Brendan Rodgers

[smudgerfox]

12 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

No sure what that got to do with saying a player isn't good enough!

So you are say there is no chance we could improve on those players?

 

 

All players can be improved on obviously. But that’s not the same as selling the current player and replacing him with your better one. So Tarkowski is better than Amartey but would Tarkowski come to be a sub for Forfana and Evans? To a club not even playing inEurope? When he could be first name on the team sheet elsewhere….? 
 

Name the club with the better second choice striker than Ihenacho. Liverpool and Man City yes but anyone else? 

Edited 4 May 2022 by smudgerfox

[Free Falling Foxes]

16 minutes ago, smudgerfox said:

All players can be improved on obviously. But that’s not the same as selling the current player and replacing him with your better one. So Tarkowski is better than Amartey but would Tarkowski come to be a sub for Forfana and Evans? To a club not even playing inEurope? When he could be first name on the team sheet elsewhere….? 
 

Name the club with the better second choice striker than Ihenacho. Liverpool and City yes but anyone else? 

Assume you're a Leicester fan?

I know who you are referring to of course, but don't slip into national media mode when referring to Man C, especially as this is a forum for another 'City'.

 

After all, it's only needs one more press/touch of a key.

Edited 3 May 2022 by Free Falling Foxes

[gerblod]

8 hours ago, Mark said:

Maybe in a certain setup, but they are mostly technically poor. Vardy, Daka and Iheanacho are limited in that they can only play one role, so in a 4-3-3 we have no wide forwards apart from Barnes - who again is limited to one position on the left and is another with poor control. Albrighton, in 2022 he simply shouldn't be an option but he is due to exceptionally poor recruitment on the right side. He is not creating anything other than hopeful punts. Lookman is an exception as he seems to be able to play more than one position, is decent on the ball and has more to his game. My point is Rodgers is obsessed with keeping the ball but the forwards are not suited to that type of football so we can barely make any progress up the pitch to create genuine chances. He can bemoan Iheanacho miscontrolling and the forwards not offering what he wants but he's chosen to play this way. We can score goals if the setup is suited to the players we have. Our setup now is to suit the manager. We've played one up front for years and yet chose to have three strikers in the squad who can't play wide so two of them are always a sub. If you play 4-3-3 you need wide forwards like Mane/Salah/Diaz/Jota, and are technically able to play either role and don't fall to pieces when moved from a certain position.

Vardy plays a multifaceted rôle. His assists are astonishingly well placed. It could be said that he is also a wide forward - only further forward and closer in to goal. His season has been marred not by any fading ability, but the misfiring of the team in general. Were Maddison positioned more appropriately Vardy would be far more effective. Iheanacho is often too slow and isolated to work well at counter-sttack pace. Have we yet seen KDH and Vardy working together consistently?

Barnes takes the ball into positions where dispossession is very likely. I don't see him as poor at control. I think he's lost confidence, but he's become a marked man. I think Thomas serves him better than anyone - his passes to Barnes are pinpoint accurate and extremely well weighted.

Albrighton was lauded on RL on Saturday for his crossing. 

You need the ball, whatever game plan you play, in order to score. There's no problem with possession football - it frustrates and drains the opposition of energy - but it has to be utilised appropriately in launching attacks. 

Whether or not BR is suppressing/repressing players by failing to play to their strengths is arguable, but he's not short of the talent needed. They play best when they play freely - tearing defences apart. It takes s gutsy manager to give his players freedom to attack how they feel best doing. I think he needs to be in control rather than guiding his players and overly controlled teams lack creativity.

[Guest Col city fan]

9 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

All players can be improved on obviously. But that’s not the same as selling the current player and replacing him with your better one. So Tarkowski is better than Amartey but would Tarkowski come to be a sub for Forfana and Evans? To a club not even playing inEurope? When he could be first name on the team sheet elsewhere….? 
 

Name the club with the better second choice striker than Ihenacho. Liverpool and City yes but anyone else? 

Re Tarkowski I suppose it all depends if Burnley get relegated. He’d come to us then surely? 

Re your point about second string striker being better than Iheanacho? I think you’ve got me there apart from possibly Watkins and Ings rotating? Though they aren’t doing much either tbf and I’m not sure either are better than Kelechi 

 

[tickler28]

36 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

Re Tarkowski I suppose it all depends if Burnley get relegated. He’d come to us then surely? 

Re your point about second string striker being better than Iheanacho? I think you’ve got me there apart from possibly Watkins and Ings rotating? Though they aren’t doing much either tbf and I’m not sure either are better than Kelechi 

 

Tarkowski will be off to Newcastle for the £££££ but according to some of our fans not being in Europe affects who we can attract 😉 

[smudgerfox]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

Re Tarkowski I suppose it all depends if Burnley get relegated. He’d come to us then surely? 

Re your point about second string striker being better than Iheanacho? I think you’ve got me there apart from possibly Watkins and Ings rotating? Though they aren’t doing much either tbf and I’m not sure either are better than Kelechi 

 

Yes and Kane /Son though that’s slightly different as they’re a pair - Kels v Mourra though ? Not much in that…

[JimJams]

2 hours ago, tickler28 said:

Tarkowski will be off to Newcastle for the £££££ but according to some of our fans not being in Europe affects who we can attract 😉 

Rumour mill says they’re not interested anymore, targets set higher.

[smudgerfox]

12 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Assume you're a Leicester fan?

I know who you are referring to of course, but don't slip into national media mode when referring to Man C, especially as this is a forum for another 'City'.

 

After all, it's only needs one more press/touch of a key.

I stand corrected 

[CrispinLA in Texas]

3 hours ago, tickler28 said:

Tarkowski will be off to Newcastle for the £££££ but according to some of our fans not being in Europe affects who we can attract 😉 

Doubt it now, because they've survived relegation they want bigger fish now.

Looking at their main forum they want players like Bremer from Torino.

And looking like players like the Bruno lad they've signed....they want players in that mould

[FoxyLeon]

Tarkowski from Burnley?

 

I do wonder sometimes whether people watch Football, or just like throwing around fancy sounding names.

 

We will have the same problem with him that Everton have with Michael Keane, or Man United have had with Maguire, you can't play a high line with him.

Burnley's defensive strengths come from a collective, they're very well coached, to the point they get the maximum out of their parts...We rely on Individual brilliance too much.

[messerschmitt]

15 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

All players can be improved on obviously. But that’s not the same as selling the current player and replacing him with your better one. So Tarkowski is better than Amartey but would Tarkowski come to be a sub for Forfana and Evans? To a club not even playing inEurope? When he could be first name on the team sheet elsewhere….? 
 

Name the club with the better second choice striker than Ihenacho. Liverpool and Man City yes but anyone else? 

There are plenty of premier league clubs who's first choice striker isn't as good as Iheanacho, we should be building the team around him and Maddison.

[An Sionnach]

10 minutes ago, messerschmitt said:

There are plenty of premier league clubs who's first choice striker isn't as good as Iheanacho, we should be building the team around him and Maddison.

If you ask any PL defender about Kelechi they will say , he is dangerously unpredictable. He combines clumsiness with inspiration to often deadly effect and is very difficult to read.

[messerschmitt]

7 minutes ago, An Sionnach said:

If you ask any PL defender about Kelechi they will say , he is dangerously unpredictable. He combines clumsiness with inspiration to often deadly effect and is very difficult to read.

I think he looked less clumsy when played regularly last season. While he can have a poor touch sometimes its brilliant

[coolhandfox]

16 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

All players can be improved on obviously. But that’s not the same as selling the current player and replacing him with your better one. So Tarkowski is better than Amartey but would Tarkowski come to be a sub for Forfana and Evans? To a club not even playing inEurope? When he could be first name on the team sheet elsewhere….? 

I'm not Tarkowski so I can't answer that, but there are plenty of CB around Europe who are better then Amartey, who would be more then nappy to join a PL club.

16 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

Name the club with the better second choice striker than Ihenacho. Liverpool and Man City yes but anyone else? 

Vardy isn't going to be around for ever, with Vardy injured for large parts of this season Nacho should have grasp the opportunity to be the main man. 

 

He signed in 17/18, 5 years and 3 managers later, he still a squad player and hasn't made himself undroppable. 

 

Nacho great finisher, but limited due to his other attributes. maybe a little to easy going and nice to be a top player.  

 

Off the top of my head.

 

Everton: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison

Villa: Ing, Watkins

 

 

[coolhandfox]

2 hours ago, FoxyLeon said:

Tarkowski from Burnley?

 

I do wonder sometimes whether people watch Football, or just like throwing around fancy sounding names.

 

We will have the same problem with him that Everton have with Michael Keane, or Man United have had with Maguire, you can't play a high line with him.

Burnley's defensive strengths come from a collective, they're very well coached, to the point they get the maximum out of their parts...We rely on Individual brilliance too much.

How do you know he can't play a high line? 

[sacreblueits442]

4 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Vardy isn't going to be around for ever, with Vardy injured for large parts of this season Nacho should have grasp the opportunity to be the main man. 

 

He signed in 17/18, 5 years and 3 managers later, he still a squad player and hasn't made himself undroppable. 

 

Nacho great finisher, but limited due to his other attributes. maybe a little to easy going and nice to be a top player.  

 

....Nacho would have signed up to play as a two with Vardy!!!

His injury at the start of that season (his first at the club) prevented this from happening. By the time he was ready to play, Vardy had established himself as a lone striker and Nacho did not get a look in. His cameo performances did not help his cause, as the reason why he came in was because Vardy was injured, so Nacho had to lead the line, of which he does not do (or do too well).

  His longest stint in the team was when we went to 3-5-2 where he played alongside Vardy (last season), where he was scoring goals and Vardy could not finish to save his life.

[coolhandfox]

33 minutes ago, sacreblueits442 said:

....Nacho would have signed up to play as a two with Vardy!!!

His injury at the start of that season (his first at the club) prevented this from happening. By the time he was ready to play, Vardy had established himself as a lone striker and Nacho did not get a look in. His cameo performances did not help his cause, as the reason why he came in was because Vardy was injured, so Nacho had to lead the line, of which he does not do (or do too well).

  His longest stint in the team was when we went to 3-5-2 where he played alongside Vardy (last season), where he was scoring goals and Vardy could not finish to save his life.

The world moves on, how many top teams in the PL or in other top European leagues play with a two? 

 

Nacho will always be held back he has been able to adapt, whilst a great finisher, he never going to be seen as a player good enough to adapt your whole side for. 

 

With Vardy injured this was the time for him to push on, become the main man, but I'm not sure he's ruthless enough 

 

By the way Vardy still out scored him and out assist him in the league (15G, 9A) to (12G, 2A).

 

This isn't about Nacho knocking, it more about this was the season for a number of squad player to stake a claim on being one of the first names of the timesheet, other then KDH, the back up have struggled.

 

Outside of KDH, how may of Amartey, Nacho, Daka, Thomas, Hamza, Soumare have made it difficult for the likes of Evans, Fofana, Vardy, Castange, Justin or Ndidi to walk back in the side. 

 

A real quality squad give the manager selection issues/headaches, our doesn't, our strongest 11 is too easy to pick.  

 

 

Edited 4 May 2022 by coolhandfox

[An Sionnach]

29 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

The world moves on, how many top teams in the PL or in other top European leagues play with a two? 

It could be argued that Liverpool play with a three, Firmino, Salah and Mané. Jota and Diaz dropping in rotationally. They are not limited by any particular strict role . Loosely Salah drifts left, Mané right and Firmino more central but they can and do turn up right across the front. We are too rigid in our thinking , Barnes, Vardy and Iheanacho are quite capable of operating as a three pronged strike force.

[sm1]

4 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

The world moves on, how many top teams in the PL or in other top European leagues play with a two? 

 

Nacho will always be held back he has been able to adapt, whilst a great finisher, he never going to be seen as a player good enough to adapt your whole side for. 

 

With Vardy injured this was the time for him to push on, become the main man, but I'm not sure he's ruthless enough 

 

By the way Vardy still out scored him and out assist him in the league (15G, 9A) to (12G, 2A).

 

This isn't about Nacho knocking, it more about this was the season for a number of squad player to stake a claim on being one of the first names of the timesheet, other then KDH, the back up have struggled.

 

Outside of KDH, how may of Amartey, Nacho, Daka, Thomas, Hamza, Soumare have made it difficult for the likes of Evans, Fofana, Vardy, Castange, Justin or Ndidi to walk back in the side. 

 

A real quality squad give the manager selection issues/headaches, our doesn't, our strongest 11 is too easy to pick.  

 

 

In fairness to Nacho, he got his 20/21 league goals/assists in half the playing time.of Vardy. He had a PL goal/assist every 118mins compared to 131mins for Vardy. If you look at the whole season he had a goal/assist every 86mins, pretty much one every game.  This season its 131mins per goal/assist. There's nothing more he could've done to convince Rodgers he was worth a starting place. But Rodgers would rather pick Maddison on the RW, because he loves that 1 man attack.

[Diffco]

Nacho is an unorthodox striker, he's probably best as a link play deep striker on the right. Rarely gets played there. After last season's heroics he deserved a solid 10/20 game run this season. Never really had it. The problem was that Vards got injured then Brendan could never risk 2 up front because he couldn't risk another striker injury, hence 1 up front all season. 

 

I'm pulling my seasoned FM manager know how to this haha, but you need 4 strikers in any given situation to allow rotation and potential injury. 3 never works when you want to play 2 because of the above reasons. Hopefully this'll be rectified in the summer, Vards has still got maybe 2+ seasons left in his career. 

[volpeazzurro]

9 hours ago, FoxyLeon said:

Tarkowski from Burnley?

 

I do wonder sometimes whether people watch Football, or just like throwing around fancy sounding names.

 

We will have the same problem with him that Everton have with Michael Keane, or Man United have had with Maguire, you can't play a high line with him.

Burnley's defensive strengths come from a collective, they're very well coached, to the point they get the maximum out of their parts...We rely on Individual brilliance too much.

I agree, he's got the potential to be a shorter Vestergaard. 

[smudgerfox]

On 04/05/2022 at 16:22, coolhandfox said:

 

Outside of KDH, how may of Amartey, Nacho, Daka, Thomas, Hamza, Soumare have made it difficult for the likes of Evans, Fofana, Vardy, Castange, Justin or Ndidi to walk back in the side. 

 

A real quality squad give the manager selection issues/headaches, our doesn't, our strongest 11 is too easy to pick.  

 

 

this used to be the case but it’s less and less true, the very idea of a first 11 is outdated - you have players who provide tactical options in the squad - they might be better suited to particular games or to expose weaknesses in certain types of opponents..this is how the squad is managed.
 

Most players are not going to be able to play 90 + mins three times in a week at full throttle and intensity, certainly not in a high energy pressing team. And if they do they won’t be able to do it week after week.

 

So how fit, ready and motivated are the so-called fringe players , how seriously their careers are taken, how valued they feel does matter. It does make a difference. 
 

My contention is that BR has a worrying tendency to suck up to his “stars” and be quite dismissive of those whose job it is to occasionally deputise. When their chance comes - it’s often fleetingly short and in emergency circumstances - not exactly the best circumstances to win a place in the so-called starting line up. 
 

Of course you can cite KDH as an exception but there are a lot of squad players now whom BR doesn’t rate …

 

[Stinkenzo]

It's been clear for a few months now that we've put all our eggs in the ECL basket however if we lose tonight I hope people who are undecided on him don't use it as a trigger that he has failed. Not saying the season should be seen as above average by any means but we have no right to breeze past Roma. Had we got knocked out by Bodo Glimt then sure

[UniFox21]

That's not much left to say, some hate him some don't 

Edited 5 May 2022 by UniFox21

[UniFox21]

Oops

Edited 5 May 2022 by UniFox21