Kelechi Iheanacho

[nottsblue]

We will likely have the answer by November/December unless he gets a serious injury. By then, Pep will have seen what he can do, what he is like as a man and if he fits into his style of play. If he is in the team or getting more game time than now then we can assume it's a problem he had with Pellers. If he is still not getting the game time then maybe it's a problem with him.

[phips]

We will likely have the answer by November/December unless he gets a serious injury. By then, Pep will have seen what he can do, what he is like as a man and if he fits into his style of play. If he is in the team or getting more game time than now then we can assume it's a problem he had with Pellers. If he is still not getting the game time then maybe it's a problem with him.

i dont know if its fair to say it is down to a problem with Pellegrini. it may very well be but it could just be yet another instance of a manager having the age-old assumption that "big money" players are always better than "youngsters" and being duped into thinking Bony is better.

[bigblue]

Nacho fits our play style like a glove. He's dynamic, creative, quick, good in possession, and can finish as well as Sergio (in the little that we've seen).

Mental that Bony is ahead in the lineup as he fits our style like a fat man in skinny jeans

[Dameerto]

Nacho fits our play style like a glove. He's dynamic, creative, quick, good in possession, and can finish as well as Sergio (in the little that we've seen).

Mental that Bony is ahead in the lineup as he fits our style like a fat man in skinny jeans

STOP SPYING ON ME

[PrezIke]

http://www.espnfc.us/club/manchester-ci ... nacho-more

BY DAVID MOONEY

Kelechi Iheanacho needs to move up Manchester City pecking order

It's been an odd campaign for Manchester City. The positives of progress to the Champions League semifinals for the first time (to face Real Madrid), and winning the Capital One Cup, has been balanced out by an inconsistent and dour domestic campaign that's seen the early-season title contenders slump into a race for third place.

There's even a steadily growing feeling of frustration that one of the brightest talents to have been promoted from the Elite Development Squad has been held back in 2015-16. On several occasions this season -- especially in the dying embers of the campaign -- Kelechi Iheanacho has been criminally underused by manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Frequently, the Chilean has only introduced the youngster from the bench for the final few seconds of a game. When City are losing and desperate for a goal, the manager seems not to trust that the Nigerian can change a match. When City are coasting to a victory, Iheanacho seems to spend forever warming up only to get a few minutes to impress -- despite Sergio Aguero often looking like he'd benefit from being wrapped in cotton wool.

Worse still, despite the youngster having a much more exciting and clear future at the club, Pellegrini has often picked a largely ineffectual and out of form Wilfried Bony ahead of him.

It's difficult not to feel sorry for Bony and he has had some extraordinary bad luck in Manchester -- be it contracting malaria or suffering a series of injuries when attempting to come back to fitness -- but the hard truth is that he just hasn't cut it in the team. Thought he's still higher than Iheanacho in the pecking order, and few can understand why.

Despite only getting fleeting time on the pitch, Iheanacho proved himself at this level. In seven starts and 20 substitute appearances this season (17 of which came after the 70th minute), he's scored nine times. To put that into context, he's played 430 Premier League minutes, which is 117 fewer than Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, who broke onto the scene far later. For the record, Rashford has seven goals.

All season, Pellegrini has talked up the benefits of Iheanacho in his news conferences. Indeed, he's made a very deliberate point of making it known that the youngster is part of the first-team squad and is one of the club's striking options. However, actions speak louder than words and, in leaving the forward on the bench for the vast majority of the season, the manager has given off the impression that Iheanacho is anything but his first option.

Iheanacho has spent most of 2015-16 stretching his hamstrings, warming-up his calves and jogging up and down the touchline; at the same time, Bony remains stationary and immobile up front on the pitch, looking more and more bereft of confidence as the weeks pass by.

Quite how Pellegrini chose to throw the Ivorian on ahead of the youngster in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle -- again -- is a mystery. Iheanacho has a proven record of scoring at the top level and has been the catalyst for City turning draws into wins late on a number of times this season, but still the Chilean didn't trust him to be the difference at St James's Park. Newcastle would have been far more worried at the sight of Iheanacho joining the play than Bony.

The only real argument for consistently ignoring the younger and hungrier player is that City are attempting to put Bony in the shop window for the final weeks of the season. They're probably going to have to cut their losses on the striker if they are to move him on in the summer given the fact he's shown nothing of the form that caused the club to shell out an initial £25million to Swansea for him in January 2015.

Equally, though, it's not in Pellegrini's interest to care what happens to Bony. He'll be gone in the summer and the Chilean is risking his legacy by staying faithful to the more senior player. Would Iheanacho have changed some of the games that Bony has failed to? It's no certainty, but it does seem like he'd have had a better chance -- and maybe City would now be comfortably in third place or higher, instead of clinging to it by a point.

Pellegrini has potentially seven more games in charge of City and Iheanacho needs to have more than a fleeting cameo in a couple of them before the end of the season. If he doesn't, holding the Nigerian back will be seen as another failing of the departing manager in his bizarre final campaign.

David Mooney is a writer and a radio journalist based in Manchester. He is also news editor on 104.9 Imagine FM. Twitter: @DavidMooney

[Dimples]

I know this - if I was Nacho I would be one really pissed of footballer

[sheblue]

Can't argue with anything that lad has written. It really is appalling.

[I Just Blue Myself]

I've never understood the shop window argument. If you put a woefully underperforming, out-of-confidence, non-scoring lump in the shop window, will not just more clubs realise that he is plain shit?

[Dameerto]

I've never understood the shop window argument. If you put a woefully underperforming, out-of-confidence, non-scoring lump in the shop window, will not just more clubs realise that he is plain shit?

I think it's Pellegrini and his promises again.

[Cocacolajojo]

I've never understood the shop window argument. If you put a woefully underperforming, out-of-confidence, non-scoring lump in the shop window, will not just more clubs realise that he is plain shit?

I think it's Pellegrini and his promises again.

That's my take on it as well.

[Lee_R]

Wonderful young player. So exciting.

[nottsblue]

His minutes per goal ratio must be immense

[MilnersJaw]

As someone said in the match day thread if the kid played more league games this season, we would have scored more and perhaps been higher in the league.

Instead bony.

[Spurge]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.
I'm sure that won't stop people bad mouthing pellegrini over this lad but its clear that while folk on here jump to their own conclusions those close to the situation know better than anyone of us.

I, like most, would have been pleased to see Kelechi get more starts over bony but perhaps pellegrini is looking after the lad by introducing him into the first team over a phased period looking after the players' interest over those of the fans, like the pro he is.

[iwasthere2012]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.
I'm sure that won't stop people bad mouthing pellegrini over this lad but its clear that while folk on here jump to their own conclusions those close to the situation know better than anyone of us.

I, like most, would have been pleased to see Kelechi get more starts over bony but perhaps pellegrini is looking after the lad by introducing him into the first team over a phased period looking after the players' interest over those of the fans, like the pro he is.

I'd have loved to see him play more, especially ahead of Bony since Christmas, when it seemed obvious to all he was the better option.
However, I can see and acceptbto a degree the argument that he is being carefully managed.
It's true the likes of Rashford or anyone at Liverpool are declared superstars overnight abd maybe he's being sheltered from that, but other clubs do tend to throw youth in and take the chance more than we do.
Having watched the Youth cup last night, I'm really hoping Pep sees things a little differently.
I think we would have benefitted from a controlled injection of youthful enthusiasm this season.

[Mase]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.

I'm assuming he's referring to 'having faith' in him just today? As all season he hasn't had any faith in him whatsoever, hence why Bony has played ahead of Ian.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.

I'm assuming he's referring to 'having faith' in him just today? As all season he hasn't had any faith in him whatsoever, hence why Bony has played ahead of Ian.

Spot on - Ill fuckign bad mouth any manager who puts faith in Bony before this lad.

It was obvious to a fuckign blind cunt that Nacho is leaps and bounds a better option than Bony....eventually the penny had to drop.

[ruralblue]

As someone said in the match day thread if the kid played more league games this season, we would have scored more and perhaps been higher in the league.

Instead bony.

It were me and I really think we would have more points. The kid can nick a goal and his work rate allows him to go seek one out. Far superior to Bony yet Pellers has choosen him over Ian too many times.

We would be pushing Leicester right now I reckon.

[Spurge]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.

I'm assuming he's referring to 'having faith' in him just today? As all season he hasn't had any faith in him whatsoever, hence why Bony has played ahead of Ian.

No hart was referring to him coming to city as a relative unknown but that it was pellegrini who showed faith in him and wanted to give him his chance at city.

[Spurge]

Well there you have it straight from the voice of Joe Hart about Iheanacho. He said Kelechi was a bit of an unknown but credited Pellegrini for having faith in him 'to be fair' inferring that not everybody did.

I'm assuming he's referring to 'having faith' in him just today? As all season he hasn't had any faith in him whatsoever, hence why Bony has played ahead of Ian.

Spot on - Ill fuckign bad mouth any manager who puts faith in Bony before this lad.

It was obvious to a fuckign blind cunt that Nacho is leaps and bounds a better option than Bony....eventually the penny had to drop.

What took you so long?