Leicester post match thread

[Plays By Sense Of Smell]

it was only a big hole as fernandino was playing 10 yards deeper and toure was on his own in there,but hey dont let your hate cloud your jugement

Hi Ped,
Hate is a strong word my friend, none here for him, just exasperation, perhaps at him, perhaps at Pelle for putting him in this position so much.

I was both stunned and euphoric when we got him. At that point I could already see that he was one of the big pieces of the jigsaw we needed. Unfortunately his time has come where he is now only a bit part player.

Don't get me wrong, those bits when they arrive are still stunning pieces of football... but I believe the balance between the number of them and the number of times he is a liability is growing too much.

Yes he keeps us flowing, but more and more this is ineffective ticking along as he has the ball too far back and cannot turn. I don't think he is mobile enough to give and go enough times considering the frequency with which he get the ball in that position.

For me, this massively reduces his value -almost relwgating him to being a (still very good) passing post.

But the kicker for me that now negates the positives is that he cannot be trusted to be able to fulfil such important defensive responsibility and protecting the back 4 - perhaps he needs two mobile guys behind him (or alongside?) - but this is my point.

The level of quality in the Prem or chumps league is such that obvious problems will be recognised, exploited and punished.
For me the obvious problem for us when we don't have the ball is a space about 5-10 yards wide which radiates out from Yaya beginning just outside the reach of his legs. This space is where I would be aiming for as a route if I was attacking us as it pulls other City players out of position when they have to cover it (see Mango repeatedly yesterday), and if they don'the the attackers are through to our last line like the proverbial hot knife.

It makes me sad to admit it but I think the time to sell him is here, assuming we put contingency in place.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

But the kicker for me that now negates the positives is that he cannot be trusted to be able to fulfil such important defensive responsibility and protecting the back 4 - perhaps he needs two mobile guys behind him (or alongside?) - but this is my point.

He does indeed. I've noticed over the last handful of games that Ferny isn't getting anywhere near the oppo's goal that he used to, and I think the reason is that he has to do the dirty work that Yaya poo-poos or he's had instructions. That isn't getting the best out of Ferny, and it nearly came to grief last night. He is a box to box player and not our box to the halfway line!

 

[City_Sean]

In some respects a draw is frustrating, but there's plenty of positives to take. Our defence was excellent, there was a real cohesion about it tonight.

Midfield did a very good job in shielding the back four too. We just lacked that cutting edge, it'll come with time, and also when Aguero gets sharper.

 

[Gray]

Didn't see the match as I refuse to subscribe to BT and from all accounts their pundits are less than useless.

What I do know because I have witnessed it with my own eyes, this team is playing far below its potential and that will be a concern to our owners.

A good manager can shape a team of misfits into a cohesive unit, our manager has patently failed to get the best from a squad of excellent footballers.

He is a lovely man and that might be part of the problem, there is a lack of devilment in our team and too easily they get distracted and fail to concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

I know that the Club look at the fixtures before the start of the season and set targets, I suspect these have not been met.

Every team gets injuries, that is the luck of the draw, no point in bringing that up as an excuse.

As others have said the game at Villa was a warning, the performance that day was abject and our away form has been dreadful since.

At home we have also struggled and the clean sheet last night was long overdue.

Unless a miracle happens we will do well to finish in the top four - Champions I doubt it very much.

 

[stonerblue]

Didn't see the match as I refuse to subscribe to BT and from all accounts their pundits are less than useless.

What I do know because I have witnessed it with my own eyes, this team is playing far below its potential and that will be a concern to our owners.

A good manager can shape a team of misfits into a cohesive unit, our manager has patently failed to get the best from a squad of excellent footballers.

He is a lovely man and that might be part of the problem, there is a lack of devilment in our team and too easily they get distracted and fail to concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

I know that the Club look at the fixtures before the start of the season and set targets, I suspect these have not been met.

Every team gets injuries, that is the luck of the draw, no point in bringing that up as an excuse.

As others have said the game at Villa was a warning, the performance that day was abject and our away form has been dreadful since.

At home we have also struggled and the clean sheet last night was long overdue.

Unless a miracle happens we will do well to finish in the top four - Champions I doubt it very much.

So you didn't see the team performance yet you slag off Pellegrini, calling him a 'failure' and his team 'abject' and 'dreadful' ?

I suggest you watch a re-run of last night, where you will see a solid and disciplined team display resulting in a well earned point away from home.

 

[manimanc]

Didn't see the match as I refuse to subscribe to BT and from all accounts their pundits are less than useless.

What I do know because I have witnessed it with my own eyes, this team is playing far below its potential and that will be a concern to our owners.

A good manager can shape a team of misfits into a cohesive unit, our manager has patently failed to get the best from a squad of excellent footballers.

He is a lovely man and that might be part of the problem, there is a lack of devilment in our team and too easily they get distracted and fail to concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

I know that the Club look at the fixtures before the start of the season and set targets, I suspect these have not been met.

Every team gets injuries, that is the luck of the draw, no point in bringing that up as an excuse.

As others have said the game at Villa was a warning, the performance that day was abject and our away form has been dreadful since.

At home we have also struggled and the clean sheet last night was long overdue.

Unless a miracle happens we will do well to finish in the top four - Champions I doubt it very much.

Unless a miracle happens?
You do realise we are 3pts off top spot and sat nicely in the top 4??
You're talking like we're in the bottom 4 and fighting relegation.
We'll be fine. Half the season gone, had a horrible run of injuries, not played well for a full 90 mins but we find ourselves in a semi final, in the last 16 of the chimps league and in the mix for top spot.
Roll on the 2nd half of the season when everybody is up to speed and injury free.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

He is a lovely man and that might be part of the problem, there is a lack of devilment in our team and too easily they get distracted and fail to concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

This is something that every main contender for a title in past years has had except us. We won the two titles, I would suggest, because MANUre and The Dippers buggered it at the last hurdle and we didn't. It was the quality we had that stretched other teams to breaking point but when you look at CFC, the Rags, and The Arse there is a 'no-lose' mentality about them in title winning years. We haven't got that. Mancini's team didn't have it, and Pellers' team hasn't got it. We rely almost 100% on quality rising to the top, and we have seen that ordinary teams can frustrate quality!

The only game I can think of where we exhibited the 'no-lose' approach was the 0-0 at The Emirates for which Mancini was pilloried in the press the following morning!

 

[PragueBlue]

So you didn't see the team performance yet you slag off Pellegrini, calling him a 'failure' and his team 'abject' and 'dreadful' ?

I suggest you watch a re-run of last night, where you will see a solid and disciplined team display resulting in a well earned point away from home.

Spot on.

 

[Blue Coop]

Thought we were really poor in the final third, but a clean sheet is a massive positive. Partly because I thought Leicester gave us way too much respect, but credit to the defence where it's due, they did their job tonight and other than two daft mistakes from Kolarov and Fernandinho they were completely restricted.

I thought Bony managed to make a few good chances in the box look like really tough half chances, and I was disappointed with Silva because we know how capable he is, I can't understand why he's always so deep now when he does endless amounts of damage in between the lines.

 

[cheddar404]

I was at the match and thought we generally played well. We looked up for it and made Leicester look very poor. We didn't score though and there lies the problem. I can't see Leicester lasting the pace after seeing them last night. They looked like a championship side at times.