Hope not, for me our best midfield trio this season has been Louza, Sissoko, Cleverley, but I agree, Ranieri seems to like Kucka, or at least thinks he’s one of the best of a somewhat poor bunch
You wouldn't naturally assume so, but this actually gets funnier every single time you do it - you've really hit a rich vein of comedy form.
Just when Louza seems to be coming into form he's off AFCON, lets hope he comes back injury free and becomes the player we hoped he would be.
Based on his output it’s weird both Xisco and Ranieri were reluctant to use him. Seems exactly the type of player we have been crying out for when deployed in correct position.
Struggled to get up to speed with English football but now he has... wow what a player Vision, touch, passing, he has it all
Still not as sold on Louza as many are. But I’ve seen enough to know he should be playing every week and be the first CM on the team-sheet given how poor we are in there. Didn’t take long for Kayembe to be dropped. Colour me shocked.
It really just speaks to the shambolic disconnect between the incumbent manager and why they were hired, and our recruitment. How many times under successive managers have we seen certain players not picked because the current manager didn’t fancy them or didn’t suit their style or formation.
Kayembe has been fine so far really though, but Hodgson obviously has made it clear its Louza or Kayembe, not both. Louza does look the part. He's now starting to actively dictate the game, and we don't have another midfielder that can do that
We will agree to disagree. Kayembe looks a dud to me and I’m convinced he’s no better than even Gosling. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another time and day.
He passes the ball extremely well. Not the finished article but 5 games in where he's held his own just fine in a losing side. Much like you're knee jerk opinion of Louza I'm sure he'll prove you wrong!
Do think Kayembe has been fine, but he's quite similar to both Sissoko and Etebo, whereas Louza does offer something different
Has Louza ‘proved me wrong’? Still want to see a far larger positive body of work before I think he was worth what we paid when funds were tight. I’ve also never said Louza was a bad player. I said it was a poor use of funds on a player who has taken over half a season to show what he can do.
He passes the ball 5 yards well. We have plenty of players who can do that. He simply wasn’t needed IMO
I think you’re being a bit harsh on him. Now he’s settled down a bit, it seems as though he’s the only midfielder we’ve got who can receive the ball from a defender or keeper, and have the awareness to turn into space to progress the ball, either with a dribble or a pass. Fair enough to say he wasn’t the best use of funds, and I absolutely agree we’d have been better spending elsewhere, but I do think it’s a bit unfair to say he does things the rest of them can do, when it appears as though he’s a level above in his comfort with the ball. Small sample size, I’ll grant you that, but he looks like a decent footballer.
Louza is a player who always "looks" for the ball . Keeps the team ticking . He is not there to tap one in , cross it etc etc He is a +1 from me
Sorry - should have been clearer. My comment you've replied to was about Kayembe. It's he who I don't think was needed at all. I'm in agreement with you if your comments are about Louza.
Ah my fault then. I’ve misunderstood. We’re in clear agreement about Kayembe. He’s exactly what was said on the tin. Shyte.
We'll see. I can't really get my head round people saying Kayembe is ****. He's come into a losing side and barely put a foot wrong. Considering his age and what he cost its not looking like bad business. There's plenty of players who cost a lot more in this division that can't pass to save their lives. As for Louza. He's had several MOM performances now, and he looks physically stronger and tougher than he did at the start of the season. His reaction to the goal yesterday showed somebody that genuinely wants to fight, and he undoubtedly has incredible talent. There were more pressing areas to strengthen in the summer, but then we have to look to the future, and I think £9m will prove a bargain for him considering he's only 22
Or even showing for it, frankly. The amount of 'player looks up in midfield to see not one single option for a pass available to him' has been laughably high this season.
Trouble is he does everything with his left foot. Watch him closely next time he plays… if he can’t work the ball onto his left everything through him slows down massively. I can see him being good enough in the Championship, possibly even a real asset at that level, but can’t see him being a PL regular starter.
Crazy that he's only 22. Can tackle, pass, beat a man and reads the game well. If he adds goals he could reach a very high level.
That's true, he's always looking to shift it onto his left. I'm in no way saying he's the perfect player, he looks quite raw, and I'm not convinced about him defensively (although he's seemingly won most his tackles). What I like is that he's very composed. His ball for King vs Newcastle shows he's not just a sideways/backwards merchant. We'll see, my faith in him could be misplaced but he's young, and I get the feeling he could be a good player for us if he develops
Most clubs/owners probably knew about him but weren’t prepared to wait over half a season for him to do anything?
He’s only been a good buy in isolation if we can somehow hold on to him when we’re relegated. If we end up selling him for a few million profit, then it was still a shambles all round investing most of our summer budget in a player that at best was able to to perform well for about 40% of the season. That’s not allowing for the fact that either way, it’s still a shambles if we get relegated, regardless of whether we hold onto him or not, because of the £100M+ lost in prize money. Keeping hold of him just might help to negate a tiny percentage of that loss in the long term.
There’s no way he’s shown enough for anyone to come along and buy him this summer at a profit. If he refused to stay, I bet he’d be shipped out on loan. But we wouldn’t be getting more than what we paid, certain of that.
Wasn't Mazzarri looking to loan out Doucs. Admittedly the first time I saw him in a Watford shirt he looked shocking.
