Player Topic: Kelechi Iheanacho (2015/16)

[Blue Smarties]

Positive from Manuel, good man...

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Diverts question from the present (near enough) to the future; I'm guessing he won't get longer than five minutes.

It's been a long week though maybe I'm just being a mard arse.

 

[domalino]

Diverts question from the present (near enough) to the future; I'm guessing he won't get longer than five minutes.

It's been a long week though maybe I'm just being a mard arse.

Ha! No maybe about it.

 

[mosssideblue]

Wouldn't surprise me, Pellegrini can be a fucking dense twat at times.

Unlike you :)

 

[mosssideblue]

Manuel is a master of handling a squad of players many of whom are carrying injuries and ensuring that nobody is rushed back too soon only to become injured once more.
Being in control of Manchester City football clubs assault on four trophies requires more than the basic idea of play your best team...which incorporates play the young lad from the youth team cos he,s dead good.
We are expected to do well in this years champions league.Barca Bayern etc etc would have had their feet up over xmax/new year...europes finest players getting a mid season break during which they can rest.rehabilitate and return ,refreshed for the second half of the season....

Meanwhile Manuel has to negotiate the busiest part of the fixture list with matches coming left right and centre,hoping..just hoping that no new hamstrings are torn.
We are handily placed for four trophies.The season is not sorted till May.The manger has to think about not just everton at home but the next band of champions league matches,against teams that have rested their players.Give him some credit for that.
As far as Kelechi is concerned, IMO he is a fine young player,good energy, good movement, an eye for goal, a team player, but also capable of audacious skill....but he is young.still developing.
I would hate for this fine young man to become the latest hamstrung city player ....far better for Manuel,a former player who knows a bit about injuries/recovery time, to ease this young lad into the fray where he sees fit.Playing Norwich away on a winters afternoon at Carrow road in the fa cup..perfect! I understand the view that for the everton game "he should have started,or at least brought him on" i really do understand it, but imagine if he,d have picked up an injury,hamstrings tight from two top class matches in a week..he is not used to that, and more importantly, where would it leave us for the next few weeks with league cup semi, league, and fa cup matches to play?.......with two senior strikers who themselves are attempting to steer clear of further medical problems.

Perhaps Manuel sees the bigger picture on matchday.we as fans see the opponents on the day, The manager is thinking How can i best ensure we have the required talent fit and on the field in February.
I for one hope that Kelechi is nurtured through the winter programme, he will be learning from every game he watches from the bench, and of course those he joins later as sub..it may well be that this young, pacy, adroit, finisher fires the goals that drive us to the title/domestic cups at the business end of the season,but he could only do that if he is not over played or injured..or become a boo boy cos he misses a couple of chances and loses confidence.He will make his mark this season i,m sure, but our strikers,as indeed the whole squad, need to be handled correctly.

Manuel is doing a fine job,under pressure, in his last season.....maybe pep is the new god, but for me,now, its...Get behind the manager!

Good, logical post mate

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

The thing is, the world and his dog can see that Kelechi is not "developing", "young and promising", and all the rest of it. He's good to go now. A little detail: that shot cutting in from a difficult angle, that was chipped, and that Ruddy just managed to tip over, in about the eight minute of the Norwich game. That was sheer class, coolness under pressure, the decision to try the difficult shot that bloody nearly came off, that you associate with a considerably more experienced player. Nothing that Manuel has done or is doing this season is annoying me as much as the underplaying of Iheanacho. I genuinely believe that he could be that extra factor that re-galvanises the attack, and could carry us to the league title. Sod seniority. It is criminal not to be using him. And I don't only mean for cup matches.

There are many more clued up than me on this kind of thing but for me to Play Nacho would mean sacrificing a player elsewhere. Is pellers reluctance to go back to 442 because he know we don't have the solidity in midfield to accommodate this? Just a thought

I've thought about this. It's the obvious elephant in the room. Who do you drop? Well, no one, in fact. You just give certain players much needed rest. OK, however you permute them, you've got five players to account for your defence (keeper plus back line). Who you put in there is a different debate, and I'm not getting into that (although I would say that, given his season, Sagna is an automatic choice for me, and Hart, does it need saying, is the other). That leaves you six to play around with. I'd always play Silva and Aguero in league matches from here on in, given that they are both the players that they are, and both of them have already missed a large chunk of the season. That leaves four. Midfield is either Yaya and Fernandinho, or Fernandinho and Fernando, or Ferny and Delph. And that leaves you one man wide — either Stirling, or De Bruyne — and Kelechi playing just off Sergio's shoulder. Given that Navas has had a good season, it would ridiculous to just sideline him, and I'm not saying that I'd play Iheanacho in every league game, far from it. And there's obviously games where you'd want both Stirling and De Bruyne on the pitch, depending on the opposition. But I would give him a number of full league games from here on in.

 

[cyberblue]

I've thought about this. It's the obvious elephant in the room. Who do you drop? Well, no one, in fact. You just give certain players much needed rest. OK, however you permute them, you've got five players to account for your defence (keeper plus back line). Who you put in there is a different debate, and I'm not getting into that (although I would say that, given his season, Sagna is an automatic choice for me, and Hart, does it need saying, is the other). That leaves you six to play around with. I'd always play Silva and Aguero in league matches from here on in, given that they are both the players that they are, and both of them have already missed a large chunk of the season. That leaves four. Midfield is either Yaya and Fernandinho, or Fernandinho and Fernando, or Ferny and Delph. And that leaves you one man wide — either Stirling, or De Bruyne — and Kelechi playing just off Sergio's shoulder. Given that Navas has had a good season, it would ridiculous to just sideline him, and I'm not saying that I'd play Iheanacho in every league game, far from it. And there's obviously games where you'd want both Stirling and De Bruyne on the pitch, depending on the opposition. But I would give him a number of full league games from here on in.

There is enough games left for all the above to be playing many matches

 

[dennishasdoneit]

There is enough games left for all the above to be playing many matches

exactly.

 

[SWP's back]

Does @hgblue still think Bony is better?

 

[domalino]

I thought he played well today, but we were undeniably much better with 1 up front and Yaya on, so it was a good sub.

I think if we are going to play 442 then we need more width from the likes of Navas and Sterling - like the Norwich game when 442 looked very good.

Other than that, if we continue 4231 he may have to settle for substitute appearances - but there's no reason Pellegrini can't bring him on for 15-30 minutes rather than just 5.