I think Nacho proved in the week he can be our ‘Firmino’ with pace running off him in behind.

The thing is, this is a stark move away from our usual way of playing with our centre forward the pivotal point of our attack supported by wide men. This for me is the only thing holding Nacho back.

Yes he’s a frustrating player but he’s a talented on, and in the right formation I think he’s effective.

If he’s happy to do it, he’s a good man to have around as a plan B or C. F would be Slimani abs Albrighton coming and abs just wellying balls in to the box.

Iheanacho is a bit of an enigma. On his day, he is exceptional. Good feet, strong, holds it up well but he's not an out and out front man like Vardy. Mersey's comparison with Firmino is a good one.
However, like most players, he needs a run in the team to become really effective and I can't see where he can be accommodated in that kind of role.

I can not add more than the above..... I just get peeved at the 25 mil price tag and he plays like a two and six. He had a very good score ratio when we blindly signed him.

Gray I think we took a risk on but a 3 mil risk.

Vardy well.... Masterclass Pearson!

BR said that he wanted Barnes to play because he wanted someone to run at the backline of Arsenal, which Iheanacho doesn’t do. Purely as speculation this to me was done for two reasons, one, to keep them at home. It was like Barnes was being asked to be a poor-mans Vardy. Their backline had to be aware that Barnes could breakout at any time making it imperative that they stayed close together and not leave space behind. Secondly, by running at them they would be on the move more often and in short bursts so that when Vardy did come on they, the backline, would be up against the fresh legs of Vardy. From my point of view Iheanacho was asked to do the team thing and sit this one out and even if he had played then the tactics used may not have been as effective because a different game plan would have had to have been used. The plan, as I saw it was to bottle up and frustrate Arsenal, send Vardy on and snatch a winner, if Iheanacho had played this scenario wouldn’t have been nearly as likely. I think that Iheanacho proved his worth last Thursday, a game can be built around him it just happens, obviously, to be a different game than one built around Vardy. For me he is a ready replacement for Vardy when the time comes but with an appropriate game plan for his style of play.
On another note, there has been much discussion on the disallowed goal yet nothing on the RED Card that could have been shown to Bellerin. On another day he could well have been sent off but on appeal he would have gotten off because James wasn’t caught by the tackle from what I saw but it could have been seen that way, nevertheless the game would have been wide open without him on the field.

mesmerised - I get why Rodgers played the system he did in theory. But the point is that he opted for that, and playing Barnes in an unfamiliar role, rather than adjusting it to play a recognised striker in Iheanacho. If we played /any/ opponent with a fully fit squad and Rodgers opted to play someone ahead of Vardy, everyone would think he was nuts. And they'd be right. But Iheanacho stays on the bench for someone who isn't even a striker and nobody flinches. That doesn't say much for Iheanacho's future here. At least not as a number one striker.

I wonder what we do on Thursday?

Listening to RL on Monday night it sounds like AEK aren't in very good form and are missing players, they will probably play eleven at the back, a 0-0 would be an excellent and targeted result for the.

Piper suggested leaving Vardy here to rest for the Leeds game on the Monday night.

Is it a game for the incredible two, Ian and Slow up front together to create a bit of havoc in the AEK back 11 ?

The kind of game we know we'll struggle to get the breakthrough in, like Pipes I don't think it's Vardy's type of game and he might be best being left back here?

Saying that, I see Vardy must be out there if he's in contention play.

if we beat AEK Athens, then pick up 4+ points against Braga, then we can think about resting players. Until then, I say we go strong.

I’m sorry if I sounded patronising, it certainly wasn’t my intention, you have a far greater understanding of the game than I. I’m thinking it’s because we haven’t a fully fit team that we set up the way we did. Maybe BR is being a little over cautious but he must have been pleased with the Zorya result, not only the result but the way the team, and especially Iheanacho, played. As far as the Arsenal game goes we can’t be expected to compete with teams on an equal basis that spend twice as much as we do, and with that in mind I figure BR is trying to find a way to be competitive. I would have thought Iheanacho would have been first choice and a new game plan set up for the European games. I do think that there is, at this point in time, far too much concern about the post Vardy era, it will be worked out as it was against Zorya when he was injured. There are a number of players who can take on the main striker role, obviously not nearly as effectively being that he is one of the best players to ever have pulled on the boots. I guess that Iheanacho is playing the perfect role for the club at the moment, and is therefore valued for his involvement, how many players would be content to play second fiddle as he does? Being part of the Leicester side may not be so good for his career but I see it as being good for the team and consequently giving him added value as a player.