Andy King

[Fez of Mahrez]

Started for Wales under 21s as they beat an Italian under 21 side featuring Balotelli and Paloschi.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnatio...91466-24612088/

Good effort. Game time will do him good.

[Stueyt74]

Don't rate him at all.

[Hugo Sanchez]

Don't rate him at all.

Frank Lampard of the championship

[Fatbloke]

Don't rate him at all.

Oh dear, I bet he`s devastated ! YOU don`t rate him, disaster, end of a promising young career.

[davieG]

Oh dear, I bet he`s devastated ! YOU don`t rate him, disaster, end of a promising young career.

[Daggers]

Oh dear, I bet he`s devastated ! YOU don`t rate him, disaster, end of a promising young career.

Well if Stueyt74 doesn't rate him then I'm no longer a fan of the fucker either.

[Heart-Shaped Fox]

Its a shame he cant get in the team as he was the under rated player of last year. But it shows the quality we have if he can only get on the bench.

One for the future, and will no doubt be Wales' star player!

[Anish]

He was not underrated last season! He was one of our top players last year and people on here have been raving about him for a while. I just don't think he'll cut it in the Championship yet - he doesn't impose himself on games and seems content to let things pass him by too easily. His lack of physical presence, pace and drive when on the ball means that he lacks some of the ingredients necessary to succeed in this league. Yes he could just about cope in a lower end Championship team, but he won't be part of a promotion chasing Championship side. Not yet at least.

[Finnegan]

Still think it's fooking gutting we topped our group, saw off France and Romania and then still weren't seeded for the play offs. Wound up with bloody England, another group topper and even then we only went out narrowly.

Should've have been at the U21 Championships. Shambles.

[Fox92]

It's not that I don't rate him, it's just that I think he isn't good enough for the team at Championship level - if that makes any sense

He doesn't seem strong enough for this level at the moment, and I'll say at the moment because he is only young and can improve with his small potential. The game seems to pass him by and although his first touch, passing and finishing is superb, the strength aspect of his game isn't.

It's good that he's playing in an international though, the game should do him well and hopefully he can improve on his strength side of the game by next season. He should be looking at Matt Oakley and Richie Wellens for examples at the moment, but he is young and still learning.

Don't think Aston Villa ever wanted him though ...

[Thracian]

Kingy's always been an understated player. Even in youth football he tended to blend into the action largely unnoticed and it was only when you considered the most relevent points of the game that you found it was King who'd either ghosted in to score or had a deft hand in making a goal or two.

As for his strength that too is under-rated. Kingy was one very few of our leading young outfield players who seemed to complete whole seasons by being available for every match and rarely injured. Porter, Chambers, Wesolowski, Kee, Beswick all suffered significant injury setbacks.

King's essentially a thinking footballer rather than a Tiatto type but durability is an important type of strength as emphasised by his near ever-present record last season - his first full campaign as a first team player.

Like others I noticed his lacklustre start. But I still have my suspicions that his virtual absence from the side and his seeming lack of presence apart, perhaps, from his last short appearance has been one of the reasons we've been scoring so few goals this season.

Apart from anything else Kingy's fast passing last season gave people more space and allowed them to have more impact than has been the case this season. Played properly he also represented a personal threat around the box.

Both factors seem to be much reduced now.

Wellens is an unquestionably talented player but his distribution (and that of other newcomers) is slower than Kings and I've lost count of the times he's been caught in possession. Neither Wellens nor Oakley seem to be a great threat around the box and, indeed, they rarely get into the box meaning our only chance of goals has been from the essentially slow strikers Fryatt and Howard. And N'Guessan. Three potential scorers plus Dyer if he's picked is not enough.

Oakley looked more of a threat last year when Kingy's disciplined presence enabled him to attack the box rather more than usual but then so did the limited ability of the opposition.

We'll see but, whatever, Pearson now has a lot of his own signings to accommodate and I can only imagine Kingy's part as being reduced because of it.

He'll never catch the eye like Wellens and N'Guessan except with his finishing. Only the kind of results we get when he's not around will quietly hint at what we're missing. Just as it did the year we were relegated.

Cos I'm 100% sure we wouldn't have been relegated had King featured in our midfield at that time.

I don't know whether Aston Villa or anyone else have been interested in him but I do wonder if, perhaps, it's time for both him and Gradel to move on.

When careers start to stall at Leicester they rarely, if ever, revive here. Porter, Wesolowski, Sheehan, Campbell and Logan are obvious recent examples. At a lower level you might mention others like Beswick, Dodds and McKay.

Some will believe King and Gradel have climbed as high as they're able and they may be right. But Stearman seems to be coping well enough and I'm not sure I'd rate Stearman as better than either Gradel or King at their best although competition may be fiercer on the wings and in midfield.

Anyway it's food for thought. People who've so quickly dismissed King (and Gradel) probably never appreciated what they offered to our side in the first place.

But what I do know is this. The Academy won things with Kingy. The reserves were a different team with King in the side. And we won Division One handsomely with King an almost ever-present.

This season we look like winning sod all because we're never going to score enough goals. I, no more than anyone else, can't be sure that Kingy can do well in the Championship. But I am sure we cannot afford to miss 11 goals from central midfield without replacing them. Any more than we could miss Joey Gudjonsson's contribution as became so patently obvious over time.

[lou]

Oh dear, I bet he`s devastated ! YOU don`t rate him, disaster, end of a promising young career.

to be fair hes entitled to his opinion same as anyone else. If he doesnt rate him thats fair enough.

I still think hes one for the future and can do a good job for us given the chance.

[StanSP]

Called in as back-up for full squad

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/i...als/8229460.stm

[Finnegan]

Big ask to expect him to compete with Oakley and Wellens, really. Think people need to remember he's only a lad when they're moaning about him being sub-Championship quality.

[Flynny]

Kingy's always been an understated player. Even in youth football he tended to blend into the action largely unnoticed and it was only when you considered the most relevent points of the game that you found it was King who'd either ghosted in to score or had a deft hand in making a goal or two.

As for his strength that too is under-rated. Kingy was one very few of our leading young outfield players who seemed to complete whole seasons by being available for every match and rarely injured. Porter, Chambers, Wesolowski, Kee, Beswick all suffered significant injury setbacks.

King's essentially a thinking footballer rather than a Tiatto type but durability is an important type of strength as emphasised by his near ever-present record last season - his first full campaign as a first team player.

Like others I noticed his lacklustre start. But I still have my suspicions that his virtual absence from the side and his seeming lack of presence apart, perhaps, from his last short appearance has been one of the reasons we've been scoring so few goals this season.

Apart from anything else Kingy's fast passing last season gave people more space and allowed them to have more impact than has been the case this season. Played properly he also represented a personal threat around the box.

Both factors seem to be much reduced now.

Wellens is an unquestionably talented player but his distribution (and that of other newcomers) is slower than Kings and I've lost count of the times he's been caught in possession. Neither Wellens nor Oakley seem to be a great threat around the box and, indeed, they rarely get into the box meaning our only chance of goals has been from the essentially slow strikers Fryatt and Howard. And N'Guessan. Three potential scorers plus Dyer if he's picked is not enough.

Oakley looked more of a threat last year when Kingy's disciplined presence enabled him to attack the box rather more than usual but then so did the limited ability of the opposition.

We'll see but, whatever, Pearson now has a lot of his own signings to accommodate and I can only imagine Kingy's part as being reduced because of it.

He'll never catch the eye like Wellens and N'Guessan except with his finishing. Only the kind of results we get when he's not around will quietly hint at what we're missing. Just as it did the year we were relegated.

Cos I'm 100% sure we wouldn't have been relegated had King featured in our midfield at that time.

I don't know whether Aston Villa or anyone else have been interested in him but I do wonder if, perhaps, it's time for both him and Gradel to move on.

When careers start to stall at Leicester they rarely, if ever, revive here. Porter, Wesolowski, Sheehan, Campbell and Logan are obvious recent examples. At a lower level you might mention others like Beswick, Dodds and McKay.

Some will believe King and Gradel have climbed as high as they're able and they may be right. But Stearman seems to be coping well enough and I'm not sure I'd rate Stearman as better than either Gradel or King at their best although competition may be fiercer on the wings and in midfield.

Anyway it's food for thought. People who've so quickly dismissed King (and Gradel) probably never appreciated what they offered to our side in the first place.

But what I do know is this. The Academy won things with Kingy. The reserves were a different team with King in the side. And we won Division One handsomely with King an almost ever-present.

This season we look like winning sod all because we're never going to score enough goals. I, no more than anyone else, can't be sure that Kingy can do well in the Championship. But I am sure we cannot afford to miss 11 goals from central midfield without replacing them. Any more than we could miss Joey Gudjonsson's contribution as became so patently obvious over time.

It's all very well saying this but as actual manager of the team it's a woolly reason to pick a player, especially when Oakley and Wellens are playing so well.

On the other hand it was awful watching Newcastle on TV towards the end the other night when the ball was cleared out down the centre of the pitch, expecting a city player to burst from off screen to get a shot in and then... nothing. Exactly where King would have been.

I'm sure he'll get some game time this season, I don't think being outplayed by a £1.2 million signing is anything to be too worried about at this stage of his career.

[Thracian]

It's all very well saying this but as actual manager of the team it's a woolly reason to pick a player, especially when Oakley and Wellens are playing so well.

I wholly agree but for me we've dropped three points unnecessarily so far and and failed to score sufficient goals over what is becoming a reasonable number of matches. When things like that happen I try to look for the reasons.

Wellens might have cost £1.2m and Oakley might be playing fairly well as skipper but I don't analyse teams by reputation, seniority or transfer fee, I try to relate what we're trying to achieve to what we actually do on the field.

And whatever price Oakley or Wellens I don't expect either to score anywhere near 11 goals this season and there's nothing in their stats to suggest I'll be wrong.

So let's carry on playing those two and consider the question of where our goals will come from? They certainly won't come from King because he'll not get the match time or the freedom to attack judging by early indications.

At the start of our relegation year I said loud and clear that our lack of goals could be calamatous. It's far too strong a word for the current situation but it could prove a serious handicap even if only at the right end of the table.

My argument three years ago was that a team needs six or seven potential scorers in every match. But, our centre-backs don't score much, our full-backs don't score much, our main midfielders will only score modestly and we may not even play with two wingers each match which may also restrict the goals potential of Dyer.

Gallagher says he'd score goals as a striker but I've yet to be convinced either by his performances for City so far or his overall record.

N'Guessan may get a few but added up that really means goals coming from no more than four potential places, other than occasionally. It's not enough. Especially when I'm convinced that the main strikers will struggle and certainly not approach anything like last season's contribution.

Apart from anything else both are too well known. Rival managers will know their game and be able to plan accordingly. We need to pose new problems and lots more of them. And that's before we do some serious work on free kicks and find a genuine specialist to take them.

We might have powered our way to the Division One title with better players than most of our opponents could dream of. But we'll need to get details right to do any good this season. Winning at home and drawing away only works when you don't lose away.

And seeing as we do lose away we might just as well try to win wherever we play. I mean for 90 minutes not just til we get in front or until we're close enough to the end of an away game to settle for a draw.

It's an old adage but you cannot win football matches without scoring. It's the most important detail of all and to do that central midfield players have to score as well as create goals. And you have to have sufficient potential scorers supporting attacks. Only then might we lift our present potential for 60-65 league goals to the 75-80 that's going to be necessary.

To me it is a significant problem that no-one in our back line nor anyone in our central midfield is likely to score more than occasionally. That's seven players including the goalkeeper. In other words, they may be good but they're not good enough and something will have to be done out it. Either in terms of personel. Or in terms of tactics.

All football is a risk but I'd rather us try to score more goals even if we concede more than not score at all and not have a chance.

[eaststandtom]

andy king good first touch, can trap a ball, find a blue shirt, change course of play, good brain and chips in with a few goals and good goals at that!

i think 45 sloppy mins against swansea is a little too less time to judge him at championship 'level'

[Jimmy]

I'd like to see a Richie Wellens and Andy King partnership, think it'd allow King to get forward more then we've seen in the past

[StanSP]

I'd like to see a Richie Wellens and Andy King partnership, think it'd allow King to get forward more then we've seen in the past

And replace our captain??

Where would Oakley go? Don't say on the wing because that's just not right for him.

[Jimmy]

And replace our captain??

Where would Oakley go? Don't say on the wing because that's just not right for him.

just cause he's captaining the team doesn't mean he should be guaranteed a place, I've never really been totally sold on him, don't think he's playing badly, just that his current form doesn't make him undropable

[DB11]

just cause he's captaining the team doesn't mean he should be guaranteed a place,

Pretty much does, tbh.

[Thracian]

I'd like to see a Richie Wellens and Andy King partnership, think it'd allow King to get forward more then we've seen in the past

It's a serious problem that's not easy to solve even if you abandon 4-4-2 and try playing around with different permutations including the idea of a relatively random system.

It becomes even more serious when you consider how little our defensively sound back line contributes to our attacking impetus.

It's not a team I'd be happy with but it's the team we've got and, given what you say and the fact that the skipper won't be dropped, then where do we start.

Well, one thing we could do is play Oakley at right back. We've played him on the wing often enough but he's not explosive enough or penetrating enough for that position.

So why not use him at right back because there's nothing wrong with his closing down (he does it all the time in midfield) and he's well capable of understanding what's required in supporting those in front of him.

Result, a defender who can genuinely help going forward and a vacancy in the centre of midfield.

Next I'd seriously consider doing the same with Dyer on the left. We've not used him often in that role but he has played there and the same would apply as with Oakley.

Suddenly we could start getting forward in serious numbers and have sufficient pace at left-back at least to really hurt people and to recover. I've long believed in converting wingers to full-backs anyway.

By using attack minded players at full-back (look at Evra, Chelsea's Cole and Gary Neville of old to see how it works) that would enable players like Adams and Gradel to get involved again. Providing we're brave enough to change the resident strike partnership and introduce some pace.

Given there's no chance of using DJ instead of Fryatt the guy I'd choose is N'Guessan over Gallagher because the guy's quicker, stronger, looks like he can score and doesn't look like the greatest winger up to now.

So the team would line up:

Weale;

Oakley, Hobbs, Brown, Dyer;

Gradel, King, Wellens, Adams;

N'Guessan, Howard.

Suddenly we'd have six or seven potential scorers in the side instead of four at most and lots more pace and thrust.

Of course it's radical but radical is what we need if we're ever going to score the necessary 75 goals this season.

Defensively King can always help in front of the central defenders from set pieces and arrive late at the other end between N'Guessan and Howard to supplement attacks. We would also have genuine presence in the air from free-kicks which is simply not there at the moment.

Two genuine wingers would provide the width necessary to expose defenders and there are potential marksmen everywhere to finish moves off.

And, quickly as I could I'd start involving some of our youngsters for experience. I'm not the only supporter concerned about their lack of opportunity beyond Academy football but we've got some terrific talent coming through and they need the proper encouragement.

In fact I'm seriously pissed off when I see a Leicester team that has no-one with any connection to Leicester or its development centre at all.

It represents discouragement in capital letters.

[Legend_in_blue]

Great Thracian post.

I'll have another to go please as well.

[The Doctor]

Pretty much does, tbh.

yep but surely we could drop rest him, try out the king-wellens partnership and give the armband to howard or brown, both of whom are very vocal and IMO would make better captains than oakley.

[StanSP]

yep but surely we could drop rest him, try out the king-wellens partnership and give the armband to howard or brown, both of whom are very vocal and IMO would make better captains than oakley.

best to do it in a cup game then. Or against a 'lesser opposition'.

I wouldn't risk it this early in the season as our form now is important to how the rest of the season could develop. Best not to change things round just yet. We need the momentum.