StriderHiryu

Is there a player in the league that is more of a model pro than Albrighton? Brilliant attitude, will run himself into the ground for the team, play any position, always tries his best. Earlier in the season he was off form, but responds to being dropped by working hard and is rewarded with a start and provides a goal and assist in consecutive matches. Fantastic performance from him last night. You just get that feeling that if you knew him in real life, you couldn't help but like him. Okazaki is another one with similar qualities. You can try to replace these players but they are stubborn and won't give up their spots. Maximum respect for the pair of them.

Agree with you, the managerial merry go round has been even more bonkers than usual. Out of Puel, Hodgson, Pardew, Allardyce and Moyes we easily made the best pick. Very suprised no one went for Dyche though. He’s better than some of those hasbeens! Also notable that former players like Giggs and Gerrard are nowhere near getting a look in. The league is so lucrative that no team wants to take a chance. That was definitely not the case 10 years ago.

My favourite player, and I suspect that's the same for many of us. I wouldn't be surprised if off the field he's a right chav but on the pitch he embodies everything that I love in football. His attitude is first class, he works his socks off with insane energy levels and always looks delighted for others when they score too. Even better, he sums up the romance in football by showing that if you never give up you can make it in life with his meteoric rise. Given how good he is and what he's achieved he would be entitled to be way more egotistical but he's not really changed. Mahrez should take note! I also think he's criminally underrated, even by some on here! He's not just a fast player who can finish, he's got deft technique and great awareness. His goal yesterday was insane, and the rest of his play is also good. His assist to Albrighton against West Ham shows his football intelligence of drifting into the wing and picking out the right pass. Absolute legend! I am wearing my Vardy tshirt at work today and don't care if everyone in the office thinks I've gone full kit w@nker!

Absolutely sublime yesterday in all areas of the game. Made the most clearances in the game, including that vital one to stop Kane, was pinging majestic passes round all night, got stuck in with tackles and was positionally brilliant. What I love the most is that when we are under pressure, we can pass the ball to him and he looks like he is at a Sunday morning kickabout, casually just rolling the ball past his man and calmly distributing it forwards. I feel he has essentially become a metronome for the team, with him and Maguire getting most of our moves started from the back. He's been very good for the last month, but last night was a great test in that he was up against Eriksen and Alli who though under par, are usually among the leagues best. He and Ndidi have struck up a fantastic partnership and it's no surprise to me that Ndidi has improved as Iborra has gotten better. It means there is more calmness and experience in the middle of the park. Usually I would be worried about injuries, but we have already made a key signing in the midfield area for January. So it's a definite from me. @Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo is it possible to do your magic and create an Iboora emoji? Maybe it could involve some Sun, a plane and the man himself seeing as he did come all the way from sunny spain? I feel like Iborra and Nidid have earned one!

A bit cheeky of me, but this definitely belongs in this thread, it's Puel's post match interview after the Spurs game: Some things he says: "We try to play the ball on the floor." "We played counter attack but without long kick." "With good football, they can win games and it's important for the players to see they can get results." "Give the players opportunities for a different style of play and not always counter attack." As far as I can remember, this is the most detail he has given as to what the Puel LCFC side will look like. We still haven't quite got it working 100% yet, but I for one am a lot more excited than I was after some of our performances earlier in the season. IMO, the Burnley game will be a big indicator of how we've progressed since playing Huddersfield away.

Puel's post match interview: Flat out says "we played counter attack but without long kick." I think that is the most poigniant statement of what he's trying to do with our team yet. Also says "it's important for the players to see they can get results and win by playing good football." Encouraging.

Great picture from the official Twitter account.

The man for the big occasion?

Salah has been the signing of the summer so far. But on the next tier down are Richarlson of Watford, Gross of Brighton and in my opinion Iborra of Leicester in terms of the impact they are having on their respective sides. As for Iborra, I heard that he came from sunny spain, to live on Saffron lane. Could someone please confirm that information for me?

What do people think after the Spurs result then? We were definitely hanging on at the end, but I think this was one of our best performances overall under Puel, if not the season. We started with the 15/16 energy and attitude, but Iborra in the middle of the park was so classy, and we weren't just hoofing it, we were being intelligent in our play. Of course it helps to score two worldies, but there was great build up play for both those goals, with both involving multiple high quality passes and transitions. At the back we still aren't up to 15/16 standards. If we were we'd have a lot more points than we do now, but I don't thimk we are shocking. I just mark it down as room for improvement. I'd also say we still arent as clinical on the break as we could be, although it seems to be improving. Lastly Puel gave Chowdury his debut despite us being at sixes and sevens after Kane scored. Talk about a baptism of fire!!! Incredibly risky but I love the cojones to do something like that, it will encourage every single academy player we have. Had it gone wrong we would have crucified him, but it paid off in the end. The only negative, and which remains a constant under Puel is that we end games very badly. We just get deeper and deeper and can't get out. Now this is not something new to us, in fact we played this way even when winning the title at times, but I don't get why it is. In each first half, even against top teams we've shown we can put our foot on the ball and knock it about a bit. But this goes out of the window at the end! Is it because we are tired? I don't know but I think it's a definite area to improve. We give teams a chance when we really shouldn't. Overall though, put me down in the "mildly impressed" category so far.

In my opinion that was a fantastic bit of management. Every youth team player in the academy will hear about that and think "that could be me!" That is only going to inspire them. It was a risk, but it's a statement, and a good one.

Match Summary: But we got there in the end and finally get something deserved from a team in the top 6. Tonight was a vintage 15/16 style victory, high energy, clinical on the break (though should have scored more) and more or less solid at the back. The most impressive thing for me tonight is we are adding another dimension to our game by being better with the ball. Iborra and Ndidi is becoming a new bromance, because they are complimenting each other very well, and when they play well, the rest of the team plays better as a result. Two world class goals and I also want to give a special mention to Marc Albrighton who was back to his best today. He was popping up all over the place with bundles of energy and good delivery into the final third. We are coming into a winnable set of fixtures now. Don't want to get carried away but in my opinion we are much better than our league positions suggests. Oh! And finally, I was not at the game, but on the TV the atmosphere sounded terrific. Would love to know if that was true, or a case of the mics playing it up. Good job to all of you that went, as it sounded great.

I think he's done but would love to see him get a one year extension with us, and maybe move into a coaching role at some point. Arguably he was our most important signing ever as pre-Huth, Morgan and Moore was a disaster. Huth and Albrighton came in, we changed to the 3-5-2 and the rest is history. I'll also never forget that performance of Huth versus Man City in 15/16. He was brilliant that day.

That bit at 1:29... wow! This guy looks class. I think the change of manager will suit him as his style looks better suited for a more technical game. When we were linked with him with Ranieri in charge he was an exciting player, but you were never really sure he would fit into our team and seemed like a bit of a luxury signing. A bit like how Slimani and Ihenacho are big money signings but can't get into the team. But given the way things have turned out, I think the stage is set for him. With his current debacle and his place in the Portugal team not assured, I think he will be super motivated to perform, which can only help us.

I think that is definitely a fear a lot of us have. That we go too far the other way in terms of our style. For me rather than saying one style is better or worse than another, my ideal LCFC would be one that plays high tempo pressing but that is also comfortable on the ball. I don’t expect to see us being a tiki-taka team and don’t think it would be much fun to watch! But after winning the title a number of teams sat deep against us to nullify our counter attack and we lacked the imagination or composure to adjust. We also dropped off our energy levels, but perhaps that was inevitable when you play Champions League and Premier League matches in the same week. In an ideal world it would be great if we can play the deadly high tempo press / counter attack against the teams with wealthy owners but out pass and overwhelm the WBA’s and Burnley’s in the league who will happily sit back against us. I made this thread for a bit of banter between us fans and to comment on what the new gaffer brings to the club. So far the evidence is clear - more of a possession based game. I think it’s interesting to see how divisive this change is just 4 games into his reign, and it maybe shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. There’s certainly a lot of merit in those that say we’ll never match the wealthier teams playing this way. But maybe the idea is that it consolidates our position as “best of the rest” and once we’ve ticked that box, the owners invest more to challenge for the next level?

We might not be doing as well as we’d have hoped for but Everton are an example of how to completely mis manage a club. The worst thing is they were among the biggest spenders in the league yet look worse! I’m not sure they can fix it because who would want to join them in this form? Our owners don’t get everything right, but it’s a reminder of how good they are compared to some other teams.

Can we agree to disagree? It’s starting to feel a bit personal here.

Really good post. What the hell happens to us during the half time team talk? *Maybe* it has something to do with conceding late in the first half against Stoke, Man City and WHU? Against Stoke / Hammers we could easily have gone in 2-0 up and the job would have been done!

I’d disagree with you on that, I think there’s plenty of good reasons: - We kept playing a counter attack style the season after winning the title and plummeted into the relegation zone. Other teams adapted to our style of play. We were in the bottom 3 this season too playing the same way. - We no longer have Kante or Drinkwater. Though Ndidi is the division’s leading tackler he doesn’t make as many as Kante did. I’m a fan of both Wilf and Iborra but they are different to our league winning partnership. - Only one team in Premier League history has won the title averaging less than 50% possession per game. Admittedly it was us! - Almost all of the teams currently in the top half of the table have better possession stats than us: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/ballbesitz/wettbewerb/GB1 At the end of the day what I think is irrelevant, the manager will determine our style of play! It’s clear we are going this way, at least in the short term so let’s see what happens. It could work out either way.

Agreed. It's SO frustrating because he is so close to being back to his best. Looking at the West Ham game, he was given license to drift between the lines and from side to side - the free role if you like. He got into lethal positions time and time again and drove at their defence, which was awesome. But he let it all go to waste by being so greedy. I can think of at least three occasions when he could have played in Gray, Albrighton or Vardy who would have at the least been able to test the goalkeeper. It could have been game over before half time! I think following this one will be interesting I think Puel has probably managed to get through to him on some level by giving him this role and probably telling him the team will be built around him. I actually think it was fantastic management of him to pull him off quite early yesterday and to replace him with Chilwell because that says "you are not above the law Riyad" and putting on our most inexperienced player in place of him hammers the point home. Mahrez shrugged his shoulders and wouldn't look at the manager, but equally Puel wouldn't look at him! Interesting dynamic taking place there. Puel managed to get the best out of Hatem Ben Arfa who is a very similar character. In fact it might even be a character we see at the KP in the not so distant future, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Riyad is one of my all time favourite players for this club because of what he can do with a football. But for the love of god can he stop being so greedy and pass the ball! When we won the title he played in Vardy so many times, but these days he wont do it, probably because he thinks it means he isn't the star of the team. But for FFS, he won both the PFA and supporters player of the year award even though he didnt score as many as Vardy! Can't he get that through his head?!

Interesting to see what others think in this thread, he's definitely divisive as a manager. If you compare him to Shakespeare results wise I'd say he's done about the same, but he has definitely introduced possesion based football. The days of going full throttle from the start of a game are clearly over and I do think it's going to be hard to win some of our fans over, especially at home. Personally I think there is a lot to admire. I know we won the league playing a counter attacking 442 / 4411 but I don't think that is sustainable long term. To be a consistent top team in the league, you have to be able to dominate games and break other teams down. Playing that way I believe we will start off by doing worse against the top 6 teams (who do the same thing but are better at it), but better against other teams. If I look at our performances versus Stoke and West Ham, I would say it's the first time in LCFC Premier League history that I can remember us going away and dominating the game for large periods, even if results are the same / slightly worse. Playing this way is not an overnight job, even Pochetino from Spurs took a while before Spurs really clicked. For the long term benefit of the club, I feel he is doing the right thing. That said I have to be critical of a few things. - We've been dire in every second half so far under Puel. Is it instructions from the manager? You have to ask because first halves versus Everton, Stoke and West Ham we've been great, but it peters out so quickly in the second. - Substitutes. They've made no impact in any of the 4 games we've played so far. That's concerning to say the least. - Mahrez. Giving him a free role could be a genius move. He's such a fantastic technical player that becoming the "main man" could be huge for Leicester. But he's sulking even more than before now and way more selfish. Seriously Puel needs to tell him in French to pass the god damn ball in the final third!

I think you're right, though I'd expect Silva to be a bit deeper. I saw his last game for Sporting Lisbon before signing for us, and he plays as a traditional number 8 and is a box to box player. He's a high energy player that runs and works hard, but is also comfortable on the ball, and he has good technique. He won't necceasarily increase our creativity directly, but is a bit of a metronome player in that he will help us get going and build up the play. Maybe you could liken him to a less good version of Paul Scholes? In the game I saw he scored a goal by Lampard style running into the box late and finishing smartly. I also can’t resist posting this gif of Silva in action away to Real Madrid last season. He did this versus Tony Kroos! Pure class! Oh and here are some more skills:

He said he wants to see us play ambitiously and with conviction tomorrow. If we do that consistently it will certainly be an improvement on Shakespeare’s style of play which I feel ultimately cost him his job.

When he finally does get round to playing, I think we should do something for him. Maybe a standing ovation when he walks onto the pitch? (Maybe that's too much). Or maybe chant his name around the ground on 14 minutes (I think he's been given the 14 shirt and his paperwork was 14 seconds too late). The point is that through no fault of his own he has been screwed over, but has kept quiet, got his head down and got on with it. A model pro you could say, and personally I have a lot of respect for someone that acts that way. And even though the Iborra / Ndidi partnership is now looking good, you can't help but think that this player can only improve our team. Knowing the club, expect to see comedy Adrien Silva masks like we did for Vardy last season!

Unlucky for Pulis but probably the right call. He did a very good job there, considering. They are the most boring team in the league, but he kept them safe and they became less of a yo-yo club.