Demarai Gray

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Still not convinced DG will ever fulfil his promise fully and suspect he will end up being one of those maddening consistently inconsistent players - BUT

 

he is making a difference as an impact sub as of late and does offer us another dimension.

 

So he has found a role in our side as things stand, and offering something we need -  rather than being a white elephant - hope he can push on from here under Brendan's watchful eye.

[ScouseFox]

changed the game against burnley, easily man of the match against burton, and was very sharp in his 20 mins or whatever it was yesterday. 

 

enjoyable to see. 

[Foxymcoxy]

He's doing really well. I know we've all lost patience at some point but he is still only 23 and showing legitimate improvement arguably for the first time since he came here. Maybe BR can finally get that "potential" out? At the very least competition with Barnes will be good for both of them.

[UniFox21]

Have I stumbled onto the wrong forum? I've just read several complementary posts about Gray? 

[Blue ROI]

Gray has been a let down for us overall. Occasional brilliance but then nothing for ages,

 

However he has done very well the last couple of games. Yesterday was the best move he has made in a game since Everton 2017. This is about the most consistent he has been since he joined. It was very smart of Rodgers really.

 

Hopefully he can kick on now. 

[HighPeakFox]

I wonder if another sign of a really good team is having substitutes that really make a positive difference. 

[lcfcsnow]

That goal and the one vs Everton in Puel's first match just shows what you can do when you get your head up and make the right decision at the right time. It is so rare for him to make that choice though.

[Shane]

Basically if the lad has space to work with he can be decent. His best performances for us was in 15/16, when teams were attacking us leaving massive gaps for Demarai to exploit. The same usually happens nowadays, when he comes off the bench & we’re in a winning position. 

 

But we can’t carry a player that’s useful in just one scenario. I don’t think he’s capable of making an impact when we’re in a losing position & are up against a parked bus. Happy to be proven wrong but time is running out for Demarai.

[foxile5]

10 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Have I stumbled onto the wrong forum? I've just read several complementary posts about Gray? 

And deservedly so. He's been really positive these last few games.

 

This shouldn't be a surprise, UniFox, as people rarely set out to eviscerate a man. The reason he was attractive so much negativity was that he was a negative to the team. 

 

I'd be mindful of not starting him for a little while yet, confidence isn't built in a day, but this has been a really promising run of form for him.

[urban.spaceman]

9 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Was great to see his involvement in the goal yesterday. I know we've had many false dawns with him, but it really irks me the way people seem to actively want him to fail these days. Some twat at Burton was constantly on his case.

 

He's a Leicester City player at the end of the day and deserves as much support as anyone else in blue when he's on the pitch.

He's had his fair share of criticism for sure but he certainly deserves a lot of praise for his performances in the last fortnight.

 

The twat at Burton being on his case is especially disappointing as aside from Tielemans, he was easily our man of the match. His pass to Tielemans to assist Iheanacho's goal was sublime. Another pass to Praet to assist for the second was also very good. But he doesn't get the credit he deserved because he's judged on assists and goals alone. Which makes it even sadder that Harvey was credited with the assist for Tielemans goal against Burnley when it was Demarai that whipped in a glorious cross in the first place. Yesterday he was unplayable - that dummy then assist was utterly outstanding.

 

I've criticised him a lot but I find it difficult to call him a flop. He's 23, had very inconsistent coaching and game time while he's been here, and he only cost us £3.7m. Under Brendan's tutelage he could still become an excellent player, especially if he gets more game time if we're in Europe.

[TJB-fox]

21 minutes ago, ScouseFox said:

changed the game against burnley, easily man of the match against burton, and was very sharp in his 20 mins or whatever it was yesterday. 

 

enjoyable to see. 

Bang on. Had a major and positive impact on each of his last three games. Can’t really ask more than that. 

[Goober]

Really pleased for him. Can't be too far away from a start soon and I hope he takes his chance when it comes

[MPH]

35 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Was great to see his involvement in the goal yesterday. I know we've had many false dawns with him, but it really irks me the way people seem to actively want him to fail these days. Some twat at Burton was constantly on his case.

 

He's a Leicester City player at the end of the day and deserves as much support as anyone else in blue when he's on the pitch.

I don’t think anyone WANTS him to fail but many seem to think he’s been given plenty of opportunities that it’s time to replace.

 

 

id actually send him on loan to villa or sheffield United for second half of the season under the premise he must be played if fit.

Edited 4 November 2019 by MPH

[Foxymcoxy]

2 minutes ago, MPH said:

I don’t think anyone WANTS him to fail but many seem to think he’s been given plenty of opportunities that it’s time to replace.

 

 

id actually send him on loan to villa or sheffield United for second half of the season under the premise he must be played if fit.

Really? I think the opposite 100% he needs to stay here under the current coaches. They seem to be really getting through to him recently. Maybe this changes if we sign another winger though, in which case he really won't get much time on the pitch here.

[Guest Markyblue]

We had 100 odd years of false dawns before we won the prem, the signs are he is finally getting it together,  for him and us lets hope so.

[Voll Blau]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

I don’t think anyone WANTS him to fail but many seem to think he’s been given plenty of opportunities that it’s time to replace.

 

 

id actually send him on loan to villa or sheffield United for second half of the season under the premise he must be played if fit.

 

 

There's a difference between thinking he's had plenty of opportunities and the kind of shit he's getting in the example I gave (which isn't an isolated incident by the way, either at games or online).

 

Fail to see what good loaning him out would do, and how could LCFC could enforce those terms on other clubs anyway?

[Simoken]

An interesting thought... since his contract expires in (2021) and with no whisper of a potential extension.. I'm not surprised his performances have improved. Like the saying goes... nothing motivates anyone more than fear of an end (soon to end) of something good. Maybe its BR influence or maybe its just that.

Edited 4 November 2019 by Simoken

[UniFox21]

21 minutes ago, foxile5 said:

And deservedly so. He's been really positive these last few games.

 

This shouldn't be a surprise, UniFox, as people rarely set out to eviscerate a man. The reason he was attractive so much negativity was that he was a negative to the team. 

 

I'd be mindful of not starting him for a little while yet, confidence isn't built in a day, but this has been a really promising run of form for him.

Dude at times people bash him for the sake of it, half the time he isn't the worst player yet gets targeted. 

 

He does deserve this praise as he's been incredibly effective lately. 

[MPH]

8 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

 

 

There's a difference between thinking he's had plenty of opportunities and the kind of shit he's getting in the example I gave (which isn't an isolated incident by the way, either at games or online).

 

Fail to see what good loaning him out would do, and how could LCFC could enforce those terms on other clubs anyway?

 

regular first team football for 90 mins every week.

 

when you are the club that is loaning a player out you can set whatever terms you like in the loan, if they want the player,they’ll agree to the terms. the term of saying a player must play if it in a loan is actually very common... especially when bigger clubs are loaning out their prospects to so called smaller clubs.

Edited 4 November 2019 by MPH

[treer]

he is coming on great the last few matches, loaning him out is just not going to happen.

For the first time he is fighting for a regular starting place, he is at his best position since joining the club..

 

[MPH]

1 minute ago, treer said:

he is coming on great the last few matches, loaning him out is just not going to happen.

For the first time he is fighting for a regular starting place, he is at his best position since joining the club..

 

really hope he makes the breakthrough but we also have to consider what he wants. maybe he has gone to the boss and told him he wants regular football? ;-)

[Shane]

36 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

What about against Burnley when there wasn’t a lot of space to operate but he managed to play a one two in a tight space and put the ball on a plate for Youri? 

 

I know its only once, but it’s recent enough to be relevant and to say he’s possibly improving some what. 

Definitely improving to be fair! Lets hope he stays consistent. 

[Manwell Pablo]

2 hours ago, MPH said:

I don’t think anyone WANTS him to fail but many seem to think he’s been given plenty of opportunities that it’s time to replace.

 

 

id actually send him on loan to villa or sheffield United for second half of the season under the premise he must be played if fit.

 

Don't see any Premier League side agreeing to take Gray into their squad under the premise that he has to be in their fist 11, at all.  Least of all Sheffield United who are having a great season based on a good team Ethos.

 

Besides at the moment he is in and around the team, putting Perez under pressure, we are still in the league cup, and judging by Rodgers attitude towards the League Cup we will be taking the FA cup more seriously this year, there will be plenty of opportunities for him here and I think here is the best place to be to fight for further opportunities, same with Hamza, we need depth, the fixture list in this league can get brutal, and they will get minutes.

[MPH]

13 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Don't see any Premier League side agreeing to take Gray into their squad under the premise that he has to be in their fist 11, at all.  Least of all Sheffield United who are having a great season based on a good team Ethos.

 

Besides at the moment he is in and around the team, putting Perez under pressure, we are still in the league cup, and judging by Rodgers attitude towards the League Cup we will be taking the FA cup more seriously this year, there will be plenty of opportunities for him here and I think here is the best place to be to fight for further opportunities, same with Hamza, we need depth, the fixture list in this league can get brutal, and they will get minutes.

 

There will come a time when he will want regular first team football. Weekly. Admittedly Sheffield United were a bad example but for someone  fighting near the bottom of the league getting someone as good as Gray on loan would be a dream in almost any circumstance - they wont be 'stuck' with a high wage earner in case they do go down.

 

 

The idea of someone joining a team and a clause being they MUST play happens far more than people realize.

[urban fox]

12 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Don't see any Premier League side agreeing to take Gray into their squad under the premise that he has to be in their fist 11, at all.  Least of all Sheffield United who are having a great season based on a good team Ethos.

 

Besides at the moment he is in and around the team, putting Perez under pressure, we are still in the league cup, and judging by Rodgers attitude towards the League Cup we will be taking the FA cup more seriously this year, there will be plenty of opportunities for him here and I think here is the best place to be to fight for further opportunities, same with Hamza, we need depth, the fixture list in this league can get brutal, and they will get minutes.

Deffo if he keeps putting in performances like that from the bench. Sometimes it is better to get regular sub appearances than being in and out of the team. Take Ulloa for instance. everyone knew that he would come on after Shinji had run himself into the ground after about an hour, knew exactly what his job was and did it brilliantly every week. At the moment it would be hard to justify leaving Barnes or Perez out of the starting line up, So gray and Albrghton will haver to content themselves with appearances off the bench or in the cups for now. Gray may just have found his niche as a super sub, coming on with fresh legs in the second half and terrorising defenders. I suppose it comes down to whether you want to be a part of a successful, happy squad and take what opportunities come your way or not.  We seem to have a settled first choice 11 at the moment but there will always be injuries/suspensions etc to contend with as the season progresses, so it is important that our first choice bench players get enough pitch time as they could be called on anytime to do a job, so the likes of Gray, Albrighton, Praet, Hamza etc will all get plenty of minutes.