Grow up and get behind Riyad, or: stop listening to the press and wait and see how he reacts on the pitch

[Hammo]

Nine days on from his transfer request, we have not heard a peep out of Riyad Mahrez. Nor has the club given us any firm indication as to what is going on - whether they are in contact with him or when they expect him back (if at all).

 

We, the fans, are the lifeblood of the club and it's about time we were put in the picture.

 

 

Edited 8 February 2018 by Hammo

[Bluetintedspecs]

2 minutes ago, Hammo said:

Nine days on from his transfer request, we have not heard a peep out of Riyad Mahrez. Nor has the club given us any firm indication as to what is going on - whether they are in contact with him or when they expect him back (if at all).

 

We, the fans, are the lifeblood of the club and it's about time we were put in the picture.

 

 

I disagree, I like the fact that the club are keeping it in house and publically stating that. It also creates 768000 Mahrez threads full of shite  self inclusion on that one btw!

[Bluetintedspecs]

31 minutes ago, MahrezFan said:

 

He expressed his desire to leave in the summer of 2016 but they still can't find a replacement, because it's not easy to find a player that can impact and win games like he does. The window is only few weeks how can you reasonably find a replacement during that time? Even if it was at the start it was not going to work.

So why sign a 4 year contract with no release clause then? Baffling!

Edited 8 February 2018 by Bluetintedspecs

[Cadno'r Cymoedd]

58 minutes ago, ARTY_FOX said:

The bid wasn't fair

And late. So that puts that argument to bed. 

[Ric Flair]

3 hours ago, MahrezFan said:

I think the offer from Man City was fair. Comparing with previous sales Aubmeyang(55 M), Lacazette(46 M), Salah(39 M), Morata(58 M). I will say 55M plus/minus 5M is a fair offer. There is hidden bias when you are selling to always focus on the highest comparable sale, and vice versa when you are buying to always focus on the lowest comparable sale.

All signings brought from abroad to the PL. There is no way any of them would move PL clubs for those prices.

[MahrezFan]

10 minutes ago, Bluetintedspecs said:

So why sign a 4 year contract with no release clause then? Baffling!

Mahrez mentioned that after Kante's fiasco the team was not giving a release clause to anyone, you can check the link below. Besides release clauses are usually to protect the teams against hostile offers, so they could have given him an 80 M release clause which none will pay. I think the extension till 2020 is more problematic. After the title win the team made it a priority to protect the players from poaching so offered him and others extensions. Mahrez had two years left at that time. There was no way the team would let him go for free. It would have been even riskier for him to go to war with the team at that time and refuse the extension, but it seems the inevitable was only delayed.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5137671/Leicester-star-Riyad-Mahrez-reveals-grand-title-ambitions.html

[Mullet1]

FOUND HIM!!!!!! 

[Alf Bentley]

31 minutes ago, MahrezFan said:

Yes I agree. If I am the owner I won't sell either even for £100m, He is more important to the team than that. But they have to be upfront with him, they owe him that much and not hide behind poor excuses that the bid was late or not fair.

 

8 minutes ago, MahrezFan said:

Believe or not I enjoy watching LCFC even when Mahrez does not play. if the 65 M bid was accepted it would have been a record signing for Man City.  Both the player and the team wrote one of the best stories ever in sports and I hope they can work out a deal to preserve the legacy.  

 

Your second comment is appreciated. Likewise, I hope something can still be worked out between player and club. Mahrez won't play against Man City. But I hope he returns next week, is reintegrated into the squad - and then into the team when his match fitness and performance justify selection (very soon, if he returned to his form of the last 3 months). If the problems continue much longer, I think his legacy will be tarnished. If he returns soon and performs well, I'm sure he will get a fair transfer in the summer.

 

I have no inside knowledge, but reliable reports suggest the club was willing to sell, even at the last minute, for £80m. If they had promised to sell for £50m at any time in January, even to a last-minute bid, then the club could justifiably be blamed. But there is no suggestion of that. Some have suggested that a price of £50m was mentioned in the summer....but a summer sale would have been much less disruptive, plus prices have gone up, plus Mahrez was not great last season but has returned to his 15-16 title-winning form for the past 3 months. Furthermore, the only summer suffer was £25m from Roma, I think?).

 

As for being "upfront" with him, there is no credible suggestion that the club refused to sell him....though legally they could have taken that attitude, as he signed a long contract for high pay with no release clause.

Nobody forced him to sign that new contract. If a release clause was important and was refused, he could have waited for his old contact to expire. Instead, he signed - for a very large amount of money.

 

It seems clear that the bid WAS indeed late. It was not a "poor excuse". Man City probably would not have bid at all if their player Sané had not been injured the week before. Their priority was to buy a promising young defender, which they did - Laporte. In terms of goals + assists, Man City have 5 of the top 7 attackers in the PL. Rightly, buying a creative attacker was not a priority for them....until Sané was injured and Man City got the idea of making a late, low bid. Coincidentally (?), the bid was revealed to the media and Mahrez publicly demanded to leave. Someone (Mahrez's agent? Man City?) was trying to force LCFC to sell him cheap at the last minute to cover an injury - and that is indeed "not fair".

[MahrezFan]

5 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

All signings brought from abroad to the PL. There is no way any of them would move PL clubs for those prices.

It's an open market if they were worth more, someone else would have offered more. Usually high profile transfers are international as you don't want to sell to your direct competition.

[Alf Bentley]

13 minutes ago, MahrezFan said:

Mahrez mentioned that after Kante's fiasco the team was not giving a release clause to anyone, you can check the link below. Besides release clauses are usually to protect the teams against hostile offers, so they could have given him an 80 M release clause which none will pay. I think the extension till 2020 is more problematic. After the title win the team made it a priority to protect the players from poaching so offered him and others extensions. Mahrez had two years left at that time. There was no way the team would let him go for free. It would have been even riskier for him to go to war with the team at that time and refuse the extension, but it seems the inevitable was only delayed.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5137671/Leicester-star-Riyad-Mahrez-reveals-grand-title-ambitions.html

 

That article is based on speculation from Mahrez - maybe true, maybe not, who knows? The paper itself is not the best source - not always reliable.

 

Even if the comments of Mahrez and the Daily Mail are accurate, it is common in England for players to not sign a new contract - this would not be seen as "going to war". Players who do not sign new contracts will often be transferred with 1 year left on their contract, if they are in demand.....otherwise the club is in a weak position and risks losing them for absolutely nothing when the contract expires.

[deep blue]

2 hours ago, ARTY_FOX said:

The bid wasn't fair

Wasn't it said that there never was a formal bid anyway, just 3 enquiries with an offer price to test LCFC's reaction?

[ARTY_FOX]

10 minutes ago, deep blue said:

Wasn't it said that there never was a formal bid anyway, just 3 enquiries with an offer price to test LCFC's reaction?

Apparently so.

[jayfox26]

2 hours ago, MahrezFan said:

Yes I agree. If I am the owner I won't sell either even for £100m, He is more important to the team than that. But they have to be upfront with him, they owe him that much and not hide behind poor excuses that the bid was late or not fair.

How exactly is it a poor excuse that the bid came in on deadline day? He couldn't be replaced so why should we ruin our own season just to keep Mahrez and Man City happy. And regardless of the timing, his value has risen since last summer in line with both his performances and the value of other players. Why should Van Dijk and Laporte be sold for more than Mahrez? And regardless of these facts or whether he feels he's been let down by the club, that does not give him the right to down tools. As disappointing as his failed move to city may have been for him he should blame city for bidding late in the window and refusing to match his valuation. He knows we'll sell him in the summer so he just needs to stop being a nob and play well till the summer and then get his move. If anyone will have him after this whole circus that he has caused!

[Wymsey]

He wants a Summer leave guarantee by the club, then he'll return to training..

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/let-me-go-pleads-leicester-citys-riyad-mahrez-l9bnb9r26

Edited 9 February 2018 by Wymeswold fox

[ARM1968]

Club can guarantee that he can go if and only if their valuation is met or is at least moved close to. 

 

If if he wants a pat on the head and a free bus pass he can go Fuchs himself. 

[Kitchandro]

1 hour ago, Wymeswold fox said:

He wants a Summer leave guarantee by the club, then he'll return to training..

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/let-me-go-pleads-leicester-citys-riyad-mahrez-l9bnb9r26

I'd rather we tell him he can stay at home for as long as he likes.

 

We certainly shouldn't be getting involved in any discussions or negotiations with him until he comes back to training. It's basic respect first, business second.

 

And on neither of those subjects does he have a leg to stand on.

 

 

[mozartfox]

Great article in the Mail today by Martin Samuel. Absolutely spot on.

[TheLittleBigMan]

On 01/02/2018 at 09:33, Finnegan said:

Got offered the opportunity to get a free Premier League medal, play in one of the most highly acclaimed squads in the history of the Premier League for a manager that's somehow made Raheem ****ing Sterling look world class. Imagine what he'd do with Riyad. 

 

Forgive me a bit of shameless rep-point grandstanding but he's helped us get promoted, helped us win the league, helped us get to the quarter finals of the champions league. Just like Drinkwater, he had every right to look to progress his career and do so with our support and gratitude. That's football, folks. 

 

All he did was request a transfer. There's been no downing of tools, no flouncing off, no refusing to play, no kicking up a fuss. He was a consummate pro after the summer, got his head down and got back to his very best. 

 

Nothing to suggest he isn't going to do so again now. 

 

He's probably leaving in the summer and when he does, cest la vie. Until he does, he's one of ours and he's a big part of our push to get back to our European tour. I for one can't wait to see the bright lights of Tallinn, Kharkiv, Warsaw and Tirana in the tin pot cup. 

 

So please, stow the childish bitterness, stop buying in to the pathetic Sky Sports narrative that he's causing disruption in the squad, don't believe the melodrama and just ****ing support him and the rest of the lads. 

He's still being a dick though. We can't support him anyway because no-one know's where he is. We can support the team though, and personally i'd rather do that and leave the debate til later. This surely has to affect the team. I haven't noticed much talk about pushing for europe amongst ourselves whilst he's buggered off either. currently, he doesn't play for us - let's crack on.

 

 

 

 

Edited 9 February 2018 by TheLittleBigMan

[MahrezFan]

3 hours ago, Gerbold said:

MahrezFan believes, as does Mahrez does, that the whole system that rewards the players, cossets them and provides the infrastructure that allows the spectacle of top-level football is absolutely fine until it interferes with Mahrez' desire to have his demands met the instant he considers it appropriate. All other considerations aren't important. This isn't adult behaviour - it's an infantile tantrum.

He has been waiting for one and half year, so instant is a bit harsh. He tried to be on his best behavior all this time, I guess now he is trying something else. There is no villain here both parties are trying to do what they think is the best for them.  

[mozartfox]

4 hours ago, Wymeswold fox said:

He wants a Summer leave guarantee by the club, then he'll return to training..

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/let-me-go-pleads-leicester-citys-riyad-mahrez-l9bnb9r26

Am I missing something?? I do not recall the Club saying he cannot leave? I thought this was more a case of Man City trying to have Rudders Y-Fronts down a day or so before the Window closes??

[gurru991]

Ridiculous Heading !!!

Irritates me every time I read it.

Edited 9 February 2018 by gurru991

[lgfualol]

2 hours ago, MahrezFan said:

He has been waiting for one and half year, so instant is a bit harsh. He tried to be on his best behavior all this time, I guess now he is trying something else. There is no villain here both parties are trying to do what they think is the best for them.  

He signed a new deal about 1 1/2 years ago. 1 of those years he was pretty average.

 

Not our fault nobody really wanted him. Roma's 30m bid was laughable. Man City turned to him out of desperation but it was too late.

 

 

Edited 9 February 2018 by lgfualol

[ozleicester]

Talk Shite says, back in training and available for Man City

[Ric Flair]

8 hours ago, MahrezFan said:

It's an open market if they were worth more, someone else would have offered more. Usually high profile transfers are international as you don't want to sell to your direct competition.

Your last point says everything. There's an extra premium to sell to a PL rival and especially with a day to go in the January transfer window. 

 

Here's another thing to consider. Gareth Bale won PFA Player of the Year but no other honours such as a PL title and went for £80-90 million in a market way less crazy than this. Luis Suarez won it and again no title or cup and went for a similar price. Eden Hazard would command a fee of Coutinho proportions or more, so why is it that Mahrez who won both the PFA POTY and the PL is only worth £65 million in this market, where prices in January are even more obscene with only a day to go to get a replacement to a direct rival? Not to mention he has proven this season he wasn't a one season wonder and is one of the best attackers in the league and beyond? Hmmmmm.

[Jamiebux]

Also on sky breaking now!