Jobyfox

No Vardy in squad

Ok

I hope we don’t take this game too seriously and play a reserve side …. but still win. Am I allowed both?

I agree with this to some extent If you get a player who made a significant contribution whilst they were here then I find boos and derision a bit moronic when they return. However, I often see comments of wishing them well and hoping that they’re successful at their new clubs. Once they leave us I really couldn’t care less about their future career (with rare notable exceptions). If I wish Maddison well, for example, I am by definition also wishing Spurs well. Same with Aston Villa and Tielemans and Barnes at Newcastle. Bollocks to that!!

As I stated he gets a free pass from me

The likes of Maddison, Barnes, Soyuncu and Tielemans are all PL standard players. They were always going to have a ticket out. I don’t bear them any particular ill will. Tielemans was dreadful in his last two seasons for us, but his FA Cup final goal still gets him some leeway in my eyes. I can understand, however, that there is a particular karma in the way he refused to sign a contract with us for two years just so he could sit on Villa’s subs bench. I also have a bit of sympathy for Mendy. He was poorly treated by us despite being better than many who played ahead of him. Of the rest I don’t know those who pushed for a move against those that would have got frozen out by EM had they stayed. That might affect how I feel about them if I knew the facts. Soumare for example. Did he expect to play or was he told by Enzo that he was shite? If it was the latter then it’s doubly frustrating that the manager spotted in preseason what the previous incumbents couldn’t spot in a whole campaign. Do some of the others think they’re better than the Championship? Most clearly aren’t. Maybe Castagne being the exception who’s probably at the right level with Fulham - and Evans pre injury?

I don’t get it with Mahrez He was a major player in our greatest ever achievement and one of the best players I’ve ever seen in a Leicester shirt. He earned the right to sulk. I always contrast this with Kante who buggered off as quickly as he could to a team not even in the CL. For some reason he was forgiven. Both get a free pass from me

🤮

23/02/2008

Yep - you could make the argument that offside is an absolute that can be measured definitively. Ideal as a VAR decision. I was thinking that if it takes 2 or 3 minutes to draw lines to prove that somebody’s toe is ahead of the last defender then it’s probably within the realms of “acceptable margin for error” It is one, however, that might evolve as technology improves

I agree with others on the VAR debate. I was a strong advocate for it, but it just seems to be a protracted form of refereeing with the same amount of human error. If we’re going to get the decisions wrong anyway I’d rather it be swift and keep the game flowing. Personally I think the bar should be set much higher on when the VAR officials intervene. Clear and obvious should really be clear and obvious - even for offsides. I’d like to see the football equivalent of umpires call (in cricket) brought in. A final grumble is the amount of times I see 50/50 decisions sent over to the monitor and 99% of the time the referee just changes the decision. Unless it’s “clear and obvious” I’d like to see more have the balls to just stick with their original decision.

What you mean he’s a bit of a one with the ladies?

It’s easy to call people out for that, but there might have been some justification for the skepticism He wasn’t considered good enough for Tottenham and had no obvious PL suitors as far as I’m aware. Whilst I didn’t consider him a bad signing I had no idea how he’d fair at Championship level and I can’t recall many others predicting great things. Frankly it would have been quite a bold thing to do given his career trajectory to date.

I think I’m still traumatised after last season and seeking reassurance

He could have been at Forest now

My biggest worry so far is that I see so many people saying: “… when we get out of 2nd gear”, “…. when it clicks…” and “… when we get used to the new style” etc. What if it doesn’t get better? What if this is our peak? Would it be enough? It has been so far ….

Kante yes, but Drinkwater went in the transfer window under Shakespeare a few months after Ranieri had already gone

I know you were joking, but you’ve highlighted another aspect of great management. Players know unambiguously where they stand under this manager. Ward is nowhere near the team and is not left in any doubt where he is in the pecking order. I get the feeling that Brendan would have been everyone’s mate and fed them mixed messages. This must be even more frustrating when you’re not in the team if the manager is giving you the impression that you will be

To be honest I can’t be arsed to argue about it. He was a good Championship pro and an important player for us at that level. He’s also been hugely overrated since. I’ll leave it there. You’re fully entitled to any view to the contrary

I’m not talking about the team - I’m talking about our fanbase.

Well we only won 11 games that season so for the most part it wasn’t a high bar. I’m guessing that James probably started 5 or 6 of those wins. The best midfield partnership that season was Cambiasso and anyone but, if Drinkwater had any form at all, James wouldn’t have been anywhere near that side. Good player, good signing, nice chap etc. but he’s also become one of our most overrated players in our history. It happens sometimes like that. Matt Jones came before and Dennis Praet came later

I’m usually an advocate for taking the League Cup seriously. There are only a few trophies available each season and winning silverware is rare. I’ve got a little bit irritated with people in the past for dismissing it when we were in the Premier League This season, however, our focus has to be exclusively on promotion. For the first time in years I’ll be joining the “couldn’t give a sh1t brigade”. Blackburn is the important game

James played 29 games that season and started 20 Drinkwater played 24 games and started 16 James was a solid Championship player for us, but he’s been consistently overrated since his Premier League career was prematurely ended through injury. “Keeping Drinkwater out of the team” is the standard justification by some of our fanbase for talking him up to be better than he actually was. It’s a statement of fact to some extent, but his impact in 14/15 has been consistently talked up to be more than it ever was.