It’s something I’ve been pondering over the last few days having recently played Manchester United and Chelsea. We all know that we’ve managed to stay competitive in the Premier League despite selling some big name players:
Maguire, Chilwell, Kante, Drinkwater and Mahrez have all left for the motivation of trophies, CL football or money. The question that comes to my mind is: where would we be if we hadn’t lost all these players. The answer might be:exactly where we are now? Especially as we currently sit on top of the table.
This is a personal opinion, but I don’t believe that Maguire, Chilwell or Drinkwater would get in our current team. That leaves Kante and Mahrez.
There is an argument for Kante, but that would probably be at the expense of N’didi. Different players in terms of what they offer, but would be tough to leave either out. A 2016 vintage Kante would probably be first pick, but there is more of a conversation based on current form with Kante having a few issues with injury over the last year.
And then Mahrez. The output we get from Barnes and Albrighton might, at times, be somewhat more reliable. We’re also beginning to see some end product from Harvey, but surely we couldn’t ignore the mercurial talent of Riyad? He’d probably get in the first 11 and definitely improve our squad.
This shows some inspired turnover of players and by raising this issue I don’t mean to be smug about the money we’ve got against the players we now have. I actually don’t think that this sort of selling of assets is sustainable in the long term. Surely it will catch up with us at some point and we’ll fall back into the pack? Even if it’s been expertly negotiated in the short term.
Players sold to “bigger” clubs
posted on 20/1/21
i always feel a regret when any player goes but have to admit it is the wages those other clubs pay .we cant match them .we had champions leauge football to offer kante and he left for more wages to a club that wasnt in europe
posted on 20/1/21
comment by langleyfox (U17390)
posted 1 hour, 44 minutes ago
i always feel a regret when any player goes but have to admit it is the wages those other clubs pay .we cant match them .we had champions leauge football to offer kante and he left for more wages to a club that wasnt in europe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think you can add in there the lure of the bright lights of the big Cities, either London or Manchester.
posted on 20/1/21
comment by langleyfox (U17390)
posted 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
i always feel a regret when any player goes but have to admit it is the wages those other clubs pay .we cant match them .we had champions leauge football to offer kante and he left for more wages to a club that wasnt in europe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kante has always been the one that irritated me the most. We were in the Champions League, he would have got a bumper new contract and all I really expected was one more year. He would surely have got the opportunity again the following season.
Mahrez and Drinkwater I could sort of understand - even if Riyad did have a major sulk and I never really expected Danny’s to work out anyway.
Maguire and Chilwell have worked out perfectly. We have better players and a stronger squad without them. My only regret of selling them is it brings it home that we still can’t compete when clubs come calling and not what they brought to the team.
posted on 20/1/21
comment by Jobyfox (U4183)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by langleyfox (U17390)
posted 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
i always feel a regret when any player goes but have to admit it is the wages those other clubs pay .we cant match them .we had champions leauge football to offer kante and he left for more wages to a club that wasnt in europe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kante has always been the one that irritated me the most. We were in the Champions League, he would have got a bumper new contract and all I really expected was one more year. He would surely have got the opportunity again the following season.
Mahrez and Drinkwater I could sort of understand - even if Riyad did have a major sulk and I never really expected Danny’s to work out anyway.
Maguire and Chilwell have worked out perfectly. We have better players and a stronger squad without them. My only regret of selling them is it brings it home that we still can’t compete when clubs come calling and not what they brought to the team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This, this and this!
posted on 20/1/21
It was so deflating when Kante left because of the fact everyone talks about got to be on the champions league bla bla bla and then we win the league, in it and he still left! Peed me right off
(Gonna ignore the fact he won the league the next year)
posted on 20/1/21
Kante annoyed me as I felt he owed us. We made his career and he only gave us one measly season.
Not a bad one mind.
Mahrez a d DD has served us for a much longer period so I was less bothered.
Who would have thought we’d actually replace Kante. Ndidi for me is ahead of him right now. I can’t believe I’m saying that.
posted on 20/1/21
“ I don't think you can consistently sell your best players and replace them all the time”
To be fair, we’ve only did this twice -
One was because of a clause and we have replaced him (belatedly to an extent.
And the other was done eventually on our terms and only because a player kept pushing and pushing for it.
Other than that, it hasn’t happened.
All other players were because we were happy we had better and/or could acquire better. That’s the whole ethos of competent transfer business plus the ridiculous profits we make.
I’m not sure I agree about the comparison with Southampton - we have shown ourselves to be significantly stronger when it comes to transfers and bringing in quality, pound for pound (both financially and from a quality perspective) I’m not sure there is anyone at the moment who equals Leicester for what they do in that department
In addition, we, on the whole keep our best players for years and years - it’s part and parcel of what makes us such a tight knit club and why we can continue to evolve even through devastating loss and change
posted on 21/1/21
A few points to add. I note what is being said that we appear to have a stable version of the Southampton model but I'm not convinced - I've still got the feeling that it is not a sustainable way forward and only a matter of time before it ends in tears. I'll freely admit that this is generally (I'll expand on that shortly) not the case at present, our recent acquisitions have been superb.
I don't see us being able to change this situation, we're unlikely ever to be seen as a 'big' club, so the Kantes of the world will always tend to choose the Chelseas. Even within our limited geographical area Forest will have their proponents as being the biggest club in the area due to their two European cups, despite being a similar sized club.
One of the things I find amusing - no doubt many other LCFC supporters do also - is that we've been able to sell a couple of defenders for top dollar to 'big' clubs who weren't that good at defending (Maguire and Chilwell to be specific).
Expanding a bit on the 'generally' above, there is one position where our recruitment has been conspicuously poor, albeit understandably so due to the difficulty in finding good talent there and not least the current occupant - centre forward. By the way, finding someone for a measly million quid who is not only a top quality striker but has been willing to be loyal to the club (given the 'big' club issue) has to go down as the best business done by the club recently. That doesn't change the fact that Vardy isn't getting any younger, although he fortunately does not show many signs of slowing down despite his age - long may that continue.
posted on 21/1/21
^^^^ Nuneaton,
Good post - and it's also my worry that this isn’t sustainable in the long term.
Ok, people have pointed out the great recruitment that we’ve done, but there is always a risk when you dip into the transfer market. We still have our expensively purchased flops like Musa, Slimani, Silva and Ghezzal amongst others to demonstrate what happens when this goes wrong.
I like KTF’s optimism that the selling of the likes of Maguire and Chilwell was a carefully managed exercise of selling players and replacing with targets we’d already identified - and there is some truth in this - but also some good fortune that the new recruits have settled so well. I believe, however, that the sales were really generated by financial necessity rather than a desire to rotate the squad.
The rich six have revenues and turnover that dwarf ours. That means that they can pay vast amounts more than us on wages, whilst the percentage of wages we pay compared to our turnover is actually still higher than theirs. We have to do this just to try and compete. This has to be addressed periodically before it gets out of control.
It’s a bit out of date (as it’s based on 18/19 data), but this phenomenon is explained here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.footballcritic.com/amp/article.php%3fuid=1048
The owners are investing in the stadium to try and increase other revenue streams. Our brand and marketing has increased, particularly in the Asian market being a Thai owned club, but we’re playing a long game here. Success will bring better exposure, but you can’t have success without better players - and that means higher wages.
If the model of replacing sought after players for high fees and then replacing with more players with, in some circumstances, even greater potential can be maintained - then it’s a genius strategy. Too many Slimanis and Musas, however, and it would quickly unravel.
posted on 22/1/21
I have a Man U supporting friend who lives quite near me and he trots old the old lazy mantra that Leicester are a selling club and I can't seem to get him to contemplate the fact that the big six deliberately unsettle out players and turn their heads.
Once they've done that, ultimately we end up with no option to sell them, someone posted above that young me prefer to live in London or the cool side of Manchester and I'm afraid Gallowtree Gate and Highcross just doesn't cut it. Couple that with the riches they can amass from the top 6, not to mention the kudos of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the country and we are asking too much from our young talent to turn it down.
Now at long last we aren't bullied into rolling over as in previous times and can hold out for big money and over the top prices, but ultimately we know once their head's been turned, they're going.