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CosbehFox

The "do they mean us?" thread pt 2

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50827313

 

BBC bigging our Wilfred up this morning.  

Wilfed Ndidi: Leicester midfielder rising above N'Golo Kante comparisons

Wilfred Ndidi has probably got a little tired of hearing N'Golo Kante's name over the past couple of years.

After all, since the 22-year-old defensive midfielder joined Leicester in January 2017 he has regularly found himself compared to the Chelsea midfielder, who was an instrumental part of the Foxes' title-winning team in 2015-16.

But maybe now is the time for the comparisons to stop.

Ndidi is not just filling the void left by Kante, he has developed into one of the best players in his position and is arguably the fulcrum in a Leicester team that is fighting for a top-four finish in the Premier League and at one stage looked like battling with Liverpool for top spot.

It is also probably no coincidence that Leicester's title challenge - admittedly unlikely against an imperious Liverpool side - faded when Ndidi suffered an injury in early January.

His return is significant for the Foxes, who beat West Ham 4-1 on his comeback last week to end a three-game winless run, and who face Aston Villa in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday with the tie level at 1-1.

So how did Ndidi develop into one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe? It all started with a ball made of Sellotape...

Makeshift footballs and strict discipline - where it all began

There is something simplistic yet regimented about Ndidi's role on the pitch - break up attacks, win back possession and pass. Rinse and repeat.

The type of footballer he is can perhaps be traced back to his upbringing.

Born in 1996 to a military father, Ndidi grew up in a Lagos barracks. Discipline and education were the priority while football was a passion his father frowned upon.

"Any time my dad went to work I would go and play," Ndidi said in an interview with BBC World Service.

"I would then get the signal that he was coming and go back to what I was doing, so he didn't know I'd been playing. I got caught several times but was still going. I love football. I just want to play."

While many of his Leicester team-mates started their careers in the academies of professional football clubs, Ndidi's football education came on the roads around the military barracks he grew up in.

"We would wrap sheets of papers up and using Sellotape make it into a ball," he adds. "There was no money to buy footballs.

"We played on the main road, using two tyres as goals. The big guys were using the good pitch, we had nothing to use and just played on the road."

It was during these formative years that Ndidi came across a person who he credits as one of the most influential in his career.

 

Coaching the army barracks youth team was former Nigeria international Nduka Ugbade, a tough disciplinarian who pushed the young players to their limits both physically and mentally.

"Ugbade is one of the biggest names in African football," Africa-based sports journalist Oluwashina Okeleji tells BBC Sport.

"His opinion is respected and if he speaks to you, you listen. There is no limit with him. No excuses. He is a hard trainer but will not stretch you beyond your ability."

Still, the tough training was too much for some but, as a skinny teenager who was also smaller than his peers, Ndidi felt such a work ethic would benefit him.

'Take the ball and pass' - keeping it simple pays dividends

The discipline he developed from being coached by Ugbade meant he treated every game equally - competitive or friendly - and his big chance to impress the wider world came in a tournament in Nigeria, where international scouts were watching.

"There were about 40 teams that came for the tournament," says Ndidi. "I got the ball and made a run, a one-two run into the middle. I gave a simple pass to the striker. No-one had seen him so I just gave it to him between the defenders and he went and scored. That was the only game I played."

For Roland Janssen, a Genk scout at the tournament, that one game was enough. Impressed with the teenager's work rate he invited Ndidi for a trial with the Belgian side.

"When I came to Belgium the coach was Alex McLeish and he was putting me at right-back and left-back," Ndidi continues.

"Then a new coach came in and put me in midfield but it was so strange because the first game I played there I was substituted in the 32nd minute.

"After that I went back to basics - take the ball, look around, pass, take the ball, look around, pass."

'Kante is brilliant but there's no-one better than Ndidi'

Keeping it simple has undoubtedly worked wonders for Ndidi and statistically he is now one of the best players in his position.

Such is his influence that when he missed three games this month for Leicester through injury, the Foxes failed to win any of them.

He missed two Premier League matches during that spell on the sidelines yet still tops the table for most tackles made in the top flight. And by some distance.

Most tackles in the Premier League (midfielders)  
Player Tackles
Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester) 86
Joao Moutinho (Wolves) 65
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) 62
Emiliano Buendia (Norwich) 57
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton) 57

"I think he is the best in the Premier League at tackling and winning the ball back," Ndidi's team-mate James Maddison told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Kante is a brilliant player but actually winning the ball back and taking the ball off the opposition I don't think there is anyone better than Wilfred.

"Sometimes you get a player like that and what he does doesn't get talked about on the back pages, it doesn't maybe get talked about on Match of the Day.

"However, us as team-mates know what he does and it lets players like myself and Youri Tielemans do our thing higher up the pitch because we know we have that solidarity behind us."

Stopping attacks while studying at university

Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi on why he's studying business at University.

Ndidi's statistics are all the more impressive when you consider he is combining being the best defensive midfielder in Europe with studying for a degree.

Having found himself with plenty of spare time after training, Ndidi last year enrolled onto a business management course at De Montfort University in Leicester.

"It is easy to get carried away with the bright lights of the big cities when you move to England, but that's not Ndidi," continues Okeleji.

"He is learning how to invest his money properly. Legends of the game have struggled in Africa after their playing careers have come to an end.

"Instead of going home and watching films he wanted to do something productive with his time.

"He may sometimes play PlayStation with his friends but otherwise it is just about football and studying."

'He wants to be his own man'

It takes a lot to frustrate Ndidi, described by those who see him behind the scenes at Leicester as one of the most laid-back players at the club.

At Genk, he was nicknamed Teddy Bear because of his calm demeanour and ability to take being the butt of some of the team's jokes in good humour.

But comparisons with Kante are one thing he struggles to smile about.

"Any time someone mentions it to him it does upset him a bit," adds Okeleji.

"There is obviously great respect there but now he wants to be his own man. He feels he has established himself in his own right."

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No wonder this country performs so badly in Footballing Comps when the media are spouting nonsense like this.

Number of tackles = Must be a Anchor Man = Kante was an Anchor man

 

Look at the table ffs.....

 

Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester) 86
Joao Moutinho (Wolves) 65
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) 62
Emiliano Buendia (Norwich) 57
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton) 57

 

Ndidi is the only one of the above 5 which is a out and out Anchor man, the Makelele role if you will.

None of the above besides him plays that role, and neither does Kante, who was never the deepest center mid here, or at Chelsea.

 

In fact, you're then actually massively downplaying the most impressive name on that list, Emiliano Buendia. 

4th most tackles in the league, and 3rd most assists? There's a signing i'd be after in the summer.

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24 minutes ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

Savage moaning about the sour way it ended.

It ended that way because he was a right dick when he played against us.

He forgot to mention that.

I remember him kissing the badge,  I think it was for Birmingham when they played us, that’s what upset the Leicester fans ,but I can’t remember why he left on bad terms, to be honest I didn’t realise he did

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5 minutes ago, Aus Fox said:

Was it something to do with him taking a dump in the referees toilet and being fined 2 weeks wages?

He used this as an excuse, but he told the club he didnt want to leave then at the first opportunity forced his way out.

 

As with most of the clubs he left he fell out with most of the players at the end too.

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4 minutes ago, Katy said:

He’s an utter bellend. Didn’t like him when he played for us, dislike him even more now he doesn't.

Actually really liked him when he played for us, but the man has turned out to be a pr..k but hey ho.

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8 hours ago, ithuriel said:

Savage has only ever been a fan of himself, was an ok player but well behind Muzzy and Lennon, Parker was also better too.

From what you read and hear, even he says it himself, he's not bothered about the team harmony unless he's ok. He admitted he pissed around in training when he wanted to leave Birmingham for Blackburn and he did an article on the BBC detailing how you force a transfer.

 

He did a good job for us but I don't see him as a legend or a hero.

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4 hours ago, dayday said:

I remember him kissing the badge,  I think it was for Birmingham when they played us, that’s what upset the Leicester fans ,but I can’t remember why he left on bad terms, to be honest I didn’t realise he did

I liked him up to that moment, what a dick he was doing that in front of the fans who’d supported him.

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7 hours ago, Abrasive fox said:

He used this as an excuse, but he told the club he didnt want to leave then at the first opportunity forced his way out.

 

As with most of the clubs he left he fell out with most of the players at the end too.

I always liked him and met him briefly off duty once and was far from the big mouth character he gives off. Quite reserved.

 

At City, I think the senior players used to give him a hard time - Elliott, Tags etc. Plus O'Neil used to belittle him daily with faint praise 'best player with no ability' type barbs. 

 

Edited to add I found his affected farmer's accent on the radio a bit odd. Certainly didn't have it in them days

Edited by Paninistickers
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17 hours ago, Yes said:

Not sure if posted elsewhere but Savage has changed his tune wasn’t long ago he was acting like he was a fan of the club lol 

It’s a two way street to be fair . I don’t think many City fans hold treasured memories of his performances for the club. And I’m struggling to recall anything much of note from his career here save for reportedly taking a dump in the referee’s khazi 

Edited by surrifox
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6 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

I always liked him and met him briefly off duty once and was far from the big mouth character he gives off. Quite reserved.

 

At City, I think the senior players used to give him a hard time - Elliott, Tags etc. Plus O'Neil used to belittle him daily with faint praise 'best player with no ability' type barbs. 

 

 

As a player O’Neill had been told by Clough that his job was to win the ball and then give it ASAP to the guy who could play football ( Robertson I believe) . He used that on Savage apparently and it went down badly 

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17 hours ago, Yes said:

Not sure if posted elsewhere but Savage has changed his tune wasn’t long ago he was acting like he was a fan of the club lol 

Why would Savage come out and say he likes it here given he was booed everytime he returned as a player.

 

I was young at the time but I was at the Birmingham game when he returned and tried to get Elliott sent off, not that it means much as he was on a different team then, but I can't remember him kissing their badge.

 

He is very good on 606 though and makes it a good listen.

Edited by Fox92
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Let be honest, if you come though the same academy class as Giggs, Butt, Beckham, Scholes and the Neville's your always gone have a little chip on your shoulder! 

 

Let's be honest if your recalling the MON year's he's not in the top 20 players of that era! 

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