One of the worse takes on here. Including Herrera is better.
N'Golo Kante (appreciation thread)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Well, there was also that thread about Herrera vs Kante while Chelsea were dominating the league.
I mean I liked Herrera but back then it even looked stupid.
I once described Fred as “Kante with footballing ability”
Jesus...
Jesus...
Ah. I remember that. The best part about that thread was the timing
It was as if the universe itself saw that thread and decided to reply
What a world class player. Impossible not to like him
He probably won't be, but on merit he should be in the Balon d'or conversation this year.
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If he wants to open his pockets and let our midfield out for next season I'd appreciate it
The fact that he drives a mini while bossing World Cups, Champions Leagues & Premier Leagues just shows the kind of man he is. No need to flex or overcompensate. Ultimate big dick energy.
An absolute powerhouse who epitomises "Been there, dont that" a winner all the way no matter which club or which manager he plays for....non controversial (think Pogba) and stays under the radar, would strengthen us a million times over if we could get him, but alas...
Hard to have a mount Rushmore of midfielders but in terms of a box to box ball winner, no one beats Kante in the history of the game right ?
I’d be okay with him winning it
Makelele, Gattuso, Essien, Kimmich and Busquets all in with a shout off the top of my head .
Great to amazing players listed there Eagle, but none of them with 3 consecutive MOTM performances in the biggest competition of the sport. Kante transforms his team. It's said all the time so it sounds like a cliche, but it isn't. He IS two players! You can set up as 2 man midfield but with Kante it's basically a 3. Am I hyperbole here ? I don't know.
So as a Man City fan, watching your team play without this type of player and getting dominated by Kante, whats your take?
Play without one like Pep did in the final, keep faith with Rodri and the idea that he will improve to Fernandinho levels, or "find the next Kante" ?
Gattuso doesnt deserve to be there. He was loud, charismatic and tried but limited. Did help make Pirlo in DM work though
It's ok bud. We all make silly comments sometimes. At least you had the balls to admit to yours
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...good-feeling-with-antonio-conte-a3335006.html
What could have been!
What could have been!
I agree with you he's a level below the others.
There's a bit of recency bias there for sure but Kante is an incredible player and has the quiet humbleness that makes him very likable. Would love for United to have a player of his defensive quality in our midfield.
Rodri is fine (something I'd never have said 13 months ago) but he's grown into the role, he'll never be a Kante but his defensive positioning this season has been excellent. He gets caught for pace a bit but does the job, he's more a prime Matic with better passing.
So as a Man City fan, watching your team play without this type of player and getting dominated by Kante, whats your take?
Play without one like Pep did in the final, keep faith with Rodri and the idea that he will improve to Fernandinho levels, or "find the next Kante" ?
I'd prefer a new young Fernandinho but either is fine. Yesterday on the other hand isn't. Leaving that big empty space for Mount and Havertz to play while Werner stretches the back 4 was easily one if peps biggest pep ups since he arrived.
This is spot on and it's by far the biggest value Kante brings to the team - it's also why he was wasted under Sarri and Lampard playing in a midfield 3.
Last year during lockdown it seemed like Lampard had stumbled onto something by having Kante sit deeper and move from side to side, but the issue then is you miss out on his (generally underrated) ability to carry the ball and also to press vertically.
What's really interesting to me about Kante is that I think he has the same gift Dennis Rodman of the NBA did - a preternatural ability to instantly assess the flight of the ball, the angles, and where and how it might deflect. Rodman used this gift to become one of the greatest rebounders the NBA has ever seen, and I think Kante's intuitive understanding of where a ball is likely to end up makes him one of the greatest recoverers of the ball ever. A lot of people focus on his ridiculous physical attributes (for good reason; the man has the lungs of a horse), but I think his reading of the geometry of the game is almost equally key to his success.
Very interesting comparison, and it's possible you're on to something there. When you see that Dennis Rodman wasn't anywhere near the tallest guy, but basically outrebounded everybody, you just knew he had something others don't. It's hard to see otherwise with Kante himself.
Yeah that Rodman comparison is a great call. His instincts are just razor sharp, he has a sixth sense for catching people out with marginally loose balls, particularly transitioning from defence to attack. Having him as a sitting midfielder never made sense. I had a slight hope we could nab him from you when it was obvious he wasn’t being utilised properly in the last couple of years. “Past it” apparently
He's one letter away from being a legend.
None of which can be compared to those who claimed Drinkwater was the main man in the midfield for Leicester.
He's like the CDM version of AWB absolutely terrific to nullify opponents, he can basically dry up any midfielder. Really helpful when facing top class opposition, but when facing lesser teams I don't think he adds to much offensively he's all hyped at the moment and deservedly but I wouldn't take it that far as him being the best player in the world.
Against a team like City he's your best shot but if having to choose overall I would rather have Kimmich or Casemiro which can do the defensive work while also adding offensive power.
Anyway lovely player we should had got him when we had the chance.
Against a team like City he's your best shot but if having to choose overall I would rather have Kimmich or Casemiro which can do the defensive work while also adding offensive power.
Anyway lovely player we should had got him when we had the chance.
He might not have a Fabregas level distribution but his pressing can be incredibly effective for creating transitions of play. I've posted this before but he his reading of the game & tackling here created the goal just as much as a fantastic pass would've.
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He just won them a Champions League and has been at the heart of their revival in the past 5 months.
They haven't lost a game while he was on the pitch. How is he not the best player in the world?
You are wrong about his distribution.
He's great, but facing a low block he has no use for that pressing. You need other skills to break them down.
Under Tuchels set up he's amazing, but I don't imagine him being a starter under one of Pep's teams for example or under current Bayern. He lacks some skills that limit him from playing in possession dominant teams.
I rate other players higher, like Lewandowski or Messi at the moment.
A low block is only a thing when the opponents are in their defensive shape, so someone like Kanté is actually exactly what you want against teams that plan to use a low block, his ability to stop the opposition transition from defense to attack and subsequent ability to quickly start the attacking transition of his own team are key and valuable.
Chelsea are a "possession dominant" team in almost every game we play. We averaged 61.39% possession in the league this season (Man City averaged 63.82%).
Man City had more possession than us last night but we had more than them in the 2-1 League win a few months ago.
Man of the match last night and I was really happy for him. He’s an incredible football but first and foremost an incredibly humble person. He was still driving around in the mini he purchased at Leicester until 18 months ago.
He turned up to watch Leicester play Burton Albion away in the League cup a few season after he’d left in a mid week
game.
He’s one of the greatest ever plays and I think if the public had a vote for player of the season, this man would have won it one it on more than one occasion.
The question is, can he win a B’allon Dor?
He turned up to watch Leicester play Burton Albion away in the League cup a few season after he’d left in a mid week
game.
He’s one of the greatest ever plays and I think if the public had a vote for player of the season, this man would have won it one it on more than one occasion.
The question is, can he win a B’allon Dor?
Very good points and why he is so underrated as people don't see that.
Not flashy enough. Last time a defensive player won it was 25 years ago (Sammer).
Fabio Canavaro, 2006?
It's not impossible now that Messi and Rocaldo have slowed down a bit. IIRC van Dijk came very close a few years ago.
You're absolutely right, not sure how I missed that as I even checked on Wiki.
Cannavaro captained a side to a world cup win that year IIRC, can't get much better than that!
Kante got MOTM in both Champs League semis and also the final. If he has a great Euros then I guess he is in with a shot in terms of performing on the biggest stage possible.
My money would be on Lewandowski though.
Yes, I'm not saying Kante is useless when in possession I'm saying he shines when facing a possession team.
Yeah - think the best evidence comes from the video @duffer posted - Kante clearly reads Ramos' body shape and the pressure he's under as he goes for the clearance and gets to the second ball ahead of Nacho somehow despite the latter having a 10+ yard head start.
Think you're spot on with his value in transitioning - it's quite common to see him leading breaks and he did so on a few occasions yesterday. A huge part of his value that is lost if he has to sit deep for sure.