BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

i think Diabate is more a better Gray than a Mahrez replacement. I also like his movement of the ball, he makes some great runs, his first touch is good i think he will be a good attacking addition to the squad. Not a Mahrez replacement though.

I don't think you can replace Mahrez as such but it looks like we have to in one way or another sooner or later.

Gray isn’t fit to lace Diabate’s boots.

Diabate 10 and MOTM. The new Pele.

Obviously I was not at the game and none of the above is entirely objective 😂

Well done TB.

I missed 20 minutes of the second half so wasn't in
A,place to comment 🙄
Fuchs 6 - 4 is a bit harsh as his only mistake was the marking for there goal,
Looked at it several times and hes no where near his man,looks like a mix up in who is marking whom ??
Diabate is seriously going to take that floating role from grey

Certainly making the chances nacho,nadidi,vardy all blocked & nadidi disallowed goal
Could have been 3-1

With regards to Mahrez True - I already feel like we have moved on.

We have so many options in those front 4 positions and again, we did something different and it worked barring individual errors.

Puel’s tactics are once again looking very impressive. The analysis on goals on Sunday was good to understand his team and why he played Nacho. Incidentally, I can only comment on highlights but his through ball to Vardy looked intentional, and incredible.

I really hope we can get the best out of him, because if we can, he’s a right talent. As you say though, he looks prone to his head dropping and fading out of games.

Credit to Puel for the way he’s dealing with the Mahrez situation and the players. He may be so full I can’t bring myself to listen to him, but he seems a calm head and one that is getting the best out of most players.

Can’t really fault that!

TB: 'Would we have won had he played, probably but not certainly, we still created a number of chances, we had 13 shots with 5 on target, quite high for us even with poor opposition.

So his petulance may have already cost us 2 points, how many more could it cost us?'

It's 5 points so far not 2. Not beyond the bounds of possibility we could have beaten Everton if Mahrez hadn't gone AWOL.

Any hint of where he is by the way?

Good round-up TB - much better than that other Dungeon bloke who used to do them.

There’s a certain trepidation covering for the great man himself.

A bit like Hamer would feel covering for Kasper!

comment by nuneaton_fox (U7936)
posted 1 hour, 56 minutes ago
TB: 'Would we have won had he played, probably but not certainly, we still created a number of chances, we had 13 shots with 5 on target, quite high for us even with poor opposition.

So his petulance may have already cost us 2 points, how many more could it cost us?'

It's 5 points so far not 2. Not beyond the bounds of possibility we could have beaten Everton if Mahrez hadn't gone AWOL.

Any hint of where he is by the way?



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Is it his fault though we haven’t got cover sorted yet, it’s not as though we don’t know he’s going at some point?

What if he had a long term injury?

Not defending him but just maybe this will work out as a positive and force us not to rely on one player?

Just need a Vardy replacement then.

Oh, and a Kasper.

All right then, and a Simpson.

I was at the game and found that afterwards it was pretty difficult to rate individual performances. Overall nobody was that great, but nobody was really that bad.

We badly missed some creativity in the second half that might have given us the all-important goal. You could say that we would have won with Mahrez, but the reality is that we should have been out of site on the first half showing alone. We lost all focus and let them get into the game for the first 20 minutes of the second, but still conceded from their only shot on target - a corner ...... again!

A few points I took away:

1. We should try and sign Dragovic permanently. We're not missing Morgan and that says a lot about how his deputy has stepped in

2. It's early days for Diabate. A few glimpses of skill, but looked a little lost at times. His first game was ok, but far too early to make any predictions on how far he can go. Still think we'll need more established players to effective replace Mahrez and Diabate remains one to watch

3. Demarai Gray is as frustrating as ever. We should remember that he's actually younger that Diabate even if he is the more established member of the group. His passing and distribution were poor and he still hasn't definitively proven that he will reach his potential. Another who we can't bank on for filling the hole left by Mahrez and, depending on how his form goes, he may not even be part of the solution. The jury is out again

4. Not in the second half, but in the first half Ian looked like a different player. His running off the ball and ability on it seemed a world apart from the last time I saw him live. He still needs to work on his partnership with Vardy and faded second half

5. With Mahrez all but gone how reliant will we be on Vardy? He had another very good game, but I worry that the team needs to develop other plans and creative outlets. Vardy also has a responsibility here. He might want to work out with Ian a: "one sit and one go" arrangement to mix it up a bit. Otherwise we might be stuck in the cycle of always having to play Okazaki to help service Vardy rather than having a front two with a more equal goal threat

6. Promising signs from Silva. Another who faded as the game wore on, but at least we finally have a centre midfield player who is forward thinking. He will surely offer more than James in the long term

7. Ndidi and Maguire are becoming as integral as Schmeichel and Vardy. I guess it's only a matter of time before we're fending off bids for their services

That's about it really ...

Re; Jobys Paragraph 7.
I was thinking along those lines, but, the fact we are holding out for the right deal on Mahrez, will hopefully reiterate to others we are no longer a selling club.

That’s a good spine to have in a team!

Re selling, I think a Club of our size will always be in that bracket, the good news is it’s now on our terms!

Yep a bright bright future lies ahead for Leicester City. Excellent squad, really good youngsters coming through.
Happy Days

Point 5 Joby. Reality is, with the new way Puel has us playing i think we already are. We don’t play to Vardy’s strengths and he’s often isolated. Nacho could easily fill in as it doesn’t require lightening pace for our breaks now, just pace.

Vardy is clearly a top player still at the peak of his game. But is he vital to how we play now like he was before? I’m not so sure.

Dragovic definitely has done enough to get a contract
Diabate seems to vanish after 30 minutes,id say probably mentally tired due to the step up from lge 2 to premier league + age ,experience ect
Grey so frustrating up and down like a yoyo.

Do need a creative out let ?
I think the diabate and grey could do a half each
Roughly and we'd be ok,

We doo need cover :-
another winger for Albrighton
And right back for Simpson or an attacking back,
& a defensive midfielder who can tackle



But the starting line up was expecting against
The bus on Saturday!!
4/5 almost goals not just shots,

Nacho faded but most his first half showed what hes capable of,especially with vardy pulling defenders
His ball for the goal would have been all over the tv if it was messi ect ect

comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 36 minutes ago
Point 5 Joby. Reality is, with the new way Puel has us playing i think we already are. We don’t play to Vardy’s strengths and he’s often isolated. Nacho could easily fill in as it doesn’t require lightening pace for our breaks now, just pace.

Vardy is clearly a top player still at the peak of his game. But is he vital to how we play now like he was before? I’m not so sure.
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I think the wider point I was trying to make was that Vardy might have to be less selfish in terms of how he plays the game. I mean that with no disrespect to Vards as he’s been our main goalscorer for 3 seasons now with devastating effect, but he hangs on the shoulder of the last defender awaiting the through ball from midfield. Much of our play is around servicing him and, in the past, why not? It won us the league.

As the main striker, however, it makes it difficult for others to come in and play alongside him. Slimani couldn’t really make it work and neither could Ulloa. Okazaki could (and can) because his role is largely subservient and he sits in behind Vardy and is a selfless runner for the team.

Ian is different. He looks like he’s got a really instinctive eye for goal. Is asking him to play the withdrawn role, behind Vardy, really the best use of his abilities? It may be that he can only be used in rotation with Vardy if they can’t work out a way to play together.

"especially with vardy pulling defenders "
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Oooo Dublin .... is that allowed?

comment by Jobyfox (U4183)
posted 57 minutes ago
"especially with vardy pulling defenders "
------------------------------------------------------

Oooo Dublin .... is that allowed?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
apparently so,
its all equal rights now a days ??

Don’t go all Nev on us Dublin 😉

Agree Joby - and I guess it’s a tricky one. But reality is, today Vardy is our best striker when we play to his strengths. I’ve never seen a manager get much out of him not playing to his strengths.

So it’s Vardy in the main striker role or not at all for me. But maybe Puel will surprise me. He’s done so on so many occasions already so expect Vardy to pop up alongside Maguire soon...

I see the links for the news papers are full of
Arsenal,Chelsea,man city ,Liverpool all looking to target mahrez in the summer
Ffs🙄 give it a rest

Do they think they will get him for 30 million now 🤔

No Team training today, I guess they'll be plenty of reporters down at Belvoir Drive to see if he turns up tomorrow which is still doubtful.

The Club are planning to meet with his representatives to sort it out.

Might be harsh but I hope the Club are waiting for his representatives to get in touch rather than chasing them.

I Notice that Puel seems to have hardened his stance and is only interested in the players at his disposal now, a slight change in his 'come back with a smile' comments.

You can only go so far for a player,
puel has said he will Work with him and the player's obviously understand His mental state as well as the situation,
And how else do you prepare for the next match,
As far as squad / team selection, until he's back training
Treat him as injured
You can't run practice sessions for set pieces, tactics ect with combinations of different players doing one role

Dublin, if they want him in the summer I hope our owners give them the same answer, £75m or go away please.

It would be best for all parties of someone just puts up the cash and gets it done.