I think that selection would keep the scoreboard ticking over nicely - although not in our favour! Midfield would be overrun.
I know Simpson has had a couple of stinkers, but I thought he and Mahrez linked well before that. It's probably not a coincidence that Mahrez hasn't looked so good when Simpson isn't at his best (or maybe it's vice versa). De Laet, for some reason, also looked more assured on the left than the right. You've put finger on exactly why I've left Schlupp out - he lacks the composure needed at this level; I also think he lacks the defence qualities required to play fullback (again, at this level). He would be a useful asset off the bench though - along with Vardy they could really inject some pace in the second half (if we're not already dead and buried!). Not being part of the starting line-up doesn't mean a player doesn't have an important role to play.
There's really not been any secret how to play against us,it's been glaringly obvious for some time and it's highlighted how little homework some coaches do when it's not picked up on. We would want you to either park the bus,sitting deep and stand off us giving us the run of the ball or come at us and play 2 up top. Either way we will pick you off What we don't want is for you to defend deep and narrow with a midfield 5 tightly sat in front of the defence and looking to play quickly out wide on the counter where Pellegrinis rigid 4-2-2-2 system is very easy to put under pressure Team I would play is Hart Zabaleta Demichellis Mangala Clichy Milner Fernandinho Nasri Yaya Silva Aguero Likely line up is Hart Zabaleta Kompany Mangala Kolorov Yaya Fernandinho Nasri Silva Aguero Dzeko If Pearson comes looking for a point you will probably get beat but if he has his tactics right you may well come away with at least a point as Pellegrini has been outcoached this season by the footballing luminaries Steve Bruce Sean Dyche and fat Sam among others
Heres a fact. Man City have lost every home game they have played against us in the Premier League and failed to score on every occasion Whats the chances of that stat still standing come tomorrow?
No changes, frustratingly but unsurprisingly. Bony starts for Man City so is bound to score, he tore us apart for Swansea earlier this season.
Bloody typical ... how many goals have we given away from attacking positions? West Ham, Newcastle, Villa and now in injury time in first half at Citeh ... jeff Schlupp this time ... also Wes goes to ground again ... Schwarzer been superb by the way... annoyed with Jeff but he would have had a penalty earlier with a braver ref, so credit where it's due for that ... not out of this by any means ... Riyad has been pants again unfortunately
Getting a bit bored with this ... not a bad performance but no points ... we do need a break from the refs ... two penalties not given ... the second on Krameric the ref actually gave a foul but failed to notice that he was definitely inside the area ... might just be my persecution complex but why do I think that if both incidents had been reversed team wise that Man City would have been given two penalties ... ... baffled as to why Kramaric was taken off? ... if the Vardy chance had fallen to him!!! Schwarzer was immense tonight ... Kasper will not be displacing him if he keeps up that form ...
Well you just saved me typing most of that! I thought we had three peno shout by the way - which one did you leave out, Schlupp getting wiped out or Hart pulling Krammy's boot? That was the same ref that was in charge of the Tottenham game in the FA Cup - didn't we have a couple of stone-wallers denied then too (although we did still win anyway)? I think Krammy was sacrificed because Pearson wanted to bring on his one-two punch of Vardy and Nugent that worked so well against Everton, while keeping the same formation. It was effective too, unfortunately Ulloa's entry blew our momentum, and I'm not sure what formation we were playing by then (5-2-3?). Just to add, and it may be a tad harsh considering the opponents and the time he had, but, as I kind of expected, Schlupp was a concern when playing fullback. I noticed at one point, he turned and volleyed the ball straight at an opposition player in the box - Knochesky, in an identical position early, neatly pivoted and volleyed the ball into touch. Schlupp also failed to snuff out the cross that led to the second goal, while Milner cantered past Morgan (another player I wouldn't have in my starting line-up) to tap it home. Schlupp was also snuffed out as an attacking force when moved to fullback as well. His sloppy pass (I talked about his lack of composure yesterday) instigated the counter attack that led to the first goal too. Overall though, another good performance with niggling, yet crucial, failings and no luck. We still haven't been beaten by three or conceded four, with most of our toughest away fixtures now behind us, but none of that will matter if we go down - which is looking increasingly likely. I suppose questions will be asked about the players we've brought in - our fears that we didn't bring in enough talent in the summer were certainly justified. But in terms of performances, I think we're giving our best - it's just not good enough. At the minute, it looks like the three promoted teams are going back to the Championship, which is never a good thing.
You deserved a point at least 2 stonewall pens not given by the coward ref Allowed us too much space at times but we're always in the game
In terms of the penalty shouts I'd left out the second one - thought Hart got some of the ball ... but perhaps it was Kramaric's foot first? In terms of Schlupp - unfortunately my stream died so I didn't see the second goal - that said, Navas was running riot against Konch in the first half and the commentator actually made the point that Navas was 'now in a real match-up' when Schlupp took over and certainly wasn't getting the better of Jeff up until the goal - yes he still has some rough edges but I see him as less of a liability than Konch who is also far too prone to the type of reckless tackle that got him booked .. Jeff also has such an exceptional engine that he should still be able to get forward ... Wes looked shakey again and his tendency for going to ground means that a tricky forward only needs to shape to cross or shoot for Wes to fall over - he did get a good block on Silva's first effort but probably could have done that whilst staying on his feet - as it was he was lying prone leaving Silva with a simple tap in when it bounced back .. I'm being a bit harsh there I accept - but the first point stands ... Wes is all too often out of the game because of that tendency ...
Hart MAY (still not sure) have got fingers to the ball first, but then grabbed and pulled Krammy's foot. Just watched all three incidents again on EMT and I remain convinced they were all penalties. That ref has denied us five strong claims in two matches. I agree that Konch is all too prone to a rash challenge. It's not like he even brings players down to prevent goal-scoring opportunities; his booking last night was totally unnecessary. Again though, it wouldn't be a choice between Schlupp and Konch for me, as I'd play De Laet there. I though we looked pretty solid on the right last night.
For me the penalties are a bit of a distraction. Yes, it would have been nice to have got the decisions because we might have been able to come away with a point. But I get very frustrated by the fact that we never really competed with the opposition. There's a whole lot of talk about the players all being together and fighting for each other, but I just don't see it. Most of us remember pretty well the team that Martin O'Neill brought up in 1996. They were just as raw and inexperienced as the team we have today, but the attitude was different. Both from the manager and the players. I can't remember a top side or any side ever having an easy ride against a team that Martin O'Neill fielded. The opposition midfield knew they'd been in a contest whichever way the result went. It was a case of never a backward step against anyone, however big the reputation. Contrast that with the last 2 league games. I can't remember a midfield challenge against Everton, and it looked like David Silva had the run of pitch last night. Kaamark would have stuck to Silva like **** to a wolly blanket all game and made sure he never had a kick, and Lennon, Izzet and Savage would have run their hearts out tackling anything that moved and trying to win the midfield. At the back we had defenders who knew how to defend and who no one messed with. In our last 2 matches we got one yellow card on each occasion (Morgan and Konchesky) while the opposition didn't get a single one. Doesn't that tell a story? I'm starting to lose hope that we can survive now, because the manager refuses point blank to acknowledge where the problems are. It's looking ever more likely that we are going down, and worse than that, we are going down with a whimper. But many fans seem quite happy with that.
We played one of the biggest clubs in the world in their own back yard. A side that ripped Newcastle a new 'un in 20 minutes a couple of weeks ago. So to have had three penalty shouts, hit the post and had an number of other chances, not to mention being in the game until the 87 minute, wasn't too bad in my estimation. I think team spirit is excellent, and I see a team who's players never give up and play for each other. They're just not quite good enough. Players like Morgan, Kasper, Drinkwater, Vardy, Knockaert and Moore, so good last season, hadn't been able to make the step up in the way we expected. Under O'Neill, players like Heskey, Lennon, Izzet and Claridge did make the transition, which helped us enormously. All we had to do was make some quality additions to secure survival. I think many of our additions - Ulloa, Kramaric, Schwarzer, Huth, Upson, Cambiasso and Mahrez (signed when promotion was looking very likely) have been fantastic, but there's no getting away from the fact that the spine of our side hasn't made the step up, which is something that's next to impossible to foresee. Should we be relegated, at least we now know this, and we'll need to think long and hard about who deserves a second crack at the Premiership and who doesn't. Ditto if we survive really - a lot of strengthening will be required if we're to avoid a second relegation battle. As for the yellow cards, I saw at least three challenges by the opposition that were as bad or worse than Konchesky's last night. This just adds to a very suspect performance by our friend in black. I certainly don't think we're going down with a whimper - most onlookers have been impressed with us and I've lost count of how many times they've suggested we deserved at least a share of the points in matches, but I do agree that relegation is looking likely. Sometimes though, it's not just down to something as simple as bad management (the usual bandwagon for disgruntled fans), and it's down to many little things; bad luck, poor officiating, lapses of judgement by normally reliable players, not being able to attract players to a newly promoted club (an obvious candidate for relegation), a strong league this year (I still refuse to except that we're the worst team in it!), injuries and suspensions (although not necessarily in our case, although Upson has been doing quite well), quality players having too many off days (what's happened to Mahrez?), not being clinical enough up front, etc. I strongly believe our long-term future is good, which still fills me with optimism. Just don't listen to Radio Leicester - their anti-Pearson agenda (Pearson not talking to you again, eh Stringer?), will have you believing the end of the world is upon us.
There's been lots of teams that have capitulated to Man City because they approach the game in the wrong way. When you are inferior on a player by player basis, that is when the team has to perform as a unit to overcome that situation. It's precisely what Hull did against them only a few weeks ago. It's how an O'Neill team used to approach a game against Arsenal. It's unforgiveable for a manager and coaching staff at this level to ignore what has been costing this team points on so many occasions this season. Yes, we've lacked composure in front of goal at times and made poor decisions, and we have been on the end of bad some appalling refereeing decisions. But we have also had our fair share of breaks. The blatant foul by Vardy on Rafael that led to the goal that got us back into the game against Man Utd for instance, and the fact that Hull pummelled us for 90 minutes and missed chances galore, and the same by Lukaku. These things even themselves out over a season, but I don't want to be bemoaning those things. We need a team that makes its own luck. West Brom had the foresight to get in Tony Pulis who looked at the best way of keeping them in the Premiership and worked on it straight away. They have now made themselves far more resilient and harder to beat and given themselves a real chance of staying up. The same goes for Crystal Palace and Alan Pardew. Pearson on the other hand (and he has to take full responsibility as the manager) continues to bury his head in the sand and continue ploughing the same furrow. He sticks with Morgan, who is the worst of all our central defenders (and God only knows what this is doing to his self confidence and credibility in the dressing room), and plays with a toothless and passive midfield that gets totally dominated in almost every game and doesn't attempt to make anything happen until we go a goal behind and desperation kicks in. There doesn't seem to have been any attempt to address that situation. We only seem to have been interested in chasing strikers, in the belief that that is the way to survive in the Premiership. Midfield is key. It should be able to protect the defence and create chances for the strikers. Team spirit at the moment seems to be about never actually giving up, which is laudable. But in our position what we need is leaders on the pitch who can drag the rest of the side with them and take the game to the opposition and dispense with the passengers. As I've said before, we stick with Pearson at our peril, because he learns nothing and sticks to his own deluded view of everything. He might be a nice bloke, but as a football manager he is woefully lacking. We can't trust him with the team after this season (he should have gone already) as it could be another 10 years before we get another crack at the top flight.
How did O'Neill's sides do against Arsenal? Because as I recall we never beat them (except on penalties) and got hammered a few times - if you're suggesting draws are good results, please see the result of our home game earlier this season. The Man Utd match aside (I don't actually agree that Vardy committed a foul on Rafael, but there you go), I don't recall us being too lucky. Defending well against Hull isn't luck, and even if it were, it's been more than cancelled out by games against Palace, Tottenham etc. where we've not got what we deserved. Making your own luck is very difficult when refereeing decisions always seem to be in favour of the big clubs (and I'm not just talking about Leicester matches here). Are you saying that sacking our manager will reinvigorate our players like West Brom and Palace? I disagree because I think we are playing to our potential. Those teams, which I believe are much better than ours and have had the benefit of previous Premiership campaigns in which to build, were really under-performing, hence sacking the manager was the correct thing to do. Besides, whoever gave Warnock the job at Palace wanted shooting anyway. I get your point on Morgan (I think most fans are in agreement on him), but who are you concerns in midfield over? Cambiasso is held in high regard by all who watch him (although he does under-perform on occasion IMO), and Mahrez and Schlupp are too really. So is it Matty James? My main problem with him is that he seems incapable of finding the back of the net, yet he seems to get as many chances as anyone. Aside from that, I think he works hard and is a good ball-winner. I don't think we have too many passengers. That would imply players not pulling their weight, and I don't see that. I suppose some fans would like us to have a Stuart Pearce type yelling at the players, but they seem plenty motivated to me. Just a little out of their depth. I don't get this about Pearson being stubborn. Our team and formation has changed many times this season. We have only just gone to a five at the back, which allowed us to compete against some of the toughest sides in this league on their own turf. I expect (or at least hope) this will not be the case against Hull, as, at home, we should be looking to take the game to them with two up front. The truth is, many fans have a set view on the team, and call Pearson stubborn because he refuses to except their view. Trouble is, each fan as their own view, different from one another. Some thing Moore should be in the team. Not me. Others think Hamer over Schwarzer. Not me. Others think Albrighton. Definitely not me. As I said, I think most of us agree on Morgan, but I think it will be interesting when we go to a back four. Tactically, Pearson may not be perfect - even he admits he's made mistakes - but I am very happy with the type of players he is bringing in (although I'm pretty sure we've had difficult attracting some targets as a newly promoted side) and how motivated he is getting them. The management set-up and the owners, who have proven to be much more sensible then many of our trigger-happy fans on several occasions, leave me in no doubt that, should relegation happen this season, we are still progressing by building a side more likely to survive than the one that came up in May, and I'd fully expect us to bounce back very quickly.
The hardest thing to take is we all so close but yet so far We have gone to Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City (Last season's top 4) and outplayed Arsenal and Liverpool for large parts and should have took something from the other 2. Apart from Swansea no one has really played off us the pitch, the best team I have seen this season I would have said was Man U at the King Power for the first hour but the last 30 mins they was the worst team I have seen in my life Its very fine margins but while we still have a chance we have to give our all and see if its enough come May
