Patson Daka

[jmono84]

26 minutes ago, Tommy Fresh said:

The little flick in the build up to the third.....

He pulled off a couple of other neat little flicks too but there were a couple where he should have tried to turn and get a shot off.

 

I can see he’s still developing in this new role and he’s doing well.

[James_lcfc]

Done well the previous two games, but I'd say he was poor overall last night.

 

Still think he could be the best option we have in that position though...

[Marshall Cockney Fox]

I find it remarkable how polarised opinions are on here re Patson. Do those 'against' posters feel Nacho/Vards have stepped forward this season? Because I think overall they've been woeful. And on top coin for it. Whilst the Patson era hasn't seen every attack result in the net bulge. Certainly not from Patson himself. You can't have missed that our attacking intent has more zip, purpose and a 4th / 5th gear about it. That isn't a coincidence at all. So I for one, am in no rush to see the return of the overpaid coasters. Keep going Patson. 

[Finnegan]

17 minutes ago, Marshall Cockney Fox said:

I find it remarkable how polarised opinions are on here re Patson

 

I think the last few years of playing a lot more tactical football than the average Leicester fan is used to have shown how many people don't really properly understand the game they watch and love. Or, not on any technical level at least.

 

The problem is that everyone's been watching and even playing football all their lives and its very much part of the British psyche that football is A. the national game and B. a simple game. Everyone thinks they're an expert (and in some ways they are, they'll know all the teams, all the players, recognise who is who, etc) and I think it's really genuinely quite difficult for people to admit that actually, they don't really "get" a lot of the nuance of what's happening on a pitch.

 

There are a lot of posters on this forum (and I won't be petty and tag them but I could probably name a hatful just off hand) who I know know a lot about football, who follow football keenly and football is clearly their hobby but I also know they don't get it. There are posters on this forum that think that @StriderHiryu is some sort of wizard or mystic because he understands basic patterns of play and movement on a football pitch. He's not Pep Guardiola (no offence Strider), he just watches the game a little bit more attentively than someone whose interest is, say, what the away fans were singing, who had the best pyro in Europe this weekend, what Fatawu was posting on TikTok or which of ours players fell over more than they twatted someone. 

 

We've played a lot of football over the last eighteen months that has created chances for midfielders to score goals. Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, KDH, Mavididi, McAteer and even Wilf is getting in on the action now. Our strikers aren't our stand out top scorers so the conventional measure of a striker - have they scored a lot of goals - needs re-evaluating. You need to understand a bit of nuance, you need to be able to step back and accept the fact that "striker" is a fairly arbitrary term, Daka, Vardy, Iheanacho they're all just one player on a pitch all part of a wider system. We're not just smashing it up to them and hoping they score a goal, there's a whole load of things being asked of them.

 

Daka's link up play and his movement over the last few games has been better than either Vardy or Iheanacho this season. Even if he hadn't scored at all, he'd probably have done more than the other two have done for a few weeks now and its shown in the teams performances. But you have to be watching properly - not on your sixth lager of the afternoon having been pre-gaming since two hours before kick off and spending more time yelling, singing and chanting - to actually notice. That's not the forte of a lot of the fanbase and that's fine, it's genuinely fair enough, people are free to enjoy the game and the club however they want. I just wish they'd shut the **** up being openly abusive about players they think are underperforming afterwards, especially when you're talking about one of our attackers and we've scored 3+ goals in 3 consecutive games.

 

Edited 19 December 2023 by Finnegan

[StriderHiryu]

3 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I think the last few years of playing a lot more tactical football than the average Leicester fan is used to have shown how many people don't really properly understand the game they watch and love. Or, not on any technical level at least.

 

The problem is that everyone's been watching and even playing football all their lives and its very much part of the British psyche that football is A. the national game and B. a simple game. Everyone thinks they're an expert (and in some ways they are, they'll know all the teams, all the players, recognise who is who, etc) and I think it's really genuinely quite difficult for people to admit that actually, they don't really "get" a lot of the nuance of what's happening on a pitch.

 

There are a lot of posters on this forum (and I won't be petty and tag them but I could probably name a hatful just off hand) who I know know a lot about football, who follow football keenly and football is clearly their hobby but I also know they don't get it. There are posters on this forum that think that @StriderHiryu is some sort of wizard or mystic because he understands basic patterns of play and movement on a football pitch. He's not Pep Guardiola (no offence Strider), he just watches the game a little bit more attentively than someone whose interest is, say, what the away fans were singing, who had the best pyro in Europe this weekend, what Fatawu was posting on TikTok or which of ours players fell over more than they twatted someone. 

 

We've played a lot of football over the last eighteen months that has created chances for midfielders to score goals. Barnes, Maddison, Tielemans, KDH, Mavididi, McAteer and even Wilf is getting in on the action now. Our strikers aren't our stand out top scorers so the conventional measure of a striker - have they scored a lot of goals - needs re-evaluating. You need to understand a bit of nuance, you need to be able to step back and accept the fact that "striker" is a fairly arbitrary term, Daka, Vardy, Iheanacho they're all just one player on a pitch all part of a wider system. We're not just smashing it up to them and hoping they score a goal, there's a whole load of things being asked of them.

 

Daka's link up play and his movement over the last few games has been better than either Vardy or Iheanacho this season. Even if he hadn't scored at all, he'd probably have done more than the other two have done for a few weeks now and its shown in the teams performances. But you have to be watching properly - not on your sixth lager of the afternoon having been pre-gaming since two hours before kick off and spending more time yelling, singing and chanting - to actually notice. That's not the forte of a lot of the fanbase and that's fine, it's genuinely fair enough, people are free to enjoy the game and the club however they want. I just wish they'd shut the **** up being openly abusive about players they think are underperforming afterwards, especially when you're talking about one of our attackers and we've scored 3+ goals in 3 consecutive games.

 

I have a UEFA B coaching licence. Whilst I have zero experienced managing or working at a top level club, I have attended and even ran training sessions for clubs lower down the league pyramid such as Enfield Town and Barnet FC who are local to me. I'm writing a lot of stuff this season is to try and get my name out there to move higher up the queue for enrolment when the time is right, and to do prep work for the content material for that qualification.

 

To take a quote directly from the Official FA site:
The UEFA A Licence is the highest practical coaching award available and builds on the technical and tactical content covered within UEFA B Licence. Creating better developers of individual players within units and for 11v11 football by improving your understanding of modern trends in the game, strategies and tactics, systems of play in todays game and the England DNA principles.

 

You could easily have made the point above without mentioning my name, but you have done, and it's not the first time you've done it either. I don't know what your problem is.

[Golden Fox]

The frustrating thing for me is that when he came here, we were sold on his biggest attribute being able to put the ball in the back of the net. We've seen flashes - you don't score 4 goals in a game in Europe without that ability.

 

But he just lacked composure in front of goal last night. There was first half where he steered it well wide, the semi-stumble when he was through and should have squared it or shot, another attempt where he tried a silly backheel rather than taking it on or just shooting - and that is 3 moments that spring to mind.

 

This is not disagreeing that he might be the best option in link up play and the amount of chances we were getting in the first place was partly due to his movement and I get that strikers work on confidence, which is likely low if he's been sat out all season - but the story of last nights game was wave after wave of attacks but we couldn't put the game away, so I don't think frustration at our main striker who we paid something like £23m for to put the ball in the net is an unreasonable view.

[Dahnsouff]

5 minutes ago, Golden Fox said:

The frustrating thing for me is that when he came here, we were sold on his biggest attribute being able to put the ball in the back of the net. We've seen flashes - you don't score 4 goals in a game in Europe without that ability.

 

But he just lacked composure in front of goal last night. There was first half where he steered it well wide, the semi-stumble when he was through and should have squared it or shot, another attempt where he tried a silly backheel rather than taking it on or just shooting - and that is 3 moments that spring to mind.

 

This is not disagreeing that he might be the best option in link up play and the amount of chances we were getting in the first place was partly due to his movement and I get that strikers work on confidence, which is likely low if he's been sat out all season - but the story of last nights game was wave after wave of attacks but we couldn't put the game away, so I don't think frustration at our main striker who we paid something like £23m for to put the ball in the net is an unreasonable view.

As ironic as it may sound, I am not convinced the strikers main job is to score goals in this system.  

How long this “build up and misdirect” type role can last is not obvious though.

[Fox92]

27 minutes ago, Golden Fox said:

The frustrating thing for me is that when he came here, we were sold on his biggest attribute being able to put the ball in the back of the net. We've seen flashes - you don't score 4 goals in a game in Europe without that ability.

 

But he just lacked composure in front of goal last night. There was first half where he steered it well wide, the semi-stumble when he was through and should have squared it or shot, another attempt where he tried a silly backheel rather than taking it on or just shooting - and that is 3 moments that spring to mind.

 

This is not disagreeing that he might be the best option in link up play and the amount of chances we were getting in the first place was partly due to his movement and I get that strikers work on confidence, which is likely low if he's been sat out all season - but the story of last nights game was wave after wave of attacks but we couldn't put the game away, so I don't think frustration at our main striker who we paid something like £23m for to put the ball in the net is an unreasonable view.

You don't have to justify yourself. He missed a good chance from 7 yards, that's fair to say.

[Foxin_Mad]

Daka has performed no worse than Vardy or Nacho and had 3 games, I still think he needs a decent run before he can be judged. Vardy and Nacho have largely been rancid all season.

[Finnegan]

30 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

You could easily have made the point above without mentioning my name, but you have done, and it's not the first time you've done it either. I don't know what your problem is.

 

I'm disappointed that it came across that I was being offensive, it certainly wasn't my intention and I apologise if that's how you've taken it either this time or previously.

 

I wasn't being facetious, I was being literal, you aren't Pep Guardiola, that's not an insult to 99.9% of people on the planet, the man is a nearly unequalled genius. And that's my point, you don't need to have his level of understanding of football to be able to appreciate nuance on a football pitch and a coaching qualification isn't any guarantee, either. My dad has his B Licence and was an excellent coach in a lot of ways, I still wouldn't say he particularly 'gets' Enzo Maresca's idea of football (albeit he's now in his 70s and legally blind.)

 

But what you do need is to be actively interested in football from a tactical or technical perspective and to want to strive to actually better your understanding of it and that's just not how a lot of people engage with or relate to football. They want their opinions regardless but they don't actually understand the nuance of what any one player's actual role is within a system because its just not their wheelhouse and that's fine, I just wish they wouldn't then spend their time trawling social media calling X, Y or Z footballer shit.

 

Oh and on a more personal note, Strider, I specifically declined to tag people I perhaps might have been deliberately insulting towards and specifically did tag you because I meant to pay a compliment. I've mentioned you by name because you're a popular figure on the forum and a lot of people treat your name as synonymous with understanding tactics (because you've put yourself out there as such.) And I don't think you're alone, I think there's quite a few posters on here that are really bright, really engaged with the sport from a tactical point of view, read and watch a lot of analysis and statistics and genuinely love it. There's just also a lot of people that absolutely don't and still expect their "opinion" ("Daka is just shit he doesn't do anything he falls over a lot") to be given the same value.

 

 

[Ian S]

I think we look a far better team going forward with him in it, yes last night his work inside the box was not the best but he played a key part in the 3rd goal, he occupied the defence constantly with his movement and pace.We have scored 10 times in the 3 matches he has started so something is working.He is definitely first choice for me.

[Chelmofox]

2 hours ago, Golden Fox said:

The frustrating thing for me is that when he came here, we were sold on his biggest attribute being able to put the ball in the back of the net. We've seen flashes - you don't score 4 goals in a game in Europe without that ability.

 

But he just lacked composure in front of goal last night. There was first half where he steered it well wide, the semi-stumble when he was through and should have squared it or shot, another attempt where he tried a silly backheel rather than taking it on or just shooting - and that is 3 moments that spring to mind.

 

This is not disagreeing that he might be the best option in link up play and the amount of chances we were getting in the first place was partly due to his movement and I get that strikers work on confidence, which is likely low if he's been sat out all season - but the story of last nights game was wave after wave of attacks but we couldn't put the game away, so I don't think frustration at our main striker who we paid something like £23m for to put the ball in the net is an unreasonable view.

He has 2 goals and an assist in 3 starts. All strikers miss chances. We've seen Vardy and Nacho miss a lot over the course of the season, and we've seen many strikers miss against us as well. I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will improve in this system and can become more clinical. He's not played a lot of club football for 6 months. Yesterday was his first away start, and there were many positive attributes to his performance.

 

His overall contribution to the game has improved even in the 3 games. His link up play is arguably better than Nacho's, and he is able to drag defenders around and create a lot of space better than Vardy. He is linking up with wingers well too.  But most notably he is getting the right positions at the right time, something neither Nacho and Vardy were doing. 

 

He's rusty, and there was a bit of over reliance on back heels and little flicks, although this could show he is getting confidence in his game. He needs time for Maresca to work his magic on him, but i genuinely feel Daka could be our secret weapon. 

 

I still think he will be gone in the January window though, and that he only came in due to injury. This little spell won't have done his valuation any harm though. 

[Jobyfox]

I’m not Patson’s biggest fan, but he currently looks like the best option we have. 

 

Vardy is 37 in January and owes us nothing, but is nowhere his clinical best. Nacho’s form is probably the biggest disappointment of the season given the expectation of playing at this level. 
 

I wouldn’t be averse to keeping Patson around for this season. Hopefully we’ll go up and then I’m not sure he’s the future, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it. 
 

Instinctively I feel his short term future may not be with us if the right offer comes in and I’d be fine with that if Vards and Ian were closer to the form we could reasonably expect 

[East Langton Fox]

5 hours ago, Fox85 said:

He created 2 goals so he actually played a brilliant game.

 

Infact when you look at the statistics of last night's game you would probably find that without him we would of lost that game maybe drew.

 

Last night was a great opportunity to enable Leicester to win and perform really well.

 

He did.

I lost count of the number of attacks that broke down when the ball was passed to Daka. He has pace but lacks control. 

[StriderHiryu]

4 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

I'm disappointed that it came across that I was being offensive, it certainly wasn't my intention and I apologise if that's how you've taken it either this time or previously.

 

I wasn't being facetious, I was being literal, you aren't Pep Guardiola, that's not an insult to 99.9% of people on the planet, the man is a nearly unequalled genius. And that's my point, you don't need to have his level of understanding of football to be able to appreciate nuance on a football pitch and a coaching qualification isn't any guarantee, either. My dad has his B Licence and was an excellent coach in a lot of ways, I still wouldn't say he particularly 'gets' Enzo Maresca's idea of football (albeit he's now in his 70s and legally blind.)

 

But what you do need is to be actively interested in football from a tactical or technical perspective and to want to strive to actually better your understanding of it and that's just not how a lot of people engage with or relate to football. They want their opinions regardless but they don't actually understand the nuance of what any one player's actual role is within a system because its just not their wheelhouse and that's fine, I just wish they wouldn't then spend their time trawling social media calling X, Y or Z footballer shit.

 

Oh and on a more personal note, Strider, I specifically declined to tag people I perhaps might have been deliberately insulting towards and specifically did tag you because I meant to pay a compliment. I've mentioned you by name because you're a popular figure on the forum and a lot of people treat your name as synonymous with understanding tactics (because you've put yourself out there as such.) And I don't think you're alone, I think there's quite a few posters on here that are really bright, really engaged with the sport from a tactical point of view, read and watch a lot of analysis and statistics and genuinely love it. There's just also a lot of people that absolutely don't and still expect their "opinion" ("Daka is just shit he doesn't do anything he falls over a lot") to be given the same value.

 

 

Alright apology accepted.

 

I want to stress now and forever more that I am NOT some kind of font of wisdom. In the tactics thread, I really encourage people to participate in a friendly yet constructive manner. One of the things they teach in the courses I have taken so far is to have the mindset of always wanting to improve, to learn how to listen, and how to think critically. I personally have learnt a lot from others on here, with names like @Lillehamring , @SecretProand @Aleksz coming to mind, but I know there are others too! It's actually refreshing when someone provides a different viewpoint of the game / play / tactics but presents them with facts and / or a well-reasoned argument. There is no total solution in football, and the unpredictability of it is one reason why we love it so much.

 

I am really interested in football and am seriously considering a career switch into it. Right now I'm part of a start-up that I co-founded, but one way or another that will end (either in glory or dismal failure) so this is on my mind. Check out the High Performance podcast with an interview with Will Still who is manager at Reims in France, his story is inspirational as he started out as a video analyst at a lower league Belgian Club, working for free for 6 months. That's why I am trying to get my name out there, because you can reference these things and people are watching. Believe it or not, one of the posts on here I made in the past about the 442 Diamond I used as a reference on an application to get into the course and during the interview they asked me about that system referencing that post!

 

 

 

Back on topic, as it's the Paston Daka thread - you have to give the guy his dues. I think he has adapted to the system surprisingly well. He got given pelters for his performance yesterday, but if you look at the game in depth, I think his work off the ball was superb. He has also proven to be a far better link man than many ever gave him credit for (including me). The third goal, he helps out with a cute backheel to play it to Mavididi. In terms of tactics, I feel like when we are on the ball and move to our "back to front" phase of play, his burst of pace can be deadly and it feels like our attack is faster and more clinical when he's been in the team.

 

For me his areas to improve are:

• Overall decision-making in the final third
• Needs a bit more composure when finishing. He tends to prefer to lash them in, whereas I think he needs to add some finesse to his game. I don't see Daka attempting the sort of finish Mavididi made for his first goal yesterday for example.
• Improving his overall awareness when he has his back to goal. (But I must note that his positioning, lay-offs and link-ups have improved massively in this mini 3 game spell he's had).

 

[Mike Oxlong]

It may not have come across in my general posts and match analysis but I have a UEFA A coaching licence 

[James_lcfc]

2 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

It may not have come across in my general posts and match analysis but I have a UEFA A coaching licence 

Not got your Pro Licence yet?

 

Need to start watching the game a little closer and really understand the nuances of the game. Not like the rest of the simpletons on here.

[Mike Oxlong]

1 minute ago, James_lcfc said:

Not got your Pro Licence yet?

 

Need to start watching the game a little closer and really understand the nuances of the game. Not like the rest of the simpletons on here.

Is there a Pro Licence ? Someone should have said 

[Dan LCFC]

He got something like a goal a game over two years in Austria - a league comparable in level to this one. He's better than this level.

[The Doctor]

7 hours ago, volpeazzurro said:

But are those goals down to him or the quality of the opposition? 

 

Whoever Enzo intends to play against Ipswich needs some game time against Rotherham. 

It's a fair question, particularly given Plymouth played suicideball, but honestly I'd direct you back to games against QPR and sheff weds. Daka is not playing a different role to Vardy or Iheanacho, it's the same role and the same movement patterns - striker drops in to pull defenders out, 8s surge forward/wingers inside to the vacated space to create overloads. While we didn't convert them, think how many 4 v 3s we had last night. Vardy and Iheanacho have been making the same movements but have been coming too deep which allows the defenders to drop back and let the midfielders pick them up, and have lacked the pace and energy to spin back forward and add to the overload having created the space. No doubt it helps that Birminghams understanding of defence starts and ends at it being the thing that goes round degarden, but Dakas movement in this system has been better than Nachos or Vardys

[MPH]

1 hour ago, Dan LCFC said:

He got something like a goal a game over two years in Austria - a league comparable in level to this one. He's better than this level.

 

 

Jermaine Beckford did great for Leeds and Ade Akinbiyi did well for several clubs before us... we cant always use that as a marker..

 

But credit to Daka and Maresca... he seems to be adapting well to the system and I was impressed with his movement off the ball yesterday...

[Claridge]

19 hours ago, hackneyfox said:

He’s on 90k a week?

Are you sure about that?

His basic is £75,000 a week plus bonuses which are around the 20,000 a week if involved in the squad. knocked 5,000 off as he hasn't always been in the squad.

[The_77]

Had a rough game last night but that’s totally fine after his prior two performances. Give him time and he’ll rebuild his chemistry with his teammates. 

[Dan LCFC]

57 minutes ago, MPH said:

Jermaine Beckford did great for Leeds and Ade Akinbiyi did well for several clubs before us... we cant always use that as a marker..

 

But credit to Daka and Maresca... he seems to be adapting well to the system and I was impressed with his movement off the ball yesterday...

Both of the examples given were at levels below what we had bought them for. Daka's done it against very comparable opposition to ours.

 

Daka has been fine. I'm a bit baffled at some of the stick he's had for last night.

[MPH]

14 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

Both of the examples given were at levels below what we had bought them for. Daka's done it against very comparable opposition to ours.

 

Daka has been fine. I'm a bit baffled at some of the stick he's had for last night.

 

 

I thought his movement was very good last night.