#26 | Riyad Mahrez - 2020/21 Performances

[lancs blue]

His biggest problem is inconsistency, the top teams can't afford to carry players for long who have one worldy performance and then drop to looking like a poor man's Nolito for the next three. Frustrates the hell out of me because I know how good he can be, he reminds me of Nasri in that regard.

 

[waspish]

Said it on another thread but in midfield he looked better and his choice of passing better.

 

[the_tevez_wiggle]

Tin hat on

He does not suit this team.

Defensively everything he does is token, 3-0 up sterling, palmer and torres are working their nuts off, chasing back full speed half the pitch to get a tackle in, putting bodies on the line. Meanwhile mahrez is 70% running to close down, pulls out of every tackle and jogs back as as a gesture.
Offensively can he do anything with out stopping and doing step overs or something? He gets put through in the box, could shoot but stops, 3 defenders get back. OK I thought slip sterling in, he's open. Nope does stepovers and either shoots against the cb block or loses it. Everyone constantly sprints to make passing lanes for players on the ball. Not him, he swans around until someone can find him. People blame the forwards for not converting chances, yet he hardly gets the blame for slowing the play down so he can produce YouTube entertaining skills before putting his cross into a packed box because they've all got back whilst he's being a show pony. If/when he scores or assists then it slippers and pipe time, his jobs done.

Finally, yes he is a very good player, look at his stats, they're great. But we are a fluid team. If 1 player starts doing their own thing it screws up the team play. If he doesn't chase back walker marks the lb, garcia has to cover the lw, laporte has to shift over to cover garcia and mendy has to cover the rest. If a cog loses some teeth either all the other cogs have to work overtime and burnout or the machine stops working or splutters. Sell him now at 29 whilst his value hasn't dropped and replace with a team player.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I really like the look of him in a midfield position.

Obviously that needs to be balanced defensively, but his passing was right up there with KDB, DS. It's another option.

 

[Larry Stranger]

I really like the look of him in a midfield position.

Obviously that needs to be balanced defensively, but his passing was right up there with KDB, DS. It's another option.

Yeah I'd say the same. The number of times Rodri found him and he turned to find Sterling in 1 move rivaled Kev's. A lot better then him being up top on the break and picking the wrong option or going for goal himself. I do feel he would be better suited as a #10 in a 4-2-3-1. Perhaps Kev could sit deeper which he's have to be more defensive and may not suit his skills, but he's done it before against Newcastle I believe where Dave was the #10.

 

[WallyA]

Yeah I'd say the same. The number of times Rodri found him and he turned to find Sterling in 1 move rivaled Kev's. A lot better then him being up top on the break and picking the wrong option or going for goal himself. I do feel he would be better suited as a #10 in a 4-2-3-1. Perhaps Kev could sit deeper which he's have to be more defensive and may not suit his skills, but he's done it before against Newcastle I believe where Dave was the #10.

We can just play with no recognized DM.

Ferran-----Sterling-----Foden
--------------Mahrez
---------B Silva-----Kevin

 

[Dax777]

Odd thing is Sane continually incurred Guardiola’s wrath for failing in his defensive duties, yet Mahrez seemingly gets a free pass. His tracking back at their opener made Kolarov look like Bolt, and when he gave the ball away in the lead up to another goal, he barely raised a gloved finger to recover it. Lovely chap, mind, and rarely sulks...

He doesn't though. There is a reason why Mahrez doesn't have a starting spot nailed. And it's not because he lacks talent.

 

[mccity]

I think Sané tracked back. Not all the time, but enough to say that he did enough of the time not to get dropped in 17/18, and much of early 18/19.

I do think there was something going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Maybe nothing major but enough to turn Pep sour. Maybe he stopped working hard in training. Or maybe he stopped being receptive to coaching. Or maybe he developed an attitude; he was prone to looking stroppy on off days for instance. I don't know.

Or maybe it was really his defending, and the difference between him and Mahrez is that Mahrez is actually really good during the week. I know he's not a model citizen, but he is a much older and more experienced player than Sané. And he's the captain of his national team. So maybe he more reliably gets his head down during the week and maybe he's a more positive influence in the team than we credit him for.


I do think it's more likely something on Sané. Pep has dropped players before for not feeling like they're up to it, most of them at some point in fact (Sterling, Walker, Laporte, and De Bruyne probably the sole exceptions from the outfield). But with Sané it felt like it was more. Like Touré but not as bad.

 

[Craig]

I think Sané tracked back. Not all the time, but enough to say that he did enough of the time not to get dropped in 17/18, and much of early 18/19.

I do think there was something going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Maybe nothing major but enough to turn Pep sour. Maybe he stopped working hard in training. Or maybe he stopped being receptive to coaching. Or maybe he developed an attitude; he was prone to looking stroppy on off days for instance. I don't know.

Or maybe it was really his defending, and the difference between him and Mahrez is that Mahrez is actually really good during the week. I know he's not a model citizen, but he is a much older and more experienced player than Sané. And he's the captain of his national team. So maybe he more reliably gets his head down during the week and maybe he's a more positive influence in the team than we credit him for.


I do think it's more likely something on Sané. Pep has dropped players before for not feeling like they're up to it, most of them at some point in fact (Sterling, Walker, Laporte, and De Bruyne probably the sole exceptions from the outfield). But with Sané it felt like it was more. Like Touré but not as bad.

Yeah bit of a myth that Sane didn’t graft for the team because he definitely did. Initially yes he tended not to but Pep soon sorted that out and he helped with our press. Also fullbacks never ventured forwards much when playing against Leroy anyway. Mahrez presses far less and generally the whole press from the team is crap compared to a couple of years ago.

 

[_OVO_]

Always had an opinion that he doesn’t suit the system and the type of football we want to play. Him and Vardy doing their Hero-ball for Leicester was amazing and it worked because they were the focal point of their attack and most often than not the only players involved in their attack (on the counters). He’s obviously an amazing player and I like to watch him play because he’s very aesthetically pleasing but I just feel that he should leave for his own good, maybe to a side like Spurs or even Inter where he could exploit the large spaces on the counter like he used to in his prime Leicester days.