Harry Winks

[Buzzell]

Just now, Foxin_Mad said:

None of them have particularly impressive defensive stats either. Prime Ndidi aside. 

Because they are all shit defensive minded midfielders, except Ndidi  

[inckley fox]

12 hours ago, jv1 said:

Nope not having that one bit - was every bit one of our most important players last year - you are re writing history because of this year - oh and you can quote players from 10 years ago being worth less than 15m - winks is a very decent footballer and in that league top 5% easy - Jesus he falls out with the worst manager ever and people chucking him under the bus - embarrassing 

You're denying his form dropped off in the second half of the FLC season? I thought there was something approaching a consensus on that, but maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't argue about how instrumental he was in the first half of the campaign, not for a moment, but for a 10m signing in the second tier I think you're hoping for a bit more than that.

 

We can't disregard all evidence from this season based on Ruud being rubbish, as much as I'd agree that he is. Can we therefore also forget the poor form of Faes, Justin, Soumare, Daka, Kristiansen, Reid, Skipp and Ayew? Were they just crap because the manager was crap? And what about the disciplinary issues with Vestergard?

 

Do we accept that the players have not been good enough, and agree with Ruud (and what the results and performances tell us) in that their professional standards haven't been high enough either, or go with the assumption that the players aren't the problem, and have simply been hamstrung by god-awful management?

 

Winks' poor form has been there for all to see, as has his half-heartedness on more than one occasion. I see no need for him to be protected from criticism for that. And the fall-out was widely reported from multiple sources, to the point that it wasn't merely a case of one word against another, and we could all make our own minds up about it. As poor a manager as Ruud may be, I don't see, in principle, what was so unreasonable about what he was asking of Winks.

 

So I don't think anybody is throwing Winks under the bus purely because they take the manager's word as gospel. Taking into account his drop-off in the second half of last season, the poor form under two different managers this season, and the details, reported by multiple sources, of the nature of his problems with the club (with Cooper and with the current boss), many are coming to the conclusion that he wasn't such a cosmic signing after all. That seems like a statement of the obvious to me. In fact, I'd go a step further and say that his very apparent lack of commitment and his poor professional standards on and off the pitch are indicative of the whole team's low standards, and Ruud's greatest failure isn't in failing to make PL-standard players out of Winks or Faes or Vestergard or Soumare or whoever else, but rather his failure to deal with them more firmly, and sooner.

 

As for 'quoting players from ten years ago' - that really is a gross simplification of what I said. I pointed out that the last sides to go up and stay up, like - even allowing for inflation - previous Leicester sides to go up and stay up, contained midfielders who were signed for less than Winks, and who did better upon promotion. That's hardly much of a stretch either, is it?

[Foxin_Mad]

14 minutes ago, Buzzell said:

Because they are all shit defensive minded midfielders, except Ndidi  

Very true, just generally terrible in midfield, well and defensively 

[lcfcsnow]

32 minutes ago, Buzzell said:

Because they are all shit defensive minded midfielders, except Ndidi  

Isn't that the point, where is the Tielemans, Maddison type players, even a Drinkwater, King, KDH type player that may not be world class but is capable of progressive or defence splitting passes and goals from centre midfield. Our current group of midfielders offer no hope at all, and is highlighted by our goals for record.

[kingfox]

4 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

Im so sorry - I apologise for being so thick and of course bow to your superior knowledge. How stupid of me to think that a “holding” midfielder might score a goal or two every now and again. That the ball might occasionally find its way to his feet 20-30 yards out and he might stick it in the top corner. Or take a free kick or corner that leads directly to a goal. No, he’s a holding midfielder and that’s all we expect of him, to “hold” - hold what and to what purpose exactly? Presumably to operate in a 20 yard strip, 40 yards from goal, taking simple passes off the likes of  Vestergaard and passing back to him, while occasionally turning the team round so it’s actually progressing through the thirds. What a skill set! And just in case he’s injured or loses form, we have plenty of other central midfielders who have a goal involvement, on average, about twice a season. A recipe for certain success I’m sure. Thanks for putting me right.

 

PS we just got relegated 

I guess you don’t rate Lobotka at Napoli then? 

[Buzzell]

8 hours ago, lcfcsnow said:

Isn't that the point, where is the Tielemans, Maddison type players, even a Drinkwater, King, KDH type player that may not be world class but is capable of progressive or defence splitting passes and goals from centre midfield. Our current group of midfielders offer no hope at all, and is highlighted by our goals for record.

The likes of Winks, Skipp, Soumare, ect ect are never contributing to goals or assists really because they’re never really an attacking threat, they’re more defensive than offensive, not that they’re very good at that either.

 

Blame the recruitment team for our lack of creativity in the squad. Poor investment in areas of the pitch that didn’t need addressing when other areas was more important.
 

[LCFCCKEANO]

16 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Can’t compare the champ and prem.  in a team that dominates possession, you need your cdm to be a tempo player who effectively dictates the game.  In the prem with a lot less possession, that player has to be defensively solid and also physically v strong.  Both of which are not wink’s strengths. Hence we’ve ended up with bouba and wilf as a double pivot holding mechanism with licence to break forwards on the ball.  
 

skipp similar to winks but a little more strength in contact.  Either will be fine next season if we retain the technical levels across the squad to boss possession. 

Dead right tbh, for me it is simply who can make the step up, feels pointless having players who can do it at a higher level in the championship who struggle in the prem, if we want to be re-established Skipp could be a squad options ply for his size and he physicality, I do not believe Winks could, I’d rather sell for what we bought and bring in larger or more technical players in his place. Next season has to be purely about building a squad that can deal with the prem

[Dan]

We have lacked players who chip in with goals for years particularly in midfield. Soumare, Winks, Skipp and Ndidi combined have scored 22 goals in 851 games in their careers. That's absolutely abysmal.

 

For a bit of context, Ryan Yates, that absolute Lampard/Gerrard reincarnate maestro at Forest, has scored 23 goals. So he's scored more than the four of them combined in about a quarter of the games. It's a problem.

Edited 18 May 2025 by Dan

[Bob Weasel Fox]

I do hope Winks is there today so us Leicester fans can "cheer" him vociferously. . . . . 

[HankMarvin]

7 hours ago, Dan said:

We have lacked players who chip in with goals for years particularly in midfield. Soumare, Winks, Skipp and Ndidi combined have scored 22 goals in 851 games in their careers. That's absolutely abysmal.

 

For a bit of context, Ryan Yates, that absolute Lampard/Gerrard reincarnate maestro at Forest, has scored 23 goals. So he's scored more than the four of them combined in about a quarter of the games. It's a problem.

Isn’t the context that he has played at a much lower level for longer periods?

[Ian Nacho]

Nice of him to make the journey up the M1 today. 

[Dan]

On 18/05/2025 at 11:05, HankMarvin said:

Isn’t the context that he has played at a much lower level for longer periods?

The point was less about Yates and more about how few ours score. They're averaging a goal every forty games - its appalling and it needs addressing.

[Foxin_Mad]

On 18/05/2025 at 21:19, Ian Nacho said:

Nice of him to make the journey up the M1 today. 

He had a face like someone shit in his cornflakes for most of it. 

[Sly]

Harry Winks with one leg is better than Soumare. 

[Foxin_Mad]

20 minutes ago, Sly said:

Harry Winks with one leg is better than Soumare. 

Let’s be honest in the Premier League neither is good enough, Winks was way too slow when he played. 

[Sly]

6 hours ago, Foxin_Mad said:

Let’s be honest in the Premier League neither is good enough, Winks was way too slow when he played. 

I’ve said it a few times.

 

Winks / Vestergaard compliment each other, in a certain system (Maresca / Pep) that involves passing the opposition to sleep / tiredness. If we are playing that way, they do a good job. 
 

They look after the ball. The challenge is if you then pass to someone who loses it, you get exposed on the turnover.

 

Great players in the right system, a major headache when a new coach comes in and wants to play a different way. 

 

[Stuntman_Mike]

On 17/05/2025 at 21:03, Buzzell said:

The likes of Winks, Skipp, Soumare, ect ect are never contributing to goals or assists really because they’re never really an attacking threat, they’re more defensive than offensive, not that they’re very good at that either.

 

Blame the recruitment team for our lack of creativity in the squad. Poor investment in areas of the pitch that didn’t need addressing when other areas was more important.
 

Oh I'm not sure, I find them pretty offensive to watch.

[Guest Lako42]

Just like the rest of the uncommitted ***** that wore our shirt this season I hope he ****s off at the earliest opportunity. 

 

No commitment or pride in wearing the shirt.

 

Can't believe fans give these self obsessed multimillionaires so much slack. 

 

 

Oh and before anyone points out it's the managers fault, he can **** off as well. 

[sm1]

He's an over paid, over pampered t**t. These are the kind of players that are the reason we're in this mess. Relegated from Serie A and now the PL, but Winks thinks he's the next Pirlo. Get his wages off the books, let him leave for free if that's what it takes, and let him relegate another poor club.

[fazzyfox]

As a so called “leader”, as our boys prepared for an inevitably hard afternoon against Liverpool, he should have been there around the tunnel with an arm round Monga, settling him in and giving him encouragement, a lad who has turned up for a nigh on impossible challenge and would run through a brick wall to get ten minutes on the pitch. Instead he’s twittering (x-ing?) pictures of chilling in the park with his family.

It seems like a Mexican stand off - Ruud won’t include him, Winks is hoping / counting the days til Ruud leaves. I find it hard to see though how he can hope to return to the leadership group, when his colleagues were fighting in the trenches (and they did put in a lot in that day) he had his feet up with tea and scones* 

 

*scones may or may not have been involved I wouldn’t want to accuse him of being unprofessional with his diet too!

[Fox92]

3 hours ago, Sly said:

I’ve said it a few times.

 

Winks / Vestergaard compliment each other, in a certain system (Maresca / Pep) that involves passing the opposition to sleep / tiredness. If we are playing that way, they do a good job. 
 

They look after the ball. The challenge is if you then pass to someone who loses it, you get exposed on the turnover.

 

Great players in the right system, a major headache when a new coach comes in and wants to play a different way. 

 

In the Championship yeah.

[filbertway]

Can't wait for Winks to put in a 7/10 against Northampton in pre season and see half the people on the last few pages change their mind

 

[Fox92]

4 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Can't wait for Winks to put in a 7/10 against Northampton in pre season and see half the people on the last few pages change their mind

 

You had people on here talking about him being considered for England after one half season in the second tier  

[Grebfromgrebland]

Winks is decent. Hope we keep him.  What we really need is a style of play and players to compliment that.

 

We haven't had that all season.

 

 

[SK3Blue]

The Enzo sign was enough to confirm he’s a disruptive little tosser. How id love to see Nigel Pearson deal with him!

Edited 20 May 2025 by SK3Blue