Ayoze Pérez

[volpeazzurro]

He's a very likeable player. He clearly has very good technical ability, works extremely hard and runs round a lot, you always feel that he gives of his best. However, he's very powder puff in the challenge and just because you work hard and are extremely popular doesn't mean that you have a huge effect on the game. Had it not been for his hatrick heroics I didn't think he should be first choice also. The last three games, Gray, (a not so popular figure with some) has come on and provided more in his short cameos than Perez. For me Gray deserves to start and Perez have the opportunity of changing the game later on if required. As someone mentioned, you don't need to have two wingers neccessarily in which case for me, Praet would overall have a far superior influence on a game as I'd hardly describe Perez as an influential wide player or winger anyway. 

[StriderHiryu]

He was decent tonight, though Gray was electric in his place. Perez could (maybe should) have done better with his shot on goal, but he put in an incredible low cross in the first half which Vardy should have buried. He also won the ball back plenty of times high up the field. Where I feel he could improve is in not being so sloppy in possession and being stronger on the ball. He got fouled quite a few times and the ref didn't give him the decision, but you can't just fall over all the time because it lost us the ball in dangerous positions a few times, so he needs to play to the whistle. Mahrez was like this in first season too, but I'm suprised Ayoze is given he's played over here for years now.

 

It will be interesting to see if he starts Perez or Gray next match, but I suspect he will go for the same setup as today where Perez does the grunt work and then Gray comes on to inject pace into the game with 30 minutes left. It's worked several times already, so why change it!?

[Guest Fktf]

5 hours ago, FireFox said:

Ref wouldn't give him a free kick, but otherwise did alright I thought.

He didn't deserve one. When he gets into trouble, he has a habit of trying to get out of it by falling over at the slightest touch. 

 

Thought he was solid today though, and offering more than Barnes when he was subbed. That said, wouldn't be surprised to see Gray start ahead of perez next game. Demi has been great of the bench recently. 

[Vardinio'sCat]

 

Quite a few good steals high up the pitch, he clearly does work very hard, but for me he needs to get in the gym and strengthen up a bit. He doesn't have that much pace anyway, so he has little to lose from a bit more bulk apart from (perhaps) a bit of workrate.

 

I can see that Demmy has maybe earned a start, but coming on after Perez has done most of the dirty work seems to work for him too.

 

[Tanya]

I think Perez softens them up. Could have had an assist this game. I'd play him and see if Gray continues his stellar work running at tiring  defences for half an hour

[volpeazzurro]

11 hours ago, FireFox said:

Ref wouldn't give him a free kick, but otherwise did alright I thought.

I don't personally think he deserved too many free kicks, he went down far too easily, whether by design, because he was about to lose the ball or, because he's easily muscled off the ball. Perhaps he may be able to do something about the latter but he's not the biggest of blokes in fairness to him. What I would say in his defence, is that at least he's on the ball or trying to regain the ball. Just as Barnes may struggle a bit at times due to his youthful inexperience, Perez is possibly still getting to grips with Rodgers particular demands in his role. He may have played on the right for Newcastle but the roles given him by Rodgers and Benitez may be quite different. At this moment in time though and a dozen games is relatively early days, he does, like Aus Fox comments, for me too, remains a glaring weak point. I think Gray has earned himself a start for the next game, if we definetly want to start with two wingers and see how Perez performs from the bench. 

Edited 10 November 2019 by volpeazzurro

[Paninistickers]

I don't have it in for the fella, but all  these claims of unseen grunt work shouldn't go unchallenged. I just don't see it. 

 

If I really did need grunt work for tactical reasons then Albrighton should play that role. A specialist grunt. If we need a winger, play Gray. If we need an extra bod in midfield (and Christ, second half was wide open in the midfield), play Praet. In any of those scenarios, Perez is lower down the list than those mentioned.

 

I get the reasons why he gets so much goodwill. Things are great at the moment and seems nit picky to single out the weak link. But I think a lot of people are turning blind eye

 

 he loses the ball time and time again in his dangerous right mid area (four in the first half plus two fouls given away).  We are at the top top level of football right now. Losing the ball 6 times in a half is unacceptable.

 

And then as has been widely discussed, he's removed from the game for Gray and the whole game changes.

 

 

[st albans fox]

Seemed odd that the same man who deemed Albrighton’s contact with mane to be worthy of a whistle did not see the same on several occasions during this game where Ayoze was concerned.........  made even more of a mockery of that anfield decision ....

[Guest An Sionnach]

He needs to play off a big striker ( Rondon 6-2 and 200 lbs.) to be at his most effective and we don't play that way so he is having to take more of the physical stuff . Needs to shift the ball and not get caught in possession . Maddison is a similar build but rarely gets caught because the ball is gone before the challenge comes in.

[copunk]

I think the price we paid hasn't helped his recognition to be honest, for Vardys type of play I think he's essential, perez goes looking for the ball and is a real workhorse, so when he drops deep for the pass, opposition defenders tend to follow him allowing more space for vardy to run in to, granted it would be nice to see him score more but I think at times some tend to forget how understated the job he's doing is recognised

[egg_fried_rice]

Turned down Valencia to be a part of our 'ambitious project'. We're a genuine draw for players these days. Champions league qualification would only strengthen that position.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7672371/Ayoze-Perez-rejected-Valencia-favour-joining-Leicester.html

 

Ayoze Perez has revealed he rejected the chance to join Valencia in the summer in favour of signing for Leicester.

 

The forward initially had plans to return to his native Spain after making it clear that his future was away from Newcastle towards the end of last season.

 

However, Perez instead ended up remaining in England, signing for Brendan Rodgers' Leicester in a £30million deal.

 

The 26-year-old has since admitted that he did have the option to sign for the La Liga side in the summer.   

 

'It is true that Valencia were interested in me,' he told Spanish outlet ABC. 

 

'And I was tempted to consider a move back to Spain.

 

'I miss the food, the weather and the lifestyle in Spain, and of course I would like to return in the future.

 

'However Leicester offered me an ambitious project, where I would play an important role.

 

'The move has been excellent for me, as I am playing in an attacking team and we are doing well.' 

 

His decision to join Leicester looks to have been a good one, with the forward helping Rodgers' side move into early-season title contention.

 

Leicester have made a superb start to the campaign and sit second, eight points behind leaders Liverpool after 12 games.

 

[Guest An Sionnach]

There are signs now that Vardy , Perez and Barnes are really getting it together and reading each others game. Three mobile forwards who can interchange position and drag defenders around are a nightmare to control.Its the Firmino, Salah and Mane threat. If they take another 20% of good goal chances then with our defensive solidity we can push Liverpool all the way.

[Foxymcoxy]

If anyone missed it he's a guest on matchday minus two. Always worth a watch when they have a player on! 

 

https://www.lcfc.com/tv/1506870/matchday-minus-two-episode-14-ft-ayoze-prez

[NotTheMarketLeader]

On 09/11/2019 at 10:37, Paninistickers said:

Although it'd mean tweaking the system slightly, he'd be the fall guy for me to allow Praet to play.

 

This unseen work people talk about is the classic excuse for a popular but underperforming player 

 

His habit of being dispossessed will cost us a match at some point. Plus, he had a disappointing lack of speed at Palace for that breakaway which Barnes would've gobbled up

Agreed.

 

Effort is fine, his tap in at Brighton is fine. Both are a minimum requirement.

 

However, that lack of pace, losing possession and very often wasting  good opportunities to create a chance mean that I do see him as the weakest player of ours so far this season (of the regular starters).

 

I remain unconvinced he’s good enough for a top four team 😬

Edited 29 November 2019 by NotTheMarketLeader

[NotTheMarketLeader]

1 minute ago, NotTheMarketLeader said:

Agreed.

 

Effort is fine, his tap in at Brighton is fine. Both are a minimum requirement.

 

However, that lack of pace, losing possession and very often wasting  good opportunities to create a chance mean that I do see him as the weakest player of ours so far this season (of the regular starters).

 

I remain unconvinced he’s good enough for a top four team 😬

The rest of them at present are shit hot though 👏👏👏

[Foxxed]

11 minutes ago, NotTheMarketLeader said:

Agreed.

 

Effort is fine, his tap in at Brighton is fine. Both are a minimum requirement.

 

However, that lack of pace, losing possession and very often wasting  good opportunities to create a chance mean that I do see him as the weakest player of ours so far this season (of the regular starters).

 

I remain unconvinced he’s good enough for a top four team 😬

He’s a decent mid table winger who’s gaining confidence. And we had a load of decent midtable players a while back who didn’t do too badly.

[Foxymcoxy]

Don't think he gets enough credit for his link-up play and off the ball work. He still says he's learning a new position so I personally think he's doing more than enough to keep faith with. Hopefully he starts to find a bit more consistency in his finishing but don't fix what ain't broke.

[urban fox]

On 10/11/2019 at 16:23, copunk said:

I think the price we paid hasn't helped his recognition to be honest, for Vardys type of play I think he's essential, perez goes looking for the ball and is a real workhorse, so when he drops deep for the pass, opposition defenders tend to follow him allowing more space for vardy to run in to, granted it would be nice to see him score more but I think at times some tend to forget how understated the job he's doing is recognised

Seem to remember Shinji getting some stick for lack of goals on here, yet we always looked a far better side with him in it. Perez is doing a very similar job, albeit in a slightly different position and as you say his off the ball contribution in the press and creating space for others often goes unnoticed. He covers a hell of a lot of ground and that also in turn allows Vardy to conserve his strength by not chasing everything and play in the way Rodgers wants him to.  People have tried to make something out of the fact that he is usually taken off after 60-70 minutes (indee he has not completed a full 90 for us yet). Again in his defence this is not generally because he is playing poorly, but just like Okazaki, when he does come off he is looking absolutely shattered. Every team needs someone who is prepared to put in this type of shift, knowing that they cannot keep it up for 90 minutes but happy to give their all physically. There are many players who would rather operate at less than full capacity simply to stay on the pitch. His is a selfless role but an essential one. Gray has been great recently when coming on for those last 20 minutes or so, but i wonder if he would be so effective if Perez hadn't been giving defenders the run around and softening them up for Gray to take advantage of with his fresh legs and pace.  For me anyone who can keep Albrighton out of the side can't be all bad.

[Paninistickers]

10 minutes ago, urban fox said:

Seem to remember Shinji getting some stick for lack of goals on here, yet we always looked a far better side with him in it. Perez is doing a very similar job, albeit in a slightly different position and as you say his off the ball contribution in the press and creating space for others often goes unnoticed. He covers a hell of a lot of ground and that also in turn allows Vardy to conserve his strength by not chasing everything and play in the way Rodgers wants him to.  People have tried to make something out of the fact that he is usually taken off after 60-70 minutes (indee he has not completed a full 90 for us yet). Again in his defence this is not generally because he is playing poorly, but just like Okazaki, when he does come off he is looking absolutely shattered. Every team needs someone who is prepared to put in this type of shift, knowing that they cannot keep it up for 90 minutes but happy to give their all physically. There are many players who would rather operate at less than full capacity simply to stay on the pitch. His is a selfless role but an essential one. Gray has been great recently when coming on for those last 20 minutes or so, but i wonder if he would be so effective if Perez hadn't been giving defenders the run around and softening them up for Gray to take advantage of with his fresh legs and pace.  For me anyone who can keep Albrighton out of the side can't be all bad.

I'm fully prepared to be wrong here, but are there any stats to prove this supposed workrate?  Personally, I don't see it. Plus, if I wanted workrate, I'd choose Albrighton. Not Perez.

 

If I want skill and/or pace, play Gray.

 

If I want a conventional right sided midfielder, I'd play Praet. 

 

 

[fuchsntf]

22 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

I'm fully prepared to be wrong here, but are there any stats to prove this supposed workrate?  Personally, I don't see it. Plus, if I wanted workrate, I'd choose Albrighton. Not Perez.

 

If I want skill and/or pace, play Gray.

 

If I want a conventional right sided midfielder, I'd play Praet. 

 

 

Sounds like your just being a Panini in the Ar**.....

Let the guy get out of the blocks.....!!

[StriderHiryu]

20 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

I'm fully prepared to be wrong here, but are there any stats to prove this supposed workrate?  Personally, I don't see it. Plus, if I wanted workrate, I'd choose Albrighton. Not Perez.

 

If I want skill and/or pace, play Gray.

 

If I want a conventional right sided midfielder, I'd play Praet. 

 

 

In terms of workrate:

 

- He has made the 5th most tackles in the team, despite playing approximately 60 minutes per game on average instead of 90.

 

In terms of quality:

 

 

 

- He has 4 Premier league goals this season, the joint highest alongside Maddison.

- He has 1 assist, which is quite a bit worse than Barnes on the other side.

 

 

Overall could Perez be doing better? Of course he could! But is he doing badly? Don't think so, I would say he's making a contribution to the team, though Gray on recent form could well start ahead of him.

[urban fox]

2 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

In terms of workrate:

 

- He has made the 5th most tackles in the team, despite playing approximately 60 minutes per game on average instead of 90.

 

In terms of quality:

 

 

 

- He has 4 Premier league goals this season, the joint highest alongside Maddison.

- He has 1 assist, which is quite a bit worse than Barnes on the other side.

 

 

Overall could Perez be doing better? Of course he could! But is he doing badly? Don't think so, I would say he's making a contribution to the team, though Gray on recent form could well start ahead of him.

This is exactly what some people don't (or wont) seem able to see.  I never said he was the LCFC Lionel Messi but as you have shown here he is making a valued contribution. It is a team game and we should never undervalue the contributions of those who are willing to simply put in a shift for the team.  yes Gray may well have done enough recently to stake a claim for a start, but whenever he has he has disappointed.  I think he is better suited as an impact sub and Perez as the warm up act. not sure it would work the other way round.  I will be the first to criticise a player who under performs, on any given day, and i appreciate fans will have their own favourite players, but i do not understand when people constantly gripe about someone who is generally performing the job they are asked to do for the team to the best of their abilities. If he was not doing what the manager was asking of him then he would be dropped. simple.

[StriderHiryu]

11 minutes ago, urban fox said:

This is exactly what some people don't (or wont) seem able to see.  I never said he was the LCFC Lionel Messi but as you have shown here he is making a valued contribution. It is a team game and we should never undervalue the contributions of those who are willing to simply put in a shift for the team.  yes Gray may well have done enough recently to stake a claim for a start, but whenever he has he has disappointed.  I think he is better suited as an impact sub and Perez as the warm up act. not sure it would work the other way round.  I will be the first to criticise a player who under performs, on any given day, and i appreciate fans will have their own favourite players, but i do not understand when people constantly gripe about someone who is generally performing the job they are asked to do for the team to the best of their abilities. If he was not doing what the manager was asking of him then he would be dropped. simple.

Well put.

 

I don't have a problem with people being critical of our players, as I am sure the manager himself is telling them all how to improve in individual ways. In the case of Perez, Gray is certainly pushing him hard in recent weeks and could easily lose his place to him if he doesn't improve a bit. For me if took a balanced view of Perez, I'd say the following:

 

Good

- Great work rate for the team

- Very good defensive positional awareness. Doesn't lose his man, in the right position on the turnover, supports the high press exceptionally well with Vardy.

- Gets into good positions to support the attack and offer a goal threat himself.

 

Areas for Improvement

- Loses the ball too easily at times. E.g. gets tackled and goes down a bit too easy instead of scrapping for the ball.

- A bit sloppy in possession at times. 

- Could be more clinical. Should have done better with recent efforts against Arsenal and Brighton for example.

- Should have better assist numbers for his position. Comes back to being sloppy in possession at times.

 

 

Overall I'd say he's been about a 7/10 for us. Decent, not tearing up trees. 

 

I think it's also important to note that the style of football played at Leicester is completely different to Newcastle's system. In his interview on the official site, he mentions that the football is completely different to what he played under Rafa and it's taking him to adjust. He was used to playing a defensive style and waiting for the 1 or 2 chances a game that came his way. He called it the complete opposite style to Newcastle!

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 November 2019 by StriderHiryu

[Col city fan]

I’ve always said I’m happy with the signing of Perez and remain so

He’s been almost ever present in a top two side and I reiterate, important to how we play.

It shows how far we’ve come when people still seem to be itching to point out ‘our weakest player’

Its heady times, enjoy the ride

[Meat and 2 veg]

Gets the best out of Ricardo aswell. It’s quite a nice balance with Barnes. Ayoze seems to ghost into positions un marked and is a goal threat where as Barnes is better dribbling with the ball.

 

not sure we’d need a dribbler on the right hand side hugging the touch line with Ricardo?

 

didnt he score all his goals (or most) after February for Newcastle? I reckon he’ll get 5/6 goals before Christmas and (as he usually does) get 7/8 goals after January. 

Edited 29 November 2019 by Meat and 2 veg