Burnley Pre Match. Sat 25th September @ King Power 3pm

[moore_94]

Brendan Rodgers Pre-Match Press Conference

 

Evans?

“It was his first 90 minutes which was great. He’s recovering. He’s a little sore. But it’s good news for us.”

 

Justin?

“He’s still a number of weeks away. He’s been working so hard, mornings into evenings. There’s maybe another four to five weeks.”

 

Any other issues?

“No, Wesley and JJ are the only two. Everyone else is fit.”

 

Carabao Cup?

“We always try to give every competition our respect. We pick a team to win the game. We reached the semi-finals in the League Cup before. It was a tough game at Millwall. They work very hard and they were organised. From a physical perspective, we stood up well. We played well in moments and scored two very good goals.”

 

Iheanacho?

“It’s all deciding on how we want to play. It’s great news because that wasn’t the case with Kelechi when I first came in. His approach and confidence is improving. It’s great that he’s able to make an impact if he starts or coming off the bench. If you play with two strikers, it can affect the balance behind that. Jamie has got three in five games, Ade has scored, Harvey has scored, Youri has scored, the guys you want to be scoring are starting to.”

 

Start to season?

“We clearly deserved something at Brighton. I’ve always got perspective on it. We had an excellent win against Wolves, a difficult evening for us against West Ham, it was close against Man City. We’re very focused on improving. I never get too high when we win and not too disappointed when we lose. I’ve got a group of players who are analysing where we can be better. The second half against Brighton was a lot more like us in terms of our spirit and our football. It’s still early. We’d like to have won every game.”

 

Brighton decisions?

“We’ve analysed and spoken to people behind the scenes. It was clear that mistakes were made on the day. We have to move on from it. Every coach and supporter just wants consistency. It hurt us because we at least deserved a point. We always reflect on where we can be better.”

 

Dyche?

“Sean’s one of the outstanding managers in the country. I think it says everything that people just expect Burnley to be in the Premier League. He’s a good guy, he works hard. For sure what he doesn’t get credit for is the way they play. Ok, it’s slightly longer, but the back four have a high level of technical ability, the game is 4-4-2 but it’s flexible, the midfielders can take the ball, the guys up front are honest. They make it difficult for you. They’re a very good team. He’s done a brilliant job. It’s a great achievement. I have a lot of time for him.”

 

More on Dyche?

“He went there and got them promoted, and I think where the club deserve credit is that when they came down, they still believed in him. Sometimes it can just be beyond you in that first attempt. The longer you are there you can create a culture and environment. He’s ambitious and wants to be the best he can be. He’s done a brilliant job. He’s been there eight years, that’s a long time.”

 

Harvey Barnes?

“I get the sense that people think we’re halfway through the season. We’re only five games in. Players are only just finding their fitness. Barnesy I can see him getting better. Last season he was one of the top attacking players in the league and then sustained an injury. He’s been finding his legs again. He’s starting to get back towards those levels. He was very good in the Napoli game. He was a threat in the second half last week. He’s looking very strong.”

 

Evans ready to play?

“I think it’s one where it’s managing him. That’s his first 90 minutes. It’s managing that and seeing how the foot reacts. We’ll find out later on. We have to think it’s a long season. I’m delighted he’s got the game-time in. When he’s playing, we are a better team. He gives assurance to the back-line. We’ll see if he can start, but he’ll at least be on the bench. We know we’ve got the players we can play there.”

 

Depth?

“That’s what we’ve tried to create. I’d like to think we’re creating a team that is very organised and plays good football. To be competitive, you need to have a good squad. It’s not just having the numbers, but having the quality. We got a great result at a difficult place, doing a really professional job, while still having freshness for this game.”

 

Leicester are the blueprint?

“If you look off the pitch, there’s a great organisation. We have one of the top CEOs in the country, and the decisions are made with common sense. We are competitive. We know we’re not at the level of Chelsea and Manchester United, in terms of revenue and what we can spend. We finished fifth in the last couple of seasons. How far can we go? We don’t know, but we will keep pushing the teams that have those resources. We focus on ourselves and look to be the best we can be, creating an environment where we can develop players and people.”

[st albans fox]

JJ expected back into full training end October……… guess that means we may see him in the new year ….

[kingston_fox]

“I get the sense that people think we’re halfway through the season. We’re only five games in.."

 

A personal message to the masses on Foxestalk  

[turlo]

That's Nacho not starting then. 

 

"It’s great that he’s able to make an impact if he starts or coming off the bench. If you play with two strikers, it can affect the balance behind that. Jamie has got three in five games, Ade has scored, Harvey has scored, Youri has scored, the guys you want to be scoring are starting to.”

[st albans fox]

Dyche will target our full backs at the back post, asking one of wood / barnes to peel off whilst the other drags the CB's to the near post.  its not rocket science but its worked more than once against us!

[Adrian]

Start maddison and sub him after 30 if it's not working and change system

 

School of hard knocks 

[filbertway]

4 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

This will be a proper performance start to finish from the chaps.

 

3-0 Vardy, Barnes and Seniorman with the goals

 

 

Lets hope this doesn't go as poorly as your Maddison shout last week

[Finnegan]

30 minutes ago, turlo said:

That's Nacho not starting then. 

 

"It’s great that he’s able to make an impact if he starts or coming off the bench. If you play with two strikers, it can affect the balance behind that. Jamie has got three in five games, Ade has scored, Harvey has scored, Youri has scored, the guys you want to be scoring are starting to.”

 

Yeah I was going to pick out this quote. 

 

What frustrates me no end is that a manager that's supposed to have studied and followed the principles of Total Football has such an entrenched view of roles. 

 

Iheanacho isn't just simply "a striker", he's a footballer with a basket of skills and attributes just like the rest of them. He can be deployed wherever he fits and clearly he fits well in the gap between Vardy and the midfield, the same gap is Maddison is getting played in. 

 

How can you watch the build up to Barnes goal against Napoli and minimise Iheanacho to just "a striker?" 

 

It's no wonder Iheanacho can never get a break if his manager just sees him so one dimensionally. 

[Ric Flair]

32 minutes ago, turlo said:

That's Nacho not starting then. 

 

"It’s great that he’s able to make an impact if he starts or coming off the bench. If you play with two strikers, it can affect the balance behind that. Jamie has got three in five games, Ade has scored, Harvey has scored, Youri has scored, the guys you want to be scoring are starting to.”

And yet Barnes scored in Europe from an Iheanacho assist, Lookman from an Iheanacho assist in the Cup and Tielemans scored in a 4-1 pasting by West Ham. This has actually angered me, just needed him to namecheck Albrighton who also scored from an Iheanacho assist I think?

[TheStig]

If Perez is available surely Rodgers is going to play him........

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, TheStig said:

If Perez is available surely Rodgers is going to play him........

I think Lookman will start in a 4-4-1-1

[Adrian]

It's a good time to play us..How many points has that Villarreal midfielder cost us I wonder...anyway it's brendans' job to make us look top 6 again so no time like the present 

[RowlattsFox]

A big part of me thinks Perez and Maddison will start. And what's interesting is the fact Perez starting isn't the most annoying. 

[GingerrrFox]

 

26 minutes ago, turlo said:

That's Nacho not starting then. 

 

"It’s great that he’s able to make an impact if he starts or coming off the bench. If you play with two strikers, it can affect the balance behind that. Jamie has got three in five games, Ade has scored, Harvey has scored, Youri has scored, the guys you want to be scoring are starting to.”

Really don’t understand this bollocks he’s spouting. We’ve been playing a 4-2-3-1 with the ball and a 4-4-2 without the ball with Maddison playing that Number 10/Second striker role.

 

[mozartfox]

1 hour ago, TheStig said:

If Perez is available surely Rodgers is going to play him........

If he does, then Perez is hanging on to those negatives involving BR with someone or 'something' very embarrassing.

[Paninistickers]

2 hours ago, st albans fox said:

JJ expected back into full training end October……… guess that means we may see him in the new year ….

Basically like signing a 30m player and the most versatile defender in the country.  

 

 

[Paninistickers]

46 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

A big part of me thinks Perez and Maddison will start. And what's interesting is the fact Perez starting isn't the most annoying. 

If they do, then Rodgers is taking a huge gamble with their confidence. 

 

The single one thing City fans have always been 'good' at is singling out their own players. The crowd are just waiting for Perez and Madders heavy touch. 

[Dusty]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

Yeah I was going to pick out this quote. 

 

What frustrates me no end is that a manager that's supposed to have studied and followed the principles of Total Football has such an entrenched view of roles. 

 

Iheanacho isn't just simply "a striker", he's a footballer with a basket of skills and attributes just like the rest of them. He can be deployed wherever he fits and clearly he fits well in the gap between Vardy and the midfield, the same gap is Maddison is getting played in. 

 

How can you watch the build up to Barnes goal against Napoli and minimise Iheanacho to just "a striker?" 

 

It's no wonder Iheanacho can never get a break if his manager just sees him so one dimensionally. 

I don’t think you’ve interpreted that correctly imo. The whole balance of the team does change when we play ian. Everyone seems to think he can play at cam because when he plays he likes to drop deep, but that’s just not the same. As much as he does like to drop deep, he’s also good at playing off the last defender, which is very different to Maddison, those two players are not interchangeable without changing the system. As much as madders is out of form, we can’t drop him for ian and expect everything else to be the same.

 

Its also frustrating that everyone then interprets this as Rodgers hates ian and doesnt understand how good he is. Rodgers is where he is for a reason, and we’re on foxestalk for a reason.

Edited 24 September 2021 by Dusty

[PAULCFC]

57 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Kasper

 

Ricardo 

Cags

Vesty

Castagne

 

Ndidi 

Youri 

 

Perez

Iheanacho

Barnes 

 

Vardy 

 

Lookman, Maddison and Daka off of the bench if we're chasing the game. 

Pretty much the team i expect....but not Maddison off the bench if we are chasing!

[Finnegan]

3 minutes ago, Dusty said:

I don’t think you’ve interpreted that correctly imo. The whole balance of the team does change when we play ian. Everyone seems to think he can play at cam because when he plays he likes to drop deep, but that’s just not the same. As much as he does like to drop deep, he’s also good at playing off the last defender, which is very different to Maddison, those two players are not interchangeable without changing the system. As much as madders is out of form, we can’t drop him for ian and expect everything else to be the same.

 

Its also frustrating that everyone then interprets this as Rodgers hates ian and doesnt understand how good he is. Rodgers is where he is for a reason, and we’re on foxestalk for a reason.

 

When Iheanacho plays with Vardy he drops immensely deep, he's even been known to drop as far as defensive midfield to offer for a pass. He absolutely is interchangeable with another player who considers themselves an attacking midfielder, he himself described himself as a 10 when we first signed him. 

 

The only thing he's not great at is defensive work rate but quite frankly Madders hasn't done much of that recently either. 

[HoustonFox]

6 minutes ago, Dusty said:

I don’t think you’ve interpreted that correctly imo. The whole balance of the team does change when we play ian. Everyone seems to think he can play at cam because when he plays he likes to drop deep, but that’s just not the same. As much as he does like to drop deep, he’s also good at playing off the last defender, which is very different to Maddison, those two players are not interchangeable without changing the system. As much as madders is out of form, we can’t drop him for ian and expect everything else to be the same.

 

Its also frustrating that everyone then interprets this as Rodgers hates ian and doesnt understand how good he is. Rodgers is where he is for a reason, and we’re on foxestalk for a reason.

I interpreted it the same as @Finnegan and @Ric Flair in that he’s not going to start Kels who is a “fantastic player” but doesn’t (in Rodger’s eyes) “do enough” without the ball. Yes, he’s not a tracking back, closing down kind of guy naturally but he has and will do it. He’s also such a threat with the ball and continued to create goals from nothing for himself or create key chances for others with his assists or just the attention they need to give him. 
 

It annoys me a bit that Kane gets all this praise for being able to drop and link while Kels doesn’t. The only thing for him (which is good and bad, but more good) is that he can be a little greedy. He scored a worldie on Wed but could have given it to Daka on a plate (I think they joked about it afterwards, so no harm no foul), but his confidence in himself when he’s on makes him really potent and I think he deserves a start. 
 

I’m more worried about the other end of the pitch and how weak we look from crosses and set pieces. Cags is like a bull in a china shop at the moment. Westy seems a bit puny and Kasper can’t seem to pass to anyone nicely if anyone puts him under mere-ist bit of pressure. Burnley will lump crosses, bully and press even more than usual, and they’ll be desperate for the win 

[TheStig]

1 hour ago, pmcla26 said:

Kasper

 

Ricardo 

Cags

Vesty

Castagne

 

Ndidi 

Youri 

 

Perez

Iheanacho

Barnes 

 

Vardy 

 

Lookman, Maddison and Daka off of the bench if we're chasing the game. 

Perez really???

 

[TheUltimateWinner]

Not being funny but Nacho is one of our best players and last year one of the best strikers in the league 

 

Hes the player you make sure starts instead of others.

[volpeazzurro]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

Yeah I was going to pick out this quote. 

 

What frustrates me no end is that a manager that's supposed to have studied and followed the principles of Total Football has such an entrenched view of roles. 

 

Iheanacho isn't just simply "a striker", he's a footballer with a basket of skills and attributes just like the rest of them. He can be deployed wherever he fits and clearly he fits well in the gap between Vardy and the midfield, the same gap is Maddison is getting played in. 

 

How can you watch the build up to Barnes goal against Napoli and minimise Iheanacho to just "a striker?" 

 

It's no wonder Iheanacho can never get a break if his manager just sees him so one dimensionally. 

Well said 👏 

[jim5000]

1 hour ago, Paninistickers said:

3 hours ago, st albans fox said:

JJ expected back into full training end October……… guess that means we may see him in the new year ….

Basically like signing a 30m player and the most versatile defender in the country.

We won’t see him back to his previous levels until next season. Given how long he’s been out it will take half a season to get back up to speed, and we’ll be at the business end of the season so less chance to give him game time