Kelechi Iheanacho

Don't you see that we're still exaclty the same team that won the league except for Kante who has been replaced by Ndidi?

We were crap last season because of Ranieri or did you miss that? Did you notice that he changed our style of play away from that which brought us success in the Great Escape and the title winning season and which then brought us success again once we was sacked? How have you failed to see that?

WBA were on 40 points when Ranieri was sacked, 19 above us and we finished one point behind. Southampton picked up 16 points and Everton 17 while we picked up 23 in the 13 games under Shakey and that included three games without a midfield or defence and rotating for CL games. None of them pick up results like we do and when we're played to our strengths again next season we'll pick up points at the same rate because that's just how good we are.

As I keep repeating you're living in the past and can't see the woods for the trees. I have no idea what Leicester you see but all I can assume is you're blinded by Ranieri changing our style and can't see past it.

Well you're wrong and I'll have great pleasure in being proven right because I know full well I am.

 

Yeah because of Ranieri and his stupid idea to change our style of play. If he'd been sacked a couple of months earlier we would have caught Everton and a couple of games earlier and we would have caught Southampton.

Ranieri was the problem, not the players who won the league.

 

Can't agree with you there buddy - the game at home against Man City was under Ranieri so showed what we could have done - when you step on the field it's down to the players - wasn't Ranieri that stopped them defending corners at Man United ...IMHO they let Ranieri down on far too many occasions - but the soft sod stayed very loyal to them .. defensively we were shambolic ...

 

Nah that was down to City not being able to defend and letting us get ahead so early in the game. City hve us so much space it was ridiculous so no it had nothing to do with Ranieri, that was down to Guardiola.

We only lost points from a winning position twice all season and that's when we had to rest players at Everton and Palace so once we got two ahead against Man City they weren't going to beat us.

I can't disagree with you more where Ranieri is concerned, we were a shambles because of his shambolic tactics. The owners were too loyal to him and should have got rid of him earlier.

 

... so what you are saying is that if we cream someone it is down to poor opposition? or the manager ... Guardiola got his tactics wrong ... nothing about us exploiting them. What I remember most about that game was the intensity we started with - something that had bee sadly lacking up until then.

Ranieri got the tactics spot on in Europe ... or was that also just poor opposition too?

n reality, last season's league form was down to a combination of things ... Huth not being available for the first couple of games was one factor ... the players attitude generally was another ... Ranieri's loyalty to players that were not performing another ... but as I said, you can't blame Ranieri's tactics for us not doing the basics ... the defending against United was like a pub team..

Ranieri conducted a tactical master class the season we won the league - I suspect that if the players had put in the same level of effort during this season just gone then ther results wiould have been a lot better ... but it's all about opinions

 

We started a lot of games with high intensity and were more often than not the better side until we went behind, at which point we capitulated.

We played far too wide open, we didn't press because they were instructed not to and you could see the players didn't know what they were doing. It was a total shambles. Shakey even said we just went back to what we know and what the players are comfortable with. So no I don't agree with you at all and I can see you're in the Ranieri camp, which I definitely am not because I could see what he was doing and how he was ruining our club from the inside. Thanks for what he did but glad he's gone!

 

So you also know what Ranieri told the players to do? ... Ranieri's tactics brought us the EPL title ... I'm always going to be 'in his camp' for that ... he also led us to qualification from the group stages of the UCL as group winners with a game to spare ...

Now I didn't oppose the owners decison to part the ways because something obvioulsy wasn't working ... but " I could see what he was doing and how he was ruining our club from the inside" is just about the daftest comment I've seen ... ruining our club? ... he acheived something that no Leicester City manager has done in our entire history ... or is ever likely to again

 

You are called Champions of England and using our tactics 3 seasons and 2 managers ago as evidence I live in the past

 

It wasn't Ranieri's tactics at all, it was Pearson's and the style of play he introduced during the Great Escape. Ranieri changed formation from 3-5-2 to 4-4-1-1, he didn't introduce our high energy, high intensity, counter attacking football. What Ranieri did was leave it alone and told them to carry on what they were doing.

He even openly admitted that we had to "evolve" our style of play to a more possession based game because he didn't see any longevity in us playing this way.

Ranieri did bring us something that maybe nobody else will but he did so because he didn't change anything, as soon as he did he was taking us down. Nobody liked him behind the scenes and when he was sacked the atmosphere around the club changed. Now make of that what you will but I know that to be 100% true.

 

We still play the same tactics and still get the same results. It doesn't even matter who the players are, what the formation is or who the manager is because we've done it with Pearson with Schlupp, James and Cambiasso playing 3-5-2 and with Ranieri and Shakey playing 4-4-2 with Kante and Ndidi.

Our style is play is what gets us results, it's not a coincidence that we have picked up points at this ratio every time we've played this way and were crap when we didn't. It's right there in front of you if you could only open your eyes!

You don't really know very much about us at all, I'm shocked you've learnt nothing over the past three years.

 

You are in cloud cookoo land fella

Under Pearson Vardy was played wide left, Drinkwater and Simpson not at all and we played with 3 at the back ... we also didn't have Kante or Okazaki ... Ranieri switched to 4-4-2 paired two quick midgets up front and employed classic Italian counter-attack tactics ...Ranieri's formation was the same from the very first game ... he merely changed the full backs after the Arsenal game ... where were you ... did you miss that season?

 

Yeah that's EXACTLY my point. As I said it doesn't matter who the players are or who the manager is as long as we play our high energy, high intensity counter attacking football.

Pearson started it NOT Ranieri, all he did was change a few players, better players too and the formation. The style of play remained the same. So with with Pearson we picked up 2.44/ppg, with Ranieri it was 2.13 and Shakey 1.76 or 2.2 if we take out the last three games where we had no defence or midfield so harsh to use that really because a full team would have picked up more points without a doubt. How are you not computing this?

I think I just see the bigger picture because it's clear as day to me but I guess that's why I've not been wrong so far. Funnily enough the Spurs fans told me I was in cloud cuckoo land too when I said we'd challenge them for a European place before a ball was kicked. I said back in September that our style of play is just how good we are, not good form and I said we won't drop off because of that. I wasn't wrong but you would have told me I was in cloud cuckoo land. You'll be wrong and I'll be right again, put money on it and you'll win a few quid.

 

I also said Everton won't sign Siggy ahead of us because we'd bid more and surprise surprise what's just happened?

That's right, Everton bid £32m so we bid £40m to blow them out the water. Shock.

 

You really believe that the formation, players or manger doesn't matter and just style wins games?

Yes you do.

You are just a kid that has played too much Championship manager or something right?

 

No I'm not I'm just the one who sees the bigger picture and understands what is happening on the pitch. You're all clueless and you'll see next season. You won't be laughing so much then, I guarantee it! You're fooking blind!

And how stupid are you to not see that the only thing that didn't change was our style of play? Three different managers, three different team sheets yet all the same results and the style of play was exactly the same. When the style of play was changed we were crap, change it back and we're good again.

 

Go back to your computer games, they won't answer back

 

You just lack a football brain, you've actually no idea what's happening on or off the pitch.

 

Bless you for trying to educate us all in your own special little way

 

So we don't actually need a manager or the right players to be successful ... now I get it ... genius

... one thing you seem to be forgetting ... the tactical genius that was Nigel Pearson took us on two the longest winless runs in the club's history .. one in the Championship and the EPL before we embarked on the 'great escape' ...

You don't see the bigger picture at all ... it's a combination of the right manager, the right tactics and the right players to fit those tactics that win you things ... as eboidenced by Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City team in 2015/16 and Antonio Conte's Chelsea team in 2016/17 ... not really much argument with those facts.

 

Oh deary me, no that's not what I'm saying at all and you're clearly not seeing what's blatantly right in front of you, you've even alluded to it in your post yet you still don't get it.

Yes Pearson took us on our longest winless run, while we were playing a style that didn't suit us. We were too defensive and didn't attack which contrasted to the start of the season when we had a go and picked up 10 points from the first five games if I remember rightly. After the last minute equaliser against Burnley things changed and we started setting out not to lose but that's exaclty what happened.

So we we both agree that we were crap until the final nine games, I'm confident about that so what happened in those nine games that changed our fortunes? In case you haven't already got the answer, it was our style of play. The same players who were bottom for 140 days while playing a style of football that didn't suit them and/or were out of position, all of a sudden were producing Champions form when played in a way that did suit them.

Ranieri didn't change that, in fact he openly told them to carry on doing what they were doing and they did. What he did was change from 3-5-2 to 4-4-1-1, bring in Simpson and Fuchs, who were always coming into the team once we lost a game, Kante who we had to replace Cambiasso and Okazaki who replaced Ulloa. The style of football remained the same and instead of just producing Champions form, we went all the way and ended up losing just once in 47 games.

Last season before the season started, Ranieri openly said we needed to evolve our style of play because teams will have worked us out. He wanted a more possession based game and that's what he tried to get us to play. Our back four were about 30m higher up the pitch for a start but he stopped us pressing from the front and wanted us to drop back. The problem with that was without pressing from the front we gave them too much space in the middle and because our defence was so high up it was easy to cut through us.

Liverpool away was the biggest early indicator of the huge difference in the way we were set up when we were so exposed down the flanks. Instead of having our two banks of four, we were all over the shop, some players went to press and then stopped and looked at each other not knowing whether they were supposed to press or not and then tried to get back into position and it was an absolute mess. I think it was Drinky or Kasper said "we don't know what the fook we're doing" after the United home game and it was obvious to me that they didn't. Wasn't it before the Copenhagen game that he changed tactics at the last minute and we were shocking until he sort of addressed it but we were poor that game.

So we eventually sack him and Shakey changes our style of play back to what made them successful and surprise surprise we start producing Champions form again.

So please explain to me how you think it's possible for three different managers with three different team sheets (with the same core players) and different formations, all manage to pick up points at the same rate?

It's quite blatantly our high energy, high intensity, counter attacking football, the only thing that has remained consistent when managers, players and formations have changed. Seriously how do you not see this?