ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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"Why Leicester's Wilfred Ndidi, not Chelsea's N'Golo Kante, is the best ball-winner around"
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There's a long list of anti-tackling propaganda out there. The legendary, blue-eyed, Italian defender Paolo Maldini famously said: "If I have to make a tackle, I've already made a mistake." If there's an heir to Maldini's on-field elegance, it's former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso, who added a much longer entry to the 'ball-winning-is-bad' discourse.

"I don't think tackling is a quality," Alonso told Sid Lowe back in 2011. "It is a recurso: something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game."

He went on: "I can't get into my head that football development would educate tackling as a quality, something to learn, to teach, a characteristic of your play. How can that be a way of seeing the game? I just don't understand football in those terms.

"Tackling is a [last] resort, and you will need it, but it isn't a quality to aspire to, a definition."

Alonso, of course, got to play next to the kinds of players who did all the tackling for him. They'd win the ball back so Alonso could sweep it up, down and across the field with his trademark passing precision. First, it was Javier Mascherano at Liverpool, then Sami Khedira and Lassana Diarra at Real Madrid, and finally Javi Martinez and Arturo Vidal at Bayern Munich. Were he playing today, perhaps Alonso would be lucky enough to play with Wilfred Ndidi.

The 23-year-old Nigerian was purchased by Leicester City for £17 million from Belgian club Genk in December 2016, just weeks before his 20th birthday. He was brought in to replace N'Golo Kante, the two-players-in-one dynamo whom the club sold to Chelsea for around £32m the summer after their incredible Premier League triumph.

Unfortunately for Ndidi, Kante was seemingly a one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable player. In his only season with Leicester, the club improved by more than 40 points and won the title. In his first season with Chelsea, the club improved by 40 points and won the title. He's one of only two defence-oriented midfielders, along with Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, to win the Premier League Player of the Season award. He also landed both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards too.

No pressure, huh? Well, it has been a little more than three years since Ndidi arrived in the Midlands, and not only has he challenged Kante's claim as the best ball-winning midfielder in the world, but he's proving Alonso wrong. Tackling isn't just a quality. It's a driving force behind Leicester's rise toward the top of the Premier League.


Brendan Rodgers insists nobody will leave Leicester in January Despite rumours linking various players away from Leicester, Brendan Rodgers believes none of them will leave.

Want the ball? Ask Ndidi

The first two months of the season were a slog. Despite winning two, drawing two and losing one, Leicester were grinding out results in an unsustainable fashion. Per the site FBRef, they created 4.4 expected goals in the first five matches and conceded 4.6. In other words, every game was something like a coin flip. They could win any game, but they could lose any game, too -- and that isn't a recipe to break into the Top Six, let alone qualify for the Champions League.

Then something changed. Brendan Rodgers, it seems, realised that he had a weapon and finally decided to deploy it.

In the first five games of the season, Rodgers mainly played Hamza Choudhury, a perfectly capable ball-winning midfielder, alongside Ndidi and Youri Tielemans in midfield. That structure kept them in every game, for good and for ill. However, the tactical beauty of having an omnipotent ball winner player such as Ndidi in your squad is that he allows you to shove an extra attacker onto the field without losing much (if any) defensive solidity. It's why Pep Guardiola has been able to play the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as de facto midfielders at the same time -- it's all thanks to Fernandinho. And in the age of three-man midfields, it's why Leicester won the Premier League with a midfield of Kante and Danny Drinkwater before Chelsea won the Premier League with a midfield of just Kante and Nemanja Matic.

Rodgers dropped Choudhury from the starting XI and then dropped James Maddison, a player who would've been a traditional No. 10 a decade ago, from the front three and into the midfield. Since the 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the middle of September, Leicester have won 12, drawn one and lost three. Their performances have kicked into a much higher gear, too: They've created 29.9 expected goals and conceded just 20.5. At the heart of it all, Ndidi has been an absolute machine.


Truly dominant players tend to create easily digestible stat bytes -- read every Lionel Messi article I've ever written -- and Ndidi is no different. It's simple: He has won more tackles (53) and made more interceptions (56) than any other player in the Premier League. Add up the defensive work of his midfield partners, Tielemans and Maddison, and neither their combined tackles (43) nor their interceptions (26) come close to matching Ndidi's mark. He's doing the dirty work all by himself.

However, that doesn't even do his dominance justice. Leicester average more possession than all but 13 teams across England, Italy, Spain and Germany's top flights. Part of that is because Ndidi is able to keep winning them the ball back, but that also means there are fewer opportunities for him to make defensive plays. TruMedia, though, offers defensive statistics that normalise possession for every 1,000 opponent touches. Ndidi is averaging 7.33 tackles and 4.74 interceptions per 1,000 opponent touches. Both marks are top in the four aforementioned leagues.

Want someone to go and get the ball for you? Right now, there's no one in the world better than Ndidi.

Now, he doesn't do a ton more once the ball is won, but he does just enough. He completes an above-average proportion of his passes (around 86%) and plays a central role in moving the ball into the attacking third. Among Leicester players, only Tielemans and Maddison have completed more passes into that area. Plus, with Ndidi on the field, Leicester are able to have two players in their midfield who can move the ball into the penalty area -- both Tielemans and Maddison are in the top 20 of the league in passes into the box -- in addition to three attackers in front of them. Their ceiling now is so much higher than it was back in September.

Although Leicester are second in the table, they're probably due for some regression. The three matches against Liverpool and Manchester City were a reality check. Across those three games, they generated 1.2 expected goals and conceded 9.2. Jamie Vardy is also finishing his chances at a Messi-esque rate of 14 non-penalty goals on just 8.8 expected. Through the first 21 games, Leicester have the fifth-best expected-goal differential in the league. But since they decided to let Ndidi control the middle all by himself, they've been significantly better than that.

Thanks to the financial gap between them and the 14 other clubs, the Premier League's Top Six were supposed to be unbreakable, but Ndidi & Co. have shattered that idea. With a 14-point lead over fifth-place Manchester United, they're heavy favourites to return to the Champions League next season.

Ndidi certainly belongs there. Whether it's with Leicester or some other bigger, richer team that decides it wants its own one-man midfield, he should be at the top of the game for a long, long time. For any aspiring Xabi Alonsos out there or anyone who wants to dribble a ball over the next decade, here's a scary thought: Ndidi turned 23 only a couple weeks ago.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by marko »

and Man united are fighting for Madison, i think Ndidi will move to either Liverpool or City next season, current price tag assuming they qualify for champions league, 50-70 million bracket
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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marko wrote:and Man united are fighting for Madison, i think Ndidi will move to either Liverpool or City next season, current price tag assuming they qualify for champions league, 50-70 million bracket
I'll keep saying it. Its criminal that Man United could buy Maguire for 80 million pounds and people are still talking about Ndidi as 50-70 million player. He's worth 2 players. Simple

I no know defensive mid that is as good as Ndidi in Europe. I expect the he's-not-world-class-yet Nigerian crowd to start to fall in line after this ESPN article :roll: The writer just put in an article what some of us have been posting here for months. Ndidi is worth 2 defensive players and he allows a coach to put an extra player somewhere else. There are very few players I’ve seen in my life that have this effect.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by olu »

There are very few defensive midfielders on par with Ndidi at the moment. He's one of the best in the world at playing the destroyer role. Part of why he is thriving is Rodgers has given him a specialized role. Breakup plays and pass to the open man, anything he does after that is extra. However, if you're looking for a 2-way box to box CM, there are many others that are better than Ndidi at that role. He's not an Alonso, Gundogan, or Partey; and that is perfectly fine.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by danfo driver »

This is not in dispute. STATISTICALLY he has been the best DM in the EPL for the past 2 years.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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how come ndidi is only extremely hyped here? is it another CE overvaluation or he is that good? the few times that I have watched him, he wins the ball excellently but he is extremely uncomfortable on the ball, and his offensive Abilities are limited. I like my DM/CM like Essien/keane/viera or deep lying playmakers like pirlo, Sergio B. ndidi has to add more to his game than just winning balls if he wants to be rated as the best. also, ndidi didn't even get into Caf xi for the 2nd year running and some of you are calling him the Best DM in the world. he needs to transfer to a big team or else he wouldn't get his due accolades like y'all give him here. I hope that I'm wrong sha because God knows that SE are due for some superstars.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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john12 wrote:how come ndidi is only extremely hyped here? is it another CE overvaluation or he is that good? the few times that I have watched him, he wins the ball excellently but he is extremely uncomfortable on the ball, and his offensive Abilities are limited. I like my DM/CM like Essien/keane/viera or deep lying playmakers like pirlo, Sergio B. ndidi has to add more to his game than just winning balls if he wants to be rated as the best. also, ndidi didn't even get into Caf xi for the 2nd year running and some of you are calling him the Best DM in the world. he needs to transfer to a big team or else he wouldn't get his due accolades like y'all give him here. I hope that I'm wrong sha because God knows that SE are due for some superstars.
Me, I no dey hype player. But I do believe that there are many players that are just missed because they don't fit the mold. I didn't watch Ndidi in Genk, but after about 3 games watching him after he moved to Leicester, I knew this was a real one. I liked Sunday Oliseh for Nigeria, and so I had to ignore those that claimed he wasn't as good as SO because I no wan insult Sunny...but between the two, give me Ndidi all day, every day.

My only small knock on him is that I am still yet to see Leicester like performances for the SE. I see him have good SE performances, but I've watched some Leicester games that make me feel he's worth 200 million ....not on that level for the SE.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by john12 »

sir, happy new year! with all due respect, did you watch Oliseh? ndidi is slightly better than Sunday Oliseh at "winning balls" but that's it. oliseh was such a skillful and great passer of the ball. he won balls, defended, initiated attacks by assisting various times, was good at set piece, and a very good shooter of the ball. Ndidi knows how to win balls but so far, that's it. he used to score screamers earlier in his career but idk what happened, he stopped. in order for ndidi to be taken seriously in African and international football, he needs to transfer to a big club and also add some offensive abilities to his game or be more comfortable on the ball. Right now, he is just a good ball winner
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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john12 wrote:sir, happy new year! with all due respect, did you watch Oliseh? ndidi is slightly better than Sunday Oliseh at "winning balls" but that's it. oliseh was such a skillful and great passer of the ball. he won balls, defended, initiated attacks by assisting various times, was good at set piece, and a very good shooter of the ball. Ndidi knows how to win balls but so far, that's it. he used to score screamers earlier in his career but idk what happened, he stopped. in order for ndidi to be taken seriously in African and international football, he needs to transfer to a big club and also add some offensive abilities to his game or be more comfortable on the ball. Right now, he is just a good ball winner
Thanks for the respect (honestly, I mean that), but yes....I watched him mostly for Nigeria (a lot) and in his Ajax days (a lot) and somewhat for Dortmund (a little).

He was good, but Ndidi was much better at breaking up play, marking, and tackling. Oliseh was a somewhat better distributor...but that's about it. Oliseh did not become prolific at shooting until Ajax but in all those years, how many goals did Oliseh score for Nigeria? According to wikipedia, 2. I've racked my brain, and I can remember those 2, and no more. He scored quite a bit of shots for Ajax tho, I'll give him that....

The bigger the club, the more Oliseh struggled to establish himself. But I cant think of one club, save for those whose playing style is not favorable to him, that Ndidi cannot walk into.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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TruMedia, though, offers defensive statistics that normalise possession for every 1,000 opponent touches. Ndidi is averaging 7.33 tackles and 4.74 interceptions per 1,000 opponent touches. Both marks are top in the four aforementioned leagues.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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deanotito wrote:
TruMedia, though, offers defensive statistics that normalise possession for every 1,000 opponent touches. Ndidi is averaging 7.33 tackles and 4.74 interceptions per 1,000 opponent touches. Both marks are top in the four aforementioned leagues.
Una never recognize what we got in this kid.
We recognize o, bobo has also been working on his passing and other more technical parts of his game, which only bodes well for SE!
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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john12 wrote:how come ndidi is only extremely hyped here? is it another CE overvaluation or he is that good? the few times that I have watched him, he wins the ball excellently but he is extremely uncomfortable on the ball, and his offensive Abilities are limited. I like my DM/CM like Essien/keane/viera or deep lying playmakers like pirlo, Sergio B. ndidi has to add more to his game than just winning balls if he wants to be rated as the best. also, ndidi didn't even get into Caf xi for the 2nd year running and some of you are calling him the Best DM in the world. he needs to transfer to a big team or else he wouldn't get his due accolades like y'all give him here. I hope that I'm wrong sha because God knows that SE are due for some superstars.
Ndidi is extremely uncomfortable on the ball? this is your honest evaluation of him? After watching him in the last 6 months? Smh...well, that's your opinion.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by Enyi »

Ndidi is the closest thing I have seen to Patrick Vieria....Go and re watch the games against Arsenal and City...this boy is 23 and we shields, holds and drives forward like Patrick did. I can’t find the clip for Leicester’s goal but this kid can be colossal....if he keeps working hard....

Good to see that Iheanacho has watched him and followed suit.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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@ the last ANC Nididi and Etebo fouled a lot . Nididi is fantastic for his club but I can’t say the same for when he plays for country . I don’t think he plays the same role for Nigeria as he does for club ,he appears to play further forward with Etebo sitting in front of the back four. For me this would be a criticism of the coach. Playing players out of position
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

Post by Cellular »

john12 wrote:how come ndidi is only extremely hyped here? is it another CE overvaluation or he is that good? the few times that I have watched him, he wins the ball excellently but he is extremely uncomfortable on the ball, and his offensive Abilities are limited. I like my DM/CM like Essien/keane/viera or deep lying playmakers like pirlo, Sergio B. ndidi has to add more to his game than just winning balls if he wants to be rated as the best. also, ndidi didn't even get into Caf xi for the 2nd year running and some of you are calling him the Best DM in the world. he needs to transfer to a big team or else he wouldn't get his due accolades like y'all give him here. I hope that I'm wrong sha because God knows that SE are due for some superstars.
Agent12, after reading an article that showed statistically how much better he is when compared to other guys you still opening your mouth to say some of us are saying he is the best in the world. I suspect your subdued reaction to him being rated highly is to continue advancing the narrative by your oga that we don't have any star player.

On another note, you are the type of fans Danfo Driver call football know-nothings... :taunt:
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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sir, happy new year! I countered the article with facts and I believe that you should also. you claim his so good, yet, for 2 seasons in a row, he hasn't been included in caf xi and to me that's because his offensive abilities are limited. if ndidi can add some offensive abilities to his game then he would become complete and probably get into caf xi. let's be honest with ourselves, we're not as good as some of you claim to be and for that reasons, Humility is paramount
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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john12 wrote:sir, happy new year! I countered the article with facts and I believe that you should also. you claim his so good, yet, for 2 seasons in a row, he hasn't been included in caf xi and to me that's because his offensive abilities are limited. if ndidi can add some offensive abilities to his game then he would become complete and probably get into caf xi. let's be honest with ourselves, we're not as good as some of you claim to be and for that reasons, Humility is paramount
Happy New Year Bro.

Ndidi does what he is supposed to do. His passing has improved a lot. He is one of the best at his position.

Any allstar team is very subjective. After Kanu won the African Player of the year, there has been some serioius bias that even saw El Hadji Diouf win it over Oga.
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Re: ESPN Writer Extols Ndidi

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there's no biased. we're just not as good as we claim to be but we Humility, patience and time, we can get to that level. how many of our players are performing at world class clubs? how many world class players do we have? the truth is bitter but it must always be said at all times

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