I can't wait to see the likes of Robert Huth, Marc Albrighton and Danny Simpson playing in Europe. Not because they're overpaid primadonnas who have a natural gift for football. But because they've earnt it through sheer grit and a determination to not let their team mates down. Who cares if we get tonked by the best in the World? We were tipped to be playing MK Dons next season for God's sake!
I agree that saying that "the scouting network is second to none" is OTT but when Nigel Pearson returned he shifted out a **** load of dead wood and worked with Steve Walsh to bring in an entire squad that fits the clubs ethos. It is all well and good scouting talent but it takes a special scout to realise that they'll fit in.
And you're telling me this because? I'd say Ranieri is the one that deserves the praise. Wasn't only Kante and Fuchs added to your team from last season which just survived relegation? He's managed to turn 9 other players from relegation fodder to title winning favourites.
You just seem like you can't wait for us to fail, almost like you'll laugh if/when we lose to one of the European big guns. Kante was scouted by Walsh/Pearson but Ranieri was against the signing and had to be talked into it. Fuchs signed under Pearson but he was sacked before they'd met face to face. Ranieri should get immense credit, no doubt. But Pearson instilled this confidence in the team from the last 10 or so games from last season.
I meant in the Premiership so much so that you lot took Mckenzie a year or so ago and the goons took wrigglesworth only in the last couple of months !
I can't wait to see Leicester in the CL...every one said we'd crash and burn but we acquitted ourselves well. I have no idea whether they will do well or not am genuinely interested to see them give it a go.
Spurs just attacked and attacked and attacked. What was it, an average of 3 goals scored in every game prior to the KO stage.
A little over that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–11_Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C._season#Champions_League 8 games, 25 goals, minimum 2 and maximum 4. Leicester's style would seem quite suited to playing good teams in Europe, to me. Trying to outplay the likes of Bayern or Barca is unlikely to succeed, but the counter works best, if anything works at all.
I think Leicester will do ok in the champions league, as champions they will be seeded, up until this season they would have ended up in pot 3 at best and probably in pot 4 but now they will avoid the Spanish, Italian and German Champs, so whilst they may end up with either of the Madrids or Dortmund they will also get 2 of the weaker sides and as such progression through the group stages is quite possible for them. Whereas we might well end up in pot 3 and that could make our qualification somewhat tricky as City have found out in the past
Think Spurs will be ok for pot 2. But anyway, the standard of those in pots 3-4 have increased a lot since 2010 (as the Poool found out to their cost in 2014) .
So the coefficient is ignored with regards to league champions? I wasn't aware of that. Makes sense I suppose or else you'd have Leicester in a tougher pot than a Mickey Mouse side such as Arsenal.
What you do in Europe will have no interest to me, do I think you'll get thumped by Barcelona if you face them? Yes I do, though that goes for about 99% of teams in European football when facing them.
While I'd love to do well in the Champions League, it's the biggest and best teams I want to face. Just like in our first campaign, getting to play the reigning champs Inter, then their rivals AC and then Real Madrid was just amazing to experience and they're memories I'll hopefully keep with me to the grave. I'd hate to face the "lesser" sides in which we could still struggle against and then go out like that. IF we can make CL qualification a regular thing, then my focus will shift more towards being competitive and somewhat hoping for "easier" groups and ties to progress but for now, I just want to enjoy the experience and ideally see guys like Messi, Neymar, Lewandowski, Muller, Ribery, Zlatan, Pogba etc grace the pitch at White Hart Lane. I've made myself a promise to go more European away games after having had so much fun in Brussels for the Anderlecht game (despite the result!), I went Ghent for a couple days after the match too so it was a great time. I really hope I can add trips to one of Madrid/ Barcelona/ Munich/ Turin at some point next season - so long as we do qualify that is!
