We’ll never sign a Mahrez or Vardy again.

[fleckneymike 1,818]

This isn’t a doom mongering post more one of practicalities. People frequently refer to our amazing scouting and ability to sign and sell on stars and cite Mahrez, Kante and Vardy as examples of our success. However, with the exception of Kante who is the freakish of all outliers, we’ll never sign players like them again. Not because they don’t exist but because we can’t afford to look at them. 
 

Kante, as a signing, was a complete freak. We signed an elite level player at their peak who for some reason wasn’t at an elite level club. The player who joined was the finished article and the player we sold was too. He began playing at world class levels and left playing the same way. It was easy to slot him into a premier league side and have him contribute immediately. 
 

Mahrez and Vardy were completely different. They both took time to settle, grow and adapt. There is no way the Vardy and Mahrez’s we signed would get anywhere near this team not be given the time to grow and that’s why recruitment is suddenly so hard to do. If both players had been flops we’d have not really noticed, their fees were such that they reflected their low risk status. Subsequent moves into the transfer market have shown that we, like everyone else, are struggling to find players just below the level of Mahrez and Vardy who might one day improve. That’s why getting to and staying at this level is so hard. We’re no longer looking for those sort of players because we don’t have the time to nurture them. 

[Costock_Fox 11,842]

We have only signed one of each in our history I guess

[Fox92 11,688]

Mahrez would get near the team, just like he did at the time he signed, because he's obviously class and has the ability. People always say Mahrez needed time to settle, but I don't recall this? Mahrez joined, Pearson eased him in and then he was away. 

 

The only player that has needed time to settle was Vardy. He was lucky that Pearson is type of manager to put an arm around him and give him time to grow.

 

Mahrez/Knockaert both slotted in at the time as did Kante.

 

I think there will be players out there who need time to adapt and grow into the team but as fans we want the finished article. Look at the criticism Chilwell gets. He's 23 and every week he gets bashed. He's still got loads of time to learn and turn into a better player but people just want a replacement instead.

 

But I don't trust the recruitment now like I did when Pearson/Shakespeare/Walsh were here.

Edited 22 August 2020 by Fox92

[Webbo 17,061]

It's easier to sign players like that in the championship, that's true. However I can't believe we'll never be back in the championship in my lifetime so its possible. 

[Aus Fox 8,561]

We have the likes of Barnes and Chilwell over the last couple of seasons, who although not bought in have been given the opportunity to grow into our team and develop as players.

I would say if someone of Mahrez ability was sitting around in the French second division, we’d still bring them in and let them develop.

 

[ealingfox 5,621]

Not unless we get the band back together, which we obviously should do but won't.

Edited 22 August 2020 by ealingfox

[Babylon 28,886]

11 minutes ago, fleckneymike said:

This isn’t a doom mongering post more one of practicalities. People frequently refer to our amazing scouting and ability to sign and sell on stars and cite Mahrez, Kante and Vardy as examples of our success. However, with the exception of Kante who is the freakish of all outliers, we’ll never sign players like them again. Not because they don’t exist but because we can’t afford to look at them. 
 

Kante, as a signing, was a complete freak. We signed an elite level player at their peak who for some reason wasn’t at an elite level club. The player who joined was the finished article and the player we sold was too. He began playing at world class levels and left playing the same way. It was easy to slot him into a premier league side and have him contribute immediately. 
 

Mahrez and Vardy were completely different. They both took time to settle, grow and adapt. There is no way the Vardy and Mahrez’s we signed would get anywhere near this team not be given the time to grow and that’s why recruitment is suddenly so hard to do. If both players had been flops we’d have not really noticed, their fees were such that they reflected their low risk status. Subsequent moves into the transfer market have shown that we, like everyone else, are struggling to find players just below the level of Mahrez and Vardy who might one day improve. That’s why getting to and staying at this level is so hard. We’re no longer looking for those sort of players because we don’t have the time to nurture them. 

You can if you follow the Chelsea model of buying young talented players and loaning them out for years to grown. We can do it, it's just likely to be done a different way. 

[Fox92 11,688]

1 minute ago, ealingfox said:

Not unless we get the band back together, which we obviously should do but won't.

 

Until Rodgers goes we'll basically just sign Fabio Borini and Joe Allen over and over again. 

That's my worry. I've seen Congerton in interviews say before "we [I guess, him and Rodgers] look for players who have something to prove" and that worry's me. His signings at Liverpool were shocking given the size of the club and who he could potentially attract.

[pmcla26 2,181]

Well Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison will probs have something to say about replacing Kante and Mahrez. 
 

As for Vardy, he’s next to irreplaceable as an individual because he’s so unique, but by improving our attacking options over the pitch we don’t have to become over reliant on one man. It’s rare even the big clubs replace players like for like. 

[ealingfox 5,621]

4 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

That's my worry. I've seen Congerton in interviews say before "we [I guess, him and Rodgers] look for players who have something to prove" and that worry's me. His signings at Liverpool were shocking given the size of the club and who he could potentially attract.

 

Yep. I don't need to post my thoughts because you all know them but we are in serious danger and it's heartbreaking.

[The Horse's Mouth 2,794]

Merry Christmas to you too

[Spudulike 3,456]

The position we're now in makes it harder to bring in unknowns for small fees and establish them in the team. Wenger said that he was aware of Mahrez (well he would, wouldn't he) but he couldn't sign a player for £3k as it would bring into question the clubs ambition (Arsenal fans want players for tens of millions to be satisfied). We have since tried it with young off the radar players like Kapustka and Diabate and it hasn't worked out. Seems our future is developing our own youth and the new training complex is only going to help. 

[Mark_w 5,344]

It's very optimistic to think we'll never be back in the situation we were when we signed Vardy & Mahrez.

[Sammy 268]

If we can keep ourselves in 4 competitions every season there will be an opportunity to sign a lower level gem and ease them in through cup/early Europa League exposure

[Poznan34 888]

We're just signing from a higher level now. Ndidi from Genk, Soyuncu from Freiburg, Maddison from Norwich. All talented young players on the up. All good spots that will help the team and we will make a big profit on. Difference is teams know we have Premier League £ and we need new signings to play at a better level (top half Prem/Europe vs Championship) so they're gonna cost £20m rather than £0.5m

[volpeazzurro 3,652]

41 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

That's my worry. I've seen Congerton in interviews say before "we [I guess, him and Rodgers] look for players who have something to prove" and that worry's me. His signings at Liverpool were shocking given the size of the club and who he could potentially attract.

The donkey's will probably give Ballotelli another chance then, he's still got something to prove 🤣

[Bossman Blessed It 373]

1 hour ago, fleckneymike said:

This isn’t a doom mongering post more one of practicalities. People frequently refer to our amazing scouting and ability to sign and sell on stars and cite Mahrez, Kante and Vardy as examples of our success. However, with the exception of Kante who is the freakish of all outliers, we’ll never sign players like them again. Not because they don’t exist but because we can’t afford to look at them. 
 

Kante, as a signing, was a complete freak. We signed an elite level player at their peak who for some reason wasn’t at an elite level club. The player who joined was the finished article and the player we sold was too. He began playing at world class levels and left playing the same way. It was easy to slot him into a premier league side and have him contribute immediately. 
 

Mahrez and Vardy were completely different. They both took time to settle, grow and adapt. There is no way the Vardy and Mahrez’s we signed would get anywhere near this team not be given the time to grow and that’s why recruitment is suddenly so hard to do. If both players had been flops we’d have not really noticed, their fees were such that they reflected their low risk status. Subsequent moves into the transfer market have shown that we, like everyone else, are struggling to find players just below the level of Mahrez and Vardy who might one day improve. That’s why getting to and staying at this level is so hard. We’re no longer looking for those sort of players because we don’t have the time to nurture them. 

 

I completely understand where you're coming from but I am inclined to disagree given some of the successes we have on offer. Firstly, it's fairly evident that no club has ever had the freakish success of those three transfers, with a combined fee of around £7 million, essentially dominating the Premier League. Those were the cosmic forces in our favour at that given moment in time, alongside a faith in the recruitment system at the club.

 

However, when you consider that we signed Ricardo for around £23 million, it seems the principle isn't completely dead and buried. He is debatably the best attacking right-back in world football and although he doesn't possess the technical ability of Trent Alexander-Arnold, you could produce a fairly strong argument that if Ricardo was playing in that team, he would offer something different and potentially better. So, on that logic, we have ourselves a player that could start for the best club team over the past season - a world class player, so to speak. 

 

Another example is Ndidi, who, albeit needed time to grow, is statistically the best ball-winner in the league and has been for a couple of years consistently now. He has been given time to grow and is now absolutely essential to our team - another player who could certainly become a fixture in one of the world's giant football clubs. 

 

Barnes, Tielemans and Soyuncu are similarly being given time and have the potential to follow the trajectory in becoming world-class players. So, I feel that although it's unlikely that we'll win the league any time soon - our approach that got us there does still seem to have life and is clearly effective/profitable. 

[goose2010 2,111]

Nothing saying Justin won't be.... Massive potential and not a massive fee paid. 

[Miquel The Work Geordie 12,104]

1 hour ago, Fox92 said:

People always say Mahrez needed time to settle, but I don't recall this? Mahrez joined, Pearson eased him in and then he was away. 

 

The Pearson easing him in bit is probably what they're referring to re: settling mate

[Nalis 5,297]

I dont think its impossible but as Webbo says, we'd need to be a poor team give them a chance in the first place.

 

There are minor exception of players in League 1/2 hitting it off straight away at the top end of the premier league, Dele Alli probably being the last one from memory.

Edited 22 August 2020 by Nalis

[HighPeakFox 11,310]

So, if I have understood the self-proclaiming boo-boy know-it-alls correctly, we're signing Balotelli, Joe Allen and Borini (or their ilk) and we should sack everyone before they actually fail because we only finished 5th. Gotcha.

[ealingfox 5,621]

45 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

So, if I have understood the self-proclaiming boo-boy know-it-alls correctly, we're signing Balotelli, Joe Allen and Borini (or their ilk) and we should sack everyone before they actually fail because we only finished 5th. Gotcha.

 

 

Edit: As I said before you know my thoughts and I did not want to get dragged into this again so I will say no more.

Edited 22 August 2020 by ealingfox

[HighPeakFox 11,310]

Just now, ealingfox said:

1. I never mentioned Balotelli but now you mention it there was a manager who thought himself such a genius that he thought he could resign Balotelli after he left Man City and turn him into a top player.

 

2. Not everyone, just Rodgers and Congerton. 

 

3. Being 14 points clear in 3rd and finishing 5th is failure.

Getting 14 points clear in the first place negates your entire argument, I am afraid. If you only look at the bad bit but refuse to acknowledge the achievement that we STILL finished 5th despite an utter nightmare post Xmas, then that means you are only happy to notice things going wrong, and seek to complain. 

[StanSP 28,097]

Never say never! 

[HighPeakFox 11,310]

Just now, StanSP said:

Never say never! 

Never.

 

There, I just did.