13 hours ago, Zola said:

I feel like I've been stood up for a date here

Where are you Mahrez lad 

He's still missing lulz

Barca bound

Hope he stays now. One because I love watching him regularly and two because i'd love to sign him next summer.

Why did he leave Algeria he must be going somewhere. Spain market is still open....? 

Posted this in the Everton match chat -

I was watching thinking about which other sides in the Premier League could actually have broken down Everton today? We didn't play particularly badly, so the answer is not many, the only ones definitely springing to mind being Manchester City where De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling et al would have overloaded them with incisive passes and nimble footwork, maybe the likes of Pogba/Myhtyarian/Martial doing the same for Manchester United. You'd think Liverpool would be in the same bracket but they didn't exactly scorch them at Anfield a few weeks back.

Asides from Fabregas and Hazard however I'm not sure we actually have anyone at all that is of the ilk to make headway against Everton, and obviously we therefore have nowhere near enough of these kinds of players.

 

Mahrez in January is an absolute MUST.

For quality/price/player characteristics it's a no brainer.

Jeez, why don't we just go and sign the whole Leicester side that won the league?

He's a good player no doubt but quite similar to what we already have in Willian and Pedro not the player to take us to the next level.

37 minutes ago, dan_cfc said:

He's a good player no doubt but quite similar to what we already have in Willian and Pedro not the player to take us to the next level.

Couldn't disagree more, he plays the same position to Willian/Pedro but is much more of a Messi-type playmaker relying on intelligence and incisive passing than a simple ball runner, and would have helped us unlock Everton today far better than Willian/Pedro did.

This one is a no-brainer, and this is a player we can get. He's absolute class. Ten times better than Willian and Pedro, and he drifts in more from the right, whereas Hazard drifts in more from the left.

 

We are generally just scraping through games, or not scraping through at all, because we can't score goals. We're totally reliant on Hazard and if we had Mahrez our opponents would have something else to think about thereby giving Hazard a bit more space.

 

Whenever we want to go 343, a front line of Hazard, Morata and Mahrez would strike fear into most opponents. Mahrez is the type of player that can operate in tight spaces, he can counter-attack but he can also cut through packed defences. One flair player isn't enough, given the look of our main rivals.

 

He's Premiership proven, he's about to hit his peak, and he's gettable.

 

Go f**king get him I say.

Sign him sell willian. Should balance the books.

40 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

This one is a no-brainer, and this is a player we can get. He's absolute class. Ten times better than Willian and Pedro, and he drifts in more from the right, whereas Hazard drifts in more from the left.

 

We are generally just scraping through games, or not scraping through at all, because we can't score goals. We're totally reliant on Hazard and if we had Mahrez our opponents would have something else to think about thereby giving Hazard a bit more space.

 

Whenever we want to go 343, a front line of Hazard, Morata and Mahrez would strike fear into most opponents. Mahrez is the type of player that can operate in tight spaces, he can counter-attack but he can also cut through packed defences. One flair player isn't enough, given the look of our main rivals.

 

He's Premiership proven, he's about to hit his peak, and he's gettable.

 

Go f**king get him I say.

Far too sensible Davey. Now who's 10th on the list...

Probably candevra...

If Gary Cahill had defended against Mahrez like Chris Smalling did tonight for Leicester's first there would be a lynch mob out for him.

That said, I'm sure I've simply forgotten about all the many packed defences Leicester successfully broke down with Mahrez as a key constituent of the attack...

5 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

If Gary Cahill had defended against Mahrez like Chris Smalling did tonight for Leicester's first there would be a lynch mob out for him.

That said, I'm sure I've simply forgotten about all the many packed defences Leicester successfully broke down with Mahrez as a key constituent of the attack...

 

You sound far from convinced, PloKoon. I watched the game this evening and he was head and shoulders above everyone else, and Utd hardly fly forward, especially when they're defending a lead. Mahrez has craft, he has vision and he has skill. He doesn't need vast open spaces. But Leicester play counter-attack? Yes, maybe they do, or maybe they have, but look at the player's qualities. Liverpool could have come up with a thousand reasons why Salah wouldn't make it, and look at him now. He's small, he's failed in the Prem, etc etc. You can think about these things too much, or you can say, "This is simply a fabulous player, an elegant, graceful player who's a joy to watch, who deserves to perform on a bigger stage with better players around him."

 

Of all the players we were linked with on deadline day, he was the reason I kept checking for updates. He would have brought an extra dimension to our attack. Yes last season wasn't so great but there were obviously problems at Leicester, just like there were problems at Chelsea the year before when Hazard, among others, didn't perform. Mahrez has shown his class.

10 minutes of pure joy, from the season before last, when he won POTY.

 

About half a minute in he scores a peach against a packed defence. It just so happens to be ours ..

 

 

I'll stop now because @axman2526 is probably right.

Huh something in common there Davey. I was checking on deadline day too hoping for news of a double fox steal but I only got to be half happy, and a smaller half too.

You though, hoping for mahrez and you got zappacosta lmao...laugh or cry laugh or cry.

We can't involve Willian and Pedro in combinations and when they are on the pitch, our passing is having really tough times. Pedro is a finisher, his first touch is bad, lots of his passes are deflected or long/short, his dribble is not good. Willian is way better with the ball but his intelligence is questionable. The positioning is bad, doesn't know when to pass, to shoot and especially with Moses in, its ineffective. Cesc is too slow. So we still have the same problem - Hazard has no one to exchange passes with. Only Morata. We need desperately a guy like Riyad, another threat regarding skills, speed and passing ability + he is probably not that expensive. 

 

8 hours ago, Davey Baby said:

 

You sound far from convinced, PloKoon. I watched the game this evening and he was head and shoulders above everyone else, and Utd hardly fly forward, especially when they're defending a lead. Mahrez has craft, he has vision and he has skill. He doesn't need vast open spaces. But Leicester play counter-attack? Yes, maybe they do, or maybe they have, but look at the player's qualities. Liverpool could have come up with a thousand reasons why Salah wouldn't make it, and look at him now. He's small, he's failed in the Prem, etc etc. You can think about these things too much, or you can say, "This is simply a fabulous player, an elegant, graceful player who's a joy to watch, who deserves to perform on a bigger stage with better players around him."

 

Of all the players we were linked with on deadline day, he was the reason I kept checking for updates. He would have brought an extra dimension to our attack. Yes last season wasn't so great but there were obviously problems at Leicester, just like there were problems at Chelsea the year before when Hazard, among others, didn't perform. Mahrez has shown his class.

Checking for updates... I don't think I've been as frenzied about transfers as I was that day. I was going a bit mental, tbh. And then the guy ends up staying. 

He deserves a move. Starting to get on a bit as well now.

Still a bit lacking in pace and doesn't seem to make runs off the ball as much as a Pedro type... Willian, Hazard and Mahrez all prefer ball to feet (Hazard less so this season as he's been playing as a forward.)

The thing about Pedro and Schurrle before him is that they make runs, have good finishing and get into good areas in the box.

Not that I won't take Mahrez of course.

as much as i wouldn't be opposed to this signing, i don't see leicester letting him go before the summer. 

Left footed and can play in the champions league, almost too good to be true.

12 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Sign him sell willian. Should balance the books.

Yes and sell Willian to united for good measure

Sell Willian and Crapayoko.

They are beyond embarrassingly awful. I hate them.

29 minutes ago, OverAndOut said:

Sell Willian and Crapayoko.

They are beyond embarrassingly awful. I hate them.

With an attitude like that, i'm glad you're not in charge of decision making.

Edited December 24, 20178 yr by Scott Harris

Yes Willian has his moments but comes up with some crucial goals and Bakayoko is only 22 and having his first EPL season, would not get rid of either at the moment especially Bakayoko, he has lots to learn and he looks like he could be another Essien type player.