I can see why we are going zonal as we are a smaller team so you ideally put your bigger players or your best headers of the ball in the danger zones. If its man for man teams will drag our better headers away from the danger areas n isolate the mismatch in heights more The issue is 100% your 2nd point, whether you are man marking or marking a zone you have to attack the ball. We dont do that n we dont block running lanes so players run into damgerous areas at pace so can easily get above our lads Ive coached for about 10 yrs and the goals i can not accept conceding is free headers - everyone just has to do their job n be aware of where the runners n the ball are. Unfortunately our players dont do this Id be putting money on duffy scoring against us this weekend as hes a threat innthe air at set pieces
I’ve praised him for how he’s spoken about players publicly in the past but that’s poor, not sure if it’s been taken out of context but could read as him saying they’ve been ****e in training which does no one any favours
So you’re claiming Harvey Barnes who’s been capped for England and left for £40m (and was also your top scorer last season), Tete who’s now playing CL football at Galatasary or Ayoze Perez who’s also playing European football at Betis wouldn’t start over who you have now? McAteer who was playing in L1 or 2 last season iirc? Futtawa who has 2 combined goals and assists for the league leaders he’s hardly setting the league alight. Mavididi looks decent but so he should he cost £8m and he’s heading into his peak years. Never even heard of the other kid you mentioned. You’ve just named a load of players who were mainstays in the team last season and were absolutely ****e so I’m baffled as to how you think you’ve improved. You haven’t sold deadwood you sold/released your best players and kept a load of the ones who were ****e last season. I watched you against Cardiff and Coventry earlier in the season, both games you were the worse team and scraped wins with a squad you think would be mid table in the Prem.. having players that are decent at this level is one thing but doing it in a league where most teams have £20m+ players in every position is a totally different ball game - see Burnley and Sheff Utd. Also the very young squad comment? You had ONE player that actually belongs to yourselves who was under 25 starting against us..? Vestergaard 31, Iheanacho 27, Periera 30, Winks 28.. even KDH, Faes, Justin are all like 25/26 that’s not exactly young. Vardy and Albrighton off the bench they must both be 34/35? Jonny Evans even at the age he is now is arguably better than those 2 CB’s you persist with. Faes was a laughing stock last season. Soyuncu left also did he not? Castagne? Luke Thomas? The players you’ve kept are there because nobody wanted them/wanted to pay the money for them not because they want to play championship football. Never really had an issue with Leicester until this season to be fair just find the arrogance of a team who were nobodies 10 years ago astounding. Guess that’s what a little unexpected success brings out in people.
We've always been 'somebody' in Leicester ... Demarai Gray got an England cap whilst playing for us - would you play him now? James Justin also has an England cap and after coming back from a ruptured achilles and ACL on top of each other is slowly getting back to his best - he also plays as one of a back 3 because Maresca does not do traditional wing back / full back - hence Castagne, Luke Thomas and Victor Kristiansen all leaving - last 2 on loan. Ricardo Pereira steps into midfield in a copycat Pep tactic. Faes has been great and is also now first choice for Belgium... his partnership with Vestergaard has been very good and we've got the joint meanest defence in all 4 leagues (with Man City) in terms of goals conceded - just 7 in 13 games ... PS how many players starting against you were under 26?
For whatever it is worth you were way better than any other side we have played this year. I had some doubts about your coach at the start, but his setup and patience was really impressive. I worked in Leicester when you won the prem and saw first hand what it meant to you fans and the wider city. It good to be a small part of it, even if my fun wasnt in the team. There is a long way to go yet. Football is a funny old game as a daft bloke once said. After watching you up close for the first time I would be amazed if you dont go up as champions. Based on the game I think we have a chance of pushing the second spot close. I may well be proven daft, but we dominated Ipswich really and we have the style of play that allows us to dominate like you do. Just hope the rumblings against Mowbray are silenced soon, he is perfect for us. Good luck mate and hopefully we swap Prem good wishes sometime soon.
Lovely post fella ... thanks For the record, I've been a Leicester supporter ever since my old man managed to get us season tickets for the 1969/70 season after we lost the 69 Cup Final 1-0 to Man City and got relegated - I was 10 years old but hooked from the off ... Followed them home and away as a teenager and into my twenties and, apart from winning the second tier a couple of times, expectations were more or less limited to hopes of a good cup run ... Martin O'Neil upped the ante with a couple of League Cup wins and ventures into Europe ... Then it all broke - into administration and relegation into the third tier for the first time in our history - was sat in the home end on my own at Hereford in 2008 (family spending Easter in nearby Ross-On- Wye) - we won the League 1 title that season in our first year in it and had ditched loads of dead wood and were building nicely under Nigel Pearson - but never in a million years could I have predicted what would occur 7 years later under the Angel, Ranieri I can't really put into words how it felt to watch my home town club (was born in Leicester General Hospital in 1959) win the Premier League title after watching 40+ years of mediocrity ... and then to win the FA Cup for the first time in our history 6 years later - fair to say, my wildest footballing dreams had become reality ... ... a last warm memory to finish on, which involves your lot - was either 1980 or 81 - was home from Uni with my girlfriend (a right stunner!) - it was the day before Valentines day and she asked me if I had anything special planned for the big day - told her I had, but it was a big surprise, mystery trip - we went down to Leicester Station early in the morning where I bought tickets for our Valentines day special treat - we then boarded a football special to Sunderland and the old Roker Park - took ****ing ages and we lost 1-0 - she had a great sense of humour and saw the funny side - particularly as we went for a slap up meal in a French Bistro when we eventually got back to Leicester
Harvey Barnes was your top scorer just last season though.. bit of a stretch comparing him to Demarai Gray who’s playing in Saudi. He would still be one of the youngest players in your squad and stats wise he’s been the best for you over the last few season in the PL. If someone like Mavididi can apparently take the piss in the championship imagine what Barnes could’ve done.. That’s by the by, you can have different opinions on players but the fact you said you’d finish mid table in the Prem.. for some substance I’d say West Ham are probably a mid table team. Do you see any of your best Xl getting into theirs? That’s a wild statement. I’d give you a very slight chance of Iheahancho because their options up top arent great but even then they like to play Antonio because he puts himself about. That’s it.
Stretch? - both have one cap for England - Demarai Gray also has a Prem title winner's medal ... but the point stands ... Barnes did take the piss in the Championship - on loan at West Brom - as did Dewsbury-Hall when on loan at Luton ... but the pairing of Mavididi and Futawa on the flanks is a key factor in why we are spanking the likes of Norwich and Southampton away from home ... ... and West Ham a mid table side? ... would that be the same West Ham that currently hold a European trophy (remind me where you need to finish in the league to get into Europe) and until last night were 17 games unbeaten in Europe? Do you get to watch a lot of football?
So West Ham (who finished 14th last season) are better than City, Arsenal, Liverpool, United, Spurs, Brighton, Villa, Newcastle, Chelsea..? Because they won the conference league, beating teams like Viborg, Silkeborg and Larnaca after finishing 7th to qualify - 5 points against 10th place wolves…. Average league position over the last 5 years is 10.6 - But they aren’t a mid table club I think it’s you who needs to ask yourself if you watch football other than Leicester pal. We’ll revisit this next season and have a chuckle
So West Ham had a bad season - yet still in Europe this... when Spurs and Chelsea aren't - think I'd take winning a trophy and finishing 14th ... and why not put up comparatives for Newcastle and West Ham over the last 5 seasons? So you measure league placements above trophies? - think you'll be in a minority... PS the Reading team that set a Championship points recored of 106 in 2005/06 went on to finish 8th in the Prem in 2006/07 ... some pundits think the record points total might get broken ...
West Ham won the 3rd tier competition of European football. Spurs entered it the season before and we’re playing their reserves/u21s in it, that’s how little it means to the clubs up there. Of course to a club that’s won nothing for decades you’d take any trophy that doesn’t mean you’re automatically better than someone who consistently finishes above you in the league. West Ham have finished 10th, 16th, 14th, 7th and 6th in the last 5 years. I’m not sure what you’re arguing? They’re a top 9 club? The big 6 are a given so at very best they’re the 7th best in the PL and they just aren’t better than Villa, Newcastle or Brighton. That could start a funnier conversation though, let’s say West Ham are higher than those teams you’re basically arguing that Villa are mid table. Who from your Xl gets into Villas team? Just accept defeat mate you are nowhere near mid table PL
Well we put 4 past them at Villa Park last season ... and we were absolute ****e then - this team is way better ... only time will tell and I'm pretty sure you would have been making the same claim before the 2015/16 season - you can only beat what's in front of you ... and we've done it 12 times out of 13 so far ... and counting...
