Fez of Mahrez Posted 26 July 2008 Share Posted 26 July 2008 Obviously this is subject to the standard caveat - it was only a pre-season friendly against a Conference side and as such not much should be read into any of these comments because I'm not saying that everything is rosy. However, I was sat right next to the dugout today and I thoroughly enjoyed the game today. It was a totally different experience to the usual for me -I've never been that close to a City manager during a game before and it was really interesting to see Pearson's involvement in the game and his reactions to every event on the pitch. I've seen a lot of people saying Morrison was poor. I can only think this must have been mainly in the first half down at the away end which I didn't have a great view of. Second half I thought he was good. Won everything in the air and didn't give the ball away like Worley. Something I didn't fully realise about Morrison (although it has been alluded to in interviews over the last week or two) is that Pearson spends the entire game organising the defence through Morrison. It was like a one-on-one coaching session within a match. If Pearson wasn't happy with something, he would yell at Morrison to make sure he told whoever it was that had upset him. Morrison seemed to grow in confidence as the game went on. Pearson had a lot of praise for Fryatt and Oakley. He also constantly told the players to keep the ball moving whenever we had it at the back, which was interesting as you could see the defenders wanting to hold onto it and wait for someone to make a run - but they are being coached to keep passing amongst the back four instead of holding onto possession individually and waiting for an option to appear in midfield. Pearson also seems to get on well with Gradel which is a really good sign. He was constantly on at him to watch his man when tracking back but that needed to be done. He was applauding and shouting encouragement every time Gradel tried to make something happen going forward. One thing I've noticed is that Gradel seems to be the focal point of our attacks whenever he's on the pitch - this was the case at Luton as well. Logan was trying to find him directly with almost every goal kick at Luton. At Kettering, Pearson was encouraging the play to be switched to the right as often as possible in the second half to get Gradel on the ball - and Kishishev, Campbell and Howard in particular seemed to be under instructions to look for Gradel whenever they could. Mattock and Dyer saw far less of the ball in the second half because we were always looking to go down the right. And for what it's worth, I thought Wesolowski was superb today and it's great to see him playing well after the injuries he's endured. I hope he can become a bit more consistent because we are halfway there in central midfield boasting someone with his level of commitment. I'm really enjoying our football at the moment - 20 goals in pre-season already. I don't think it has much of a bearing on the season ahead but if you forget the context, it's just nice to see a Leicester City team containing some exciting young attacking players look decent at keeping the ball and scoring a few goals. Of course once the season starts it will all be about promotion, the pressure will be on to win every game and the probability is that these players will fail to live up to the huge expectations. But I have always said I would prefer an unpredictable, exciting young team that are decent to watch than a functional bunch of 30-somethings one-nilling their way to promotion. I'm probably in the minority on that but you can only enjoy what's put in front of you each week and it's pointless to become obsessed with a constant pursuit of victory at all costs when there's nothing you can do to influence the outcome and there is never any final result at the end of it all - just another season which will soon become the next one which will soon become the one after that. It's easy to be critical of the team or cynical about the club but when it comes down to it, I watched my team win 4-1 in the baking sun today and I will look back fondly on today when we're losing 1-0 at Carlisle on a freezing afternoon in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedeFox Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Great pictures as well as a nice report, very interesting. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unabomber Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 What a superb post, and I agree with it all. I am looking forward to seeing something different watching young attacking players really trying to prove themselves. I also agree with what you said about Morrison he hasn't seemed as near as bad as some people are making out to me. He wins a lot in the air and he is still very young so obviously is learning all of the time. Good to see Pearson working well with him and Gradel and actually being helpful and supportive from the dugout. I have also noticed Shakespeare talking with his arm around Gradel a lot really trying to drill information into him and help him. It was also clear that there was a good atmosphere within the team when they were warming up, they were all getting on and having a laugh etc which obviously can't hurt anyone. Really look forward to August 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 I'm with you on the whole entertainment thing. We pay to be entertianed and having exciting prospects currently peppering the starting XI really fills me with anticipation. Sounds like there may be one or two characters in this team as well. Great post by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Great post, made interesting reading Fez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sods Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Fez you are a bit of legend aren't you. Why when i read your topics do i get an urge for the season to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowitall Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Excellant post. I dont agree with it all, but still an outstanding post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unabomber Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Excellant post. I dont agree with it all, but still an outstanding post. Any news pal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AoWW Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Fezzler at his posting best. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syston_fox Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Simply brilliant! Best post I've ever read on foxestalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE MAGICIAN Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Quality post young man. I enjoyed the read whilst working the night shift. Must admit, at first I was disgusted at the appointment of Pearson but he has already turned me into a big fan in his application and management style, to here you say he was constantly talking to his players is also very encouraging as Holloway just sat there like a d1ck. Bring on the season, lets rip this league to bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thracian Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Obviously this is subject to the standard caveat - it was only a pre-season friendly against a Conference side and as such not much should be read into any of these comments because I'm not saying that everything is rosy. However, I was sat right next to the dugout today and I thoroughly enjoyed the game today. It was a totally different experience to the usual for me -I've never been that close to a City manager during a game before and it was really interesting to see Pearson's involvement in the game and his reactions to every event on the pitch. I've seen a lot of people saying Morrison was poor. I can only think this must have been mainly in the first half down at the away end which I didn't have a great view of. Second half I thought he was good. Won everything in the air and didn't give the ball away like Worley. Something I didn't fully realise about Morrison (although it has been alluded to in interviews over the last week or two) is that Pearson spends the entire game organising the defence through Morrison. It was like a one-on-one coaching session within a match. If Pearson wasn't happy with something, he would yell at Morrison to make sure he told whoever it was that had upset him. Morrison seemed to grow in confidence as the game went on. Pearson had a lot of praise for Fryatt and Oakley. He also constantly told the players to keep the ball moving whenever we had it at the back, which was interesting as you could see the defenders wanting to hold onto it and wait for someone to make a run - but they are being coached to keep passing amongst the back four instead of holding onto possession individually and waiting for an option to appear in midfield. Pearson also seems to get on well with Gradel which is a really good sign. He was constantly on at him to watch his man when tracking back but that needed to be done. He was applauding and shouting encouragement every time Gradel tried to make something happen going forward. One thing I've noticed is that Gradel seems to be the focal point of our attacks whenever he's on the pitch - this was the case at Luton as well. Logan was trying to find him directly with almost every goal kick at Luton. At Kettering, Pearson was encouraging the play to be switched to the right as often as possible in the second half to get Gradel on the ball - and Kishishev, Campbell and Howard in particular seemed to be under instructions to look for Gradel whenever they could. Mattock and Dyer saw far less of the ball in the second half because we were always looking to go down the right. And for what it's worth, I thought Wesolowski was superb today and it's great to see him playing well after the injuries he's endured. I hope he can become a bit more consistent because we are halfway there in central midfield boasting someone with his level of commitment. I'm really enjoying our football at the moment - 20 goals in pre-season already. I don't think it has much of a bearing on the season ahead but if you forget the context, it's just nice to see a Leicester City team containing some exciting young attacking players look decent at keeping the ball and scoring a few goals. Of course once the season starts it will all be about promotion, the pressure will be on to win every game and the probability is that these players will fail to live up to the huge expectations. But I have always said I would prefer an unpredictable, exciting young team that are decent to watch than a functional bunch of 30-somethings one-nilling their way to promotion. I'm probably in the minority on that but you can only enjoy what's put in front of you each week and it's pointless to become obsessed with a constant pursuit of victory at all costs when there's nothing you can do to influence the outcome and there is never any final result at the end of it all - just another season which will soon become the next one which will soon become the one after that. It's easy to be critical of the team or cynical about the club but when it comes down to it, I watched my team win 4-1 in the baking sun today and I will look back fondly on today when we're losing 1-0 at Carlisle on a freezing afternoon in December. Top post amd really insightful. One of the features yesterday was the improvement in Gradel defensively. It's not been his strong point in the past but he not only did his stint in covering deep but, more importantly, seemed to enjoy the part he was playing. Furthermore it was not to the detriment of his attacking because he drove himself forward once we had possession. Interesting too to hear Pearson focus on Mattock and tell him on one occasion that he had lost his man and had "no idea where he is". How right he was. Mattock was fairly good going forward but defensively, his positioning still needs to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Post of the year Sounds fantastic. Our management teams have been so... disorganised and have seemed to have had no idea what was going on. It's good to hear that this team seems to be doing positive things. I want that to be our enduring image of Pearson I think one of the key words in there was "coached". It's good to see. We've had some poor performances over the years but essentially these are good and for the most part honest players and the ability is in them. We've just had so many managers fail to getit out of them. Oh and another thing. It's nice to be able to trust a manager. At the start of the preseason for example I was desperate for Gradel to play and all last season there is a basic XI that I was desperate to play because I didn't trust Holloway's choices. This season I'm quite happy to see who Pearson picks because I trust the method behind what he is doing. For example, regularly starting Adams and being rewarded with top performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamL Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Unfortunately I was unable to make yesterdays game so I didn't have much idea on how we played. Thanks for the great report Fez, an interesting insight. Yes we've got a long way to go, but things are looking positive. We've got some young hungry players, who seem to be playing well at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
He's not bald Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Unfortunately I was unable to make yesterdays game so I didn't have much idea on how we played. Thanks for the great report Fez, an interesting insight. Yes we've got a long way to go, but things are looking positive. We've got some young hungry players, who seem to be playing well at the moment. A long way to go is right,unfortunately I'm far too cynical and have seen far too many false dawns,let's hope that come 4.45pm on the 2nd May 2009 we are still singing Mr Pearsons praises! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simi Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 I refuse to praise Fez more. Interesting to read about Morrison I thought. I suppose that can only be a good thing at the moment. I imagine there wont be many better ways for a player to learn than being put in charge of the defence. I just hope he can respond to that and actually be able to hold down a first team place. He's the right sort of build for a centre half in this league, so I hope he can come good. Obviously one of Pearsons areas as he was a defender himself. I noticed the thing with Gradel as well. I must say that pleased me a lot as in past times we've had attacking outlets and not used them to our full advantage. Yesterday we did and you can see Gradel is growing in confidence. Yesterday was the first time in ages where I'd seen our right winger cut inside and have a shot. When you're watching him, you know something isn't far away from happening, it's exciting to have that in a team. As I've said in another thread, yesterdays game was the best we've played so far under Pearson. The way we moved the ball was quick and failry direct and a lot of this went through Wesolowski who I hope can hold down a starting place. He's still got three games to find out who he likes best, roll on August 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Excellent post Fez, insightful, intelligent, thought provoking and picturesque. I haven't been able to get to any of the pre-season games so far so I'm relying heavily on feedback from Foxestalk, well the Merc & RL are unbelievable shite. Posts like this, with the detail make you feel like you've been to the game. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candidcamera Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Great insight into Pearson and how he wants us to play. Morrison will need coaching he's jumped a lot in class at City and he will be a good learner as he will be hungry to learn. Iimagine you could say the same for Gradel. He will have to watch his side of the pitch. Agree about Mattock as well - he needs to time when he overlaps because we are left stranded if the ball is not passed to him and the move breaks down. This new player Adams what about him ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daggers Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 It was like a one-on-one coaching session within a match...Pearson had a lot of praise for Fryatt and Oakley.I'm really enjoying our football at the moment Smashing post Fez, the sentiments of which mirror very much my own. Obviously, I am surprised. I do not know how many posts I have now read but not one of them highlighted the greatest aspect of the match yesterday - our first back to back win in ages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 For the first time in ages, I am actually looking forward to the new season. Thanks for the insight, Fez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneville Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Fantastic post Fez. Always look forward to your great insight and opinions. And again you didn't disappoint. Top work mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez of Mahrez Posted 27 July 2008 Author Share Posted 27 July 2008 Thanks everyone. Great insight into Pearson and how he wants us to play. Morrison will need coaching he's jumped a lot in class at City and he will be a good learner as he will be hungry to learn. Iimagine you could say the same for Gradel. He will have to watch his side of the pitch. Agree about Mattock as well - he needs to time when he overlaps because we are left stranded if the ball is not passed to him and the move breaks down.This new player Adams what about him ? That was the frustrating thing because Adams was on the other side first half and came off so no insight really into what Pearson thinks of him - he did turn round after Adams' second goal and tell all our subs what a cracking finish it was though. Few more things from yesterday - Like Thrac says, Pearson was on at Mattock the whole time too. Telling him to open up the pitch so he could see the ball and the man at the same time when we had a corner and he was back marking their striker. Mattock seemed to improve as the first half went on. To start with he was getting beaten too easily but he started winning things in the air and his cross for Adams' first goal was an absolute peach. Pearson was also encouraging Dyer to run at his man every time he got the ball and didn't seem bothered whether he actually got past him - he just wanted him to try. I suppose that's where the perspective differs between your average fan and the manager. Whereas if I'd been in the stands away from the dugout I might have just thought Dyer had a very ordinary game (which I still think he did), being down there meant I knew Pearson was happy with the way he tried to take his man on as much as possible. It's difficult in pre-season - you don't want to be seen to be saying that a certain player should be playing just because he did well against non-league opposition. Still, Fryatt is playing his way into a first-team place at the moment I reckon. I wanted to see how he and Campbell would have done as a pair last season because I think I'm right in saying they never started a single game up front together. Think that might be the way forward at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyB Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Fez great post! you are actually a legend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 I really enjoyed reading that Fez, thanks. An excellent post for those of us who couldn't make it to Kettering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav Le Bleu Posted 27 July 2008 Share Posted 27 July 2008 Cheers Fez. Really wanted to get to the match but typically got deluged by post However, your report was the next best thing and will no doubt surpass the Mockery's best professional efforts tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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