deep blue

I'm not really in a position to say this, having no knowledge of how things happen within the club (eg. In training etc), I guess it's just idle musing from afar, but i've often had this thought that youngsters should be given an opportunity more quickly than happens now - because you can never quite tell how well a youngster will step up when given the chance. And many seem to reach a point in the reserves when they go stale and their progress grinds to a halt, perhaps wastefully. The point you make about having better players around you is relevant. As an example, the ability of a young player to slide good passes through will be enhanced by playing alongside firtst-teamers who make better runs to provide targets for those passes. I don't forget, though, that the ultra-competitive nature of the Prem makes it harder for managers to take the risk of pushing young players in. I hope Hamza continues to progress. Good to see a Loughborough lad making it!

I just watched the highlights on the OS and thought it was a different match from the one described in such a pessimistic way by many on FT. Apart from the first 20 we looked brilliant, great style of play, many slick and incisive passing moves, and many chances that would have gone in on another day. Even though it was helped by Burnley sitting on their lead, we were slicing through one of the best defences in the division. I certainly thought it was promising in terms of the style he wants to evolve with us, and gives me grounds for optimism after a summer transfer window and pre-season.

I've just watched the highlights on the OS and took the same conclusion. After all the negativity on here I was amazed and delighted to see our play after those first 20 mins, the style and the incisiveness (apart, unfortunately, for the finishing; on another day we would have had 6). We sliced through their defence on a number of occasions with slick and silky passing. You can say what you like about Burnley sitting back, but we're talking here about one of the most effective and robust defences in the division.

Would it be so bad to give one of the U23s a go? (Dunno why you take Drago out of the equation, though)

Puel comes across as a deep, strategic thinker about how he manages and develops his squads. That is exactly what the club needs at the moment, to steady us and to find a way forward for us, after the debacle of the last 2 sackings. If it's at the expense of a more voluable, excitable, media-easy manager than so be it.

Interesting lineup, but it's surely unlikely that Amarty will be thrust back into the team immediately back from injury, and in such a crucial position where he hasn't played for quite a while, in an untried formation.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 30/100 My Time 151 seconds  

It got me thinking ... which other current English forwards in the Prem would have been so alert and acted with such alacrity and cool clinicity (?) to that quickly-taken free kick? I honestly couldn't think of anyone.

Suddenly doesn't look quite so exciting.😕

But with Yakubu in the team we underperformed as a team and disappointed in our league position. It was only when the team ethic was brought in by Pearson that we had success.

But he didn't have Alli "helping" him.

Vardy's goal technique is insane. The way he concentrated on watching the ball all the way down onto his striking foot (and his weaker foot at that). You might argue that there was a bit of luck it going into the corner, but Vardy was confident that he knew instinctively where the goal was, and I think that just either side of the keeper would have been good enough; the keeper wasn't expecting the immediate shot and would have been caught flat-footed. Can't see that goal being beaten for "goal of the season", and that's without even taking into account the quality of Mahrez's pass and the angle & timing of Vardy's run.

There's a place for short corners. Anything that adds variety is useful. But there has to be a number of alternative strategies for them that have to be practised and well understood by the team. When we opt for a short corner it seems to be aimless, unpractised and not understood. they. Equally, we seem to have no strategies or planning for our long corners. As many have said, our delivery is usually atrocious and we do not appear to have a number of different options for our corners. Movement in the box looks random, not planned. In summary, you have to wonder whether we devote any time at all in training to set pieces, either in defence or attack.

How can you possibly say it's what "we" voted for. The vote was simply on whether we stayed in the EU or not. You have no idea which of the particular implications of leaving the EU had the most sway in voters' intentions.

Yes, cos it might go to pens, and you know how good we are at them ...