Is this the beginning of Vardy's decline?

[Lambert09]

Yes but can he defend a corner. Get Steve Howard back rn

[urban.spaceman]

Sod this I'm going to bed.

[SheppyFox]

I don’t think so  

[Rusko187]

Do need to plan another dimension to our game, when he can't get the space he isn't as effective. 

 

Wouldn't say he's declining though, easily our greatest ever striker!

[winteriscoming]

Without vardy upfront we look very ordinary. Imo we do rely too much on vardy and mahrez. That's not a criticism just a fact. There's not a lot of creativity elsewhere, other players are either hit or miss - gray and Albrighton. I still think vardy is a handful but our 2 best players are from when we were promoted vardy and mahrez. It's not a criticism but I'd just like to see other players step up on a more regualar basis. 

[Stadt]

We saw against Man City that without his pace, acceleration and movement we looked anaemic upfront. Even in 15/16 Vardy went 10 (might have been 8) games without scoring, he’s always been streaky which isn’t too concerning when other players are bagging regularly. 

 

Vardy isn’t on the scoresheet as often under Puel but Mahrez, Okazaki and Gray have been more prolific to the benefit of our side - generally anyway.

[Raj]

This is why people leave foxestalk......

[the fox]

it seems that he lost a yard of pace but he is still very fast.

the team no longer plays vardy-ball. it may have affected his end-product but benefited a lot of his teammates, so i'm ok with it as long as he keeps his work rate.

and just to add, vardy is very selective of his shot attempts, he rarely takes a shot that's difficult which helps his %. but that's his playstyle, more quality than quantity i guess

[Foxes1]

Sell him whilst he still looks capable of scoring goals

 

[Donut]

His role has changed slightly i think.

 

He is someone who stretches the back line and in doing so creates space for others more. Particularly mahrez and gray who are profiting by arriving in the half spaces.

 

However

 

IF our play becomes more patient in build up then he will probably become less effective all things being equal, and he will start to drop off at some point.

 

But for now lets not forget he scored vs man utd and general play has been good excluding today

[Manwell Pablo]

Pretty sure he's got more than four goals without penalties? Two against arsenal, spurs, Everton, man united? At least.

Edited 26 December 2017 by Manwell Pablo

[vanity]

3 hours ago, The Doctor said:

No. His shot conversion rate is one of the best, if not the best, of regular starting strikers in the division. Hell, compare him to the entire man city side - 25.8% for him, 22.4% for man city; given a chance he's more likely to score than man city are. If you're seeing a problem with his goal scoring, it's the chances not being created, in part because he's playing to bring the trio behind him into action more.

Great point, I need to take a look at some of the more advanced stats and think more about what story they are telling. I also don't know that I'm *seeing* a problem, it is more just me having a look at the numbers as I try to figure out why LCFC isn't handling inferior competition with more aplomb. They seem to be getting the better of a lot of sides, but the lads aren't always being rewarded with goals and points. And it feels like, of late, Vardy really hasn't been able to assert himself in games.

 

I mean, this game was awful, but even still, we could've taken a result here.

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

Still pretty fuching good. Close thread.

[vanity]

2 hours ago, HankMarvin said:

I do often wonder if we are limited due to vardy dictating the forward role, but when it works who could complain and lets be honest the blokes seen off about 70m worth of talent with 3 managers, so he must doing something right

Certainly he has done a lot right. He is probably my favorite player in football if I'm honest. And it may well be the case that the real problem is our defense, which has been ridiculously bad on set pieces, as we all know. Though while I knew most people would tell me to F off, I still wanted to know what people are thinking re Vardy at the moment.

[vanity]

3 hours ago, Koke said:

 

Wait... is this a negative stat?

I think so. I mean, it is a good number of games, and that is where Leicester need to start regularly taking points if we are to challenge for the top-6 and Europe. The last three games especially, the attack has been very, very ragged. We have become almost wholly reliant on Mahrez, which is worrisome considering his discontent. Not sure what happened after Southampton, perhaps we read our own press clippings too much, but we have really struggled since, and now headed to Liverpool, eh. Very rough sledding, and Burnley and Tottenham are pulling away while Leicester is struggling to handle inferior sides, even when we outplay them, we aren't getting results. We aren't finishing. We aren't clinical. 

 

The key to Leicester transcending what it has historically been is goal-scoring. This team simply isn't able to win 1-0 games as a rule. The defense isn't good enough, but even if it were, that isn't how top teams play. Top teams prioritize scoring goals over keeping clean sheets in 2017. Puel has opened things up, but something is still missing. Perhaps Vardy isn't the reason we aren't scoring more, and I have seen plenty of games where Vardy works like a dog and goes unrewarded, so I am not kidding myself that this is simply showing up and collecting a check. Though I am still curious why we seem to be doing so much well, but we aren't being paid off at the end.

[vanity]

2 hours ago, Reg Vardy said:

Sums this forum up.....

IDK why people seem determined to see this as an attack. The guy is my favorite player. I am not trying to talk bad on the guy, just looking at the numbers and I'm interested how people see them.

[vanity]

1 hour ago, Rusko187 said:

Do need to plan another dimension to our game, when he can't get the space he isn't as effective. 

 

Wouldn't say he's declining though, easily our greatest ever striker!

As they say, Father Time is undefeated. Def love the guy on the team, don't want him going anywhere. But I am wondering if there are games where he isn't the optimal choice up front. Or alternatively, if there are games where we can get a different style of attacking player involved a bit more so as to draw some attention from him, free Vardy up.

[Jattdogg]

He might as well throw in the towel or wave the white flag and collect his pension while he still can

[ealingfox]

Bloody love the bloke but I do think he has lost a step.

 

He's become a better footballer at Leicester, he's a rare success of our coaching. But of course I would think this contract will and should be his last with us. His game is suited to specific conditions and he's proved himself and them some, but he has his limits and they'll creep in more and more over the next 2 years.

 

Very good grounds to call him our best ever signing. What a legend.

Edited 27 December 2017 by ealingfox

[KingsX]

This season, Vardy is more selective about launching a shot.  Likely he is reaching his peak of maturity as a player, and has broadened his game to maximize the whole offense rather than his chances.  (No bad thing for his longevity?)  Obviously the fewer hoofs to an isolated striker, the more the chances get spread around.

 

If Puel-ball is working, Mahrez, Shinji and/or Gray are also significant threats.  Vardy seems comfortable creating space or playing them in -- without turning down chances you expect a striker to take.

 

He has missed some great looks.  But as I recently pointed out, he is converting at a higher rate than in 2015/16 (albeit taking far fewer shots).

 

If anything has been lost, I feel something else has been gained = glass two-thirds full for me.

[Chico1958]

I think Arthur Chandler and Rowley actually are our best ever strikers

 

Not forgetting Lineker and Smith that is.

 

As for Vardy, there's more to his game than just hitting the back of the net now

 

While defenders are concentrating on him it leaves space for others, so the "others" need to chip in

 

The guys done good and long may it continue. ( Perhaps a few more goals would help though )    

[Drew Peacock]

8 hours ago, Reg Vardy said:

Sums this forum up.....

Relatives should keep out of the debate. There is always clouded judgement caused by personal attachment. 

[Drew Peacock]

If only we had a creative midfielder lined up in the January transfer window to actually give him the kind of service that he thrives on. 

[shade]

no, we create nothing for him.

[murphy]

Is this the beginning of vanity's decline?