Is this team even that good?

[Nicolo Barella]

3 minutes ago, AlloverthefloorYesNdidi said:

Well, yeah, obviously i'd take a cup! 

 

Europa league is our best chance for CL football though

Winning the FA Cup gets you group stage Europa, unless I've been horribly misled.

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

1 minute ago, Nicolo Barella said:

Winning the FA Cup gets you group stage Europa, unless I've been horribly misled.

Yes, who said otherwise?

 

[Nicolo Barella]

3 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

What are you guys talking about? We have not even started playing in the FA Cup yet! And we are not going to win it unfortunately.

Sure, we probably wont, but we are talking about hypothetical situations here anyway. I'm saying its probably the best way into Europa League.

[Nicolo Barella]

1 minute ago, AlloverthefloorYesNdidi said:

Yes, who said otherwise?

 

Nobody. I just meant that going right into the group stage means our pre season isn't ruined by having to struggle through 3rd and 2nd qualifying rounds to go into the group stage, so FA Cup qualification into Europe is better than 7th place qualification. Think I wasn't very clear the first time around 

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

Just now, Nicolo Barella said:

Nobody. I just meant that going right into the group stage means our pre season isn't ruined by having to struggle through 3rd and 2nd qualifying rounds to go into the group stage, so FA Cup qualification into Europe is better than 7th place qualification. Think I wasn't very clear the first time around 

Oh right, yeah I see.  Well i'm sure we'll go for the FA Cup too.  No condensed Xmas fixture list should give us a better chance of playing a strong side (should we beat Newport!)

[AylestoneRaider]

We are such an inconsistent side. One of the big problems is actually Vardy. Obviously, he is a superb player and his contribution to our 3 Xmas wins has been immense. However, he is not suited to playing alone upfront when we face the weaker sides at home. For these games we need a striker who is more comfortable playing with his back to goal and bringing other players into the game. The 4-2-3-1 formation requires such a player to make use of the 3 players behind the striker IMO. It is a real shame that Nacho has been such a flop, because  he looked like he’d have the pace, touch and skill to play that role.

 

strange that one of our best ever players actually gives us something of a tactical dilemma 

[whoareyaaa]

17 minutes ago, AlloverthefloorYesNdidi said:

Oh right, yeah I see.  Well i'm sure we'll go for the FA Cup too.  No condensed Xmas fixture list should give us a better chance of playing a strong side (should we beat Newport!)

To win a cup you need to beat big teams, something we have done over the last few games so I think it should set us up for a nice cup run.

 

4-3-3 all the way to the finale.

[AKCJ]

Kasper - Personally think he'd be on the radar of everyone in the top 6 should they lose their keeper.

Ward - Very capable back up and will probably be the first teamer when/if Kasper leaves.

Jakupovic - Never heard him whinge about lack of chances, always seems to be enjoying himself during warm ups etc.

 

Ricardo - Best signing of the summer and right now is definitely in a shout of being the best RB in the league.

Simpson - Always does a great job defensively, never moans. Very capable back up.

 

Morgan - Very slow start to the season but I think he had been improving.

Maguire - Too good to not be playing in Europe. Hopefully the World Cup hype around him dies down.

Evans - Like Morgan he had a slow start to the season but he was utterly excellent yesterday.

Soyuncu - Don't really know what to make of him but it's clear he has talent. Young lad moving to a new country and he struggles with language. His time is next season.

 

Chilwell - For me only Robertson is better in the Premier League right now. Looks a bit tired recently but his England cap has really brought out the best in him.

Fuchs - Exactly the same as Simpson. Really great to have these two pushing probably our two best players on.

 

Ndidi - Passing really is awful and hasn't shown signs of improving but his ability to win the ball back is special. No surprise he's flourished when we've played a more counter attacking style.

Mendy - Like a new signing, been very steady and always does a good job. Wish he was a bit more creative though.

Iborra - Often threatens to look like a real player but there's been too many false dawns with him. Wouldn't be adverse to letting him go back to Spain. Shame it's not really worked for him.

Silva - Needs to go.

Choudhury - He's got great heart. Love his pressing too. Needs to work on his passing a bit but he'll have a very good career in the Premier League, no doubt.

 

Maddison - Very good first half of the season. Bit of maturing to do IMO but he's going to be an England regular i'm sure.

Gray - He's been okay for me. He's upped his work rate this year and has a few goals but being in and out of the team isn't helping him.

Albrighton - Mr. Reliable. He should be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Ghezzal - Utterly woeful.

 

Vardy - I think he needs to do a bit more to get involved sometimes but you can't doubt his effort or quality. We're so lucky that he loves it here because he's easily Champions League material.

Iheanacho - Doesn't suit what Puel is trying to do and I don't think he suits the counter attack either. He has qualities but it'd be best for all parties if he moved on IMO. A shame.

Okazaki - No goals since December 2017. I adore the man and he'll go down as a cult hero forever more, not just because of his part in 15/16. We need another striker who can deliver goals regularly. 

 

 

I think that's a very good squad for our level of midtable. If we can bring in striker and a winger that can supply a steady stream of goals and assists then I honestly think we'd be in good shape to give the top 6 a run for their money. Trouble is I can see us losing top players before we bring in more.

 

We're very nearly there though IMO.

[siraaj_lcfc]

31 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

What are you guys talking about? We have not even started playing in the FA Cup yet! And we are not going to win it unfortunately.

We always have a good cup run. Have Positivitee. 

[somebum]

We won't get 7th. Probably 10-12th.

[Captain...]

Are we that good? Depends on what you mean by good.

 

Take Vardy, he is one of the best in the league at feeding off scraps, looking for the quick counter and able to force and then profit from mistakes.

 

...but his hold up play is appalling, he doesn’t move the defence around off the ball and he isn’t very good in the air. If you are going to play counter attacking football he’d be first name on the team sheet.

 

Morgan is another, strong, great in the air will throw his body in front of anything, one of the best no-nonsense defenders in the league...

...but he isn’t very mobile, he’s not comfortable on the ball and his range of passing is poor.

 

Schmeichel, great shot stopper awful distribution. Simpson great defensive full back awful attacking full back.

 

Ndidi great at breaking up play awful at retaining possession.., 

 

I could go on. If we play to their strengths we’ll have one hell of a team on our hands, expose their weaknesses and we lose to the likes of Cardiff and Palace.

[Lambert09]

17 hours ago, boots60 said:

7th in the league would mean playing qualifying rounds of the Europa league which would essentially knock a month or so off the pre season break. Look what happened to Burnley this season. Disastrous. F.A cup win would enable us to go straight to the group stage but we all know where the cups are on Puels priority list.

 

Burnley were always punching above their weight tbh. Surely a couple of qualifying games are better than pre-season friendlies if they are managed correctly? It does hinder preparation if you get knocked out at the first stage though. 

 

I cant see the negatives of the Europa league if handled correctly, its a great opportunity to give more youngsters a run out and why as fans would we complain about more football? Even if it did mean slipping from a 7th place finish to a 10th place finish.... What do we want this club to achieve? Because the opportunity to play in Europe (at any level) has to be what we are aiming for. 

 

We would have to increase the squad, but that would give us stronger options in the league whilst keeping some harmony as squad players get more of an opportunity to play. 

 

*feel free to flag this when we get relegated next season due to EL 

 

[Dahnsouff]

3 hours ago, AylestoneRaider said:

We are such an inconsistent side. One of the big problems is actually Vardy. Obviously, he is a superb player and his contribution to our 3 Xmas wins has been immense. However, he is not suited to playing alone upfront when we face the weaker sides at home. For these games we need a striker who is more comfortable playing with his back to goal and bringing other players into the game. The 4-2-3-1 formation requires such a player to make use of the 3 players behind the striker IMO. It is a real shame that Nacho has been such a flop, because  he looked like he’d have the pace, touch and skill to play that role.

 

strange that one of our best ever players actually gives us something of a tactical dilemma 

I hate agreeing with this, but feel this is problem now, or imminently. He is a legend, and we are blessed to have him, but the future is very concerning for him and the position.

Go full Sarri and play no strikers? 

[AylestoneRaider]

12 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

I hate agreeing with this, but feel this is problem now, or imminently. He is a legend, and we are blessed to have him, but the future is very concerning for him and the position.

Go full Sarri and play no strikers? 

He is a counter-attack specialist, but not well suited to Puel’s preferred tactics/formation when we player lesser teams that defend deep.

 

I am Vardy’s biggest fan and couldn’t have more love for what he’s achieved for us, but I think playing him upfront at home vs teams like Cardiff and Burnley could be holding us back. I don’t think putting Ghezzal in as number 10 is helping, although he played well vs Burnley. The only way I see him working on home games is in a 3-5-2.

 

I see reports that Wolves have a bid of 18m accepted for Tammy Abraham - if true, I think we should try and bid as well, because he would be ideal for us. He could pisdibly play alongside Vards in a 3-5-2 - although Claude would never experiment with it!!!

[Dahnsouff]

5 minutes ago, AylestoneRaider said:

He is a counter-attack specialist, but not well suited to Puel’s preferred tactics/formation when we player lesser teams that defend deep.

 

I am Vardy’s biggest fan and couldn’t have more love for what he’s achieved for us, but I think playing him upfront at home vs teams like Cardiff and Burnley could be holding us back. I don’t think putting Ghezzal in as number 10 is helping, although he played well vs Burnley. The only way I see him working on home games is in a 3-5-2.

 

I see reports that Wolves have a bid of 18m accepted for Tammy Abraham - if true, I think we should try and bid as well, because he would be ideal for us. He could pisdibly play alongside Vards in a 3-5-2 - although Claude would never experiment with it!!!

Totally agree, would love to see Abraham here. Not sure Chelsea have quite forgiven us for Drinkwater mind.

[AylestoneRaider]

One point to note is that the most relevant consideration when discussing a team’s expected/acceptable league position relates to the club’s wage bill. A comprehensive study of all European leagues showed a very clear correlation between wage bill and league position (far more than net spend on transfers, which is often referenced). Managers such as Pochettino who have league positions higher than teams with greater wage bills are therefore doing very well. Mourinho this season was performing very poorly according to this measure.

 

Regarding wages, we have the 10th highest wage bill according to data from November 2018. Therefore, our default position should be 10th and I suspect this is more or less where we’ll finish. As for the manager I genuinely think he is slightly over performing. The problem is that the football can be a bit lifeless (verging on boring), but we are seeing progress in terms of younger players being brought through.

[Koke]

7 points behind a resurgent Man Utd team. 

 

We will have good days and bad days and finish between 7th and 10th.

 

Enjoy this era, we will look back on 2017-2020 as a stable era.

[Hanan96]

15 hours ago, AylestoneRaider said:

One point to note is that the most relevant consideration when discussing a team’s expected/acceptable league position relates to the club’s wage bill. A comprehensive study of all European leagues showed a very clear correlation between wage bill and league position (far more than net spend on transfers, which is often referenced). Managers such as Pochettino who have league positions higher than teams with greater wage bills are therefore doing very well. Mourinho this season was performing very poorly according to this measure.

 

Regarding wages, we have the 10th highest wage bill according to data from November 2018. Therefore, our default position should be 10th and I suspect this is more or less where we’ll finish. As for the manager I genuinely think he is slightly over performing. The problem is that the football can be a bit lifeless (verging on boring), but we are seeing progress in terms of younger players being brought through.

Unfortunately it seems we have one of the biggest wage bills for unused players. 

[volpeazzurro]

16 hours ago, Dahnsouff said:

I hate agreeing with this, but feel this is problem now, or imminently. He is a legend, and we are blessed to have him, but the future is very concerning for him and the position.

Go full Sarri and play no strikers? 

Yet he's now the only player we have that, when he receives the ball, you think something might happen.

[Dahnsouff]

12 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Yet he's now the only player we have that, when he receives the ball, you think something might happen.

That is impossible to disagree with (Although perhaps over time Ricardo and Maddison also), but this shows we are overly reliant on a 31yr old. (32 in a week)

(Sounds young to me mind...)

 

[volpeazzurro]

11 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

That is impossible to disagree with (Although perhaps over time Ricardo and Maddison also), but this shows we are overly reliant on a 31yr old. (32 in a week)

(Sounds young to me mind...)

 

You're right, it is a concern that can't be ignored and we all know that 'legs' can suddenly go, though I'm hoping that because he came to football at a high level relatively late, he's still got a couple of seasons left in him.  We were so lucky to have three players in Vardy, Kante and Marhez all one the field at one time. Not often in our history that we'd had three players at the same time that most clubs would be gagging to have in their side. Replacing them is going to be one hell of a task!

[shailen]

I genuinely think we are the best of the rest but think we are closer to the bottom 13 teams then the top 6 teams. There naturally is a massive gap to United (not points wise) but quality wise.

 

Think we need a top quality striker and a central midfielder before we can get closer to the top 6. This squad is probably the most talented we have had but there isn't much depth in certain areas that if we had a few injuries - Ali don't think we would recover from. 

 

The two signings I would want to make this January would be Giroud and Loftus Cheek. These are the types of players that will solve the problems we currently have. 

[Simoken]

33 minutes ago, shailen said:

Giroud and Loftus Cheek. These are the types of players that will solve the problems we currently have. 

Loftus Cheek is a great shout, and our youthful generation and rep on developing young players could be enough to tempt him maybe?  Puel again with his youthful development could be another attractive offer.

 

well see what may happen this month. but it is Chelsea and they will demand a high price..

Edited 3 January 2019 by Simoken

[funkyrobot]

21 hours ago, AKCJ said:

Kasper - Personally think he'd be on the radar of everyone in the top 6 should they lose their keeper.

Ward - Very capable back up and will probably be the first teamer when/if Kasper leaves.

Jakupovic - Never heard him whinge about lack of chances, always seems to be enjoying himself during warm ups etc.

 

Ricardo - Best signing of the summer and right now is definitely in a shout of being the best RB in the league.

Simpson - Always does a great job defensively, never moans. Very capable back up.

 

Morgan - Very slow start to the season but I think he had been improving.

Maguire - Too good to not be playing in Europe. Hopefully the World Cup hype around him dies down.

Evans - Like Morgan he had a slow start to the season but he was utterly excellent yesterday.

Soyuncu - Don't really know what to make of him but it's clear he has talent. Young lad moving to a new country and he struggles with language. His time is next season.

 

Chilwell - For me only Robertson is better in the Premier League right now. Looks a bit tired recently but his England cap has really brought out the best in him.

Fuchs - Exactly the same as Simpson. Really great to have these two pushing probably our two best players on.

 

Ndidi - Passing really is awful and hasn't shown signs of improving but his ability to win the ball back is special. No surprise he's flourished when we've played a more counter attacking style.

Mendy - Like a new signing, been very steady and always does a good job. Wish he was a bit more creative though.

Iborra - Often threatens to look like a real player but there's been too many false dawns with him. Wouldn't be adverse to letting him go back to Spain. Shame it's not really worked for him.

Silva - Needs to go.

Choudhury - He's got great heart. Love his pressing too. Needs to work on his passing a bit but he'll have a very good career in the Premier League, no doubt.

 

Maddison - Very good first half of the season. Bit of maturing to do IMO but he's going to be an England regular i'm sure.

Gray - He's been okay for me. He's upped his work rate this year and has a few goals but being in and out of the team isn't helping him.

Albrighton - Mr. Reliable. He should be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Ghezzal - Utterly woeful.

 

Vardy - I think he needs to do a bit more to get involved sometimes but you can't doubt his effort or quality. We're so lucky that he loves it here because he's easily Champions League material.

Iheanacho - Doesn't suit what Puel is trying to do and I don't think he suits the counter attack either. He has qualities but it'd be best for all parties if he moved on IMO. A shame.

Okazaki - No goals since December 2017. I adore the man and he'll go down as a cult hero forever more, not just because of his part in 15/16. We need another striker who can deliver goals regularly. 

 

 

I think that's a very good squad for our level of midtable. If we can bring in striker and a winger that can supply a steady stream of goals and assists then I honestly think we'd be in good shape to give the top 6 a run for their money. Trouble is I can see us losing top players before we bring in more.

 

We're very nearly there though IMO.

So basically you’re saying build the team around #GOAT Rachid Ghezzal.

[ScouseFox]

yb29 retweeted this earlier, what a fu cking boy