Andy King

[Hinckleyfox]

I love Andy king but I do think he plays better with Matty James. Only because James gives him the freedom to go and attack whersas drinky doesn't provide the same level of defensive cover as he is more of an 'all rounder' but the form drinky Is in at the minute, you wouldn't drop him. NP was bang on the money swapping king for Hammond.

On another day the game would've been done and dusted, kingy would've seen out the 90 and no one would've been any the wiser but I believe the fact we were defending a 1 goal lead instead of 2 is the reason he came off, and for me, this was the right call.

But all that aside, I agree that certainly one of the best CM in the league at present

He's one of our oooooooown he's one of our oooooooooooooooown' aaaaaandy kiiiiing he's one of our owwwwn

[Bert]

I love Andy king but I do think he plays better with Matty James. Only because James gives him the freedom to go and attack whersas drinky doesn't provide the same level of defensive cover as he is more of an 'all rounder' but the form drinky Is in at the minute, you wouldn't drop him. NP was bang on the money swapping king for Hammond.

On another day the game would've been done and dusted, kingy would've seen out the 90 and no one would've been any the wiser but I believe the fact we were defending a 1 goal lead instead of 2 is the reason he came off, and for me, this was the right call.

But all that aside, I agree that certainly one of the best CM in the league at present

He's one of our oooooooown he's one of our oooooooooooooooown' aaaaaandy kiiiiing he's one of our owwwwn

That's probably a fair point. But Drinkwater plays better with King.

[Hinckleyfox]

That's probably a fair point. But Drinkwater plays better with King.

This is true, and like I say it would be daft to change the spine of the team in the run at we are I but cannot help but think that drinky is only gonna keep James out for so long. Don't get me wrong, I like drinky but king and James are just different class when they're both on form.

[Bert]

This is true, and like I say it would be daft to change the spine of the team in the run at we are I but cannot help but think that drinky is only gonna keep James out for so long. Don't get me wrong, I like drinky but king and James are just different class when they're both on form.

Tend to agree, but Drinkwater has been our best midfielder this season so far.

[fleckneymike]

Tend to agree, but Drinkwater has been our best midfielder this season so far.

 

I think Drinkwater is shite and even I agree he's been the best of any central two this season.

[foxfanazer]

Gosh... Rather than a 'King is fantastic' type post, you've hit the nail on the head IMO.

I agree with ya buddy..

ooooh is that a dig Col?

[Captain...]

In effect we bought on two players to replace him Hammond & James.

King was part of the problem and rightly replaced, not saying he had a bad game, but we needed to sort the midfield out and we had the players on the bench to do it. Good news all round.

[davieG]

King was part of the problem and rightly replaced, not saying he had a bad game, but we needed to sort the midfield out and we had the players on the bench to do it. Good news all round.

I'm not disagreeing just emphasising that to solve the problem he brought on two central midfielders

[Thracian]

Can't speak for yesterday but it sounds like the usual Leicester. Finding ourselves ahead with  the last quarter to go and we go all negative and try to play the game out.

 

A gap develops between our defence and midfield because the back line retreats. A gap develops between our midfield and attack because the midfield are too knackered to chase everywhere and the strikers too knackered to chase back and too aware of the times they've done so in the past and created havoc.

 

The secret - which includes the secret of winning things rather than just the particular match - is to stay tight and push onto the opposition collectively.

 

But we don't change and I've no doubt the same achilles heel will catch us out again. At the moment we're staying lucky and that's to be thankful for but on other days Kasper won't make brilliant stops to save us two points,

 

Our allowing the opposition to run onto us will cost us and we will fail, yet again, to make automatic promotion because other teams will have the courage to press their advantage.

 

Simplistic? You bet. So simplisic I've no idea why we seemingly fail to recognise the problem ourselves and put it right.

 

The "grinding out"of results is fine when we're genuinely under pressure from a capable and accoplished side. But we inclict the need to grind out results ourselves by lacking the ruthlessness to destroy opponents when we have them by the throat.

 

To often our own strategy changes and invites them to have a chance. King just becomes a victim of that strategy because he can't do what he does well if there are no runners around him to provide a passing outlet and if we start giving the ball away (Alan Young's row z strategy) instead of continuing to work as a unit at retaining it and maintaining pressure on the opposition.   

[dayday]

Pearson should have made the changes earlier that was plain to see....and the good thing is we have the players on the bench to do all the ugly stuff while last season we did not,most games we seemed to have 3/4 strikers on the bench.

[dmayne7]

King is a class above. Not fancy by any means but he's such a well rounded player and his anticipation in both boxes is second to none. Personally, I wouldn't swap him for any other midfielder in the league but then I'm blinded by my love for the guy  . Appreciate that others, like Col, would prefer to have a big unit in the middle but if you watch King closely, then you'll see that even if he doesn't tend to win the ball or gets muscled out of it, he still manages to put in a challenge that buys the team an extra second which is vital.

 

What's nice is that Drinky has found some form again so we've got 4 good options in the middle and the ability to shake it up. Even the biggest Downer's much have a tinge of excitement at the moment!

[dmayne7]

Best player we've got. He'd actually be better at PL level and I mean that.

 

Agree with both parts of this. Wes and Kasper are more important as we'd struggle to replace them short-term but King is a top player. Some people, might not understand the thinking that he'd be better up a level but it happens quite often to players where things become a little less physical and more technical.

 

Before people start crying that I'm just suggesting King could do better than us, I'm not saying he could play for anybody but because of the way he plays, I genuinely don't think he'd look out of place in any team.

 

Just a shame for him that he wasn't playing in the Premier League a few years ago as I don't think he'll fulfill his potential now. One of the few mad ramblings of Sven that I agreed with was the King/Lampard comparison. Love to see him stay and cement his place as a Legend but I hope it'll be at the top table. 

[Col city fan]

King is a class above. Not fancy by any means but he's such a well rounded player and his anticipation in both boxes is second to none. Personally, I wouldn't swap him for any other midfielder in the league but then I'm blinded by my love for the guy . Appreciate that others, like Col, would prefer to have a big unit in the middle but if you watch King closely, then you'll see that even if he doesn't tend to win the ball or gets muscled out of it, he still manages to put in a challenge that buys the team an extra second which is vital.

What's nice is that Drinky has found some form again so we've got 4 good options in the middle and the ability to shake it up. Even the biggest Downer's much have a tinge of excitement at the moment!

To be fair mate I've always tried to highlight what I see as King's strengths and weaknesses.

I've also tried to suggest a big unit in the midfield as an OPTION. Not necessarily a player to start every game, but a bigger, stronger lad to bring on when we need to defend a lead. There's countless examples of this I can think of, Peterborough away last season being one.

However, Pearson has done what I hoped he would. He's got competition for places now in the centre of the park and Hammond has cemented this. So now, I'm not as worried as I was last season in that respect.

Regarding King.... I still maintain that I've seen him burn out in games when he needs replacing. Yesterday was a great example, although Pearson made the subs ten minutes too late IMO.

[Bluetintedspecs]

I think Drinkwater is shite and even I agree he's been the best of any central two this season.

Backhanded compliment at its best Mike

[Jimmy]

we struggled at the end because they had changed things up and as usual Nigel waits 10-15 mins too long to counter it and freshen it up.

 

At least King was trying to Tackle Drinkwater was wondering around doing not a lot

[Callabinho]

Agreed 100% we missed him against Derby and it was evident too! He is a class above and it's only when he isn't playing that you notice how good he actually is! Not only does he carry a goal threat he also nips in and mops up at vital times.

Plus he has a wonderful ability of creating space! Fantastic player!

[BoneDog]

How close to going to Villa was he a few years back? I thought he was off and it's great to see the contribution he's made to the club since.

 

Important cog.

[dmayne7]

How close to going to Villa was he a few years back? I thought he was off and it's great to see the contribution he's made to the club since.

 

Important cog.

 

I heard that he was actually closer to joining Liverpool and Everton. If ever a player deserved to play in the PL its Kingy. Just goes about his business without any fuss.

[paddy Agyemang]

Leicester through and through

[Freeman's Wharfer]

How close to going to Villa was he a few years back? I thought he was off and it's great to see the contribution he's made to the club since.

 

Important cog.

 

 

I heard that he was actually closer to joining Liverpool and Everton. If ever a player deserved to play in the PL its Kingy. Just goes about his business without any fuss.

 

Up until the end of last season he had never had a concrete offer to leave. Whether that changed with Forest in the summer I don't know.

[Winnershfox]

good post totally agree. He needs to really stamp his mark on games. To me Andy King is a cheaper version of Muzzy Izzet

Oh dear.... I'm gonna be shot down in flames again here.

Today, we saw the best and worst of King.

The best: calming things down, spraying the ball around, doing the simple stuff very well.

The worst: literally having the opposition midfield running past him with ease, missing challenges, getting over-run in the middle of the park when Barnsley had their little spell.

So I'm not going to simply kiss King's arse. I like him as a player, he's an asset to the team, but again today I saw times where our midfield seemed almost non-existent. During the last 20 mins for example, I recollect three occasions where they picked the ball up on the halfway line, and simply ran on and took a shot,unchallenged,, forcing Kasper to save.

I'm surprised others didn't see this, or maybe don't want to accept it?

Overall, King is good... But his limitations remain when the team is trying to see a game out.

[MrSpaM]

Set to make his 200th start tonight if he plays

[lc4lcfc]

Best player we've got. He'd actually be better at PL level and I mean that.

Agreed

[Meltonfossefox]

Said this to so many people.......he is our most prized asset. For me it's what the boy does without a football should be appluaded. The amount of moves he breaks down by tracking a player. He's took plenty of stick too(mainly by those who haven't got a clue what they are talking about) and has never bitten back.

If you look kingy when he first started he's more defensive than attacking....the goals are a bonus, so when he only gets 6 goals in a season it's important to remember.

I hope the boy finishes his career with us coz he clearly loves this great club.

[Col city fan]

Said this to so many people.......he is our most prized asset. For me it's what the boy does without a football should be appluaded. The amount of moves he breaks down by tracking a player. He's took plenty of stick too(mainly by those who haven't got a clue what they are talking about) and has never bitten back.

If you look kingy when he first started he's more defensive than attacking....the goals are a bonus, so when he only gets 6 goals in a season it's important to remember.

I hope the boy finishes his career with us coz he clearly loves this great club.

Don't let emotion get in the way though. I think King is a top bloke and hope he stays with us.

BUT... He's been pretty much ever present in a squad that's not yet achieved promotion out of the division. In fact, for 10 years? (although King, of course, hasn't been in the squad for all that time).

He has also only been looked at by Premiership sides. As far as I know? There's not been serious enough bids by any club to actually prize him away from City (and let's be honest, if a big enough bid had of come in, we would have sold him).

So.... King remains a good player at this level. But always look at his limitations as well as his attributes. I use a player like Johnny Howson as an example. A couple of seasons or so ago, I said I liked the look of this lad. Then he gets signed (not only looked at but signed) by Norwich and is pretty much an established first team player in a decent Premiership side.

King remains cool on the ball, pops up with goals AND defensively has improved. But he's not quick, he's not particularly strong and some games, where the pace is frantic, seem to pass him by.

He's good, we're lucky to have the lad, but don't make out that he's anything very special, because, actually he's not.

I don't say this to diss the lad. I've met him, he's a loyal servant to the club. But look at the facts I guess. If Andy King were really that good, he'd have hauled us out of the Championship by now really. Or at least had a major part to play.

However, this could be the season. If it is, and if King is instrumental this year in finally getting us into the top flight then I'll hold up my hands and say I'm wrong. I'd be bloody happy to...