Okasaki PL Stories

[Rubbersoul]

Oh now we miss guys like Shinji now. 
 

**** off Ayew 

[Dreadnought]

Shinji lived on our road in the same house Mahrez lived in before him. 
 

Having Mahrez on the street was a proper nightmare. Loads of stupid cars, him driving with his phone in his hand even though the Range Rover, Merc and the Rolls Royce all obviously had Bluetooth. He would leave black plastic sacks full of takeaway food on the drive even though there was a wheelie bin twenty feet from the front door. 
Ironically, foxes loved Mahrez for this and made a right mess every night - so much for our fabled nutrition programme!

If his wife had left the house without him and he had come home alone (often dropped off by Kante in his Mini One when he was banned from driving) he could never remember the four digit code to his burglar alarm and it would go off. Being the kind of street it is, everyone comes out to see if an alarm goes off. Riyad would stand there on the door step waving saying “it’s ok, it’s me” like Manuel from Faulty Towers. I could go on. Like the time he had a Willie Wonker themed party for his one year old with Umpa Lumpas and purple carpet down the street…..

 

Fast forward to Shinji moving in and it all changed. What a lovely bloke with a lovely family. His wife came round with food, his kids played football with my kids and the day he moved in he popped round to introduce himself and in broken English told us “the house broken, Riyad, he crazy, everything smashed” with a big smile on his face! Always happy to see anyone who spotted him and wanted a photo or to say hello and just a top bloke👍

[coolhandfox]

3 hours ago, Stadt said:

We’ve not really had it since. Even when we were good under Rodgers it didn’t quite feel like we reached the true potential with that side.

 

Under Maresca we just had 5 or 6 players who shouldn’t have been at this level

I agree, we should have achieved more it, excellent side probably a couple players short of a great side.

 

Technically probably better than the PL winning side, but didn't have the collective courage, commitment or defensive organisation.

 

Would have loved to have seen Marhez at RW and Maguire CB in that 11.

 

Impossible, but that would have been some side.

[Stadt]

7 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

I agree, we should have achieved more it, excellent side probably a couple players short of a great side.

 

Technically probably better than the PL winning side, but didn't have the collective courage, commitment or defensive organisation.

 

Would have loved to have seen Marhez at RW and Maguire CB in that 11.

 

Impossible, but that would have been some side.

Evans and Fofana were better than Maguire imo. He switched off a hell of a lot. Mahrez over Perez and we’d have been a proper title contender in 19/20.

 

Macia to Congerton was a disaster 

[coolhandfox]

12 hours ago, Stadt said:

Evans and Fofana were better than Maguire imo. He switched off a hell of a lot. Mahrez over Perez and we’d have been a proper title contender in 19/20.

 

Macia to Congerton was a disaster 

I agree but he was better than Soyuncu.

 

We probably didnt get to see the best of Fofana, maybe no one really will after all his injuries.

Edited 20 February by coolhandfox

[PhillippaT]

8 hours ago, RumbleFox said:

I think this was exactly it though. We were just better when he played. Sometimes it’s not possible to even analyse. He made the team play better. I was reading a random Guardian write up of one of our 15/16 matches the other day for some reason and they highlighted his quiet importance. 
 

“But there was also a crucial, unseen contribution from another impressive performer: Shinji Okazaki.
 

As Mahrez received the ball on the right, Okazaki glanced around to see Kanté storming forward and Vardy sprinting into the left-hand channel, so he made a clever decoy run towards the right, taking Mark Noble away from the defensive midfield zone, opening up space for Kanté to burst into, and helping to create the goal. It was textbook Okazaki: tactically intelligent, on the move, playing a supporting role.”
 

Sums up his importance to me. As does this…

 

“This was not, in conventional terms, an impressive individual forward performance. Okazaki had no shots, did not dribble past any opponents and recorded a pass completion rate of under 50%. But Okazaki excels in the small, subtle details, and his style is perfect for Leicester’s game plan. If the Foxes are a relatively limited attacking side, depending upon counterattacking and set pieces for goals, it helps to have a forward that creates opportunities in both respects.”

 

He was as important as any other player in my opinion. There’s no way a team like Leicester wins the league unless every single player is 100% on it every game, all season. Love the wee twat. 

 

If there's ever a team that demonstrates the difference between having the 'right' players vs the 'best' players, then our title winning side is surely it...?

[cruzFOX]

5 hours ago, Dreadnought said:

Shinji lived on our road in the same house Mahrez lived in before him. 
 

Having Mahrez on the street was a proper nightmare. Loads of stupid cars, him driving with his phone in his hand even though the Range Rover, Merc and the Rolls Royce all obviously had Bluetooth. He would leave black plastic sacks full of takeaway food on the drive even though there was a wheelie bin twenty feet from the front door. 
Ironically, foxes loved Mahrez for this and made a right mess every night - so much for our fabled nutrition programme!

If his wife had left the house without him and he had come home alone (often dropped off by Kante in his Mini One when he was banned from driving) he could never remember the four digit code to his burglar alarm and it would go off. Being the kind of street it is, everyone comes out to see if an alarm goes off. Riyad would stand there on the door step waving saying “it’s ok, it’s me” like Manuel from Faulty Towers. I could go on. Like the time he had a Willie Wonker themed party for his one year old with Umpa Lumpas and purple carpet down the street…..

 

Fast forward to Shinji moving in and it all changed. What a lovely bloke with a lovely family. His wife came round with food, his kids played football with my kids and the day he moved in he popped round to introduce himself and in broken English told us “the house broken, Riyad, he crazy, everything smashed” with a big smile on his face! Always happy to see anyone who spotted him and wanted a photo or to say hello and just a top bloke👍

This a great story! Don’t tend to hear about these behind the scene moments. Shinji was such a happy guy and so selfless in everything he did. The few goals he scored and any assists were all bit! LEGENDS