez, Albrighton, Ndidi, James, Vardy and one other..... Could be Iheanacho or Okazaki.

 

Bench likely to be Jakupovic, Chilwell, Benny, King, Slimani, Gray then either Iheanacho or Okazaki

 

He may of course go with 3 midfield but then without Drinky and Iborra means that King would start and neither Okazaki or Iheanacho would