Back to 4-4-2 for me, Ulloa to start for the different option up front, Okazaki later to take advantage of tired players.
I'd go back to 4-4-2 with Okazaki up front and try and knock goals in as early as possible to try and get our confidence back and settle us down. The Bournemouth defence is a bit leaky so let's get at them straight away with pace.
... lets not forget the buggers deliberately clattered Riyad in the first fixture (he had to go off at half-time) mind you Gradel paid the bigger price by the end of the game ... wonder if they will be targeting him again?
Tricky game this is, but one we need to be taking 3 points from to keep the pressure on the teams at the top. Be nice to keep,that gap on the teams currently outside the top 4 for as long as possible
Need to put out the best team for league. For FA cup could put out our (next season) champions league side
#LCFC XI to play #AFCB: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs, Mahrez, Kanté, Drinkwater, Albrighton, Ulloa, Vardy #SkyFootball SUBS: Schwarzer, De Laet, Wasilewski, King, Dyer, Inler, Okazaki #LeiBou CLAUDIO: "One change. Leo Ulloa brings us greater strength in the air, but also good link up with the midfield." #LeiBou
Poor first half. Bournemouth should be about 3-1 up. Not sure how Vardy missed his chance when he hit the post Ulloa looking like a real lump , hopefully we improve 2nd half I see there is another bore fest going on at Old Trafford
... there will be days like these ... Vards perhaps a tad unlucky ... did well to get it out from under his feet but would then have been better going for placement rather than hitting it as hard as he did ... Bournemouth keeper did his homework .. knew Riyad would do his 'stutter' ... fainted to go, then dived the other way -great save ... think the Bournemouth lad got a toe on the ball therefore justice done ... however think there was a pen later ... There will be days like these ... Bournemouth are a tidy side as Man Utd and Chelsea have discovered ... they will cause sides problems That's the 40 point mark reached and another clean sheet ... Fair play to Bournemouth ... held out well ... Keep the faith
Disappointed not to win & that we didn't score, credit to Bournemouth, although as they've lost 1 of the last 8 & had a couple of cracking results it wasn't going to be an 'easy' game. BUT, we've reached 40 points and we are 2nd in the Premier League. That's 2nd in the Premier League
Yeah 40 pts. Some good posts post match &... well... **** me, 20 games gone, 40 pts & 2nd in the lge. Naaa, ya just can´t ****ing moan about it can ya ? Well above everyone expectations. Keep the journey going boys. "UTF"
It was an off day for most of the players today. When we got the pen I said to my mate I hope Mahrez doesn't take it, he had a shocker today and even without a keeper I think he'd have skied it over! Oh well we were due a blip let's hope we smash Spurs in the cup.
What with Manc Poo, Liverpool & Chelsea being crap this season, our 0-0 with Man City last week, us dropping 2 pts again today & Watford taking the lead v Man City. I bet Arsenal are loving it & dreaming of a 1st title in ... I don´t know how long.
Vardy was poor, Ulloa was shocking, Okazaki was a waste of time, Mahrez never got going Huth, Morgan, Fuchs and Kante was class
A couple of bad results doesn't bother me as much as the performances. I think Swansea away was the last 'convincing' performance albeit a couple of good wins v Chelsea and Everton followed. I'm worried we are a one trick pony in terms of counter attacking. It has served us well all season but today faced with 10 men defending deep, we struggled to break them down and looked out of ideas. Hopefully it can be put down to fatigue from a busy festive period and we're still doing great but that would be something to improve on. Having said that, defence is looking good
Another point and 40 points at this point of the season is ridiculous considering where we were last season. Wonderful stuff. Bournemouth looked an impressive outfit, playing nice football and keeping possession well. We should have been 3-1 down at half time. We then got a lucky penalty (was a great tackle by Francis, though apparently Howe said he won't appeal it....strange) and I had a bad feeling about Mahrez converting it. Summed up his day really, was poor, though not as poor as Ulloa or Dyer, deary me. Another point though and having also watched the Arsenal game, they were far from convincing the,selves against an average to poor Newcastle. Has our bubble burst? Not scored in last 3 games. We will see, but regardless, we will be seeing Premier League football next year and the riches that come with it from the new TV deal. 40 points from 20 games. SWEET. Will be an interesting January to see if we have any incomings ( I don't expect to see any of our main players leave)
Disappointing not to win that one but, on the bright side, no goals conceded, although perhaps a little fortuitously but the same could be said at the other end. Remember that Bournemouth have really stepped up in the last few games and are putting in more high intensity running and pressing than any other team in the division. We had a couple of great chances to win the game, and it really is about riding your luck and winning ugly when you're not playing well - look at Arsenal and Man City yesterday. JohnTheFox does make a good point about us becoming a one-trick pony, but at the moment the model is still working in as much as we are still creating enough chances to win games. We certainly haven't suddenly become a poor team. What has dropped off is the impact our subs are making and our clinical finishing. And I wonder if that's down to fatigue not being helped by an increased amount of pressure on the players as they become more conscious of what is possible in our current position. Some of our key players - Mahrez, Albrighton, Drinkwater, Vardy (to an extent) - don't have that 'big player' mentality that comes from having been in this position before. Having been knocked off the top of the table might help us in the long run. At this level we are probably more comfortable being underdogs rather than the one sitting at the head of the pack. Dropping a couple of places and then coming with a strong run at the end would be a good finale to the season.
Only teams to make up ground on us outside of the top 4 were WHU, and surprisingly, Man U. Still 7 points away from 5th, much better than anyone would have predicted Think this game highlighted the need to pair Vardy up front with someone who can assist him other than Mahrez, as well as chipping in a few goals... like Mahrez
