Leicester without Mahrez

[Guest SO1]

34 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

I know what you mean as despite all the plaudits from the purists, I used to find Barcelona as dull as ditch water after a couple of games in quick succession ?. I suppose if I'm honest and think about it I tend to watch mostly highlights like motd really apart from our games of course. I may have just been lucky in the games I've watched. David Silva mesmerises me as when he comes down here to us, I try and watch him and lose him and I'm not even on the pitch! Sane is a good player to watch also.

David Silva was the one who suckered me in to watching Football. Poetry in motion. Watching him run the show the first year Man city won the title was sublime. Those passes ahhhhh.......the weight and finesse.

[That_Dude]

25 minutes ago, FIF said:

 

pretty much what he was at Leicester to be honest. Doesn't put the work in, Never plays defence which puts a strain on the defenders behind him. Lazy, Prima donna.

 

Enjoy the medals because you're no longer going down as a "great" player Mehrez.

The bitterness is still flowing through you, I see.

 

1 hour ago, mancunianfox said:

Living in Manchester I can confirm that Man City fans all can't stand him. It started after the missed penalty against Liverpool and he can't do anything right in their eyes since then (despite scoring the only goal in two 1-0 league wins). Despite their success Man City fans still have a small club mentality (90% would rather win the league over the Champions League) and they still value workrate over quality. Mahrez doesn't really help himself on that front.

I read their forum from time to time and aside from a few very good posters, they're a bunch of entitled, moaning twats with little football knowledge and a paranoid state of mind when it comes to referees and CL.

 

They don't hesitate to hammer living legends like Silva or Aguero for the slightest mistake. Mahrez has that huge price tag on his head and the expectations were immense, but every single player had to go through 1-2 seasons to adapt themselves to Pep's philosophy which is really demanding. He's doing okay this season but if they don't win the title, you can be sure that they'll make him responsible for it because of his penalty miss. A penalty he didn't want to take by the way.

 

He's their new whip-boy just like Gundogan was (and still is) and Sterling before him. 

 

I do hope and think that Liverpool will win the title and Spurs will kick them out of the CL. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, That_Dude said:

The bitterness is still flowing through you, I see.

 

 

You confuse bitterness with truth.

 

If you're trying to say that Mahrez even tried to play any defence in all the years he was with us I think you've got the wrong player. The Man City fans seemed to have summed him up pretty well. It's a shame that some of our own are so blinded.

 

Transfer your admiration to Robert Huth , he was a player who merits the adulation. 

[HighPeakFox]

12 minutes ago, FIF said:

You confuse bitterness with truth.

 

If you're trying to say that Mahrez even tried to play any defence in all the years he was with us I think you've got the wrong player. The Man City fans seemed to have summed him up pretty well. It's a shame that some of our own are so blinded.

 

Transfer your admiration to Robert Huth , he was a player who merits the adulation. 

Or, some of us disagree with you on this. That is our truth. 

[That_Dude]

25 minutes ago, FIF said:

You confuse bitterness with truth.

 

If you're trying to say that Mahrez even tried to play any defence in all the years he was with us I think you've got the wrong player. The Man City fans seemed to have summed him up pretty well. It's a shame that some of our own are so blinded.

 

Transfer your admiration to Robert Huth , he was a player who merits the adulation. 

I don't think so.

 

There's criticism which is a fair aknowledgement of the strengths and weaknesses any player has, that goes for Mahrez as well, and there's well... your rants about him. You have a long lasting, and frankly ridiculous, personal vendetta against Mahrez and as soon he's mentioned, there isn't one post of yours where you're not having a go at him. A shame really, because you're otherwise a nuanced poster. I guess nobody's perfect.

 

He's the first PFA our club ever had and it might be a long time before we see someone with his skills. He's certainly without his flaws, but I find the schadenfreude somewhat distateful. Same goes for Drinkwater.

 

I admire and respect Huth and actually any of the players who wear or wore the shirt and contributed a great deal to our club, especially our first title ever. As much as I thought and still think that Drinkwater was never going to succeed at Chelsea, I would never hold any grudge against a player for trying to move to another level. Which apparently isn't your case.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

Or, some of us disagree with you on this. That is our truth. 

And I respect your opinion and That_Dude's. Many people hold your opinion. What I don't like is being being called names or my posts being described as rants or vendettas when they aren't.

 

I don't believe that he is the most skilfull player we've ever had, I didn't like his attitude towards the team and the fans for the last 2 years of his stay here and I certainly agree with all those Leicester and Manchester fans who deplore his lack of defensive effort. That isn't a rant or a vendetta

 

Hopefully you respect my opinion and realise that many people hold it too.

 

 

[sm1]

The difference between Mahrez playing for us and Man City is fear.  With us Mahrez played with no fear, taking on players and playing with freedom. At Man City he constantly takes the easy option out of fear of making mistakes. The problem is the more he thinks about making mistakes, the more he makes them. The pen miss against Liverpool hasn't helped either. There's talk on blue moon about sending him on loan,  I'd take him here if that ever happens. 

[That_Dude]

1 hour ago, FIF said:

And I respect your opinion and That_Dude's. Many people hold your opinion. What I don't like is being being called names or my posts being described as rants or vendettas when they aren't.

 

I don't believe that he is the most skilfull player we've ever had, I didn't like his attitude towards the team and the fans for the last 2 years of his stay here and I certainly agree with all those Leicester and Manchester fans who deplore his lack of defensive effort. That isn't a rant or a vendetta

 

Hopefully you respect my opinion and realise that many people hold it too.

 

 

Okay, I apologize if you found my wording too harsh.

 

Let us simply agree to disagree.

[Bunyip]

We don't even play that style of football anymore so it's pointless speculating if we miss his input. He plays for probably the best team in the League with arguably the best players too, yet he can't command a first-team place and the Man City fans think he is a waste of money. Judging by the number of first team appearances Pep doesn't rate him very highly either. I fully expect him to be moved on in the close season, just another player who got ambition mixed up with ability. 

[Leeds Fox]

1 hour ago, sm1 said:

The difference between Mahrez playing for us and Man City is fear.  With us Mahrez played with no fear, taking on players and playing with freedom. At Man City he constantly takes the easy option out of fear of making mistakes. The problem is the more he thinks about making mistakes, the more he makes them. The pen miss against Liverpool hasn't helped either. There's talk on blue moon about sending him on loan,  I'd take him here if that ever happens. 

 

Thats generally how Man City play though. They keep possession, even high up the pitch. They don’t force it with runs and crosses, they play their way into the box. That’s Pep’s philosophy. 

[Vardinio'sCat]

15 hours ago, volpeazzurro said:

He was exceptional for us that season, we all thought the world of him. Though Ranieri did drop him a couple of times and he himself in an PFA acceptence speech even alluded to the fact that he had at times been told by Ranieri that he had to work harder. The world was at his feet and seemingly his ambition was to play for Barcelona. Whilst I would always want to keep our best players I do understand them wanting to attain their highest level. I would reluctantly have loved him to have achieved that and one day put that shirt on and follow his career.

 

Sadly it seemed to change. Even in our winning season he could turn up late for training and that got worse. That was well documented and even Vardy and Slimani alluded to it. I also knew through other sources at the training ground. Despite his stats and occasional bursts of brilliance much of the games seemed to pass him by even allowing for his languid style and he was covered up for greatly by a very good fullback in Simpson. You instinctively know when someone is not putting the effort in, sometimes by working hard you can make things happen. Then there were all the other shenanigans of course. I remember the reports of a possible move to Barcelona being muted but two supposed Spanish correspondents close to the club came up with the same supposed inside knowledge that although they had been interested, his work rate etc didn't fit in the mould of the sort of player they would consider recruiting at that time.

 

Pep amongst other things is supposedly a great motivator and winner. I'm sure he would have believed he could make something even better out of Marhez. I would think he could too. In fairness, it also has to be admitted that in Bernado Silva and Sterling this year he would have come up against trying to usurp two of the Premierships best performers! I also in fairness don't  follow Man City to any real degree other than I do think they're exciting to watch mostly. There have been negative comments made about Marhez in the general media hubbub you read online supposedly from their supporters re Marhez and once, possibly before or after we played them, I just looked at their forum and was quite surprised regarding the negativity about him and that he'd been a poor signing etc. He's in the right place with the right man to work,  learn and improve. It's up to him I suppose. 

 

I didn't see the game against Spurs last night but saw he'd been in the squad. I just checked to see his performance ratings.

 

The Manchester Evening Standard player ratings of his performance were:

 

'Riyad Mahrez- After a dreadful, peripheral first half, he saw plenty of the ball - but his final pass and crossing were still not of the requisite standard. 5

 

Sky Sports:

Riyad Mahrez - 5 Another surprising selection following an inconsistent first season at City. He was pushed off the ball too easily at times and it was surprising he was not substituted until the 85th minute.

 

Daily Mirror:

Mahrez 5 - Booked. City's 'daisy' – some days he turns it on, some days he doesn't.

 

Sounds to me as if he's not changed much sadly. Next season could be his last there unless there's improvement I feel. 

 

I'm glad you agree that he wasn't always bone idle, but you do mount a strong defence of your overall view of him, with many valid criticisms. 

 

For me, the good things he did for us outweigh the sad way it all ended. I don't know quite what was said to him about moving on, but his goodwill towards the club that made him a superstar seems to have disappeared towards the end, which is a real shame.

 

I specifically remember him being slated on here for a performance (in our title defence season that Ranieri botched, I think)  when I later found out he was our top runner for that game. Fans seemed to want him to play in 2 positions at once, and be a great defender, whilst being our sole creative threat and the first one we look to on the counter.

 

After finding that out I never really took the Riyad hate very seriously. Clearly he did down tools on us at various points, and that will drive fans up the wall, but I still have respect for all our title winners, whether they stayed or not.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gordon the Great]

On 08/04/2019 at 10:10, murphy said:

This is like 2016 again when Kante threads kept cropping up.

 

Mahrez has gone.  He's picked his toys up from out of his pram and stropped up the road to sit on Pep's bench.

 

I don't miss him and I certainly don't miss his baggage, strikes and airport sulks. 

 

Only players that want to play for Leicester need apply.

Bang............On!

[Bazly]

The profile of Mahrez has fallen a lot since he left for a bigger club future. There are no longer the week in week out Algerian love in videos of Mahrez versus that featured through his time at Leicester. I suppose it's kind of hard to put together a video based upon normally a 6 minute cameo at the end of the game appearance or bench time conversations. It's a waste of talent to the league that only bigger clubs can afford under the offering of its better to strip the opposition of their best players than worry about actually playing them.

[ClaphamFox]

14 hours ago, That_Dude said:

Okay, I apologize if you found my wording too harsh.

 

Let us simply agree to disagree.

 

[hackenbacker]

Mahrez come back........

Drinkwater come back .......

Pearson come back.......

 

FFS most of our team still have homework at night....

 

The future is so bright i have to wear shades

[Crispin LA]

Mahrez is a good player, but Man City use him in bits and bobs. He needs to be played like when he played for us, he needs to play in every game so he gets used to the players and they get used to him. Most of all those great players also struggled in their 1st season 

[David Hankey]

8 minutes ago, Crispin LA said:

Mahrez is a good player, but Man City use him in bits and bobs. He needs to be played like when he played for us, he needs to play in every game so he gets used to the players and they get used to him. Most of all those great players also struggled in their 1st season 

Mahrez is a match-winner and amongst his many skills that's what Man City saw him and paid top money for him. I miss him at Leicester as, in the main, if he was in possession near the opposing penalty area you could almost guarantee a goal or a pass that would lead to a goal. Unfortunately we have no-one who can fit that bill at the moment.

[Stoopid]

Mahrez's primary trick - ie the change of direction - is a good one, and he does it beautifully, but  when defenders are aware of it, well it becomes a limited weapon. 

Too many times for us, especially towards the end, he was peripheral.

Now he's in a side where athleticism, speed of thought and movement are obvious in all his team-mates and he's looking pretty ordinary in comparison.

He's not the most skilfull kid in the playground anymore, and he looks a bit lost.

I think he's the kind of player who needs to think of himself as more talented than his mates. When that's clearly not the case, he seems to flounder.

 

[Simoken]

2 hours ago, Crispin LA said:

Mahrez is a good player, but Man City use him in bits and bobs. He needs to be played like when he played for us, he needs to play in every game so he gets used to the players and they get used to him. Most of all those great players also struggled in their 1st season 

Agreed.

 

Such a waste of talent, I knew moving to a big club would be such a tragic move for him. His lack of game-time and confidence is killing him. Now hes in a big club hes pretty much stuck due to the price tag man city will expect from him in return if another came calling. His value has dropped 10mil easy.

[dmayne7]

2 hours ago, David Hankey said:

Mahrez is a match-winner and amongst his many skills that's what Man City saw him and paid top money for him. I miss him at Leicester as, in the main, if he was in possession near the opposing penalty area you could almost guarantee a goal or a pass that would lead to a goal. Unfortunately we have no-one who can fit that bill at the moment.

I think Youri forgetting someone...

[hackneyfox]

18 hours ago, FIF said:

And I respect your opinion and That_Dude's. Many people hold your opinion. What I don't like is being being called names or my posts being described as rants or vendettas when they aren't.

 

I don't believe that he is the most skilfull player we've ever had, I didn't like his attitude towards the team and the fans for the last 2 years of his stay here and I certainly agree with all those Leicester and Manchester fans who deplore his lack of defensive effort. That isn't a rant or a vendetta

Agreed and that's why I don't rate Schmeichel, his lack of attacking prowess is appalling.

 

 

 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

Agreed and that's why I don't rate Schmeichel, his lack of attacking prowess is appalling.

 

 

 

Rather a stupid and pointless post. Everyone should have a posting limit to prevent such idiotic posts wasting everyone's time.

[hackneyfox]

Just now, FIF said:

 

Rather a stupid and pointless post. Everyone should have a posting limit to prevent such idiotic posts wasting everyone's time.

Ooh get you.

Sorry but anyone that expected a player with the attacking skills of Mahrez and legs like pipe cleaners to be playing a more defensive role deserves all they get.

kisses

[OntarioFox]

21 hours ago, That_Dude said:

I don't think so.

 

There's criticism which is a fair aknowledgement of the strengths and weaknesses any player has, that goes for Mahrez as well, and there's well... your rants about him. You have a long lasting, and frankly ridiculous, personal vendetta against Mahrez and as soon he's mentioned, there isn't one post of yours where you're not having a go at him. A shame really, because you're otherwise a nuanced poster. I guess nobody's perfect.

 

He's the first PFA our club ever had and it might be a long time before we see someone with his skills. He's certainly without his flaws, but I find the schadenfreude somewhat distateful. Same goes for Drinkwater.

 

I admire and respect Huth and actually any of the players who wear or wore the shirt and contributed a great deal to our club, especially our first title ever. As much as I thought and still think that Drinkwater was never going to succeed at Chelsea, I would never hold any grudge against a player for trying to move to another level. Which apparently isn't your case.

There's wanting to move, as Drinkwater did, then there's sitting in airports on deadline day and throwing a sulk / refusing to play when you don't get your move. I don't begrudge Drinkwater's move, as ill-considered as we thought it was and has proven to be, because I saw no visible reduction in his performances on the pitch when interest from Chelsea became apparent, but Mahrez genuinely cost our team points when he threw our developing game plan into the air by going AWOL in February 2018.

 

He arguably and ultimately blew a hole in the genuine momentum that Puel had built around the squad at the time - by late January 2018 we were picking up results with "Puelball" and the team seemed to understand their role. We put in some monster performances at the turn of the new year - most notably that match away from Chelsea in which we matched them for possession, dominated in the first half and somehow left with a 0-0 draw thanks to Cortouis' heroics and Chilwell seeing red. Mahrez was a key part of that, free to be creative and bringing the rest of the team into a tactical set-up not dissimilar to the aggressive, high-press possession football Rodgers is now implementing to great success. He was also amongst the goals, bagging against Huddersfield and Watford, and clearly a focal point of the new style.

 

That all went down the sh*tter starting with that 2-1 reverse at Everton, in which his sudden withdrawal clearly blew our gameplan out of the water at short notice, and continued long after he finally sulked back into the squad, ironically against Man City. We didn't win again until the 10th of March, and Puel's early momentum was completely shot. Hands up if anyone can remember him putting anything close to a shift in for us until he scored his free kick against Bournemouth, itself a lucky break given he had been ineffective once again that game? It's all well and good to blame Puel's lack of a plan B, but the reality is that he also lost his plan A the moment the teamsheet came out against the Toffees - and, a short purple patch around Christmas 2018 aside, the hit to his credibility as manager was ultimately terminal.

 

Mahrez is a manchild and his antics from the moment Man City expressed their interest to him finally getting his dream move soured his legacy for a lot of fans, me included. Refusing to play and then putting in minimum effort when finally agreeing to for more than a month while your side's ambitions for the season and all goodwill towards the new manager from the fanbase disappear before your eyes in the ensuing chaos is unacceptable. I'm with @FIF. I wish I could pretend that everything that happened after 2017 never happened, but it did, and unless you couldn't guess from this long-winded response, I lay a lot of the blame for Puel's ultimate failure at Mahrez' door as he was chasing a functional system and a replacement for a Riyad-shaped hole from the day the strop happened.

[Guest]

He wasn't even especially lazy defensively for us, he's just naturally a shit defender. Can't tackle, can't track runners especially well etc. I don't really see the point in criticising him over and over for it given it's so far outside of his skillset. It's like saying Simpson didn't put enough effort in going forwards - no, he just can't cross, pass or control the ball particularly well