Ayew, Cordova-Reid, Buonanotte, Mavididi, McAteer ?

[Richmondfox]

9 minutes ago, LVFox said:

Main issue with Mavididi at the moment is that he cannot play with Kristiansen. They never pass to each other, seems to be awful communication too!

 

Can be fixed by bringing Thomas in, but that doesn't really fix anything 

 

 

Mavadidi is better when he had someone like KDH taking the ball in midfield and slotting him into space so he can cut back and shoot.  He is useless if he has to get the ball on the halfway line with his back to goal and do some graft.  He then doesn’t help himself by slowing down and doing 5 step overs when he finally gets forward. 
 

It’s frustrating that he has the blinkers on with VK as so much is wasted. Then VK doesn’t help himself by having zero awareness.  There was a loose ball in the Brentford game where he was closest, he didn’t instinctively go for I and stood looking at itt, Brentford player closed the gap when he went for it and beat him to it leaving the counter open. So many players can’t do the basics. 
 

It’s like this team has zero coaching or reviewing their mistakes and working on their strengths.  They could work on Mav and VK overlapping and then Soumare keeping watch ready to step in if they lose it instead we have a horror show. 

[Chelmofox]

21 minutes ago, LVFox said:

Main issue with Mavididi at the moment is that he cannot play with Kristiansen. They never pass to each other, seems to be awful communication too!

 

Can be fixed by bringing Thomas in, but that doesn't really fix anything 

 

 

Me and my son joke that Mavi must look at Vic in the dressing room and think 'who the hell is that guy, why does noone introduce me to him'.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

We turned down 10m pure profit for McAteer  

[Parker Pen]

Change the shape to a 352/532 then you wouldn’t have to play any of them! Drop Soumare as well whilst you are at it. You could leave them all at home as they are all beyond poor. Pack the midfield with Ndidi and one of the Spurs boys plus Facundo and leave Bulal upfront with either Vardy, Daka or even give Edouard a go in a front two. Puts two or theee  of the Under 21s on the bench and give it a go.

 

14/15 was a 352!

 

 

[Old Fox]

VK is completely clueless as a footballer I still don’t know what his qualities are and he always looks like a cat on a hot tin roof - even on Friday he showed Mbuemo inside onto his left foot which he promptly bent a shot into the net and stood there looking amazed yet anyone would know that is what Mbuemo is superb at - as for Mavi well he always looks like he is sulking and despite fantastic pace never seems to have a plan - I am with the posts on here we need to do something different whatever it is but we should not be relying on Faes, Ayew, BCDR, VK or Soumare to get us anywhere close to competitive - Vards must look around the dressing room and wonder how the hell it came to this !

[Gamble92]

1 hour ago, filbertway said:

Mavididi is useless anyway I'd agree on that, he's not got one iota of urgency or awareness in him. Him, Ayew, BDCR all absolutely nothing players.

 

But to not start Facundo with Bilal who are literally the only 2 players with the legs and desire to actually create things is insane.

I do agree with you by the way. I'm just saying this isn't a shock to hear him say this. Mavididi hasn't made it at the level that Ayew and Reid have played for a long time, and that clearly is because of all the defensive work he doesn't do. 

 

I actually think Ayew and Reid are fine as squad players but both joined with promises of a lot of game time, otherwise they wouldn't have come here. 

[Gamble92]

1 hour ago, MrsJohnMurphy said:

Does he? Ndidi is about 3 yards behind him and cruises past him

In general. Not on that video admittedly. 

 

But yeah he does a lot more defensively than Mavididi. 

 

Id like to reiterate this isn't a massive defence of Rudd or Ayew.

[Fox92]

50 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

We turned down 10m pure profit for McAteer  

To then not even start him  

[JJD_LCFC]

1 hour ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

We turned down 10m pure profit for McAteer  

Exactly. Ruud then comes out and says he is needed. 
Not even been in the squad last 2 games.

so many crap decisions from our club. What a chance to get some money back into the club and they still say no for a player who barely is good enough for the championship. 

[JJD_LCFC]

46 minutes ago, Parker Pen said:

Change the shape to a 352/532 then you wouldn’t have to play any of them! Drop Soumare as well whilst you are at it. You could leave them all at home as they are all beyond poor. Pack the midfield with Ndidi and one of the Spurs boys plus Facundo and leave Bulal upfront with either Vardy, Daka or even give Edouard a go in a front two. Puts two or theee  of the Under 21s on the bench and give it a go.

 

14/15 was a 352!

 

 

I have a real issue with modern day coaches now.. They only know how to use 1 style and set a team up in that. If it doesn’t work plan B is to do the same and hope it is better. 
all the coaching courses around the world, coaches apparently Pro licence qualified and deemed excellent by The FA and UEFA standards. And standard of players are massively reduced in the last 10 years to what we see now. 
Surely Ruud would have done as you suggested and tried something different. But modern day coaches can’t and won’t do that. 
We have scored in 6 home games, and not even 1 change in his tactics during this time.

 

there was a clip from I think Norwegian fans holding arrows to show the team where the goal is when they didn’t score for a while. Kind of Hoping the fans do that next home game just to provide at least some entertainment at games. 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

To be fair to RvN he’s inherited poor players in these areas.

[filbertway]

6 minutes ago, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

To be fair to RvN he’s inherited poor players in these areas.

It's the lack of flexibility that's my main issue with him. He's got a system that very clearly an evidently is not working. Instead of looking for solutions he's walking round with a long face and crying because his one system that he knows doesn't work with the available players.

[lcfc_forever]

3 hours ago, LVFox said:

At this point I'd be playing:

McAteer Buonanotte Bilal

 

McAteer mainly as he isn't Ayew or Bobby.

Funnily enough that was our attacking midfield vs. West Ham and that worked out pretty well!

 

That's clearly the best combination if he wants to stick with 4-2-3-1 - I'd rather go 3-5-2 but if he going to be play his preferred formation, go with the best players for those positions. Oh yeah, drop Faes as well like he did for that match too! 

[deep blue]

Just now, LVFox said:

Main issue with Mavididi at the moment is that he cannot play with Kristiansen. They never pass to each other, seems to be awful communication too!

 

Can be fixed by bringing Thomas in, but that doesn't really fix anything 

 

 

Thomas would be an improvement from a defensive point of view, and he has quite a good forward pass so is likely to link better with Mav.

[Legend_in_blue]

Forget the starting line up, no Premier League squad should contain 3 attacking players with a combined age of 103 for which there are no adequate consistently performing replacements.

 

Therein lies the problem.

 

The squad isn't good enough.

[The Doctor]

4 hours ago, Gamble92 said:

Like I said I'm not saying he's great at it. He at least tries to get back. The bar isn't very high in case you hadn't noticed 

he doesn't though. Look how many we concede down the right hand side with him on it, and then look as his typical position as the ball goes in after Justin got ****ed, because it's typically in the centre circle slowly ambling back, because he decided in possession he should be way over to the left.

[Ric Flair]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ruud-van-nistelrooys-rationale-jordan-9971845

 

Ruud van Nistelrooy's rationale for Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid picks may not stack up
The Leicester City manager has been explaining why he has selected the experienced wide duo over the likes of Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi in recent weeks

ByJordan Blackwell
07:00, 25 FEB 2025

For the past five games, Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have been Leicester City’s starting wingers. It has not been a popular decision.

It can sometimes be difficult to tell if social media anger is restricted to online spheres or is echoed by match-going fans, but the crowd inside the King Power Stadium made their voices clear on Friday night.

When it was announced 10 minutes into the second half that Ayew would be replaced, a huge cheer went up. The noise grew louder when his replacement, Facundo Buonanotte, had his name read out.

 

The Argentinian and one of last season’s stars in Stephy Mavididi are the men that City supporters appear to want on the wings. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s opinion has differed.

Why? Asked last week for his reasons behind Ayew and De Cordova-Reid’s continued selection, he said: “It’s the balance in our team that we have to look for. Creativity and experience and being solid.

“I look for a balance in being solid and not conceding, and then the other side is creating. It depends on the opponent but I look for that balance to reduce goals, of course, but we also have to create. That’s why we have different options on the wings.”

But is van Nistelrooy getting that balance right? City have scored in only three of their last 11 Premier League matches, while they’ve not stemmed the flow of goals against them either.

Here, we take a look at the statistics to see how City’s five wing options – Ayew, De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi, Buonanotte and Kasey McAteer – stack up against each other, with van Nistelrooy's current preferred options trailing in areas where they'd be expected to perform better.

 

Shooting

While Buonanotte and Ayew have scored the same amount of Premier League goals, it is the Argentinian who looks to be the biggest goal threat of the five wingers.

He comfortably takes the most shots per game, and that’s not just because he lets fly from everywhere and anywhere. He has the highest expected goals tally too, while his shots on target rate is only second to De Cordova-Reid.

Ayew ranks second for shots per match, but is tied with McAteer in second for expected goals per match.

 

Creativity

Buonanotte leads the way here too, creating more chances per game than any other City player, even more than star man Bilal El Khannouss.

Mavididi ranks second for chances created but is the most prolific of the wingers for completed passes into the box. Ayew has been the best for completing crosses though.

 

Passing

This is perhaps the first surprise, as it would be assumed that Ayew and De Cordova-Reid, as the safer options, would have the best pass completion rate, retaining the ball and taking the pressure off the defence.

But that’s not the case. In fact, Buonanotte leads the way, slightly ahead of Mavididi, with both on 75 per cent. Ayew is on 72 per cent, while De Cordova-Reid and McAteer are on 70 per cent.

Plus, of the quintet, Mavididi and Buonanotte are the more forward-thinking passers of the ball, completing the most progressive passes per match.

 

Getting into space

City’s wingers need to be an outlet, positioning themselves in space where they can be found by defenders and midfielders.

It is Mavididi who receives the most passes. It’s possibly because he’s the most traditional of the wide options, and is more likely to stick to the flank and not get bogged down in congested central areas. Buonanotte ranks second.

When it comes to receiving progressive passes, McAteer shoots up to join Mavididi at the top. Again, that will be in part because he tends to stick wide, but also because he’s the most likely of the five to make runs in behind, and so most likely to be found with balls over the top.

One statistic that’s not available is how long players keep hold of the ball once they do receive it.

To the naked eye, Ayew does seem to hold up the ball for longer, and when he does, that’s less time the opposition are in possession, and less time City spend defending.

 

Ball-carrying and dribbling

It won’t be a surprise to read that Mavididi is the most prolific carrier of the ball. He takes it forward the most yards per match, while carries into the final third and into penalty area more often than any of his rivals out wide.

It’s a contested battle behind him. Buonanotte is second for carrying the ball forward, but Ayew is second for getting into the final third, while McAteer is just behind Mavididi when it comes to dribbling into the box.

When it comes to taking on defenders, Mavididi and Buonanotte attempt to do so most regularly. Their success rate is similar too.

While Ayew attempts fewer take-ons, his success rate is about the same as Mavididi and Buonanotte’s, whereas McAteer’s success rate is well back, while De Cordova-Reid very rarely tries to beat a man one-on-one.

It should be noted that it’s actually Abdul Fatawu who by far leads the way in all of these categories, but the Ghanaian will not play again this season.

 

Losing the ball

Ayew miscontrols the ball most often of the wingers, with Buonanotte in second. When it comes to being tackled, Buonanotte, Ayew, and Mavididi are dispossessed an even amount.

It’s McAteer that comes out best in this category, the homegrown winger rarely giving up the ball in this manner.

But anybody who has watched City this season could say without checking the statistics that it is Ayew who wins the most free-kicks, and the numbers do back that up.

 

Defending

It’s tough to judge defensive work purely through statistics as so much of the job is dependent on good positioning and quelling danger by forcing the opposition to look for alternative routes.

But in terms of what can be judged, Buonanotte is well ahead when it comes to making tackles and interceptions. McAteer is second, while De Cordova-Reid is way back, the Jamaican rarely making an impact on that side of the game.

Nuanced pressing statistics are not available, but what is known is that Buonanotte and McAteer are best for blocking opposition passes, suggesting they are closing down opponents more effectively.

Mic drop from Jordan Blackwell

[Gazza M]

Think that proves Facundo must play every game. Baffling from Ruud as always. 

[RowlattsFox]

Has he really used creativity as a reason for picking that front 3 

[filbertway]

5 hours ago, filbertway said:

Watch the first highlight in this and tell me more about Maldini  Ayew's defensive prowess

 

Actually, as embarassing as Ayew is. Look at Soumare, that lack of work in a midfield 2 is a massive reason we concede so many.

[oldbluefox]

Tbh I would be totally peed off if I made a run down the line only for Mavididi to slow the pace down and pass the ball backwards. I've seen it happen time and time again. 

[davieG]

2 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Actually, as embarassing as Ayew is. Look at Soumare, that lack of work in a midfield 2 is a massive reason we concede so many.

Shades of Gareth Williams about him but without the ego.

[whoareyaaa]

Pretty sure the 4 points he got in the first two games included Mcateer and Facundo also no Faes.

 

As we know the prem is full of pace and players that have high fitness levels, starting the two above gives you exactly that, having BDCR and Ayew starting is like committing suicide esp with 37 year old Jamie Vardy on his own up top.

 

Daka should get more game time and Mav is just shot of confidence and doesn't work well with Kristensen who is well out of his depth as well, I would start Thomas.

Edited 25 February by whoareyaaa

[FoxesBraun]

The only one I'd say has to start playing consistently is Buonanotte.

 

Mavididi has been god awful this year, McAteer is Championship level at best, and I won't even comment on Ayew and BDCR. 

 

I'm in no way defending Ruud but we haven't exactly got bags of ability in those positions, and no matter who you play there, it will be the same result. 

 

 

[funkyrobot]

7 hours ago, Gamble92 said:

I do agree with you by the way. I'm just saying this isn't a shock to hear him say this. Mavididi hasn't made it at the level that Ayew and Reid have played for a long time, and that clearly is because of all the defensive work he doesn't do. 

 

I actually think Ayew and Reid are fine as squad players but both joined with promises of a lot of game time, otherwise they wouldn't have come here. 

BDCR is 0% effective at defending so even a reluctant defender like Mavididi is better. As for Ayew, did you watch him allow centre back Nathan Collins to run forward and past him uncontested on Friday? He literally couldn’t be arsed. TBH I think there’s an argument to be had that Ayew is a good super-sub but I see nothing in BDCR to back up his ‘fine squad player’ status.