Bilal El Khannouss joins - Official

[Dmitry]

1 hour ago, NewburyFox said:

It doesn’t help that he is having to do Vardy’s pressing for him. 

Yes. To run a thirty eight year old man for 3 full matches in a 7 day period and wonder why he can't score....some kind of managerial genius! No wonder the 20 y.o. kid has to help him press. What a travesty...

[RonnieTodger]

His name is Bilal and the skills he does produce

From here to Marrakech we’ll sing of El Khannouss

 

 

[Ric Flair]

The Mark Draper of 1994/95

[AKCJ]

Without wanting my head to be bitten off, I can see why you'd want to take off a 20 year old who was trying to do everything by himself.

 

However that was clearly not the right time to do it. His attitude was rubbing off onto other players and as soon as he was subbed, our intensity dropped to almost 0.

 

The timing was awful and Ruud was rightly booed for it.

[Mickyblueeyes]

Imagine Ranieri took Mahrez off in 15/16 when we were 2-0 down to Villa at home. It would've been crazy even more so with hindsight. Now Bilal is playing with weaker players, granted. I am not saying he would've inspired the same result. But taking off one of your few sparks with more than half of the second half left was a stupid decision. To me, I looked at it and thought, something worked when we threw the kitchen sink at Brighton and that's his now go to. 

 

A few decisions under RVN which have made me uncomfortable. Starting Ward. The set up at Newcastle despite the injuries. Dropping Facundo. Taking off Bilal. He is an inexperienced manager. He will get things wrong. But some of the decisions are really bad. 

[Chelmofox]

15 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Without wanting my head to be bitten off, I can see why you'd want to take off a 20 year old who was trying to do everything by himself.

 

However that was clearly not the right time to do it. His attitude was rubbing off onto other players and as soon as he was subbed, our intensity dropped to almost 0.

 

The timing was awful and Ruud was rightly booed for it.

I said not long before that he was playing like there was only 5 minutes of the game left. I can only imagine it was prearranged.

[dmayne7]

2 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

I said not long before that he was playing like there was only 5 minutes of the game left. I can only imagine it was prearranged.

But his reaction would tell you it wasn't. And he often plays like that. Regardless, he needed to be kept out there until that spell of pressure had wanted.

[FoxinNotts]

28 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

The Mark Draper of 1994/95

I know Mark, and his brother

[Ric Flair]

4 minutes ago, FoxinNotts said:

I know Mark, and his brother

Pod potential?

[FoxinNotts]

Just now, Ric Flair said:

Pod potential?

Sorry mate, no-can-do I'm afraid. Nothing really juicy to tell anyway. Anything funny has already been told

[Tommy G]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

Pod potential?

I might be able to help you out there - I know Mark through a friend and been out with him a few times, bet he'd be up for a podcast appearance. I'll ask 

[Ric Flair]

2 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

I might be able to help you out there - I know Mark through a friend and been out with him a few times, bet he'd be up for a podcast appearance. I'll ask 

BOSH cheers

[cruzFOX]

Maybe Ruud was trying to protect Billal?

we just will never know as he looks pissy at our fans dissing him in the game. His post match response was tetchy at best “ I don’t have to explain my decisions to fans!”

 

wow really? 

[funkyrobot]

He’s been one of our better players but he was poor last night. He played negatively and didn’t apply his usual press.
 

His role is becoming a bit of a luxury one. At times he’s as high as Vardy but then doesn’t feel it necessary to play like a true number 10 (not a goal threat, doesn’t look like assisting) at the same time he doesn’t become the third midfielder to help out the two number 6’s. Maybe he’d be better playing as an 8 in a more Maresca system where he’d have a more obviously defined role? 

[StanSP]

19 minutes ago, funkyrobot said:

He’s been one of our better players but he was poor last night. He played negatively and didn’t apply his usual press.
 

His role is becoming a bit of a luxury one. At times he’s as high as Vardy but then doesn’t feel it necessary to play like a true number 10 (not a goal threat, doesn’t look like assisting) at the same time he doesn’t become the third midfielder to help out the two number 6’s. Maybe he’d be better playing as an 8 in a more Maresca system where he’d have a more obviously defined role? 

Probably being asked to do too much but at the same time he's exactly the player we need to be involved in the game. 

We play so cautiously, scared and defensively that he finds himself in positions just to get on the ball. 

 

Half the players don't believe he exists because they don't see the space he's in further up the pitch. So he gets the ball deeper and there's barely anyone to play off for us to work it up the pitch in a purposeful manner. 

 

We saw against Spurs what he can do and how fruitful he can be when he does get in the right positions further up the pitch. But we as a team don't seem to have any clue on how to approach different kinds of opposition to work that kind of space. We just stick to what Ruud knows and hope it works. 

 

Having said that, he was poor even going forward yesterday

 

[sm1]

Poor lad, was full of youthful exuberance when he first starting playing for us, but now looks resigned to relegation like the rest of the squad.

[deep blue]

I felt that Bilal and Buenanotte were ineffective last night ... not through any fault of their own nor for lack of effort.

 

In past matches there've been spells where we've put together some good intricate bits of forward-going interplay, usually involving them, but it was absent last night.  My explanation is that there was even less cohesion and purpose and resolve in the team last night so it was a bit like passing into the wind for our two more enterprising young stars.  The more they tried, the more they came up against brick walls, and they ended up trying to do too uch themselves.

 

Such a barren environment in which to develop good young prospects like them.

Edited 28 February by deep blue
Correct

[ozvaldo]

He needs people next to him doing the dirty work and making runs in behind to make more space. 
 

For me, given the shit we’ve got, I’d be tempted to line up the attack like this…

 

      Daka   Vardy 

Kasey  Bilal  Monga

 

 

Get Kasey and Monga bombing on. Daka pressing up top with Vardy. If he wants to keep playing Vardy, he’s got to play him in a 2-man. 

 

[fazzyfox]

I just think last night was a result of Potter doing his due diligence and watching us and identifying that he is the sole spark and threat and spent the week drilling his team to counter that threat, like any proper manager would do.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

The Seagrave decline has hit him quicker than I expected. 

[RowlattsFox]

One positive of him bein dragged down to everyone else's level is that we may get a season out of him in the championship, where he can hopefully thrive

 

Then sell the following summer 

[Blue ROI]

Not a great game last night but about the only one to emerge with any credit this season.

[Corky]

Like with Hermansen, his performances have probably dropped because he has been worn down by the garbage around him. He has basically been doing the pressing and creating of four players recently.

[pmcla26]

With Buonanotte and Mavididi either side then he probably would’ve been more effective in recent weeks, but last night he didn’t do the basics right, which was worrying.

 

His passing was poor and he really didn’t look bothered when he was out of possession. Him and Vardy just don’t lead a press well enough for a side that doesn’t have the ball often. 

[Realist Guy In The Room]

7 hours ago, fazzyfox said:

I just think last night was a result of Potter doing his due diligence and watching us and identifying that he is the sole spark and threat and spent the week drilling his team to counter that threat, like any proper manager would do.

Really dont think it was anything to do with Potter.

 

West Ham were shit, it's just we were waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse.