Troy Deeney New contract

I'm not sure that Deeney has become too big a figure in the club - our problem is the lack of other big figures and excess of small figures...

 

Not wanting to sound like a gloating idiot, we've just won the premier league with a first 11 that cost £22m. I'd say that's some good going for the scouts to put that team together.

It's all relative really, it started in league one with loads of frees from the lower league and some loans, the scouts created a team that won the league.

Then in the championship with a bit more to spend (post Sven splashing cash around like a moron), we picked up the likes Drinkwater, Mahrez, Knockaert, Vardy, Morgan for £4m in total. Again, the scouts managed to put together a team that won the league.

We move up a level and it was much much harder to sign people. We overspent on Ulloa, but he got us 12-15 goals. Cambiasso on a free was good business and Huth was amazing. Obviously, they aren't unknowns, but the scouting is more than just picking up unknown talent. It's about picking up players that improve your team where you need it, and that's where they have excelled.

This season we picked up Kante, Fuchs on a free, Okazaki, Gray and Amartey. Gray and Amartey look great shouts for the future, Kante was inspired. Fuchs on a free outstanding and Okazaki gave us the work rate we wanted up front, although I'd say we overpaid for him, it's hard to say that now considering what has happened.

As I said, their job is building a team that works how the manager wants it. Winning all three leagues is some going for them. We've never really been in a situation where we've JUST been looking for young up and coming talent. Very often they are mixed in with some older heads, some names people know etc as that's what the squad requires.

Not sure how anyone can say they are the best around, Leicester fan or not. But I'm very bloody please with them. The same guys picked up Cleverly for us in league one, Kane in the championship. They have an eye for potential without doubt.

 

Pearson had us set up totally wrong last season for the large chunk, so don't read to much into that. He also dropped all our wingers and pace to play 4 cm's in a diamond, he lost it for a while. When Mahrez came back in and we switched to the three at the back he was back to being on fire.

As for the championship. The bloke walked into a top of the table team and took the place of a starter almost straight away. Scored 3 goals and got 4 assists in about 12 full games. If Nugent could finish his dinner that would have been about 8/9 assists. The bloke was obviously top quality when the first second he stepped on the pitch. In the same way it was obvious to every Leicester fan that Kante was world class when he came on as sub for the first time.

 

As the club captain it's always more difficult to drop him. But with the fact that he has 3 or 4 years left on his contract and we are somewhat short in the number of home-grown players, we can't even fill the minimum of 8 slots in the squad of 25, it would be unlikely that Deeney goes this summer.

 

Sounds like QSF

 

Don't call me childish, you ****ing melt!

 

Are people not so keen now? When you came to ours for the first say 50 minutes I thought you looked brilliantly drilled. Up there with Spurs as one of the most well coached teams I'd seen this year. Second half you tired and that dropped off and we got a bit of luck. But like I say, first 50 you really impressed me. Looked like everyone knew exactly what they were meant to be doing, pressed and attacked as a team.

 

Problem is though, one lapse of concentration or good attacking play from the opposition usually leads to a goal, and we are unable to score a goal to come back. If you want to know our views on QSF you can read our 114 page thread :sign15:

 

Easy to say now.

Not sure how many were saying it last year though..

That's like Vydra scoring 20 goals next season and everyone saying "oh it was never in doubt, it was obvious he was such a talent from the moment he stepped on to the field against Palace"

Like I said, my point was, I don't think Mahrez was a stroke of scouting excellence, think it was a good punt but nobody could've seen this level of development coming.

 

You can look back to our threads about him at the end of the championship season if you want, plenty of glowing praise in his abilities.

You can say it's a punt, but how often does a scout need to get it right for you to admit he might know what he's doing? Vardy, Drinkwater, Kante, Mahrez. £7.5m for four players probably worth the best part of £100m now.

Knockaert cost £700k, probably cost £5m of anyone's money now. At Hull they signed Chester and Brady for about £800k, they were sold this season for £16m. We had Cleverly on loan in league one, Kane on loan in the championship. Now, you don't often sign players for 400k and make them the player into player of the year granted, they might not have expected him to go this far, but they have a great record of spotting talent cheap talent.

There are very few players they've signed that haven't worked out.

 

I believe he knows what's he doing of course. Kante was a brilliant find and was Fuchs.

But Vardy wasn't starting or scoring regularly in the Championship (the league he was bought for)

Drinkwater we had on loan and was bang average, we had Cleverly and Lansbury too doesn't make our scout a genius.

Kane didn't pull up any trees at Leicester either.

I just have a nagging feeling it's a mix of good scouting and a lot coming together at the right time too.

Like I said, this upcoming season will be the real test of his credentials but congratulations on a fantastic season.

 

When he first arrived he got "injured" and I put it like that because it came out this week he actually had a drink problem. That's why he nearly gave up the game after his move to us, he couldn't handle the pressure and the money. His second season he started regularly and was excellent. Jamie has been a strange one, you can literally see him learning game to game, coming from such a low level the learning curve was always going to be steep, but he's always risen to the challenge. His control and finishing has just kept on improving, I wish we'd had him when he was 21 and he'd started the learning curve then rather than when he was 26. Because the lad is exceptional.

I would say it shows your scouts have an eye for a player now and again. Just signing the player isn't enough, they need to fit into your system. Our scouts have been excellent at picking up players who fit our system. Whether they are an 18 year old or a 32 year old. They clearly spotted Kanes talent but Pearson tried to play him wide of a front 3, I don't think he ever started up front like he did for Millwall.

Mahrez has so much natural ability, I have no doubts he'll continue to be excellent. The heights of the this season will be hard to match and he'll be a marked man, but he's quality.

Cheers.

Apologies if I've come across "gloaty" in any way, it's not meant to. We just rate our scouting guys exceptionally highly, we wouldn't be where we are without Steve Walsh. No doubt in my mind.

 

He might be good, but he's no Richard Hughes.

 

Any scouting network that has historically signed Acuna, Arlauskis and Lucas Neil has no right to be named amongst the best in the league, no matter how much that reality hurts people.

 

Of the 20 Premier League clubs I'd say that only Man Utd, Liverpool, Swansea, Newcastle, Norwich and Villa have been worse for scouting and recruiting players than us over the past few years.

People hugely overrate the Pozzo's 'best scouting network in the world' on here.

 

Tbf when you look back at the players they scouted it is ridiculous - Handanovic, Isla, Asamoah, Benatia, Zapata, Inler, Muntari, Cuadrado, Sanchez, Di Natalie, Peneranda, Allen, Sliming, Iaquinta, Pizarro, Gyan etc.

Not sure many other teams could boast that list. I think the problem is, the rest of the world caught up with the Pozzo's so the advantage of scouting network has been diminished somewhat.

 

There are at least a dozen that can be added to that list. Neuton anyone ?? God bless the Pozzos for what they've done to our club but of the blizzard of faces that have come through our squad over the last 3 years, the % success rate hasn't been high.

 

Apologies if I've come across "gloaty" in any way, it's not meant to. We just rate our scouting guys exceptionally highly, we wouldn't be where we are without Steve Walsh. No doubt in my mind.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for some really interesting insights .... and for your club shattering the glass ceiling and causing so much angst in the board rooms and support bases of the so called "big clubs". I still find it hard to believe it actually happened.

 

You're right. I don't think Troy will decide anything until he knows who our head coach will be and the sort of style he prefers to play. Gino will doubtless bear this in mind.

 

Leicester are supposedly breaking their transfer record on this Spanish striker, who supposedly will rotate with Vardy:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/10/leicester-city-transfer-record-signing-lucas-perez-deportivo-la-coruna?CMP=share_btn_tw

If Deeney goes there it would surely only be if they ship Ulloa, meaning he would be on rotation with Okazaki.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

While there have been a few strikers linked with Leicester, and this is partly because they are looking at a number of options, but the comment by Oliver Holt has me worried. He has earned himself the right to move on and done what he wanted to achieve with Watford, and has clearly attracted interest that would be difficult for him to turn down. The question is how much would we sell him for?

 

The only player in this current set up who Id be genuinely p1ssed off if he left.

In the first few months of the season I thought he might struggle but the last month or two he has shown hes got what it takes at this level.

Will be very hard to replace him.

 

I'm genuinely frightened by the prospect of Troy leaving. Nobody knows the club, the squad, the values like he does. And he wasn't recruited directly into that position like a head coach is; this took several years of cultivating from when he first joined the club from Walsall.

 

Guessing the other club is Everton.

Wasn't worried about him leaving until I read that, although I can't see us letting him go on the cheap and would anyone pay £15-20 mil for him? If he wants to leave, then I think he'll be gone.

I genuinely think he's the only irreplaceable player in our team, not just because of his football, but because of his leadership. I'd be gutted if he left, maybe the most gutted i've been about a player leaving.

 

We should not sell Troy for £15-20m. The impact he has on the squad and supporters should not be understated and we would just spend the money on someone no better without his superb attitude.

 

Lots of speculation already. I think we can keep Troy. Offer an improved deal. I don't think Troy would force a move

 

I think he's achieved everything he can at watford

judging by the players we've signed the last window, we would struggle to replace him

I would like to think if we kept him and recruited well we could push for top 5, but with the quality in the premier league its just not going to happen

 

His frustrated arm-waving is becoming a bit too prevalent.

 

The only reason the club would let Deeney go is because he'd want to leave. If he does he'll reluntenly carry our blessing as he's one of the best players we've ever had.

 

Unless Troy actively pushes for a move, I'm sure it would take an utterly ridiculous bid for us to sell him. The void left by Eustace isn't something they'll want to replicate in our second season in the Premier League.

 

So what has Captain Fantastic really contributed since Xmas? The team hs been pants, and he hasn't managed to inspire them to anything other than sub-mediocrity. His own performnces have swung from ineffective workhorse to best of a poor bunch.

He's good on Talk Sport though.

 

Not unsympathetic with this, though think he deserves a bit more credit.

I don't think Troy has been 'leader of the gang' this year in the same way he was the previous two. I don't think this is his fault, as I reckon there isn't room at the club for much in the way of egos once you have made space for that of the head coach, and Troy's mojo depends on his ego. He has not got it going at all this year in the way the club and fans have come to rely on; he is setting an example for the team, but is not being allowed to inspire it; that has been almost completely missing from this last season.

Losing him now would not be the same blow it would have been the last two closed seasons. It would be a huge loss, and an enormous shame, but he is not now the same core element to the club he was previously.

Thanks Quique.