What is your thoughts on the target for the manager being 40 points rather then your 7/8th? You stated that the performances were good and they didn't reflect our position last season - why do you think that was? What caused us not to turn those performances into results? What are your thoughts on the performances this season? What improvements - if any - do you see compared to last season and what do you account them to?
I suspect I am not the only one getting a little bored with this particular debate - hence I shall lay it on the line. I am incredibly happy, nay ecstatic, with our start to this season ... I also have every confidence that Claudio Ranieri is a step in the right direction for taking the club to where it wants to be. For me, personally, there is no question that he has a far superior pedigree to our former manager Nigel Pearson both domestically and, particularly, internationally and I am firmly of the view that we are already seeing the positive benefits of his influence in the performances of players such as Mahreez, Vardy and Drinkwater this season and the team as a whole - and I think it is fantastic that we are not only in the top half but are playing some incredibly entertaining football to boot. Thank you Nigel Pearson for your contribution too - you were a good manager for us, not exceptional, but certainly good, but you had obvious limitations (again for me). Now I have come to the unilateral decision that I will no longer respond directly to Gangsta's posts - both for the sanity of the board and because I am not going to risk the same type of RSI injury to my typing finger that Gangsta has in his wrists ... that was of course meant to be humorous I have to admit to having had a few sherbets this evening - having just got in from a night in London with a good number of current and ex-colleagues - so my somewhat acerbic sense of humour might just be a little more extreme than usual anyway - it is no exaggeration to report that almost to a man (and a couple of gals too) they congratulated me on how 'brilliant' Leicester City have been so far this season .. the mix was Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea< West Ham and Bristol City fans ... the most complimentary certainly the Arse and Spammers ... that just about sums it up for me and therefore my new approach beckons ...and I wish you all a very good night....
I think as a manager of a small-ish club, any manager will claim to the media that 40 points is the first target. Privately though, they'll be hoping for/expecting more. I think some fans need to remember that often managers will give a standard line to the media - just like the one about respecting the cup before fielding a weakened team as mentioned earlier. There were a number of reasons that we weren't getting the results we deserved last season and I have posted my opinions on this in detail many times on this forum. The improvements for this season is essentially that we have the benefits of Pearson's trial and error right from day one. Those found wanting last season have been moved on, and the replacements so far look - well, promising I guess. Not many have actually broke into the first team so it's hard to judge. But Dyer, Kante, Okazaki and, in cup games Fuchs and Benaloune have shown at least glimpses of what they can do. Inler comes with a reputation and hopefully will find his feet eventually. Plus it looks like we have another young star in Dodoo who will hopefully be allowed to progress naturally and not forced into the match day squad too soon. I would say the squad is stronger, as you'd expect in a second Premier League season.
Gangsta mate to can't have it all ways You say all that matters is the league table at the end of the season, so therefore its results that count.... But then you contradict yourself and say that our results this seasons are not as good as the results at the end of last season because we are conceding goals. A win is a win at the end of the day.
For those who can't be bothered to read the last 10 pages, here is my summary! Fosse is ecstatic with the start we have made, as we are playing good football (which has been recognised by many), scoring lots of goals, and have only lost one game in our first 7. Gangsta, on the other hand, is a little more cautious... The argument being that, comparing to the same fixtures last season, we only have one more point this season... But are conceding more goals than last season, and with a better squad... So everything is not quite as rosy as it seems... I am sitting somewhere in the middle, and am cautiously optimistic... Anyone got a cushion? This fence isn't comfortable to sit on!
Sunderland +2 points West Ham + 2 points Spurs +1 point Bournemouth - N/A Villa - 0 Stoke - 2 points Arsenal -1 point We're two points better off and have won two games we didn't win last season and have picked up a point in a game we lost last season. Out of the 6 games we can compare to last season, we've improved both in terms of results, goals and entertainment.
Absolutely agree .. one thing I'd add from my night out in Lunnon yesterday ..Chelsea fans generally hold Ranieri in the utmost esteem and credit him for starting the journey that Jose Mourinho took them on ...
I thought Gangsta somewhere had said we were one point better off, apologies. I was just summarising the argument, don't drag me in to this
When we got him in I was very apprehensive. I knew he'd done excellent work in Monaco and Chelsea but I thought he might have lost his "mojo". Ive been categorically proven wrong. He's got a real warriors mentality, something I thought we go out of the window upon Nigel's sacking. From afar, he looks like a cracking bloke to work for.
...wasn't my first choice either but couldn't but be impressed by hisCV ...like you I've been impressed both by his character and his apparent mentality. ...
Do you think the current manager has made any improvements to the team or is everything positive only due to last season?
I really couldn't give a rats arse about clean sheets and performances. As long as we score 1 more than them, then I'm a happy chappy. When you look at the results on paper, the scoreline is the only thing that counts. It doesn't say we only had 30% possession and 14 shots off target etc. Why do some people always have to find a negative out of a positive situation AND OUR CURRENT SITUATION IS VERY POSITIVE.
Loving this season so far - reminds me of the Bloomfield boys with all of these goals flying in. You never knew whether you would win 3-2, lose 3-2 - but you knew you would be entertained. Well worth the admission price.
So true Barwell ... football first and foremost has to be about entertainment ... there are so many similarities to the Bloomfield era with this side ... pace, passion, players that can go past opponents, the ability to give any team a game on our day and a growing respect for our performances and the type of football being played from the football intelligencia both media and fans .... it is not ALL about winning or not getting beat ... those who have that as the be and end all might just as well go and support Chelsea or whoever else is 'most likely' to win the league (and a lot of them do ) ... not saying such teams aren't entertaining ... but they still must know, right in that little place in their hearts and minds, that they are freeloading on to something that is not entirely theirs ... certainly not 100% ... ... and that bit about the admission price ... of course I like to win every game ... but losing 5-2 to Arsenal in a thrilling game of end to end football versus the turgid dross of a point gained in the manner of displays against Hull or Sunderland? ... going to football these days costs a lot of disposable income particularly if you want to take your kids ... of course if you're merely streaming games then this bit perhaps doesn't matter as much as the result ... but if the entertainment value is high there will always be a full house ... win, lose or draw ... and the atmosphere this season has been absolutely brilliant.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34419479 Our stats/rankings are indeed at the bottom end but "West Ham, Palace and Leicester are all near the bottom of the Premier League rankings for number of passes, passing accuracy and possession in 2015-16. Does that matter? No, not if the results are good because then their fans will not care one bit. If anything, they will love it". http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34419479
Stats that would be interesting is interceptions and tackles - I reckon we would be among the top for them as well.
