Sooper Steve's shin

Not so much physical fitness with a young athlete like him, but mental fatigue is a problem if you’re not eating or drinking all day. Could contribute to errors like the Palace goal.

I can see Ricardo and Perez coming in for this. Two wins on the bounce gives scope to try something different, which could mean four at the back - Fofana/Evans/Soyuncu is obviously a dream back three, but maybe take the opportunity to rest Wes (at least for the first half). We could bring in Praet to help out Youri in a diamond or 4-3-3. Fofana could come on at half time having broken his fast if we want to revert to the more recent formation. The other advantage of this is keeping our options open (and opposition guessing) for the last few games and Cup Final. With another win, we might even do the unthinkable and rest Tielemans...

Not really. The rule talks about the moment the ball is played forward - that is the only point the picture should be frozen. The current technology may not be capable of distinguishing that point, but that’s a separate issue. It’s still objective.

Hopefully this is a joke. Offsides are 100% objective - you’re on or you’re off. That’s why this and @deanolegend1989’s 2cm “margin for error” are completely wrong. You can use the “clear and obvious” error approach for penalties and red cards because those rules will always incorporate some element of opinion. But offside is (or should be) black and white. I do think there is something to be said, though, from determining it by position of the feet and not other parts of the body. While, in theory, it makes some sense to refer to any part that can lawfully score a goal, with current tech it’s hard to differentiate arm from torso and upper arm from lower arm when the player is wearing a shirt. Plus, an attacker will naturally be leaning towards the goal they are attacking with a defender playing offside leaning away from goal. Foot position makes more sense as it’s clearer to see what is being measured.

Agree with both of these. Positioning and passing is Pirlo-esque but I have noticed that Tielemans almost always plays the way he is facing. He seems to have been coached into it even more over the last few months. Pirlo was the master at receiving the ball and making space with his body - I spent a whole game (poss Euro 2008) just watching him do that. Tielemans does have it in his locker, but the Rodgers way is more about assuring controlled possession and then working Tielemans back into a position where he is on the front foot. Maddison is the player given more licence to change direction and mix it up.

Possibly not the biggest football story of the day, but what’s with Brendan’s unbranded coat? No LCFC logo or even adidas branding. Is it the only one with pockets large enough for his notebook and mints? Will he wear it to the Cup Final? Can I buy a lucky Brendan coat??

Not long after the Tielemans goal and before the quadruple substitution (because he set up Vardy for his attempt that I was so gutted about - I thought that could have sealed it and next thing they bring on the cavalry). That should narrow it a bit, but I don’t know the exact time.

Agree with this. Castagne hasn’t re-scaled the heights of his first few weeks after injury and then switching to the left side. I actually thought Ricky P started getting comfortable there after half an hour or so, easily making himself a left back option. I’m comfortable with any of Castagne, Perreira, Justin or Thomas playing there in what can be a troublesome position - we are pretty lucky to have that. With three of them at least equally comfortable at RB, we have a great set of full backs when fit.

Thanks for sharing the gif - fantastic to re-watch and really shows the tactics at play. I think it’s an English football fans’ mentality to want 100% aggressive attacking all the time, the “get into ‘em and get it up there” mentality that is bred into players and fans from a very young age. That’s why an English crowd will get restless or berate a pass backwards. This clip shows what purposeful passing can do - it’s not tiki-taka for the sake of keeping possession, the whole team is working to creating an opening and being patient about it. That shows great faith in the coaching and the team collective. Remember, at this point we’ve been pegged back after being gifted a lead and it’s the quarter final of the FA Cup with both teams probably aware that the draw (which, oddly, took place at half time) has placed them against the lowest-ranked team in the semi finals on current league positions. It’s a hallmark of some of our best performances this season that we are not phased or panicked into chasing things or grabbing at chances. The team continues to follow the playbook - as we did when behind vs Man City and Liverpool and many other sticky points. It’s great to see.

Exclusive: Dion cups Lineker’s balls

No, but a footballer’s highlight reel should only be outrageous bits of skill set to a cheesy Euro-trance beat.

Brilliant. Vardy’s run made Tielemans’ goal, so he can count that as a goal involvement despite the frustration of that missed chance. As many have said already, a fantastic composed performance - barely a fright even when they made a quadruple substitution including Fernandes and Cavani. We were comfortably better than them today AND we got what we deserved.

Think he was still figuring out the goalkeeping change (like the Palace defence!). Was probably about to say something like “That could be a masterstroke by O’Neill” or similar re Kalac coming on.

He read FoxesTalk once.

Anyone else think Aaron Ramsdale is worth picking up for squad depth? We’ve been lucky in that position, but an injury to Kasper and we’d be down to Ward and Jakupovic. Ramsdale is still very young but wasn’t really at fault today (and pulled off some saves). He’s had a lot of game time and action in the last two seasons - would obviously not come in as first choice but we should be in Europe again next year so there will be games for any no.2.

I’ve got it

I can actually see Vardy being rested and a 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1): Schmeichel Amartey Soyuncu Fuchs Ricardo Ndidi Tielemans Thomas Under Iheanacho Albrighton It’s far from perfect and doesn’t seem like a team that has too many goals in it, but we don’t have many options. Back three would obviously be improved if one of Evans or Fofana can play, otherwise have them ready for the weekend. Then Vardy back in, Castagne rotating for one of the wing-backs, Tielemans (possibly) getting a rest for Mendy or a youngster. Perez coming back (next week) could open more options by using him as a 10 or one of the wide attackers.

Agreed. Ricardo started a bit iffy but I thought he grew into it on the left. With Barnes out, I could see Ricardo pushing forward more to overlap Albrighton on the left and Castagne a little more conservative supporting Under on the right. That’s if we play four at the back...

It’s not realistic for us (or any club bar the elite world few) to be signing “genuine competition” for our best players. Ndidi, Maddison, Soyuncu and Vardy are among the best players in their position in the league. To sign genuine competition for them would mean picking up the absolute top players in the league or on the continent (and paying for it) which is not going to happen - those players would have the pick of any club, so why would they come to one that is just below that elite level to be competition? What we have sort of stumbled upon this season could be a sign of the near future for us - developing very good players who are comfortable in multiple positions. Justin, Castagne and Ricardo are the obvious ones, to a lesser extent the likes of Albrighton, Praet, Perez, Amartey, Fuchs and others. Being able to play in multiple positions keeps them involved in the squad and they get more game time. They are more familiar with the patterns and the players. I think we will value that sort of flexibility more and more - the old image of a “utility player” who is just OK in a few positions is being replaced by genuinely class players who can excel wherever they play. To be fair, it probably also takes a good coach to understand which players can do this and how to assess their relative strengths and cover weaknesses or differences when they switch, which is something Rodgers can clearly do.

I cannot see Rodgers wanting to disrupt the Ndidi/Tielemans partnership in the middle. It’s too good. Adding a Mendy or Hamza in there will put Youri off his game and he’s critical to how we play. Pushing Youri up to Maddison’s position achieves very little as he’s the one that supplies the 10 - who will supply Youri? I think he’d end up dropping deeper and we’d isolate Vardy. Iheanacho, Perez or Praet (or Eriksen...) would have been obvious solutions at this point to drop in for Madders without disrupting the system, but with none available I am really not sure Brendan will see any choice but to change it. I cannot see him throwing Under into an unfamiliar position in a game like this (he doesn’t trust him in his natural position!) and I don’t think he’ll disrupt Barnes’ current form and rhythm by moving him. I would not be surprised to see three at the back, two attacking wing backs and Albrighton/Under and Barnes tucked in more behind Vardy. Could even be lopsided with a more defensive leftback behind Barnes and Ricky P as a more attacking wingback behind Albrighton.

Normally they do it without actually running into anybody!

Ndidi was immense, some of his tackles were mind-blowing. I was unsure about Ricky on the left and first 5 or 10 minutes he was worrying, but then got the measure of it (and Salah) for the rest of the game. He looked brilliant and could easily play there is Castagne prefers the right. Vardy got in some good positions, could have had three or four on another day with so many different chances - a header, a chip, a smash and a close range snatch. Soyuncu looked very good, Amartey pretty steady and Evans battled well to complete that second half.

Very good young player and improving, but I agree he has things to work on. As you mention, he likes a body swerve or an “Instagram pass” - seems to think to much about shaping perfectly rather than playing on instinct sometimes and that split-second lets the opposition in. There was a spell when every touch was a little roll forward with the sole before attempting to spray a pass - Chilwell was doing it as well - and it frustrated me to watch it. He’s getting better but still guilty of overplaying sometimes and, as mentioned by others, needs to work on corners or just take a break from them. Would have fancied him over Tielemans in that position for the airshot at the end of the Wolves game.

Really impressed with our team’s energy last night - second half we were getting six or more players forward even after 80+ mins and they all snap back into formation to defend. Exceptionally well coached and, in some ways, the packed season and injuries have maybe helped our system in that everyone’s getting game time and learning where they need to be. We’ve got pace, goals around the team and intelligence - looks a great blend at the moment. We have kicked on and learned from last season’s drop-off rather then suffering a hangover. And such a young side too - with Evans, Albrighton and Vardy off, it’s the likes of Castagne at 27ish (?) who are the older heads on the field (apart from Schmeichel). I think that was a failing last year, but they are maturing together.

I wasn’t suggesting that we throw what we fancy at them. I was suggesting a fair(ish) initial offer with the reasonable possibility of a substantial uplift. If it worked out, they’d receive over the odds (ie. £30m) of what they’d get in the market given his contract status etc.