Thats 1 point more than we got against them last season Probably should have won given how the game went, though its certainly a positive performance and better than a loss.
Agree with everything - so do the guys on the Arsenal board as well. Even though we are the champions, the old guard still have the sway - Clattenberg got bigged up as the best ref we have but bottled it..
It was a stuttering performance at best. We didn't play any football until the latter stages of the second half - basically when we finally realised that every hopeful ball lofted up to Vardy was being won by their defenders and we were just giving possession away. It's times like that when we need someone like Deeney who is big enough and strong enough to hold off defenders and bully them so we keep possession and bring others into play. Again we looked very open down our right flank with Simpson often being faced by 2 opponents, and with not much help from Mendy. Mahrez did work back at times, which was good to see, but he's still so weak in his challenges and is going down far too easily when he's under challenge from an opponent. Drinkwater hasn't yet found another like-minded midfielder with whom he can form some kind of partnership ..... it's becoming clear how important Kante was last season to the midfield. Hopefully Mendy can step up to the plate. If not, then Amartey might have to come in and show if he's capable. I'm not convinced King is the right man for the job. As others have said, this was a better outcome than last season and certainly we could have nicked it if Clattenburg had given the penalty. It is still early season and Claudio doesn't look to have come up with his best side yet, so let's hope he can find it pretty soon as we have some difficult games coming up.
Alot better performance. Should of had a peno at the end for the foul on Musa Hopefully the injury to Mendy isnt too bad but the club need to get a move on bringing someone in
Mahrez looked a lot better aswell then he did last week. His head was in the game yesterday, things just didn't come off but because of the standards he has set people criticise his performance
I criticize him because I think he is guilty of not putting in the effort he is capable of. For someone who is on £100k per week and with a reputed value north of £30 million I think his input could best be described as 'half-hearted'. I know he has skill in abundance but, until he consistently imposes himself on games more and exerts more influence, in my eyes he will never be able to hold a candle to the likes of Davie Gibson.
He is pretty much playing the same as last year as he never tracked back then and flitted in an out of games - is your criticism only about his wage?
Riyad Mahrez is probably the greatest player ever to pull on a Leicester City shirt. To say he can't hold a candle to Davie Gibson is absurd While I never seen Gibson play granted. But he never won a Premier League (top division) title with Leicester City You have to accept people like Mahrez are enigma's that don't excel defensively. Just like all players of his style nowadays, there focus is on attacking
Now I'm pretty nostalgic and go back to the days of David Gibson et al but in my time supporting Leicester I've never seen a more naturally gifted player than Mahrez. Some of the things he does are incredible and his contribution last season was amazing, I doubt we'll see the like again. By the nature of the type of player he is not everything he tries comes off, but boy when it does it's magic. He's never going to impose himself in a game with tough tackling and defensive stuff. Just enjoy him while you can.
We definitely looked better, particularly second half. One thing that is starting to annoy me is while I appreciate how hard Okazaki works, but the number of times he ends up horizontal is amazing. Very rarely does the ref give a foul so they are saying he goes off his feet too easy. Just a wee moan.
Obviously this is all down to opinions and what you define as 'greatness' in a player. I wouldn't say Mahrez is the greatest player ever to pull on a Leicester City shirt. I would put many of the players in the early sixties and those of the Bloomfield era way above him on all-round effectiveness. He has skill, that can't be denied. But skill alone doesn't (in my estimation) define greatness. You need much more, not least application and effort. Football these days is far less physical than it was in the sixties with players now being given so much protection. That is no bad thing because everyone likes to see skill, but it is still a physical game and Mahrez struggles in that area. Wellernever - I wonder if Mahrez would have done many incredible things if Ron Harris had put him into row Z with his first challenge of the match. Football is a team game with the team being made up of players with many different attributes. Against some opposition you can afford one team member to go missing defensively. But when things aren't going so well, as in the first two games this season, we need everyone to show their togetherness and team spirit, to get stuck in, make things happen and turn the game around. Those are the things that team mates and good players do for each other ..... and Mahrez isn't doing them. And yes, for £100k per week (which indicates he is considered the best player in our team), putting in the effort should be a given. So no, I can't accept Mahrez is an enigma who should be forgiven for not giving his all. The fact that he has won a Premier League title doesn't make him a great player. It's the team that wins the title not an individual. There are many average players who have won title medals and there will be many great players who don't.
You make some good points Bucks ... but we did win the title and Mahrez contributed 17 goals himself and was actually involved in more goals than ANY other player in the Prem - including Ozil, Hazard, Payet, Rooney, Silve, Aguerro et al ... The concept of 'greatnes' perhaps confuses the debate ... for me Mahrez is, without doubt, the most naturally gifted footballer that I personally have seen pull on the blue shirt ... Each to their own of course, but in my view we would not have won the title if Ranieri hadn't deliberately cut Mahrez some slack on defensive duties ... we scored so many goals from quick purposeful breaks that involved him ... He put in a fair shift against Arsenal defensively doing the best he could taking into account his lightness of frame ... he's also surprisingly good in the air, often winning headers when you wouldn't expect him to (see Vardy's goal at Stoke last season for a good example)... For me I am more than happy for him to play as he does ... his fellow team mates seem to love him and understand what his capabilities and weaknesses are without any rancour ... Players like him are priceless - in terms of entertainment value I think he is fabulous ... not many players could have waltzed through the Arsenal defence like he did at the end ... shame cech saved it ... but moments of brilliance like that keep seats filled.
On his day Mahrez excites me and often gets me out of my seat, but for me he does go missing to much! It used to be said when David Gibson played well Leicester played well, and he was a great player could be old age but if i could have a young David Gibson in this side now over Mahrez,Gibo would get my call.
Dont think anybody would argue that Mahrez has amazing skill, and can do magic in a game. Exactly the same could be said about Davie Gibson, Keith Weller and Frank Worthington. What the latter 3 had to contend with was defensive thuggery and pitches that resembled a bog. Impossible to compare the 60s and 70s with todays players because it is a completely different game today. I absolutely loved wee Davie, and he remains my favourite ever player (Kante could have snatched that off him if he had stayed). As for the best players to ever pull on a City shirt, I can think of only 2 who could be classed as definitely world class - Banks and Shilton, with Lineker maybe staking a claim.
That's the thing we'll never know, the games moved on and sadly good tackling has slowly been forced out of the game. Downright thuggery has no place in the game and never should have. Being around in those days didn't stop Best, Gray etc. The average players were part of good/great teams, Mcgovern as an example, and the great players were part of average teams, Tom Finney. Mahrez is an exceptional talent who contributed immensely to a great team effort.
Banks and Shilton without question were world class... Lineker was a great goal poacher ... but it's about the entertainment ... Mahreaz is like a mal-nourished George Best in the way that he can unbalance defenders and glide past them .... Lineker was a quicker, arguably less polished finishing, Dennis Law ... personally I was always a George Best fan and hence my bias ... my favourite City player was Frank Worthington .... Dave Gibson was just passed his best when I started watching ... Note I haven't used the term 'best' ... I do however maintain 'most naturally gifted' ... for Riyad Mahrez ....
... can't fault the lad defensively ... it's when he has actually got the ball in his possession that it tends to go ****-up
