Harry Winks - Leicester City

[Japhet]

We beat Man City with a pivot. It’s the personnel much more than the system. And how can we play 3 in midfield when we have 2 fit midfielders?

A pivot with Bentancur v City which is much better. We could easily have put someone else in MF v Midlesborough. Kulusevski could have dropped deeper and narrower or Harvey White could have done a job. You'll doubtless say 'who would you have dropped for White', but the point is, we lost because we got overrun in midfield (again) and lost control of the game so it's a moot point. Anybody would have been better than nobody.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

If the defeats we have suffered in recent weeks are anything to go by, opponents have also sussed that Conte keeps playing two in the central areas and three up top. Two against three in midfield and we keep getting overrun. Funny that.

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

 

[TheHoddleWaddle]

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

Pochettino had the same mo when he started. It took the team ages and multiple signings before it clicked.

Conte is no different in that respect.

 

[danielneeds]

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

There is no formation that suits these players until we buy some midfielders that can control a game and some fullbacks that are reliable and can use the ball decently.

 

[dtxspurs]

There is no formation that suits these players until we buy some midfielders that can control a game and some fullbacks that are reliable and can use the ball decently.

I think we have some just 2 of them are hurt.

 

[N'Obody]

id guess Everton or maybe Southampton.

Maybe we can mug them off for a ward prowse and winks exchange special ?

 

[stewartd]

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

If you meant this as a joke its well done but if you meant it for real then all I can say is what the fuck. We sign a world class manager and you expect him to lower his standards to suite our less than average players, instead of getting these less than average players to learn from him and raise their standards.

 

[Johnny J]

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

What style and formation suits the players we have?

Honest question, because end-of-days Poch, Mourinho, Nuno and now Conte haven't found it.

Maybe the problem is (most of) the players and the people responsible for buying them (and failing to move them on: paging Winks).

Personally I would have liked to see Ten Hag as a project manager, but even he wouldn't have us playing like Ajax in half a season.

Ultimately Conte has absurdly high standards and although he won't be here for a long time, he will surely leave the club in a better position than he found it.

There's something seriously wrong with the mentality and attitude in our squad, and Conte is the best chance of us sorting that out.

If Conte - unquestionably one of the best managers in the world and in his peak - can't drive a winner's mentality into this squad, then I'm not sure who can.

 

[EQP]

Maybe we can mug them off for a ward prowse and winks exchange special ?

After the weak performance that Winks put in against Southampton (where he lost the ball 5 times in dangerous positions all from pressing) and in the same game that Ward-Prowse produced 2 stunning crosses to win them the game, yes, I can see Southampton wanting to sit down and discuss this possible trade

 

[13VanDerBale13]

 

[olliec]

Remember Kane having a fall out with him a few years back. Kane probably knew back then he wasn’t good enough. I refuse to watch us if he starts against Everton. Cant stomach it anymore. So predictable and so passive.

 

[olliec]

He’s so bad even when he tries to foul He misses!

 

[yankspurs]

Go 4231 with Dier at DM if need be. Just please no more Winks.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

If you meant this as a joke its well done but if you meant it for real then all I can say is what the fuck. We sign a world class manager and you expect him to lower his standards to suite our less than average players, instead of getting these less than average players to learn from him and raise their standards.

It’s not a joke, and I expect Conte to do what he gets paid (handsomely) to do. He might be a great manager, but we need a great coach. It’s my belief that if we swapped managers with Brighton right now, Potter would get more out of our squad than Conte has, and Conte would get less from Brighton’s. We dropped a bollock and now we have to live with it.

 

[ardiles]

Go 4231 with Dier at DM if need be. Just please no more Winks.

Or use an actual midfielder like white or Devine without weakening our backline.

If they’re old enough to train with the first team and be on the bench for first team games, they should be able to be given an opportunity to play with the first team.

Can’t see much harm in using one youth player with 10 other experienced heads, especially if the youth player is replacing an underwhelming player like Winks.

 

[Real_madyidd]

Is that "the" Basshunter?

 

[Deleted member 29446]

Is that "the" Basshunter?

Yup!

 

[DJS]

It’s not remotely funny. We dropped a bollock when we signed Conte. Wrong manager, wrong time. He could change, he could start playing a style and formation that suits the players we actually have, but I don’t think he will.

I think it’s more a case Conte is getting the team drilled into the 3-4-3 and we’ll add some more players in summer to finish it off.

It’s not Conte’s fault our squad is so unbalanced, it’s around three summers worth of poor recruitment / selling.

We had that period where we were adding some top players - Son, Toby, Wanyama each summer and then stopped.

This was a combination of Levy and Poch being stubborn with accepting players (and Poch also picking poor players in Ndombele and Lo Celso, who he both wanted).

Central midfield in particular has suffered as Dembele has never been replaced and it was clear Wanyama was sadly knackered so we should have been investing strongly in that department.

We now have Skipp coming through and Bentacur recruited so that’s a start, but still need to ship Winks out (which will hopefully happen in summer) and there’s question marks over consistency of PEH so we still need at least another top central midfielder.

Games are won by strong gritty central midfielders and this is a position we so often neglect and lack in. Soft underbelly means the flair players then aren’t able to express themselves as we’re not in control of the game.

And a right wing back of course, ;-)

 

[double0]

I think it’s more a case Conte is getting the team drilled into the 3-4-3 and we’ll add some more players in summer to finish it off.

It’s not Conte’s fault our squad is so unbalanced, it’s around three summers worth of poor recruitment / selling.

We had that period where we were adding some top players - Son, Toby, Wanyama each summer and then stopped.

This was a combination of Levy and Poch being stubborn with accepting players (and Poch also picking poor players in Ndombele and Lo Celso, who he both wanted).

Central midfield in particular has suffered as Dembele has never been replaced and it was clear Wanyama was sadly knackered so we should have been investing strongly in that department.

We now have Skipp coming through and Bentacur recruited so that’s a start, but still need to ship Winks out (which will hopefully happen in summer) and there’s question marks over consistency of PEH so we still need at least another top central midfielder.

Games are won by strong gritty central midfielders and this is a position we so often neglect and lack in. Soft underbelly means the flair players then aren’t able to express themselves as we’re not in control of the game.

And a right wing back of course, ;-)

Poch made bad decisions? (That's a bit unfair) with players he hardly got time to coach or manage ie Ndombele and Lo Celso he also had to manage plenty of 3rd and 4th option additions to the squad and did well.

I don't really want to look back now to Poch but he was a great manager for our club who performed miracles without being financially backed... When the well dried up and he needed to rebuild Levy did a Levy and we haven't moved at all forward since.

Will Levy back Conte? history will tell you he won't

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

I see people are still rewriting history to try and get their point across