Ulloa

[ARM1968]

Ulloa can finish, that is clear. But he needs at least a little service to achieve that. He needs a strike partner and some crosses that actually reach him. If we create nothing he can only deliver nothing himself. Last few games we've crested cock all.

[Webbo]

Why can we excuse Ulloa for lack of service but blame Nugent when he has the same team around him?

[Fox92]

Why did NP buy a 6,3 striker with no real pace who scores most of his goals with his head, i mean that's a direct football forward isn't it?

 

why not go for a pacey foWrard who can run behind the back 4 and link up with Vardy or Nuge

 

We needed a target man. I think we all knew that. At the minute, Ulloa is getting no service (and we've all seen what he can do with the right service). We have a pacey forward, Jamie Vardy. Unfortunately he hasn't been playing up front with Ulloa recently. 

 

We couldn't have played two small forwards, could we? We'd not win a single header and who would we aim the crosses at? Ulloa provides us with a different option and at least we have someone to just launch the ball to if required. He's a good footballer as well as being brilliant in the air.

[Steve_Walsh5]

What the fvck am I reading in here? 9 games in and some of you are slagging of our best player so far and top goalscorer.

Did he look like he was sucking the life out of the team when we drew with Everton and Arsenal or when we beat Man Utd and Stoke?

What do you expect him to do when the ball is hoofed up to him when he's got 2 defenders around him. Even if manages to bring it down like he has in a few occasions he hasn't got anyone within 10 yards of him. It's quite obvious to see Pearson has changed his tactics and formation and it's not bringing the best out of both Vardy & Ulloa.

So instead of criticising Leo why don't you look a bit further at why he hasn't been getting the service in the last 4 games. Because we all know what he can do when the ball gets played in the right places for him.

[BlueSi13]

What the fvck am I reading in here? 9 games in and some of you are slagging of our best player so far and top goalscorer.

Did he look like he was sucking the life out of the team when we drew with Everton and Arsenal or when we beat Man Utd and Stoke?

What do you expect him to do when the ball is hoofed up to him when he's got 2 defenders around him. Even if manages to bring it down like he has in a few occasions he hasn't got anyone within 10 yards of him. It's quite obvious to see Pearson has changed his tactics and formation and it's not bringing the best out of both Vardy & Ulloa.

So instead of criticising Leo why don't you look a bit further at why he hasn't been getting the service in the last 4 games. Because we all know what he can do when the ball gets played in the right places for him.

 

Bang on.  Quite frankly I was amazed he could keep the smile on his face yesterday, I'd have been tempted to give every single one of our players the finger, even Nigel for such appalling tactical errors yesterday.

[theessexfox]

Like Wood, he may be tall but he's no good at winning long balls in the air. In the box yes, but he needs the ball to feet outside of the box. No good using him as an out ball to hoof it up to every time, we don't need to change our style to suit a player just because he is big. 

[Alf Bentley]

What the fvck am I reading in here? 9 games in and some of you are slagging of our best player so far and top goalscorer.

Did he look like he was sucking the life out of the team when we drew with Everton and Arsenal or when we beat Man Utd and Stoke?

What do you expect him to do when the ball is hoofed up to him when he's got 2 defenders around him. Even if manages to bring it down like he has in a few occasions he hasn't got anyone within 10 yards of him. It's quite obvious to see Pearson has changed his tactics and formation and it's not bringing the best out of both Vardy & Ulloa.

So instead of criticising Leo why don't you look a bit further at why he hasn't been getting the service in the last 4 games. Because we all know what he can do when the ball gets played in the right places for him.

 

Have we even tried playing Vardy and Ulloa together as a proper strike partnership (i.e. without Vardy being out on the wing)? I could see that working well with Vardy as the front man most of the time, playing off the last man for through balls from midfield and flick-ons by Ulloa. Ulloa is a good enough footballer on the ground that he could drop deep to link with the midfield during build-up play and still get into the area when crosses came from wing play and be available for flick-ons or to hold the ball up when Schmeichel or the defence played longer balls from the back.

 

Admittedly, he wouldn't be up to the sort of work rate and closing down that Nugent does. That would probably mean playing 3 central midfielders most of the time to avoid being over-run, except against weak or defensive teams, where more width might be required. A midfield comprising 3 of Cambiasso, Drinkwater, King and James plus Mahrez might work, though who'd cover the narrow left side in front of Konch, I'm not sure. It's a shame that Mahrez seems to prefer the right side so much, as De Laet is more physically capable than Konch of getting up and down the wing, with the right-side midfielder playing narrow and providing defensive cover when needed. 

 

Playing Nugent as the midfield/attack link doesn't seem to be working at this level, although it worked very well in the Championship. I'm not sure that it's entirely his fault. Our midfield seems to have lost the ability to keep and use the ball for long periods (the whole of the 1st half yesterday) and we seem to have dropped the intensity of our pressing.

 

I certainly wouldn't blame Hammond for the decline in our midfield play, but I don't think he's up to playing in a 2-man central midfield at this level. He's done better than I expected, but he lacks the pace, mobility and passing for that set-up - and it was essentially a 2-man central midfield yesterday (with support from Nuge) as Vardy isn't a midfielder at all and Mahrez plays from wide, even if he comes inside a lot (mainly in the attacking third). I can only see Hammond playing a useful role as the defensive player in a 3-man central midfield. That might work against stronger teams, though I'd prefer 3 of Cambiasso, Drinky, King & James in games where we were expecting to have more possession. 

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

The poor guy is getting no service, and Pearson needs to sort that out. Putting Vardy on the wing just didn't work, and he was made to look average.

[fuchsntf]

What the fvck am I reading in here? 9 games in and some of you are slagging of our best player so far and top goalscorer.

Did he look like he was sucking the life out of the team when we drew with Everton and Arsenal or when we beat Man Utd and Stoke?

What do you expect him to do when the ball is hoofed up to him when he's got 2 defenders around him. Even if manages to bring it down like he has in a few occasions he hasn't got anyone within 10 yards of him. It's quite obvious to see Pearson has changed his tactics and formation and it's not bringing the best out of both Vardy & Ulloa.

So instead of criticising Leo why don't you look a bit further at why he hasn't been getting the service in the last 4 games. UBecause we all know what he can do when the ball gets played in the right places for him.

Couldnt hsve put it better...well posted

[Oxfordfox83]

Drinkwater needs a rest. When he plays badly, the team plays badly, and he's been bloody rubbish and getting worse...

[lgfualol]

I'm getting vibes of Chris Wood all over again.

We play a game which suits us and him, he bangs the goals in.

We change the way we play (WHY?!?!?! **** SAKE) and all of a sudden he looks lost, he's got no-one to flick it on to, we deteriorate as a team.

Get the ball back on the floor and he (and we) will be fine.

We are absolutely shit at playing hoofball. It doesn't work for us and it needs binning off immediately.

This. Words cannot describe how frustrating it is.

What is Nigel thinking?

[broughtonblue]

I can only assume Pearson has been instructed to get us relegated.

Another pearl of wisdom!

[LCCFox96]

Drinkwater needs a rest. When he plays badly, the team plays badly, and he's been bloody rubbish and getting worse...

 

I agree with this. He's the catalyst in any positive performance we have - last season he was so influential and our midfield caves in when he plays and doesn't deliver.

 

As for Ulloa, give him service, as we did in the early games and he will score. He has proven that already. If most of those game he had 1,2,3 shots and converted one. He's a striker that doesn't need many chances before he takes one. However if, like against Newcastle and Swansea, we create 0 chances for him he will contribute 0 goals. We will have to carry him along if we don't give chances to do what he does best and that is score goals.

[cjslcfc]

I just cannot get my head round threads like this. I haven't been to our most recent couple of games but judging by online streams and match highlights we have created the sum of absolutely fvck all for him to score. I was sitting there yesterday feeling so sorry for him. He had to drop deep to try and even get the ball. Funnily enough if our players can't get the ball to him (except for when he's marked by 2 or 3 players) then he isn't going to score. 

 

9 games in and he has 5 goals. I'd happily take around 20 goals for the season! Realistically he will probably score anywhere from 12 to 15 goals. That's more than good enough for this division.

 

Anyway he's going to score vs WBA so he will be go from zero to hero once more...

[Beliall]

He needs a strike partner. We play 2 up top and we do better. Its far too easy for prem center backs to mark a lone "Newby" striker.

[Osavo]

Ulloa did best when Nugent was in the team playing alongside him, which is no coincidence in my opinion. Nuge may not score that many but is an important player due to his linking of midfield and attack.

Vardy would not be able to play up front with Ulloa in my opinion, unless one of them was prepared to drop in deeper and recieve the ball, which is not how either of them play.

Because of his strong start, we're looking to play too much to his individual strengths rather than asking him to play to ours. As previous posters have said, shades of Chris Wood in this, hopefully we can get him scoring again quickly.

[benpicko]

Maybe we're not creating a lot for him because we spent pretty much the entirety of last year with somebody pacey up there to score, rather than somebody whose best attribute is his clinicality when he actually gets the chance to header, but when was the last time we ever uttered the words 'wow, we're great at crossing today' or 'what a brilliant corner that was'? Not saying he's not a brilliant player because he clearly is, given the service, but that's not really our strength is it. We'd be best with Vardy up top, last year showed us that, and saving Ulloa for games that don't suit Vardy, rather scratching our heads and complaining about not just playing to our strengths through playing the ball on the floor, yet insisting on Ulloa starting every match at the same time as saying that.

[Dan LCFC]

We needed a target man. I think we all knew that. At the minute, Ulloa is getting no service (and we've all seen what he can do with the right service). We have a pacey forward, Jamie Vardy. Unfortunately he hasn't been playing up front with Ulloa recently. 

 

We couldn't have played two small forwards, could we? We'd not win a single header and who would we aim the crosses at? Ulloa provides us with a different option and at least we have someone to just launch the ball to if required. He's a good footballer as well as being brilliant in the air.

 

To be honest, we didn't. I'm not saying we already had one, but I don't think playing with a target man works for us.

 

I don't think Ulloa's a bad player at all, but I'm not sure he fits our most effective style of play.

[Dan LCFC]

Like Wood, he may be tall but he's no good at winning long balls in the air. In the box yes, but he needs the ball to feet outside of the box. No good using him as an out ball to hoof it up to every time, we don't need to change our style to suit a player just because he is big. 

 

He does win some of the aerial battles but it's pointless. No-one's ever with him. He might as well lose them, it just leads to the same result every time.

 

It's inexplicable from us. It's almost bizarre. I cannot think of a single reason we've started playing like this.

[benpicko]

To be honest, we didn't. I'm not saying we already had one, but I don't think playing with a target man works for us.

 

I don't think Ulloa's a bad player at all, but I'm not sure he fits our most effective style of play.

 

Exactly.

[Dan LCFC]

When we signed him and Albrighton I thought those two would be bringing a lot of our goals this season. Albrighton's right boot, Ulloa's head, goal.

 

I cannot get my head around how Albrighton isn't even making the 18. I'm not claiming he's played particularly well in the small cameos he's had - but that's all they are, cameos. He's shown some neat touches and looks to have something about him, even if it hasn't yet amounted to anything. He's got probably the third highest number of games in this league in our entire squad - yet we play our best forward out there instead? Mahrez can play either side. He's two-footed. He probably prefers the right but it isn't significant enough to shift our most dangerous forward out wide. I'd understand it if we had a shit load of injuries, but we have one in the entire squad.

 

The more I think about Saturday the more I think the whole thing completely and utterly baffles me. I just cannot work out at all what we were even trying to do.

 

The standard of the opposition is no doubt better, but some people give them too much credit in my opinion. Burnley are a poor side. Newcastle are a poor side. Swansea are good but didn't even have to get out of second gear. Palace were scrappy but effective. It's a better standard than the Championship, obviously, but does that excuse some of the stupid mistakes we make?

 

The question I ask here - would we beat Leicester of last season? I honestly think we wouldn't. I genuinely think we look a poorer team and it's self-inflicted.

 

Sorry for the rant, one thing just leads to another and I can't help myself.

[ronnup]

When we signed him and Albrighton I thought those two would be bringing a lot of our goals this season. Albrighton's right boot, Ulloa's head, goal.

I cannot get my head around how Albrighton isn't even making the 18. I'm not claiming he's played particularly well in the small cameos he's had - but that's all they are, cameos. He's shown some neat touches and looks to have something about him, even if it hasn't yet amounted to anything. He's got probably the third highest number of games in this league in our entire squad - yet we play our best forward out there instead? Mahrez can play either side. He's two-footed. He probably prefers the right but it isn't significant enough to shift our most dangerous forward out wide. I'd understand it if we had a shit load of injuries, but we have one in the entire squad.

The more I think about Saturday the more I think the whole thing completely and utterly baffles me. I just cannot work out at all what we were even trying to do.

The standard of the opposition is no doubt better, but some people give them too much credit in my opinion. Burnley are a poor side. Newcastle are a poor side. Swansea are good but didn't even have to get out of second gear. Palace were scrappy but effective. It's a better standard than the Championship, obviously, but does that excuse some of the stupid mistakes we make?

The question I ask here - would we beat Leicester of last season? I honestly think we wouldn't. I genuinely think we look a poorer team and it's self-inflicted.

Sorry for the rant, one thing just leads to another and I can't help myself.

Agree with a lot of that. Got a lot of Villa fan mates who were gutted to see Albrighton go and said he was their best player of the second half of last season. Doesn't get a sniff with us really.

Surely NP had ideas and reasons but is so difficult to see what they are when it doesn't work and doesn't seem like it should

[Dan LCFC]

Agree with a lot of that. Got a lot of Villa fan mates who were gutted to see Albrighton go and said he was their best player of the second half of last season. Doesn't get a sniff with us really.

Surely NP had ideas and reasons but is so difficult to see what they are when it doesn't work and doesn't seem like it should

 

I can accept players like him not getting a sniff if they're genuinely unlucky. Like Andy King last season - he hardly played despite being a good midfielder who'd walk into most Championship sides simply because James & Drinkwater were better.

 

Albrighton is not a worse winger than Schlupp and he's not a worse winger than Vardy. Absolutely no way.

 

I want to see him given a run of games. He's been written off by so many of our fans and it baffles me.

[ronnup]

I have a thought that a lot of what NP decides and works on is about heart and training field work. This is fantastic for team spirit and works for team cohesion but can lead to playing teams that aren't necessarily your best.

[Dan LCFC]

I have a thought that a lot of what NP decides and works on is about heart and training field work. This is fantastic for team spirit and works for team cohesion but can lead to playing teams that aren't necessarily your best.

 

Yeah I agree with that, but it's quite clearly holding us back as well. There's absolutely no room for sentiment.

 

We need to pick our best team and then work on making that cohesive. That's what we eventually did last year and we went from strength to strength. We've undoubtedly got the basis to be a Premier League side, for me, but why we seem to intent on self-destruction I have absolutely no idea.