Iheanacho

[John Godwin]

Why isn't our highest goal scorer of last season (Iheanacho) starting games. 

He is coming on after 85 minutes most games. How are you expecting him to score with 5 minutes left?

[Nicolo Barella]

It's basically either him or Maddison it seems like to me. Although I would love him to start games with Daka. Why the new thread though?

[Ric Flair]

23 minutes ago, John Godwin said:

Why isn't our highest goal scorer of last season (Iheanacho) starting games. 

He is coming on after 85 minutes most games. How are you expecting him to score with 5 minutes left?

He wasn't our highest scorer last season?

[MattFox]

Brendan Logic

[dmayne7]

9 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

He wasn't our highest scorer last season?

You know what he meant. I would never have called out somebody for making that kind of mistake, especially if they're new. I thought you were one of the good ones Ric .

 

In all seriousness, it's beyond comprehension as to why he's not a key member of the squad. Plenty of reasons why Brendan might not pick him, almost none of them valid. Pretty sure it's personal

[Sharpe's Fox]

It's simple.

 

He isn't an effective lone striker.

 

He has to play in a two.

 

Him playing in a two means in order to play three in midfield we play three at the back.

 

We're shit at playing three at the back.

[Ric Flair]

11 minutes ago, dmayne7 said:

You know what he meant. I would never have called out somebody for making that kind of mistake, especially if they're new. I thought you were one of the good ones Ric .

 

In all seriousness, it's beyond comprehension as to why he's not a key member of the squad. Plenty of reasons why Brendan might not pick him, almost none of them valid. Pretty sure it's personal

Sorry, I thought it was worth pointing out because last season the momentum of his immense back end of 2020/21 eventually fizzled out and that's all on Brendan for killing it off but ever since then he's been nothing special again.

 

Iheanacho has to play in a front two, there's never been any sustained evidence he can lead the line on his own or play out wide or in the #10 role where he can press and contribute like Maddison would in that role. However in a front two he is brilliant, goals and assists galore. You have to ask why we haven't built our team around a front 2, but we have never been any good in a back 3 and in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 our midfield gets overran, so that only leaves the midfield diamond and Rodgers has never seemed comfortable playing it for more than the odd occasion which is annoying.

 

So I can see very well how he's continually neglected and it's frustrating but I do see the dilemma with him. We should have cashed in on him in the summer of 2021, it's a disgrace how little he is used and what he could do elsewhere and have raised some decent funds for us. He will inevitably leave for a mediocre fee in the summer or dare I say it on a free the following year which is grim.

[Strokes]

2 minutes ago, Sharpe's Fox said:

It's simple.

 

He isn't an effective lone striker.

 

He has to play in a two.

 

Him playing in a two means in order to play three in midfield we play three at the back.

 

We're shit at playing three at the back.

Brendan Rodgers is incapable of fitting him in the team without exposing more of his massive tactical flaws. A better manager would find a way to use Kel effectively.

[Sharpe's Fox]

1 minute ago, Strokes said:

Brendan Rodgers is incapable of fitting him in the team without exposing more of his massive tactical flaws. A better manager would find a way to use Kel effectively.

All systems have flaws. A coaches job is to get the best out of the resources available and I'd rather get the best out of Barnes and Maddison than the best of Kel and also not play three at the back. I'm not defending Rodgers because I want him gone, I'm just being objective.

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

Because if you actually watch him play, he's absolutely dogjib. Next thread 

[Strokes]

1 minute ago, Sharpe's Fox said:

All systems have flaws. A coaches job is to get the best out of the resources available and I'd rather get the best out of Barnes and Maddison than the best of Kel and also not play three at the back. I'm not defending Rodgers because I want him gone, I'm just being objective.

Barnes is as hit and miss as Kel, he is streaky in a very similar way. Having an alternative effective system to get the best out of either or is just good sense.

[Nick]

First touch - it poor. Stick him on for 90 the result isn’t great. Period. Better off the bench with what we have?

[somebum]

This is Brendan you are talking about, no logic

[westernpark]

He’s a tremendous footballers who is unpredictable, but now a better and more dangerous striker than Vardy. I would argue it is an excellent barometer someone’s opinion on him and Praet, as to whether they rate them. Those who don’t rate him are saboteurs and likely a friend of Rodgers.

[sacreblueits442]

34 minutes ago, Sharpe's Fox said:

It's simple.

 

He isn't an effective lone striker.

 

He has to play in a two.

 

Him playing in a two means in order to play three in midfield we play three at the back.

 

We're shit at playing three at the back.

 ...Maddison being out last night freed up the #10 role, it is where Nacho gravitates to!!!

  We only play a midfield three because of KDH, we experience pretty good success with Ndidi and Tielemans  as a pivot. A 4-2-3-1  or 4-1-4-1 served us well.

[Stadt]

“He can’t play on his own” under Rodgers. A good coach could make it work.

[Aus Fox]

Quite simply, his finishing is great, but the rest of his game is pretty poor. He’s not as good as Daka or Vardy in the striker role and isn’t clever enough to play in the 10 role.

He’s a great option from the bench when you need a goal against tiring defenders, but isn’t in our best 11. 
 

[Strokes]

9 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

 ...Maddison being out last night freed up the #10 role, it is where Nacho gravitates to!!!

  We only play a midfield three because of KDH, we experience pretty good success with Ndidi and Tielemans  as a pivot. A 4-2-3-1  or 4-1-4-1 served us well.

Maddison hasn’t been given the 10 role this season, although he still drifts into it.,

If you want Nacho up front on his own, you have to play the wide men higher up and narrow like Liverpool. So he can come deep and get involved but still keeping the oppositions back line stretched.

With Maddison on the right and his tendency to drift into the same pockets, it would leave a lot of responsibility on Barnes.

I’d play Daka and Barnes right and left, narrow coming in on the channels, playing off the shoulder.

Nacho doing his thing, Maddison advanced 8, Tielemans/Praet 6 (deep lying playmaker) looking for the early cross field ball over the top and Soumare mopping up. We can attack then fast and direct but also, keep the patient intricate build up too.

Edited 22 October 2022 by Strokes

[Pliskin]

Sometimes Kelch looks like he is playing football with a bouncy ball. 

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

9 hours ago, westernpark said:

He’s a tremendous footballers who is unpredictable, but now a better and more dangerous striker than Vardy. I would argue it is an excellent barometer someone’s opinion on him and Praet, as to whether they rate them. Those who don’t rate him are saboteurs and likely a friend of Rodgers.

How many times have you actually seen him play?

In the 4(?)Years he has been here, there has only been one purple patch for him at the end of the lock down season but other than that useless, he isn't and never will be a premier League level starter

[Strokes]

3 minutes ago, FoxInTheBirstallBox said:

How many times have you actually seen him play?

In the 4(?)Years he has been here, there has only been one purple patch for him at the end of the lock down season but other than that useless, he isn't and never will be a premier League level starter

But that purple patch is the only time where he has played up front in a 2. The rest of the time has almost exclusively been as a lone striker. He isn’t a lone striker in our current system that requires him to press and stay isolated. It’s not his game. 
He is a decent player if the system works to his strengths.

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

 

1 minute ago, Strokes said:

But that purple patch is the only time where he has played up front in a 2. The rest of the time has almost exclusively been as a lone striker. He isn’t a lone striker in our current system that requires him to press and stay isolated. It’s not his game. 
He is a decent player if the system works to his strengths.

We're one of the higher scoring teams in the league, I can't see why we'd have to change everything around for only a "good" player who might play better, when vardy and daka are already better

 

That's a square peg in a round hole. 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

10 hours ago, Sharpe's Fox said:

It's simple.

 

He isn't an effective lone striker.

 

He has to play in a two.

 

Him playing in a two means in order to play three in midfield we play three at the back.

 

We're shit at playing three at the back.

None of our strikers - except maybe Vardy - are effective alone, and even his effectiveness is waning. I’ve said for a while we need to find a way to play a front 2. It’s worked so well in spells, like when we took Villa apart the other year at their place.

[Strokes]

3 minutes ago, FoxInTheBirstallBox said:

 

We're one of the higher scoring teams in the league, I can't see why we'd have to change everything around for only a "good" player who might play better, when vardy and daka are already better

 

That's a square peg in a round hole. 

You don’t have to change everything, it’s just an alternative system for when you need it.

Having a few different methods to get a result shouldn’t be viewed negatively.

[westernpark]

31 minutes ago, FoxInTheBirstallBox said:

How many times have you actually seen him play?

In the 4(?)Years he has been here, there has only been one purple patch for him at the end of the lock down season but other than that useless, he isn't and never will be a premier League level starter

Even someone who hasn’t seen him play would come to the idea that he is capable of being a premier league starter based on his goal contributions to minutes ratio.