Maddison and Murphy

[Surfer 1,547]

Will they be missed? Yes they were fan favorites, and I think we will be wistfully regretting Maddison left for years to come, however yesterday offered me cause for optimism. Lietner displayed wonderful finesse on his passes and Hernandez showed the confidence and goal scoring touch I often wished Murphy had.

Birmingham are not the greatest team but very encouraging, lets see if it continues.

[lake district canary 4,531]

Not missing Murphy really, with Maddison it isn''t a regret that he''s left, I''ll just remember it as a privilege to have seen him play for us.  Same with Gunn, actually - his season with us was everything you could want from a goalkeepeer, loan or not.

[kick it off 1,948]

Can agree on this front at least LDC. No regrets about Maddison at all, he was always destined for bigger things then us and I suspect bigger things than Leicester too. It was just a joy to watch him in a city shirt. Hernandez looks like murphy with decisiveness and more end product. I loved watching murphy break through from the academy to first team but I don''t think he''s on the same career trajectory as Maddison is. Redmond was a better player than murphy and whilst a decent mid table prem player, don''t think he will ever be much more than that. Maddison will play champs league and potentially captain the national side imo.

[Branston Pickle 3,654]

We''ll miss Maddison for his skill level and will have to make it up via organisation/tactics, but it can sometimes be a blessing when not relying on one player. Murphy was too hit and miss and I''d prefer someone more consistent - Onel did pretty well yesterday and hopefully can fill that gap. I''ll never quite get the love-in for Gunn, he did fine but no more than I expect for a decent keeper. If things work out with Krul we could have a decent player for a number of seasons to come, as he''s only 30.

[Paul101 93]

at least Murphy cant be used as stick large sections of our support wanted him out of the team last year

Maddison is a strange one while an amazing player and one who I believe will end up at a top club

for us the whole team revolved around him and that''s not a good place to be all the while

[Bill 1,788]

We''ve seen them come, we''ve seen them go...twas ever thus.

However I have yet to see one of our recent departures tear up the PL.

That is the nature and standard of the game and that league rather than any ability or lack of it from those players.

Maddison was a consistently exceptional talent - both Murphys not always so. Maddison had a certain guile and (dear I say it professionalism) way beyond his years.

What we have done though is been able to find replacements at a fraction of the cost, and offer up the promise that we will continue to do so.

Onward and upwards, as the saying goes.

[Grumpy 122]

Maddison was a joy to watch last season.He showed such good promise the season before and when he was given the opportunity by DF he took it. This season will see if that potential can really be realised.Yes I think he might manage to get in the national team but as for being captain,come on,he is not that good.As for Murphy.Last season he was a major disappointment for me.The odd quality goal but if he had any real ability he was never going to shine with the style of football that was served up by the team last season.We did well to offload him for a good price.

Last season we relied far too much on Maddison,not only for his goals but it seemed that we could hardly function without him and I think he knew it too. The squad we have now does appear to have more players that are capable of having a bigger influence in games and give us more options. The likes of McLean,Pukki,Marshall and Hernandez will have a big part to play this season.I should really put Rhodes in amongst those put I have never rated the player but I would be only too pleased to be proved completely wrong.Mind you at the end of the season if that is the case then SW has a big decision to make as he is only on loan.

[kick it off 1,948]

[quote user="Grumpy"]This season will see if that potential can really be realised.Yes I think he might manage to get in the national team but as for being captain,come on,he is not that good.[/quote]

Isn''t he? He''s only 21 and coming off the back of an absolutely stellar season in the Champs. He has a fantastic attitude, head firmly screwed on and a real fiery passion (but channeled the right way)... not to mention bags of ability.

Time will tell, but I certainly won''t be shocked to see him captain the England side. To say "he isn''t that good" and it''s not possible of a 21 year old who has just been sold for over £20million to the team that won the Premier league (albeit unexpectedly) 2 years ago is silly. He is prototypical captain material and more than good enough to command a regular international spot. He''ll be playing in Euro 2020 presuming England qualify, and I expect he''ll have moved to a bigger club by then too.

[Just Dan 10]

Paul101

"Maddison is a strange one while an amazing player and one who I believe will end up at a top club for us the whole team revolved around him and that''s not a good place to be all the while."

A point I was making on the Sarri thread. Wish him all the very best and was great for us, but our style of play was dictated to by the need to play him in every single game.

Interesting that we scored 24 goals away from home last season, of which Madders and Murphy got over half (13). And I think if you added NO to that, it would be 16 or 17. Can see McLean, Hernandez and Rhodes beating that figure, if Saturday was anything to go by.

[lake district canary 4,531]

His free kicks are top top quality and his outfield play and ability on the ball are every bit as good as anything on display yesterday in the charity shield match, which I watched with Maddison in mind and how he might adapt to the PL.  Imo he has it all, composure, technique, confidence, desire and I believe he can be an England regular - much in the Beckham mould - and that means he could well be captain at some stage. Genuinely looking forward to seeing how he gets on this Friday evening v Manure.  

[Van wink 2,994]

I’m really looking forward to watching Maddison this year, gives a bit of interest to a Prem League which often can be boring.

[Woodman 92]

I''ll probably get pelters for this, but I thought his worst performances for us last year were against Arsenal and Chelsea in the cup games. He didn''t get the time and space that he did in championship games.

But yes, I really hope he kicks on with his development at Leicester and goes on to win a full England cap this season.

[king canary 7,603]

@Woodman

I''d agree those were his worst performances but I think it was more because of the way we set up and the fact we were always going to have less of the ball higher up the pitch.

I think he''ll flourish in a team that isn''t as cautious as we had to be v Arsenal and Chelsea.

[GJP 79]

Very hard to see him getting anywhere near being England captain when you consider the level of guys who have had the job.

Making the squad for a friendly in the next year or so will be hard enough.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Not sure how Maddison was only worth £8mil more than Josh, but I reckon he’ll be at Leicester for 1 season and 1 season only - you watch him get MOTM against Man Utd on Friday night. I bet he takes the Premier League by storm this season, nothing fazes him whatsoever. He has a huge future providing he remains injury free, and has all the attributes in place to play for the senior England team, of course he does, totally agree with the above posters who also feel this.

[HertsCanary93 222]

I''m certain he will get some games for England in his career.

That said, with Dele in that sport already and potentially Phil Foden coming onto the scene this year it will be a huge challenge to nail down a regular place. Fingers crossed he does.

I would be surprsied if anyone by Harry Kane captains England in Madders'' career. I never really saw Madders as a leader on the pitch imo.

[AJ 1,218]

Madders now has the platform to play at the highest level, and has already raised a few eyebrows at Leicester in pre-season. I''m sure he is going to love playing with someone with Vardy''s ability and pace in front of him, we know he can pick a pass. All Madders needs to do is keep developing. Dele has been poor of late, but with Lallana out of the picture, the Ox injured there isn''t a lot of other competition other than potentially Foden as you mentioned above. I''ve no doubt Madders will play for England unless his career takes a massive downturn somehow. Destined for greatness that man.

[king canary 7,603]

I think Maddison will get a cap this year- that playmaker type role was obviously missing at the World Cup and I think Southgate will want to go to youth like him over giving someone like Lallana another go.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Think you could well be right, KC - wouldn’t be surprised if he gets called up this year either. The technique is there for all to see, but I think we’ll be hearing the words ‘maturity’ and ‘mentality’ from pundits a lot this season, which he has in spades, and makes his chances of a senior cap all the greater - you can bet your life that Gareth Southgate is already well aware of these attributes. The world is James’s oyster as far as I can see - I’ve certainly never seen a young player at Norwich in my lifetime from memory with such talent, he was a one off for sure.