The Enzo Thread

[FLAN]

On 25/12/2023 at 11:55, Kierzz said:

Vestergaard has probably been one of Enzo's first or second picks on the team sheet every week this season. Will be absolutely shocked if he doesn't offer him a deal.

 

Coady is known as a good passing CB and he's not in the league of Vesty on the ball so can't see how we can really replace him with our budget.

 

I used to hate the guy and thought he was useless. However, fair play to him and I now think he can do a job in the premier league if the defensive is built around him.

As good as he’s been, Vestegaard looks very shaky the moment he is pressed quickly. We’ve got away with it at this level. He’d be found out in no time in the premier league. No way could we afford to play him next season if promoted 

[Dahnsouff]

44 minutes ago, FLAN said:

As good as he’s been, Vestegaard looks very shaky the moment he is pressed quickly. We’ve got away with it at this level. He’d be found out in no time in the premier league. No way could we afford to play him next season if promoted 

It depends how highly Enzo rates Vestergaard ‘quarterback’ ability, as he could be shielded by two more mobile CBs, acting like an old school libero, but it does feel that may leave us a man down, but Jannik’s ability on the ball cannot be questioned 

[Hales]

He gets it!

The players, the board, the culture, the fans....

In Enzo we trust 💙

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, whoareyaaa said:

One supporter I know said Enzo will go down as the worst appointment we have ever made  hilarious 

Bet they wanted to keep Rodgers 🤣

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, FLAN said:

As good as he’s been, Vestegaard looks very shaky the moment he is pressed quickly. We’ve got away with it at this level. He’d be found out in no time in the premier league. No way could we afford to play him next season if promoted 

Contract up in the summer and no indication it will be renewed so he may not be here anyway. As good as Vestergaard has been, out of all the out of contract players, Ndidi is the only one I'm bothered about renewing 

[justfoxes]

Hoping the foxes & Enzo are strong and Keep hold of the likes of our most important members of the squad in January and they tell the Prem lot to go do one, we need to keep KDH Faes Vesty ( didn’t think I’d say that last season!!) Ricardo JJ Daka etc etc with the bunch we have now we’re playing some bloody great football and if we lose only one of these we could  lose consistency .

Sell the ones who don’t want to be here I recon Praet could follow Nacho out the door which would be a shame as I rate Praet he plays some great football at times, then free up some cash to build on the squad a couple new decent players to give us that quality to push us on further to win this league and go back to the EPL ! 🦊💙

OAUIEWT!

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, whoareyaaa said:

One supporter I know said Enzo will go down as the worst appointment we have ever made  hilarious 

Did people not learn from Lineker's "Ranieri. Really?!" Tweet. 

I'd never heard of him but was mainly grateful we'd not gone for Parker. The best plan, in my view was to reserve judgement and see how we got on. And the half time report is that it's going quite well 

[HarryDee8]

Wonder what Enzo will do with the Left back position.  JJ is coming back into some really good form. Doyle will be fighting for the position aswell 

 

We still have Luke Thomas on loan, no doubt sheff utd will get relegated and then he will come back into the city team aswell

 

Does he consider selling Thomas and buying Doyle?

[FosseSpark]

I'd imagine Doyle will need to prove he is capable of performing again and over a long period before us spending £20m on him. Particularly as he's not the paciest of players to start with. 

[whoareyaaa]

6 hours ago, jayfox26 said:

Contract up in the summer and no indication it will be renewed so he may not be here anyway. As good as Vestergaard has been, out of all the out of contract players, Ndidi is the only one I'm bothered about renewing 

Vesterguard has been one of the best players this season and a leader so I'm confident he will be starting next season, we only need to add a few quality players and we will be fine.

[ARTY_FOX]

If vestergaard starts next season it will be extremely difficult. 

 

He'll end up dropped quickly. 

[Dahnsouff]

5 minutes ago, ARTY_FOX said:

If vestergaard starts next season it will be extremely difficult. 

 

He'll end up dropped quickly. 

As much as I agree that he would struggle if he were pressed with intent, something we rarely see in this division but is far more likely at the higher level, I also see the risk in disregarding him, or rather in filling the skill set he would leave.

[Wymsey]

Might, possibly, become one of the best managers the club has ever had.

Give him everything he needs/wants.

[ARTY_FOX]

3 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

As much as I agree that he would struggle if he were pressed with intent, something we rarely see in this division but is far more likely at the higher level, I also see the risk in disregarding him, or rather in filling the skill set he would leave.

It's not what he can do, more what he can't. Whilst I'm sure he'll have his moments, his severe lack of pace in the style we play in a quicker league is what concerns me. 

[Pick Good Name Later]

The way he has gelled this squad together, playing a brand of football almost foreign to most players has been beyond most people’s expectations.

 

For me, a bigger challenge exists. We have a squad that is short on PL players quality. I don’t buy in to the transitioning ‘with ease’ next season suggestion. 
 

I’m looking forward with cautious optimism how he builds for next seasons challenge. How he moulds the team. A huge challenge but one I believe he’s well placed to lead. 

[MGLCFC]

I wonder when Maresca said earlier in the season we are only at 20%, that in fact it's 20% of his plan for where he wants us to be further down the line. There are a number of times when posters suggest when we get out of 2nd or 3rd gear we'll be unplayable. Perhaps the truth of the matter is, this is as good as some of our players can perform (which is far superior to others in this league) but to get to that 4th and 5th gear better players will undoubtedly need to be added to the squad in the Premier League. I love the work in progress, how he is developing players who were cast aside under Rodgers, but I don't think we will see the finished project for a another 18 months or more.

[TheStig]

1 hour ago, HarryDee8 said:

Wonder what Enzo will do with the Left back position.  JJ is coming back into some really good form. Doyle will be fighting for the position aswell 

 

We still have Luke Thomas on loan, no doubt sheff utd will get relegated and then he will come back into the city team aswell

 

Does he consider selling Thomas and buying Doyle?

Makes sense - at least selling Thomas 

[MattFox]

1 hour ago, HarryDee8 said:

Wonder what Enzo will do with the Left back position.  JJ is coming back into some really good form. Doyle will be fighting for the position aswell 

 

We still have Luke Thomas on loan, no doubt sheff utd will get relegated and then he will come back into the city team aswell

 

Does he consider selling Thomas and buying Doyle?

Thomas should be nowhere near the starting 11 next season , lad is worse than he was 4 years ago as a youth player

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, HarryDee8 said:

Wonder what Enzo will do with the Left back position.  JJ is coming back into some really good form. Doyle will be fighting for the position aswell 

 

We still have Luke Thomas on loan, no doubt sheff utd will get relegated and then he will come back into the city team aswell

 

Does he consider selling Thomas and buying Doyle?

JJ is starting to find his peak form. He's quietly going about his business defensively - to the point he appears to win every duel (stats people feel free to correct this!), win every footrace. I'm unconvinced Enzo fancies him though.

 

Luke Thomas is rightly finished. 

 

I'm interested in VK next season. We will have every contractual right, and the financial comfort zone, to pull rank and insist he's part of the squad. It's possible he may fancy it, having seen the project and re-enters pre season training with the camp in positive mood. 

 

 

[coolhandfox]

Like the fact his clocked onto the need to protect the likes of Ricardo and Justin.

 

Rodgers did his best to break both of them.

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, whoareyaaa said:

Vesterguard has been one of the best players this season and a leader so I'm confident he will be starting next season, we only need to add a few quality players and we will be fine.

Not so sure. Given his age and his wages, it's not a certainty he gets offered a new deal and he may also want to leave. He hasn't exactly enjoyed his time here until the last few months. Id be more surprised if he's here next season than if he isn't 

[Dahnsouff]

9 hours ago, ARTY_FOX said:

It's not what he can do, more what he can't. Whilst I'm sure he'll have his moments, his severe lack of pace in the style we play in a quicker league is what concerns me. 

There is no doubt he would need more protection than he requires in the championship, it's a question as if Enzo see' that compromise as worthwhile.

[shen]

13 hours ago, HarryDee8 said:

Wonder what Enzo will do with the Left back position.  JJ is coming back into some really good form. Doyle will be fighting for the position aswell 

 

We still have Luke Thomas on loan, no doubt sheff utd will get relegated and then he will come back into the city team aswell

 

Does he consider selling Thomas and buying Doyle?

... and then there's Kristiansen as well. Lots of pruning needed.

 

10 hours ago, jayfox26 said:

Not so sure. Given his age and his wages, it's not a certainty he gets offered a new deal and he may also want to leave. He hasn't exactly enjoyed his time here until the last few months. Id be more surprised if he's here next season than if he isn't 

On the flipside, he's probably enjoying his best football ever and is clearly enjoying it. Except not playing under Rodgers, he's not seemed unhappy about the club?

I think it would be prudent to offer him a new deal if and when we go up, even if just as a safety measure.

[JimmyC74]

2 hours ago, Dahnsouff said:

There is no doubt he would need more protection than he requires in the championship, it's a question as if Enzo see' that compromise as worthwhile.

It’s a great point.
 

If Enzo wants to adopt the same playing style in the Prem, do the Club invest in a fast centre back who is able to mitigate the lack of pace of Vestergaard / Coady (like Kyle Walker has for years).  Do the club look for an alternative quarterback style centre back with a bit more pace?

 

I am not sure how many of the second type of Centre back would be on the market, and if any would meet our budget, so it maybe the first option is the way to go.  

[gurru991]

Enzo has been full off surprises this season & the rejuvenated Vestergaard is one of them. There are a number of CB''s in the premier that lack pace & if the defence either side of him have some pace it just might work. I trust Enzo to make the right call as he really hasn't made many mistakes so far.