From the fence

bluestevon · February 18, 2016

Cool is this a thread i can go on about the manager in having been banned from the proper one? @chicoazul

matty1878 · February 18, 2016

neil999 said:
except for yourself, who would like him chained to the post naked and run through by a knight(david moyes) upon a white horse of solidity and set-pieces

Not quite naked like tbh.

Skeleton Crew · February 18, 2016

abelard said:
Skeleton Crew said: ↑
Clinical finishing. One touch passing. Most importantly team defense that rarely loses shape and mental acuteness
We could learn from what actually happened to Leicester, but we won't.

*Snip*
You quoted my post in a comprehensive assessment of the two managers... I never said anything about Raneiri.

I mentioned Mental Acuteness which you highlighted. Are you honestly trying to tell me there isnt a mental let down from our players after either they go up a goal in or worse after they give up a goal? While a manager can influence a players confidence I think it is entirely on the player to stay engaged during the full 90+ minutes. That includes defensively and in the final third

You also highlighted from my post "clinical finishing". Yes, we have Lukaku. Barkley too. but Everton unleashed "34" shots vs WBA. 0 goals. Was that a fluke or havent we seen our team dominate only to fall short offensively? How many times have we thrown our hands up seeing that wide open goal only to moan after. Coleman's miss in the 90ish min recently?

The original post i responded to simply asked what the difference was between Leicester and our club. I felt I gave a fair assessment.
Personally I am still in favor of Martinez. I think he has assembled one of the most talented 11 the club has ever seen. He has them playing with flair and creativity. He also should implement a little of that Moyes defensive grit, I was always fine with grinding out an unpretty win.

chicoazul · February 18, 2016

bluestevon said:
Cool is this a thread i can go on about the manager in having been banned from the proper one? @chicoazul

Not really mate, this thread is for people who can't really decide so will stand to one side and when we are relegated will say "told you so".

bluestevon · February 18, 2016

chicoazul said:
Not really mate, this thread is for people who can't really decide so will stand to one side and when we are relegated will say "told you so".

How about if i post supporting him in one thread and post slagging him off in another?

Nealroy · February 18, 2016

This is a young side. I think people rate it based on how it can play - the problem is that young players dont play how they can play every week. One or two dip a bit and we're dropping points. People will say they accept this from the youngsters and its the likes of Kone, Howard etc they have a problem is but the fact is this is a team of talented youngsters supported by a gang of average older pros cos thats all we can afford. Rarely are those average players going to win a game for us. It sounds like a cliche but next year things could be very different..

chazzle_dazzle · February 18, 2016

Nealroy said:
This is a young side. I think people rate it based on how it can play - the problem is that young players dont play how they can play every week. One or two dip a bit and we're dropping points. People will say they accept this from the youngsters and its the likes of Kone, Howard etc they have a problem is but the fact is this is a team of talented youngsters supported by a gang of average older pros cos thats all we can afford. Rarely are those average players going to win a game for us. It sounds like a cliche but next year things could be very different..

You sound like me at the end of last season mate!

Gwladys St. Glory · February 19, 2016

chicoazul said:
Nice strategy yo.

Why pick a side when you can play both sides like a real G...new-age bifencual like a muh'fukkah

bluewally · February 19, 2016

Nealroy said:
This is a young side. I think people rate it based on how it can play - the problem is that young players dont play how they can play every week. One or two dip a bit and we're dropping points. People will say they accept this from the youngsters and its the likes of Kone, Howard etc they have a problem is but the fact is this is a team of talented youngsters supported by a gang of average older pros cos thats all we can afford. Rarely are those average players going to win a game for us. It sounds like a cliche but next year things could be very different..

Jags, baines, Coleman, McCarthy, Mirallas, Lennon are above average imo. Youth shouldn't be an excuse. Lukaku, Barkley, del, stones have been first teamers for 3 seasons now. They are more experienced than many players their age

Nealroy · February 19, 2016

bluewally said:
Jags, baines, Coleman, McCarthy, Mirallas, Lennon are above average imo. Youth shouldn't be an excuse. Lukaku, Barkley, del, stones have been first teamers for 3 seasons now. They are more experienced than many players their age

Ok average is harsh maybe, Baines has clearly been a brilliant player in the past, maybe for him, Jags and Lennon I should have said their best years are behind them - same goes for Barry. Coleman I'll give you. McCarthy personally I still class him as young (I.e. his peak years are yet to come). Mirallas hasn't really played so didn't consider him.

You're right that all of those players (and you can add McCarthy) have played more than most their age, and I think that's why we are better than last year but they are all still a way off the years when they should be expected to perform week in, week out - usually that's around 26. Think of Baines a few years back, virtually faultless for about two and a half seasons. Personally I think all of them will peak early but it's still a couple of years away for most.

oldblue · February 19, 2016

Nealroy said:
Ok average is harsh maybe, Baines has clearly been a brilliant player in the past, maybe for him, Jags and Lennon I should have said their best years are behind them - same goes for Barry. Coleman I'll give you. McCarthy personally I still class him as young (I.e. his peak years are yet to come). Mirallas hasn't really played so didn't consider him.

You're right that all of those players (and you can add McCarthy) have played more than most their age, and I think that's why we are better than last year but they are all still a way off the years when they should be expected to perform week in, week out - usually that's around 26. Think of Baines a few years back, virtually faultless for about two and a half seasons. Personally I think all of them will peak early but it's still a couple of years away for most.

This could be a big thing. When you look at what we would consider a peak age for most players there aren't many in the squad in that range.
I am giving the manager a lot of leeway on this because he did inherit a squad that was aging and youth has been added to that. If he'd brought in several experienced players with five or six years left in them then we would have been looking at younger squad members not having a look in.
It's not helped by the assumption we will be selling any decent young player that has a good season, but so far this hasn't happened so I think it's fair to believe the longer term idea is to have a core of players who've grown up together at 25 to 28.
Sounds overally idealistic even as I'm writing it but it's fun to have dreams.

McBain · February 19, 2016

Okay the Internet officially has everything.

bluewally · February 19, 2016

oldblue said:
This could be a big thing. When you look at what we would consider a peak age for most players there aren't many in the squad in that range.
I am giving the manager a lot of leeway on this because he did inherit a squad that was aging and youth has been added to that. If he'd brought in several experienced players with five or six years left in them then we would have been looking at younger squad members not having a look in.
It's not helped by the assumption we will be selling any decent young player that has a good season, but so far this hasn't happened so I think it's fair to believe the longer term idea is to have a core of players who've grown up together at 25 to 28.
Sounds overally idealistic even as I'm writing it but it's fun to have dreams.

Unfortunately the lack of cl football will kill this dream. Lukaku won't sit in a team finishing 12th when he's scoring 20+ goals a season

BlueToff · February 19, 2016

bluewally said:
Unfortunately the lack of cl football will kill this dream. Lukaku won't sit in a team finishing 12th when he's scoring 20+ goals a season

You can't know that for sure.

For one, we're 11th not 12th and there's 12 games left.

Yes, we may end up finishing 12th but it's equally possible to end up in the top 7 - which is our aim.

As said, had we managed to turn our domination into goals the other day (which again for me has to lie at the feet of the players moreso than the manager) then we'd be three points off 5th. As it turns out of course we didn't and that's incredibly frustrating.

The one positive I see is that Lukaku has stated clearly that he wants to be a regular player in the Premier League next season.

I don't see any foreign team going for him in all honesty, though it does depend on how PSG look to replace Ibra and if Ancelotti decides Bayern need another forward.

That being said, it's clear Lukaku sees his immediate future here in the Prem.

Now, to sell to a prem side I honestly think, given the TV money, we will start the asking price at £55/60mil, and for that reason I do believe he will be here next season. I'm not fully confident, obviously, and a lot depends on how we finish the season, but I think that coming into the season we all knew CL was a long shot. Ultimately nobody expected Leicester to do so well and Chelsea to be so bad, or United, but it happens. Unfortunately we haven't taken advantage of it but that's happened.

There's no guarantee that our best players will leave. They are all young and know the importance of playing regularly at the highest level. They also enjoy playing under this manager, who has signed them and - like it or not - furthered their careers just as much as Pochettino has done at Spurs.

daz4matty · February 19, 2016

BlueToff said:
You can't know that for sure.

For one, we're 11th not 12th and there's 12 games left.

Yes, we may end up finishing 12th but it's equally possible to end up in the top 7 - which is our aim.

As said, had we managed to turn our domination into goals the other day (which again for me has to lie at the feet of the players moreso than the manager) then we'd be three points off 5th. As it turns out of course we didn't and that's incredibly frustrating.

The one positive I see is that Lukaku has stated clearly that he wants to be a regular player in the Premier League next season.

I don't see any foreign team going for him in all honesty, though it does depend on how PSG look to replace Ibra and if Ancelotti decides Bayern need another forward.

That being said, it's clear Lukaku sees his immediate future here in the Prem.

Now, to sell to a prem side I honestly think, given the TV money, we will start the asking price at £55/60mil, and for that reason I do believe he will be here next season. I'm not fully confident, obviously, and a lot depends on how we finish the season, but I think that coming into the season we all knew CL was a long shot. Ultimately nobody expected Leicester to do so well and Chelsea to be so bad, or United, but it happens. Unfortunately we haven't taken advantage of it but that's happened.

There's no guarantee that our best players will leave. They are all young and know the importance of playing regularly at the highest level. They also enjoy playing under this manager, who has signed them and - like it or not - furthered their careers just as much as Pochettino has done at Spurs.

Don't kid yourself if we are finishing 11th and below the young stars will be off.
Come out of your fairytale bubble mate it will help in the long run