Wilfred Ndidi

[fuchsntf]

1 hour ago, Ian Nacho said:

Wood’s chance at the end just shows why we need Evans back ASAP. 

Yep,so he can get Another Silly red card...

[NaijaFox]

On 21/09/2020 at 02:39, Jaspa said:

Came off with a limp on tunnel cam, was consulting with the physio. Might be nothing but didn't look comfortable

 

On 21/09/2020 at 03:32, Will1981 said:

He looked like he was carrying an injury during the game, he kept stretching his back.

 

On 21/09/2020 at 03:35, Nick said:

He needs resting.

I don’t think Wilf was going to play against Arsenal anyway, but the following Nigerian site (not sure about its credibility) is reporting that he is also likely to skip the international break with Nigeria (which would be great for us, and pretty sure the Nigerians wouldn’t mind so much, given the games are just friendlies).

 

https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=37475

 

Just hope this doesn’t mean that he might be unavailable for Man City (albeit with Mendy’s form it might not be quite the setback it once would have been.

[Chocolate Teapot]

He was never going to play tomorrow night anyway.

[Ric Flair]

Just hope he is fit for Man City

[st albans fox]

Anyone think his absence pre season has anything to do with this injury niggle ???

[weller54]

28 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Just hope he is fit for Man City

Pray it's not the same knee he had the op on!🙏

[Ric Flair]

1 hour ago, weller54 said:

Pray it's not the same knee he had the op on!🙏

Is it knee problems that have been mentioned?

[los dedos]

On the tunnel cam at the end of the Burnley game he was walking back in with the Physio and didn't look quite right 😬

[UpTheLeagueFox]

Isn't it amazing how Ndidi is rarely linked with other clubs?

The guy is fantastic yet seems to have gone under the radar!

Long may that continue.

[Riyad_Suarez]

9 minutes ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

Isn't it amazing how Ndidi is rarely linked with other clubs?

The guy is fantastic yet seems to have gone under the radar!

Long may that continue.

I genuinely think he'd be the hardest player in our XI to replace, much like Kantè was in 2016.

 

(But then we replaced Kantè with Ndidi, so perhaps my logic is a bit flawed)

[Deeg67]

3 hours ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

Isn't it amazing how Ndidi is rarely linked with other clubs?

The guy is fantastic yet seems to have gone under the radar!

Long may that continue.

It's a reflection that while he's a very good player, he's overrated by LCFC fans in places like this.  For some reason some guys can do no right (like Chilwell) and some no wrong (like Wilf).  A very good holding midfielder no doubt, but not the sort of all-rounder that elite clubs will pop huge money for.  They'd take him in a minute, but but not at our valuation.

[OntarioFox]

21 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

It's a reflection that while he's a very good player, he's overrated by LCFC fans in places like this.  For some reason some guys can do no right (like Chilwell) and some no wrong (like Wilf).  A very good holding midfielder no doubt, but not the sort of all-rounder that elite clubs will pop huge money for.  They'd take him in a minute, but but not at our valuation.

While he's definitely improved in the past season in particular, this is true. He still has flaws to his offensive game that would mean he maybe doesn't slot into another side's established system as easily as Kanté did at Chelsea.

 

I'd actually say he's even better than Kanté at being a reliable interceptor of the ball. The best in the league, comfortably. His frame and athleticism means he has an almost superhuman knack of being able to get his foot on the ball from any position. What lets him down is his forward passing. And, ironically, I've lost count of the times Wilf has nailed a turnover of possession from a ball he lost himself with a poor pass. Boosting his own numbers, innit. 

 

That's actually one thing we haven't missed him in DMF for in these first two games. Mendy is a better player of the ball. I'd still rather have Wilf in that role though. Guy's a behemoth in the tackle and good in the air too, which is why he's been able to slot in at CB and do a decent job.

[Deeg67]

He's no doubt among the best in the league at stopping two attacks every game - the opposition's, and ours. 

[murphy]

20 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

He's no doubt among the best in the league at stopping two attacks every game - the opposition's, and ours. 

 

Wilf's pass completion this year is 84.5% against an average of 84,7% for the team.

 

 

 

[Deeg67]

That's a number that doesn't come close to telling the whole story.

 

It's not coincidence that we had power clubs beating our door down for Harry, Chilwell, Mahrez, Kante (and soon enough for Pereira) but not N'didi.  These clubs aren't stupid.  He's a very good player but with big limitations.

[NaijaFox]

17 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

That's a number that doesn't come close to telling the whole story.

 

It's not coincidence that we had power clubs beating our door down for Harry, Chilwell, Mahrez, Kante (and soon enough for Pereira) but not N'didi.  These clubs aren't stupid.  He's a very good player but with big limitations.

Add Drinkwater. 

Yes, these clubs can be "stupid" often enough.

[murphy]

9 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

That's a number that doesn't come close to telling the whole story.

 

It's not coincidence that we had power clubs beating our door down for Harry, Chilwell, Mahrez, Kante (and soon enough for Pereira) but not N'didi.  These clubs aren't stupid.  He's a very good player but with big limitations.

£80m for Maguire and £50m for Chilwell represents a fair level of stupidity imo.  

 

Why Ricardo 'soon enough' but not Wilf?  That seems like a statement clutched out of thin air.  If the big clubs don't want him (I think some probably do) then I'd be delighted to keep him.  Don't you remember how much we struggled when he was out injured last year?

 

He is the best defensive shield in the league.

[Deeg67]

Wait and see.

 

Ricardo would likely have gone this window if he hadn't gotten hurt.  He's a two-way player, and that's what the power clubs prioritize.

[NaijaFox]

2 hours ago, OntarioFox said:

While he's definitely improved in the past season in particular, this is true. He still has flaws to his offensive game that would mean he maybe doesn't slot into another side's established system as easily as Kanté did at Chelsea.

 

I'd actually say he's even better than Kanté at being a reliable interceptor of the ball. The best in the league, comfortably. His frame and athleticism means he has an almost superhuman knack of being able to get his foot on the ball from any position. What lets him down is his forward passing. And, ironically, I've lost count of the times Wilf has nailed a turnover of possession from a ball he lost himself with a poor pass. Boosting his own numbers, innit. 

 

That's actually one thing we haven't missed him in DMF for in these first two games. Mendy is a better player of the ball. I'd still rather have Wilf in that role though. Guy's a behemoth in the tackle and good in the air too, which is why he's been able to slot in at CB and do a decent job.

He doesn't have to be among the best defensive and offensive all-rounders to be wanted by top clubs. A top player like Gattuso certainly wasn't, and neither is Casemiro at Real Madrid (nor Idrissa Gueye at PSG). Wilf's puts in so much work at the defensive end that he should never have been tasked with offensive responsibilities. Unfortunately, a failure to recognize this turned out to be one of Puel's biggest failings here, and frankly often made Wilf look discombobulated. Hardly surprising thus that Puel's exit has coincided with Wilf's blossoming.

 

Edited 23 September 2020 by NaijaFox

[nnfox]

2 hours ago, Deeg67 said:

It's a reflection that while he's a very good player, he's overrated by LCFC fans in places like this.  For some reason some guys can do no right (like Chilwell) and some no wrong (like Wilf).  A very good holding midfielder no doubt, but not the sort of all-rounder that elite clubs will pop huge money for.  They'd take him in a minute, but but not at our valuation.

 

1 hour ago, murphy said:

 

Wilf's pass completion this year is 84.5% against an average of 84,7% for the team.

 

 

 

 

34 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

That's a number that doesn't come close to telling the whole story.

 

It's not coincidence that we had power clubs beating our door down for Harry, Chilwell, Mahrez, Kante (and soon enough for Pereira) but not N'didi.  These clubs aren't stupid.  He's a very good player but with big limitations.

I agree with @Deeg67 - Wilf is good, but far from a complete player.  His passing, for a midfielder is woeful and pass completion stats is a poor measure of pass quality.  Many of his passes are simple 20 yard passes along the floor to a player in space but the number of times the receiving player has to check their run or even change direction to retrieve a wayward pass is unreal for an elite level professional.  He is about as accurate as an aerosol.

 

I'm not bothered that his shooting is poor because he isn't in the team to score goals but his passing needs to massively improve to become a truly great player.  If you could combine his reading of the game and his ability to win the ball from the opposition, with the unassuming, steady passing ability of Mendy then we'd have a brilliant player.

[MiDuck55]

Is it just me or did Wilf's passing improved markedly for a while last saason.  I remember being impressed (and a bit surprised) at the time, and thinking that he must have been working on this aspect of his game.

We're only two games in and playing as a CB can't have helped, but his passing is once again pretty dire.

Hopefully once he's back in his familiar position and injury free he can work on improving his passing again.

I hope so, cos I love Wilf and his spider legs.

[KIRBYFOX93]

4 hours ago, Deeg67 said:

He's no doubt among the best in the league at stopping two attacks every game - the opposition's, and ours. 

how dare you even try throw shade on our wilf. we are punching with him in the squad let me tell you that. he would slide into any team in Europe

[Glorious Leicester Fan]

We play with 2 CAM’s, 2 attacking wing/fullbacks and 2 wide forwards/wingers. Wilf makes this possible. Of course his passing can be improved (it has and will continue to do so), but this should not be to the detriment of his other skills.

 

Also, when has the quality of a player be defined by whether a Man United or Spurs put an offer in? 

Edited 23 September 2020 by Glorious Leicester Fan

[Danny Clender]

Brilliant. 

Ndidi now has a cloud over his abilities.

I know he's not exempt from criticism, opinion and judgement, but what's making me smile is that, he's yet another excellent Leicester player having his skill reduced to average, maybe, he's alright etc etc.

Which means;

From our squad, we now have zero players of any genuine quality, ok, perhaps Ricardo because he's not playing at the moment. 

 

For Leicester, Wilf is an exceptional talent with results, stats, form etc to back up any argument doubters have . 

Please, freeze your tears for when he leaves to a bigger club. 

[bfox]

2 hours ago, nnfox said:

 

 

I agree with @Deeg67 - Wilf is good, but far from a complete player.  His passing, for a midfielder is woeful and pass completion stats is a poor measure of pass quality.  Many of his passes are simple 20 yard passes along the floor to a player in space but the number of times the receiving player has to check their run or even change direction to retrieve a wayward pass is unreal for an elite level professional.  He is about as accurate as an aerosol.

 

I'm not bothered that his shooting is poor because he isn't in the team to score goals but his passing needs to massively improve to become a truly great player.  If you could combine his reading of the game and his ability to win the ball from the opposition, with the unassuming, steady passing ability of Mendy then we'd have a brilliant player.

I would totally agree with you a year or more ago but his passing range has come on a lot under Rodgers and it’s nowhere near as bad as some are making out