Riyad Mahrez

[Essien19 1,415]

Jesus Christ! What is your problem?

He thinks he's not good enough. Some of the former players set the bar quite high, but these days Willian is one of the better ones in this current squad. You can make of this whatever you want. [emoji4]

[Stats 7,147]

4 minutes ago, Essien19 said:

He thinks he's not good enough. Some of the former players set the bar quite high, but these days Willian is one of the better ones in this current squad. You can make of this whatever you want.

And let's not forget if that was the case and we had that trio, Willian would be very vital in doing all the defensive work that Hazard and Mahrez will have less responsibility of doing so, so that they can flourish in attack.

[DYC. 7,542]

3 hours ago, Pizy said:

Imagine the two best dribblers and wide players in the league on the same team with Hazard & Mahrez. And then Willian in the middle who's one of the best as well. How would defenses deal with that? 

Hazard, Willian, and Mahrez feeding Costa. Insane.

Plus  it would allow us to play both Kante and Matic in a midfield two without having to worry about creativity.

-------------------------------Costa-------------------------------

Hazard----------------------Willian-----------------------Mahrez

--------------------Kante------------Matic----------------------

Azpi---------------Koulibaly-------Zouma---------------Aina

------------------------------Courtois------------------------------

 

Well, I think I can answer that first question. Sit deep in front of the box, remain compact and contain.

The players I've bolded are responsible for the build-up play. It will take ages for them to reach the attacking players, meaning they won't receive the ball in dangerous positions. And they don't provide much of an element of surprise with the ball at their feet. Mostly predictable short passes to the nearest players and back-passes.

The fullbacks offer very little going forward as well so all the creative burden falls on the attacking three. And the attacking three are dribblers and ball-carriers, which slows down play. The balance is off.

[Essien19 1,415]

47 minutes ago, Stats said:

And let's not forget if that was the case and we had that trio, Willian would be very vital in doing all the defensive work that Hazard and Mahrez will have less responsibility of doing so, so that they can flourish in attack.

It all comes down to the question in which position Willian is going to play in?

pros:

• Hard working player, covers a lot of ground and definitely knows how to defend
• With the ball at his feet he rarely gets dispossessed
• On the ball his acceleration impresses me, did it against PSG, so can do it against anyone
• Technical player, must be encouraged to show off more often his skills, can beat anyone

cons:

• Hardly a goal threat, he often overcomplicates things
• Holds on too long to the ball, slows the whole (attacking) play down
• I question his vision, then how he misplaces some short passes is simply sloppy
• Don't like his corners, he can do a lot better!

As a winger he can't do it all by himself like someone like Hazard, it could be the case that he just needs a Marcelo behind him, but i would still have my doubts. Willian is better on the left wing, but will there be a new home for Hazard in the lineup? Doubt it! Point is despite of his turnovers and maybe him being a bit of a 'one-trick pony', i'm having a hunch that Mahrez would be an upgrade on the wing.  For me Willian isn't a good no.10,  my 'cons' don't make it that good an idea of, imo.

Willian never gives up, never goes down without a fight, he's a soldier and there's war out there. The fans love him for that, Conte with his 'work, work, work' mentality should be also looking to having him around. In a 4-3-3 in the middle of the park Willian should be given a trial, if Chels' is going guns blazing for someone like Mahrez, imo.

Personally, despite my criticism i much rather have someone like Willian who i'm fully convinced will play for the shirt then some more talented player who just throw the towel early when the mood isn't right.

[blues.bridge 343]

4 hours ago, Pizy said:

Imagine the two best dribblers and wide players in the league on the same team with Hazard & Mahrez. And then Willian in the middle who's one of the best as well. How would defenses deal with that? 

Hazard, Willian, and Mahrez feeding Costa. Insane.

Plus  it would allow us to play both Kante and Matic in a midfield two without having to worry about creativity.

-------------------------------Costa-------------------------------

Hazard----------------------Willian-----------------------Mahrez

--------------------Kante------------Matic----------------------

Azpi---------------Koulibaly-------Zouma---------------Aina

------------------------------Courtois------------------------------

 

out willy, in Fabregas!

-------------------------------Costa-------------------------------
                    (Batshuayi-traore)

Hazard----------------------fabregas-----------------------Mahrez
(kenedy)                           (oscar)                                  (willian-traore)

--------------------Kante------------Matic----------------------
                    (RLC)            (mikel or MVG)

Azpi--------------- (XXX)-------Zouma---------------Aina
(baba)             (cahill)     (JT)                   (Ivanovic) 

  ------------------------------Courtois------------------------------

[WNDS 502]

He's just not a signing that we have genuine need of at the moment, despite his undoubted quality. We currently have Hazard, Willian, Oscar, Pedro, Moses, and Cuadrado as part of the squad, and whilst Mahrez at his best is probably superior to every one of those players I've listed except Hazard, the fee we will have to pay to acquire him is going to be too large to justify the signing; we have SERIOUS need for a new full-back and centre-back, and the money that we would have to spend on Mahrez could possibly cover most of that cost.

Sure, I suppose we could try to sell any two of Oscar/Pedro/Moses/Cuadrado to finance a deal for Mahrez, but it would probably take too long to arrange all of these transfers (including those involving a new FB and CB); someone else will get hold of him before we can.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

2 hours ago, Special Juan said:

Better than that shite Oscar in there.

What does Oscar have to do with anything? WIllian as an attacking midfielder is stupid. There's no need for him in the team if we sign Mahrez.

 

 

[Special Juan 28,140]

2 minutes ago, Gilvorak said:

What does Oscar have to do with anything? WIllian as an attacking midfielder is stupid. There's no need for him in the team if we sign Mahrez.

 

 

Wait, there is no need for Willian in the team if we sign Mahrez? And by the way, I mentioned Oscar because apparently he is an AM, but I am still waiting to find that out.

[Gilvorak 3,734]

Because I'm not a fan of Willian, that apparently makes having 3 ball carriers in the team a good idea. Willian's only strength is his ball carrying ability & with two superior dribblers like Mahrez & Hazard in the side that would make his skills redundant in the team.

Way too many posters on here act like Willian is the 2nd coming of Ronaldinho. This discussion is pointless because he isn't coming here but if you sign Mahrez you switch to 433 & give Hazard/Mahrez creative freedom like Barca do with Neymar/Messi & Madrid with Bale/Ronaldo. Why would you play 3 wingers together?

[avroneelbiswas 33]

Mahrez prefers Barca according to latest reports.

[Strike 7,493]

 

3 hours ago, Essien19 said:

It all comes down to the question in which position Willian is going to play in?

pros:

• Hard working player, covers a lot of ground and definitely knows how to defend
• With the ball at his feet he rarely gets dispossessed
• On the ball his acceleration impresses me, did it against PSG, so can do it against anyone
• Technical player, must be encouraged to show off more often his skills, can beat anyone

cons:

• Hardly a goal threat, he often overcomplicates things
• Holds on too long to the ball, slows the whole (attacking) play down
• I question his vision, then how he misplaces some short passes is simply sloppy
• Don't like his corners, he can do a lot better!

As a winger he can't do it all by himself like someone like Hazard, it could be the case that he just needs a Marcelo behind him, but i would still have my doubts. Willian is better on the left wing, but will there be a new home for Hazard in the lineup? Doubt it! Point is despite of his turnovers and maybe him being a bit of a 'one-trick pony', i'm having a hunch that Mahrez would be an upgrade on the wing.  For me Willian isn't a good no.10,  my 'cons' don't make it that good an idea of, imo.

Willian never gives up, never goes down without a fight, he's a soldier and there's war out there. The fans love him for that, Conte with his 'work, work, work' mentality should be also looking to having him around. In a 4-3-3 in the middle of the park Willian should be given a trial, if Chels' is going guns blazing for someone like Mahrez, imo.

Personally, despite my criticism i much rather have someone like Willian who i'm fully convinced will play for the shirt then some more talented player who just throw the towel early when the mood isn't right.

17 goals in the league, not to mention 11 assists. Hardly a goal threat? His supposed cons can be worked on, really, like holding on to the ball too long in attack, corner kicks.  This signing is a no-brainer for me - the Premier League player of the season. 

Any other summer and this would have been a great signing. Since there are several positions in need of reinforcement this summer, I'd understand if we don't pursue him but as far as having him here goes, it's a definite yes for me.

[xPetrCechx 13,573]

49 minutes ago, avroneelbiswas said:

Mahrez prefers Barca according to latest reports.

He won't start there. like turan.

[KevinAshburner 1,270]

 

don't worry about this player.

If Chelsea sign him.

Chelsea will be saying and provoking and will be asking Leicester City Fans to burn down Stamford Bridge when Chelsea hosts Leicester City in the Premier League.

 

Chelsea won't be that stupid to sign 2 players from the same team, that will be asking for chaos from Leicester City Fans.

[Stats 7,147]

40 minutes ago, Strike said:

 

17 goals in the league, not to mention 11 assists. Hardly a goal threat? His supposed cons can be worked on, really, like holding on to the ball too long in attack, corner kicks.  This signing is a no-brainer for me - the Premier League player of the season. 

Any other summer and this would have been a great signing. Since there are several positions in need of reinforcement this summer, I'd understand if we don't pursue him but as far as having him here goes, it's a definite yes for me.

He was talking about Willian, not Mahrez unless I am missing something.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

On 17.7.2016 at 9:29 PM, Strike said:

 

17 goals in the league, not to mention 11 assists. Hardly a goal threat? His supposed cons can be worked on, really, like holding on to the ball too long in attack, corner kicks.  This signing is a no-brainer for me - the Premier League player of the season. 

Any other summer and this would have been a great signing. Since there are several positions in need of reinforcement this summer, I'd understand if we don't pursue him but as far as having him here goes, it's a definite yes for me.

I think he was talking about Willian, who is indeed rarely a goal threat even though he has worked on that massively.

 

As for Mahrez a am surely not against signing him he is too classy a player but recent years have shown that our rw issue won't be solved with money thrown at it. We should only sign another one if someone there leaves or conte has a clear plan how to make this signing work. 

[Essien19 1,415]

 

17 goals in the league, not to mention 11 assists. Hardly a goal threat? His supposed cons can be worked on, really, like holding on to the ball too long in attack, corner kicks.  This signing is a no-brainer for me - the Premier League player of the season. 

Any other summer and this would have been a great signing. Since there are several positions in need of reinforcement this summer, I'd understand if we don't pursue him but as far as having him here goes, it's a definite yes for me.

Willian, not Mahrez. The latter is indeed a huge goal threat. Still not over his beauty against City, unstoppable.

[xPetrCechx 13,573]

[Stats 7,147]

5 minutes ago, Essien19 said:

Willian, not Mahrez. The latter is indeed a huge goal threat. Still not over his beauty against City, unstoppable.

Same here. I love seeing that over and over again. The step over and the finish with his weaker foot is just amazing to watch.

And although it was against us, have to admit his goal he scored where he turned Azpi inside out and scored from such a difficult angle was bloody amazing.

[Peace. 4,352]

15 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

As for Mahrez a am surely not against signing him he is too classy a player but recent years have shown that our rw issue won't be solved with money thrown at it. We should only sign another one if someone there leaves or conte has a clear plan how to make this signing work. 

Our right-wing issue will be fixed when we will field a competent right-back.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

On 17.7.2016 at 10:29 PM, Peace. said:

Our right-wing issue will be fixed when we will field a competent right-back.

Well IMO Azpi is a competent right-back. Did not really make Pedro or Willian much better when they played there. I just feel we do not have a tactical balance between fullback and winger on either side yet.

On 17.7.2016 at 10:29 PM, Peace. said: