Centre midfield crisis on the horizon?

[Bourbon Fox]

Do we have a problem on the horizon in CM in the same way that we had a problem on RW after Mahrez?

 

Ndidi is ineffective in anything but the very deep ball-winner role he played under Ranieri - although with Ricardo, Victor, Barnes and Tetê to offload short passes to he might do better. He's still woefully out of form and clearly not in favour.

 

Tielemans is off, but for no money so I really do think Maddison will be the asset we sell to fund the next window.

 

That leaves Bouba (hasn't kicked on) Mendy (out of contract) Praet (I rate him but he wanted out) and KDH (love his engine, will develop but lacks in key areas).

 

I see a creativity crisis in the middle at the end of the year, with no obvious no.10 and a big quality drop at no.8. KDH and Praet are both good options but only alongside someone with quality and that touch of genius that can turn a match.

 

Our passing, ball progression, ball-winning, set pieces, long-range threat and movement in the middle of the field will take a massive hit.

 

How worried are you?

[Ian S]

Just let me bask in the glory of yesterday please, I will worry about next season further down the line.

[KFS]

There’s always doing a Dyche and packing it with Ndidi, Soumare and Mendy if needed. Bank of four and five and play on the counter. Bliss 

[Bourbon Fox]

2 minutes ago, Ian S said:

Just let me bask in the glory of yesterday please, I will worry about next season further down the line.

Listen mate I'm just looking for the next moan, this happiness feeling is making me uncomfortable

[Finnegan]

It's not particularly a crisis necessarily, it depends how we recruit. 

 

We most likely need to replace Maddison and Tielemans in the same window which is a situation we desperately wanted to avoid. So obviously it isn't great. But signing a 10 and a decent 8 shouldn't be impossible. 

 

We really hashed up replacing Mahrez but we've done just fine replacing other positions over the years when we've lost players. 

 

At least we've had a long time to prepare. 

 

I'd also say that Kloppball has shown that there's more than one way to pack out a midfield. If we have good creativity from the wide areas in wingers and full backs then we can afford to have a bunch of athletes in the middle of the park with a bit less vision. 

 

I dunno. I'm not overly panicked atm. 

[Grebfromgrebland]

Of course it's coming up. We're going to need to replace tielemans and Maddison, Soyunchu, mendy, vardy and maybe Tete.

 

Other clubs have managed to get great players for affordable prices we're going to have to buy a few players.

 

It's going to be an exciting summer!!

[lanefox]

Enzo Le Fee and Orkan Kocku

[Clever Fox]

5 minutes ago, Bourbon Fox said:

Do we have a problem on the horizon in CM in the same way that we had a problem on RW after Mahrez?

 

Ndidi is ineffective in anything but the very deep ball-winner role he played under Ranieri - although with Ricardo, Victor, Barnes and Tetê to offload short passes to he might do better. He's still woefully out of form and clearly not in favour.

 

Tielemans is off, but for no money so I really do think Maddison will be the asset we sell to fund the next window.

 

That leaves Bouba (hasn't kicked on) Mendy (out of contract) Praet (I rate him but he wanted out) and KDH (love his engine, will develop but lacks in key areas).

 

I see a creativity crisis in the middle at the end of the year, with no obvious no.10 and a big quality drop at no.8. KDH and Praet are both good options but only alongside someone with quality and that touch of genius that can turn a match.

 

Our passing, ball progression, ball-winning, set pieces, long-range threat and movement in the middle of the field will take a massive hit.

 

How worried are you?

I've just posted on the post match Thread that I really think we missed a great replacement for Youri in Onana who went to Everton.

 

I seen him for the first time on MOTD and he looks a real talent. He's exactly the type we should be targetting to replace Youri.

 

I think Onana will light up the Premiership with his Skill, Pace and Strength. 

[Dahnsouff]

Tend to agree with @Finnegan in that the midfield would be more about solidity rather than creativity, as that would primarily come from wing back/winger areas and hopefully Nacho in the “creative forward” role

[CloudFox]

9 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

Tend to agree with @Finnegan in that the midfield would be more about solidity rather than creativity, as that would primarily come from wing back/winger areas and hopefully Nacho in the “creative forward” role

Agreed @Dahnsouff, you're right @Finnegan.

 

Currently our weakness is not our creativity, it's that we are too soft-centred down the middle. If we could pack the midfield with a couple of athletes and ball winners/progressers, it might actually help resolve that 🤔.

 

[Glorious Leicester Fan]

Next season’s midfield is to some extent determined on whether we can keep Tete (or sign someone similar). His, Barnes and the attacking fullbacks, give us the opportunity to sacrifice a bit of creativity and allow us to become a bit more stable in the middle of the park.  
 

This is why I’m not that worried when Youri leaves. A great player, but arguably too creative for that position in a team like us. Considering all we need for that position is someone athletic and technically competent, his replacement wouldn’t need to cost the earth.

 

Moreover, when Maddison leaves (presumably in the summer), we have a much broader pool to find his replacement from. 

Edited 5 February 2023 by Glorious Leicester Fan

[Ginger_Filbert]

27 minutes ago, lanefox said:

Enzo Le Fee and Orkan Kocku

@Ric Flair ain’t gonna shag ya mate, or is he 👀

[Lcfc-1992]

Glover will sort it 

[JimmyC74]

 

Glover has done well this window and let’s hope he has a few more gems lined up. 
 

 

[Dahnsouff]

Can see La Fee rather than Kokcu just due to his defensive stats

 

https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=0&comp_type=by_type&dom_lg=1&spec_comps=big_5&player_id1=9bf914b4&p1yrfrom=2022-2023&player_id2=6f806d99#defense_stats

[TJB-fox]

Oh ffs please just let me enjoy 24 hours of Leicester city 

[phoneticerror]

1 hour ago, Bourbon Fox said:

Do we have a problem on the horizon in CM in the same way that we had a problem on RW after Mahrez?

 

Ndidi is ineffective in anything but the very deep ball-winner role he played under Ranieri - although with Ricardo, Victor, Barnes and Tetê to offload short passes to he might do better. He's still woefully out of form and clearly not in favour.

 

Tielemans is off, but for no money so I really do think Maddison will be the asset we sell to fund the next window.

 

That leaves Bouba (hasn't kicked on) Mendy (out of contract) Praet (I rate him but he wanted out) and KDH (love his engine, will develop but lacks in key areas).

 

I see a creativity crisis in the middle at the end of the year, with no obvious no.10 and a big quality drop at no.8. KDH and Praet are both good options but only alongside someone with quality and that touch of genius that can turn a match.

 

Our passing, ball progression, ball-winning, set pieces, long-range threat and movement in the middle of the field will take a massive hit.

 

How worried are you?

Jesus Christ - enjoy the fun whilst you can. This is like worrying about getting a deadly disease before you get it.

[Scotch]

I see it as the opposite. 

 

With the current squad we have, 4 at the back, 3 playing behind the striker...

It leaves a 2 man midfield as the only option but how may of our current lot are fully comfortable in a 2 man CM role? Even on form, Ndidi isn't. Youri isn't really. Soumare is supposed to be but I think he lacks the legs and energy to do it at this level. Praet isn't. KDK arguably is and Mendy is but isn't quite there in terms of quality. 

 

With Tielemans, Mendy and possibly Praet leaving... It gives us the chance to get in midfielders who suit that system. If we can get in two players who can defend, get around the pitch and pass the ball, that team yesterday is a very good one. 

[Vlad the Fox]

What’s that coming over the hill,

is it a midfield crisis,

is it a midfield criiisis 

[BeaumontFox]

4 minutes ago, Vlad the Fox said:

What’s that coming over the hill,

is it a midfield crisis,

is it a midfield criiisis 

What’s that coming over the hill,

miserable b@stards,

miserable b@staaaards

Not even 24 hours after the win

 

😂😂

Edited 5 February 2023 by BeaumontFox

[Bordersfox]

1 hour ago, Bourbon Fox said:

Do we have a problem on the horizon in CM in the same way that we had a problem on RW after Mahrez?

 

Ndidi is ineffective in anything but the very deep ball-winner role he played under Ranieri - although with Ricardo, Victor, Barnes and Tetê to offload short passes to he might do better. He's still woefully out of form and clearly not in favour.

 

Tielemans is off, but for no money so I really do think Maddison will be the asset we sell to fund the next window.

 

That leaves Bouba (hasn't kicked on) Mendy (out of contract) Praet (I rate him but he wanted out) and KDH (love his engine, will develop but lacks in key areas).

 

I see a creativity crisis in the middle at the end of the year, with no obvious no.10 and a big quality drop at no.8. KDH and Praet are both good options but only alongside someone with quality and that touch of genius that can turn a match.

 

Our passing, ball progression, ball-winning, set pieces, long-range threat and movement in the middle of the field will take a massive hit.

 

How worried are you?

If I was going to worry about anything it's remaining in the PL this season.  Because if we don't then the rebuild (and this entire debate) is going to be of an entirely different complexion.

 

There's a lot of football to be played and a lot of water to pass under the bridge before I can worry about the summer.  The signs from this transfer window are positive and, where some might see a crisis, it can also be viewed as an opportunity.  Refresh the squad, reduce the wage bill, bring in hangry young players.  

 

I will be sad to see Maddison go in particular, because he's a joy to watch I full flow, but I'm not yet fretting about it.  

[trooky]

42 minutes ago, CloudFox said:

Agreed @Dahnsouff, you're right @Finnegan.

 

Currently our weakness is not our creativity, it's that we are too soft-centred down the middle. If we could pack the midfield with a couple of athletes and ball winners/progressers, it might actually help resolve that 🤔.

 

If we pack the midfield with ball winning athletes then we'll have no creativity. We need more balance in midfield and have a mix of both type of players.

[Bourbon Fox]

[Dahnsouff]

3 minutes ago, trooky said:

If we pack the midfield with ball winning athletes then we'll have no creativity. We need more balance in midfield and have a mix of both type of players.

Ideally sure, this is where La Fee might be a shrewd signing, but stability is more important than creativity in midfield just because we have creativity elsewhere, but stability we are light on all over the pitch, oh and we definitely need a new keeper too.

[coolhandfox]

1 hour ago, lanefox said:

Enzo Le Fee and Orkan Kocku

So we are going for smallest CM pairing in the league 5 ft 8 and 5ft 9.

 

The great Barc side of the past may have got away with it, but not sure we can.