Pre Match Leicester Vs Tottenham

[FryattFox]

Some random stats from a fantasy football website:

-1.65 expected goal (xG) delta recorded by James Maddison (£7.1m) this season: no FPL midfielder is ‘underachieving’ – or due a goal, depending on the perspective – as much as the Leicester man in front of goal. Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Raheem Sterling (£12.3m) are the only Fantasy assets in Maddison’s position to have been presented with more big chances than the former Norwich playmaker (four) in 2019/20, with Sterling the only FPL midfielder to have had more shots than Maddison (16).

87.8 minutes per chance presented to Joshua King (£6.3m) this season, the worst average among FPL forwards with more than 100 minutes to their name. Jamie Vardy (£8.9m) and Callum Wilson (£7.8m) are next worst, with minutes-per-chance averages of 75 and 71.3 respectively.

5 big chances conceded by Leicester City this season, the joint-fewest in the division along with Manchester United. No club has conceded fewer goals than the Foxes (four) either. Saturday’s opponents, Tottenham Hotspur, have allowed almost twice as many shots on target (31) as Leicester (16) in 2019/20.

 

[Brown Nose]

Interesting about Maddison.

There has been a lot of bluster about him this season - his position, valuations, contract, England, Man Utd, etc. Rodgers again had to answer questions about him yesterday.

Rodgers has given him a really important role. He is advanced up the pitch with limited defensive responsibility. Therefore he has to deliver regular goals and assists.

His assist for Vardy at Sheff Utd was excellent but what else has he done? He's been very wasteful in some great positions. He's missed some great chances.

Maybe rather than Rodgers needing to change his preferred formation, Maddison needs to make it work.

Maybe rather than Choudhury or Tielemans sitting out, the team might be better if we try leaving out Maddison?

 

[pork pie fox]

Maybe rather than Rodgers needing to change his preferred formation, Maddison needs to make it work.

Wasn’t the same said about Vardy under Puel?

 

[homer]

Wasn’t the same said about Vardy under Puel?

Yep - it's complete bollocks. Stop playing him on the ****ing left wing and play him down the middle where he belongs

It's really not that hard to understand

 

[Brown Nose]

Wasn’t the same said about Vardy under Puel?

No, not at all.

If anything the position Maddison has on the left of a front three should actually enable him to do more of what he wants to.

As I've said before, it's the Coutinho position which can be highly effective for an attack minded midfielder who isn't great tracking back.

Just about every big team plays their most creative player or players in similar roles.

The position isn't stopping him from getting the ball or being in the opposition half. It encourages him to get into advanced positions more.

Puel just didn't want Vardy to be Vardy.

 

[pork pie fox]

No, not at all.

If anything the position Maddison has on the left of a front three should actually enable him to do more of what he wants to.

As I've said before, it's the Coutinho position which can be highly effective for an attack minded midfielder who isn't great tracking back.

Just about every big team plays their most creative player or players in similar roles.

The position isn't stopping him from getting the ball or being in the opposition half. It encourages him to get into advanced positions more.

Puel just didn't want Vardy to be Vardy.

What if he can't do it and we then are wasting the abilities he does have?

 

[big_mac4824]

The bottom line is, if the players come out at Mach 10 and really get stuck into Spurs right from the off set we will be out of sight by half time! We have lacked intensity in every game this season we must show total desire and leave everything out on the pitch. We are more than capable of dismantling Spurs I truly believe it, if our mindset is good from the start we can win this game by a bloody big margin.

3-0 Win

 

[pork pie fox]

The bottom line is, if the players come out at Mach 10 and really get stuck into Spurs right from the off set we will be out of sight by half time! We have lacked intensity in every game this season we must show total desire and leave everything out on the pitch. We are more than capable of dismantling Spurs I truly believe it, if our mindset is good from the start we can win this game by a bloody big margin.

3-0 Win

So we need intensiteee? I'm sure we used to try to do that.

 

[Brown Nose]

What if he can't do it and we then are wasting the abilities he does have?

I don't understand how his position and role is asking him to do anything difficult. And as I said, if anything, the role enables his abilities.

Very few teams play a '10' now. It's not even a role England use which is probably why he's a spare part there currently.

If he wants to be an out and out central midfielder, then he does have to improve his game in many more respects. If that was happening I'd understand the challenge back.

Bottom line is, if he is unable to make this position work, he isn't our best option anywhere else. Tielemans has a much better goals/assists record from central midfield and makes much better runs, and Ndidi and Choudhury add more to the overall team.

 

[Blue Maniac]

So we need intensiteee? I'm sure we used to try to do that.

Intensitee, qualitee, no personalitee

 

[pork pie fox]

I don't understand how his position and role is asking him to do anything difficult. And as I said, if anything, the role enables his abilities.

Very few teams play a '10' now. It's not even a role England use which is probably why he's a spare part there currently.

If he wants to be an out and out central midfielder, then he does have to improve his game in many more respects. If that was happening I'd understand the challenge back.

Bottom line is, if he is unable to make this position work, he isn't our best option anywhere else. Tielemans has a much better goals/assists record from central midfield and makes much better runs, and Ndidi and Choudhury add more to the overall team.

I disagree, but hey, what do we all know, it's just opinions.

I think we look better with just one of Ndidi and Choudhury in the team and Tielemans a bit deeper. I think both Ndidi and Choudhury lack the passing ability to bypass the midfield, in a way that Youri does. This, in turn, opens up more room for Maddison. He doesn't have to play as a "10", he can play as the most advanced of the 3 in midfield. This also allows us to play a more attacking goal threat further forwards, who may be someone we already have (Barnes, for example), or maybe we haven't found him yet.

Personally, I don't think Maddison has played as well in the more advanced role out wide, so I don't think he's been able to make that change "yet". He may well do this, but he may also not be able to and I think he's had a reasonable chance so far to do it, as he was asked to do it a few times last season, too.

I do understand playing a different setup against Man City/Liverpool away, for example, with both Ndidi and Choudhury in the team, but against most other teams, I'd rather we set up as I've mentioned above.

As I say, this is obviously just how I see things, so feel free to disagree.

 

[homer]

He's not a 'number 10', he's a 'number 8' - although he hovers between the two

One thing he's definitely not is a ****ing 'inside winger'

 

[Brown Nose]

I disagree, but hey, what do we all know, it's just opinions.

I think we look better with just one of Ndidi and Choudhury in the team and Tielemans a bit deeper. I think both Ndidi and Choudhury lack the passing ability to bypass the midfield, in a way that Youri does. This, in turn, opens up more room for Maddison. He doesn't have to play as a "10", he can play as the most advanced of the 3 in midfield. This also allows us to play a more attacking goal threat further forwards, who may be someone we already have (Barnes, for example), or maybe we haven't found him yet.

Personally, I don't think Maddison has played as well in the more advanced role out wide, so I don't think he's been able to make that change "yet". He may well do this, but he may also not be able to and I think he's had a reasonable chance so far to do it, as he was asked to do it a few times last season, too.

I do understand playing a different setup against Man City/Liverpool away, for example, with both Ndidi and Choudhury in the team, but against most other teams, I'd rather we set up as I've mentioned above.

As I say, this is obviously just how I see things, so feel free to disagree.

We may look better with only one of Ndidi and Choudhury in the side but our results are better with them both included. That should matter.

I totally get your perspective but I'm trying to understand it from Rodgers viewpoint.

The inside winger role for Maddison makes sense for loads of reasons. It's just not working at the moment.

If Maddison was doing better in that role, it makes the rest of the team look stronger. Along with the other wide forward, he's currently making the system fail.

Rather than abandoning the system, which I really don't see Rodgers doing, Maddison needs to improve or bench him.

 

[Brown Nose]

He's not a 'number 10', he's a 'number 8' - although he hovers between the two

One thing he's definitely not is a ****ing 'inside winger'

And if you don't play a '10' or two '8's, who do you drop?

It's easy to say play him where you think he's best, but what if that weakens the team?

 

[pork pie fox]

We may look better with only one of Ndidi and Choudhury in the side but our results are better with them both included. That should matter.

We've played 5 matches in the league this season.

When they have both played, we’ve drawn two and lost one.

When only one has played, we’ve won both games we've played.

Edited to correct stats.

 

[Skitzo]

And if you don't play a '10' or two '8's, who do you drop?

It's easy to say play him where you think he's best, but what if that weakens the team?

then you grow some balls and choose between Maddison and Tielemans, like you are paid to do, taking one of your most influential players and putting them out of position weakens the team.

More to the point when Puel did this you slaughtered him so don't be a hypocrite

 

[City Fan]

It really is blindingly obvious. When Rodgers came in in February, Maddison played as a number 10 for the remainder of the season and was superb and finished the season with a healthy number of goals/assists and created more chances than anyone else in the league.

This season he’s playing on the left wing and has been absolutely garbage and created barely anything apart from Vardy’s goal against Sheffield United.

Puel got hounded for playing Maddison on the left wing. Now Rodgers is doing it and it’s down to Maddison to perform better in this position. Double standards.

 

[Lako42]

We may look better with only one of Ndidi and Choudhury in the side but our results are better with them both included. That should matter.

It would if it were true.

We look crap with both in the side. It's almost like saying we aren't here to get a win, which is exactly the opposite of what we should be saying if we genuinely want to achieve anything of note this season.

 

[Skitzo]

It really is blindingly obvious. When Rodgers came in in February, Maddison played as a number 10 for the remainder of the season and was superb and finished the season with a healthy number of goals/assists and created more chances than anyone else in the league.

This season he’s playing on the left wing and has been absolutely garbage and created barely anything apart from Vardy’s goal against Sheffield United.

Puel got hounded for playing Maddison on the left wing. Now Rodgers is doing it and it’s down to Maddison to perform better in this position. Double standards.

it all dates back to the Man City away game where we got overly praised for our defensive display as though we had somehow outplayed them, but going forward in the limited chances we had we were pathetic, he stuck with it from that day until Bournemouth at home, even at Shef Utd when Wilf was injured he played Praet with Maddison on the wing

 

[homer]

And if you don't play a '10' or two '8's, who do you drop?

It's easy to say play him where you think he's best, but what if that weakens the team?

Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison. How does that weaken anything - it's our best midfield three and we should look to play it week in, week out

Not rocket science