Lets talk about Mendy!

[Fox92]

14 minutes ago, jayfox26 said:

He makes less mistakes than KDH and Ndidi and given that we have conceded goals on many occasions from mistakes, I'd say he should be playing ahead of them 2 right now. I'd try a midfield of Mendy, Praet and Tielemans. KDH and Ndidi have been far to unreliable and are both useless when pressed which most teams have worked out. 

He makes a lot of stupid fouls which lead to free kicks. I count them as mistakes. Man City at home is a good example of that.

[VLC86]

You know backwards steps have been made by the club when the clamour for Mendy to be more appreciated starts.

 

As others have said, tidy player and was dropped when in his best form but he has proven over a number of seasons, much like Amartey, that in a long run of games he gets found out but is capable to come in and cover for 2/3.

[Strokes]

He is ok, but not really a DM. A luxury water carrier really. He moves the ball about well and is quite mobile but he isn’t tenacious enough to be a regular DM and he isn’t creative enough to merit a place elsewhere.

Right now with N’didi’s form he is definitely the better option.

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, Fox92 said:

He makes a lot of stupid fouls which lead to free kicks. I count them as mistakes. Man City at home is a good example of that.

I hear what you're saying but KDH and Ndidi have been at fault for so many goals combined this season. Mendy has made mistakes but not the level the other 2 do. 

[markko]

I would play and keep him. He may have the odd bad game. If he played every week we might be saying do not play him he is terrible but he is neat and tidy and at the moment a better player than Wilf. We need our best players our there at the moment. He is out of contract in the summer. If we stay up would you stay if you were him?

[lcfc_forever]

The ceiling with Soumare is far higher than Mendy's but the former's application is lacking - he just doesn't seem to have the mental strength for the PL.

 

Mendy is one of our consistent performers, regular playing a 6 or 7 out of 10 match which we need sorely at the moment. 

[RowlattsFox]

Got nothing against Mendy really but it is a sign of how this season has gone that he is now rated by so many. Tidy player but that's it for me. If we go down and he's happy to stay, he could be a useful man to keep. 

[Buzzell]

One out of a very few, this season, that has stepped up and shined in what has been an absolute shitshow of a season for us.

 

Deserves a new contract and to be in front of Ndidi in terms of selection.

[davieG]

It's simply who can contribute the most to the team at his point

 

"Wilfred Ndidi again struggled. Since that error against Aston Villa, a match he played well in until the misplaced pass set up Bertrand Traore’s winner, he’s been out of sorts. In fact, he’s failed to make a single tackle in the past two games."

 

Mendy may not be a great ball winner but his passing, calmness and progression is sorely needed as we panic our way to relegation.

 

KDH, Ndidi, Youri contributed next to nothing. Soumare seems to be a loss cause.

[st albans fox]

7 minutes ago, davieG said:

It's simply who can contribute the most to the team at his point

 

"Wilfred Ndidi again struggled. Since that error against Aston Villa, a match he played well in until the misplaced pass set up Bertrand Traore’s winner, he’s been out of sorts. In fact, he’s failed to make a single tackle in the past two games."

 

Mendy may not be a great ball winner but his passing, calmness and progression is sorely needed as we panic our way to relegation.

 

KDH, Ndidi, Youri contributed next to nothing. Soumare seems to be a loss cause.

Way too positive a post ……

[Realist Guy In The Room]

Mendy is gash

Soumare is gash

Ndidi is gash

[whoareyaaa]

6 hours ago, Winchesterfox said:

He's a trier and he scored that beautiful goal against Spurs, but sadly the stats support Dan's view.  He rarely gets in good positions to receive the ball, rarely does anything much when he gets it (hence the high pass completion rate), and rarely tackles although he does block a lot.  He's good to bring on in the second half when we need someone to not do anything daft and see out a game when we're 2-0 up, but that hasn't happened for a while. 

I think his movement off the ball is one of his key attributes I’d rather. We play Mendy than Nididi anyhow.

[Sampson]

1 hour ago, Buzzell said:

One out of a very few, this season, that has stepped up and shined in what has been an absolute shitshow of a season for us.

 

Deserves a new contract and to be in front of Ndidi in terms of selection.

He’s barely played. He’s started 7 league games of which we’ve won just 1 and lost 5!

 

It’s baffling to me talking about a player “stepping up” “shining” when he’s barely played a quarter of the season and it’s not like he’s got us winning games when he has played. It’s easy to shine and “step up” from the bench

Edited 17 April 2023 by Sampson

[jayfox26]

2 hours ago, Realist Guy In The Room said:

Mendy is gash

Soumare is gash

Ndidi is gash

And when you were born you came out of your mums....

[Sol thewall Bamba]

He's alright but the latest in a long line of Leicester players that become good in the eyes of fans simply by not playing. 

 

If he can just win the ball and give it to Youri/Maddison for the next 7 games that will probably be enough. 

[Fox92]

3 hours ago, jayfox26 said:

I hear what you're saying but KDH and Ndidi have been at fault for so many goals combined this season. Mendy has made mistakes but not the level the other 2 do. 

He doesn't play as regular as the other two.

 

I agree they make mistakes. All our players make mistakes which is another reason why we are in a relegation battle.

[Tom12345]

5 hours ago, Costock_Fox said:

You know backwards steps have been made by the club when the clamour for Mendy to be more appreciated starts.

 

As others have said, tidy player and was dropped when in his best form but he has proven over a number of seasons, much like Amartey, that in a long run of games he gets found out but is capable to come in and cover for 2/3.

You need a glue player in midfield to link up between our defenders and midfield. He is that player. We lack glue without him. KDH can be a bit that but Mendy is smarter in his positioning and his mobility. KDH is more suited further up actually. Tielemans is also ok but he can’t do it alone (or KDH or Maddison for that matter). You need Mendy to keep the flow going (in addition to another so that when a defender has the ball he has two clear options to pass so that makes the press harder to work) and to take the pressure off the defenders as well as freeing up our more attacking players to play more up front. With Ndidi, not only do we not have that glue, he is a liability when it comes to defeating the press and net goals concede. I am sure his mistakes have costed us so many goals that far outweighs any defensive prowess (if any) he may bring.

Edited 17 April 2023 by Tom12345

[weller54]

2 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

You need a glue player in midfield to link up between our defenders and midfield. He is that player. We lack glue without him. KDH can be a bit that but Mendy is smarter in his positioning and his mobility. KDH is more suited further up actually. Tielemans is also ok but he can’t do it alone (or KDH or Maddison for that matter). You need Mendy to keep the flow going and to take the pressure off the defenders as well as freeing up our more attacking players to play more up front. With Ndidi, not only do we not have that glue, he is a liability when it comes to defeating the press and net goals concede. I am sure his mistakes have costed us so many goals that far outweighs any defensive prowess (if any) he may bring.

Wilf has done well considering he's in his mid forties.

[Lambert09]

Can someone pull up the stats of results when mendy has started compared to ndidi of the last 2 or 3 years... i think the results would tell you everything. 

 

We just seemed to function better with him in the team, its quite astounding that Brendan couldnt see it, considering the type of football he wanted to play.   

 

He offers a layer of protection and when he gets the ball it is incredibly rare he gives it away. Even  when Wilf was in his prime it was quite common that hed tackle someone, give it away but then just tackle them again, new wilf rarely makes a tackle. 

[Buzzell]

2 hours ago, Sampson said:

He’s barely played. He’s started 7 league games of which we’ve won just 1 and lost 5!

 

It’s baffling to me talking about a player “stepping up” “shining” when he’s barely played a quarter of the season and it’s not like he’s got us winning games when he has played. It’s easy to shine and “step up” from the bench

We’ve been shit as a whole squad but Mendy has played relatively well considering he’s hardly ever featured over the last few years. Just shows you how shit we've been this season and especially how bad Ndidi is right now. I don’t care if it’s a hatful of games, he’s played better this season than he has before, whether we’ve won or not.

[Mike Oxlong]

Along with Copacabana, one of Manilow’s best 

[Foxxed]

Let's talk about

Pap

Men dy

 

Let's talk about all the good things

And the bad things

he

can

be.

 

Let's talk aaaboout

Pap

 

Edited 17 April 2023 by Foxxed

[volpeazzurro]

For me, in recent weeks, Mendy has been one of our better and more consistent players in midfield. I personally would have him ahead of Ndidi, Tielemans and KDH because of his consistent contribution. Tielemans also for me offered absolutely nothing against Manchester City, quite possibly the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak to be kind to him after such a long lay off.

 

I don't read too much into that game to be fair. Looking at the high scoring recent winning run they've had it played out as expected but we did show some fight in the second half and continued fighting as best they could until the end, had Iheanacho got that second goal who knows? Neither would I get on the back of any of our defence on whether or not they should have done better with Haaland for his goal because let's face it, he's done it 40+ times already this season to some defender's supposedly far better than ours. 

 

Smith spoke well for me after the game and was very honest when he commented that the Man City game was never going to define our season. It's what's gone before and what now happens starting against Wolves. Mendy for me makes a contribution that can be relied upon currently whilst others around might be panicking at times under pressure. 

[Tom12345]

14 hours ago, Buzzell said:

We’ve been shit as a whole squad but Mendy has played relatively well considering he’s hardly ever featured over the last few years. Just shows you how shit we've been this season and especially how bad Ndidi is right now. I don’t care if it’s a hatful of games, he’s played better this season than he has before, whether we’ve won or not.

Yeah. Also, you can’t just look at stats. When Mendy is on the pitch and you watch the team plays, you instantly see better football. Yes, we may not have won all those games that he played, but you can see the difference from when Ndidi is in the team. I am baffled though why coaches can’t see it. Just watch replays and focus on team movements, how the opponents try to press us, how we can’t or can get out of the press, how we passback aimlessly or not, etc. Or quite simply, ask the two CBs (like Faes) for their honest opinion and they can tell you. I have watched closely, and you can see Faes’ frustration in the lack of choice he gets to pass at the back - he often looks up, then sees Ndidi hides behind an opponent, shakes his head or raises his frustrated face, then looks to the side (again - how predictable) or back to Souttar. So predictable. On occasions, he just pumps the ball up. People think nothing of this (except boring aimless football) but it makes a huge difference in how we play. If the CBs need to make the most passes in the game, it is not right. Our midfielders need to give our CBs options to pass to beat the press. If one of them is handicapped, it limits their options mostly to either pass to the side (easy for the opponent to force an error or for the full backs to panic and just pumps it long and give the ball away; but what people tend to see superficially is a below par Castagne or Kristiansen which is not entirely right - we cannot ask them to be Ronaldo or Messi who can always dribble their way out of the press). 

 

This has clearly been our problem. We got found out by Norwich a few seasons back (I mentioned this at the time and in posts since) but Rodgers failed to address this for years and hence it became a cornerstone of our decline. Rodgers blamed it on individual players (but it is a tactical error which kept having to rely on individual brilliance to save him - hence our inconsistency and later outright decline). In other words, it is not the players it is the team selection and tactics.  We can be so easily beaten by opponents pressing us and forcing the ball to the side and then we just regularly lose it (or be forced to pass sideways back to the CBs or keeper). This is why we keep playing negative football (apart from Rodgers’ general negative mindset).

 

Like Man City or many other teams that can beat the press easily, they provide 2 or 3 options to pass for any teammate with the ball. The way we play with a handicap selection and tactic means we put ourselves under pressure so easily by simply pressing us in the right spots (because we keep repeating the same!).  This is why, I repeat, when Mendy is on, we look better because we have an outlet to get through the press via the middle as well as on the side. I am not saying he is a magician, it is not about Mendy, but it is this stubborn tactical mistake that Rodgers kept making for years without him ever realizing.

 

We have a good squad filled with internationals. Our tactics and poor mentality under Rodgers have ruined us. He made the players feel the problem is them when his tactics made them play under constant pressure that could have been negated through the right selection and tactics. I hope Dean can see through this quickly and make the right team selection and tactics. With the quality of the players we have, we can do this.

Edited 18 April 2023 by Tom12345

[Sly]

On 17/04/2023 at 04:17, Dan LCFC said:

I'm gonna go against the quite common view here but I don't think he's that good. He's become overrated because of how badly Ndidi has dipped. He hasn't been terrible this season but I'm still far from convinced he's the answer in midfield. I think he's a quite flawed player in that he doesn't take many risks in his passing yet defensively he's compromised by his lack of physicality. He tries hard, gets on with it when not picked etc... but don't think he should be more than a squad option.

 

Do think he's another player Rodgers hasn't been particularly fair with though - dropped him after a genuinely decent run of form.

I agree with this. 
 

However, like Soyuncu, sometimes you just need steady players that operate within a system. They may not be what you’d like, however, he’d have broken up play and not cost us 5 to 6 goals this season.