Stoke(a) post match 2-2

[Guest WarehamFox]

Wonder how our opening fixtures would have gone with cambiasso still here?!!

Come on i bet a few has thought about this

How's he doing in Greece?

[SpacedX]

Probably the most entertaining team in the league. So exciting going forward and we keep it interesting with de Laet back there.

Love this team

RDL is justly copping flak, but he's the best we have if we choose to persist with a flat back four and I like his willingness to come forward which fits our style. One of the problems in the first half today was that the back four defended so deep it drew the midfield back and the service wasn't there in the final third. Stoke were first to everything and also denied Vardy and Okazaki the space that suits their game.

 

Last summer we elected to buy a L/B and a C/B that aren't currently deployed in the set up. RDL is the best of a bad situation and if he's dropped I'm hoping it's because we've recalled Was and reverted to three C/Bs. If it's to make way for Simpson...we're completely ****ed.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Ranieri has some fantastic headaches ahead of the Arsenal game - Ulloa / Okazaki, whether or not to start Inler etc.

 

We've got it bloody good haven't really haven't we? I watched Forest labour to a 2-1 home loss in front of a handful of people earlier this afternoon, worlds apart.

[Illusion35]

Ranieri post match said Kante just had some cramps and is fine for next game.

[Steven]

Inler can't take the pace. He'd fit us better as a sub to come on and lock down games that we're winning. 

 

This.

[foxinsox]

Not so sure Inler is ready to lock down games when defending a lead. He doesn't hold possession well.

West Ham are going to be no pushover on Tuesday. Does it go to extra time and penalties if not resolved in 90?

[st albans fox]

Not so sure Inler is ready to lock down games when defending a lead. He doesn't hold possession well.

West Ham are going to be no pushover on Tuesday. Does it go to extra time and penalties if not resolved in 90?

Yes

[KP Fox]

I still don't know the story with Dyer.

[Harry - LCFC]

I still don't know the story with Dyer.

 

Yeah me too. We got told he'd be okay for this game, plus it's the sort of injury you'd think you'd be able to get over fairly quickly - especially since he played on after getting hit!

[KP Fox]

Maybe in January, we should send Inler out on loan to one of the lesser teams in the premiership to get to grips with the pace. Arsenal and Chelsea spring to mind.

[egg_fried_rice]

Our goals:

 

Mahrez - https://streamable.com/se1g

Vardeh - https://streamable.com/dpzx

[MPH]

Stoke actually did their homework and managed to shut Mahrez out for much of the game. They tackled hard in midfield in defence and rushed us into making loose passes.

 

In spite of all that, we still managed to get back two goals - which shows how good we actually are in attack these days.

1 goal and 1 assist isn't bad for a player they put so much effort into trying to nullify.

Sign of a great player.

[MPH]

I still don't know the story with Dyer.

  

Yeah me too. We got told he'd be okay for this game, plus it's the sort of injury you'd think you'd be able to get over fairly quickly - especially since he played on after getting hit!

Could of been a request from his parent club- precautionary.

[KP Fox]

Our goals:

Mahrez - https://streamable.com/se1g

Vardeh - https://streamable.com/dpzx

That's exactly the same pen as he took against Sunderland. Hope he has more in his repertoire or goalies will guess the right way next time.

[egg_fried_rice]

Stoke goals:

 

Bojan (doesn't show RDL getting mugged off) - https://streamable.com/bjk0

Walters (after calamity Morgan made a brief reappearance) - https://streamable.com/9c75

[BoyJones]

Bit unfair to blame first half deficit on CR, two horrendous errors by RDL and Wes messed up a promising start. Schlupp also seemed on a different planet at times and his crossing was very Victoria Parkish.

Obviously lost our way up til half time and I was happy the score was still 2-0. Albrighton didn't do too much but gave us an outlet out wide and a better shape. Great fight back and a bit unlucky not to nick it at the end. Vardy was immense with his running and if he hadn't of been on his last legs might have hit the target at the end.

Mahrez got muscled out at every opportunity and got little protection from the ref, who was all Stoke after the pen.

Stoke offered little after accepting our gifts and resorted to hoof ball once Crouch came on. No premier league team should resort to Division one tactics, think Stoke could be in for a long season.

Good entertainment, 12 points, unbeaten, people should chill out. I waited until now to post because so disappointed with some of our fans who can't take players making mistakes and bitch at anything that goes wrong. Still generally we have better class than Stoke fans who booed Huth.

[Babylon]

Yeah me too. We got told he'd be okay for this game, plus it's the sort of injury you'd think you'd be able to get over fairly quickly - especially since he played on after getting hit!

Knee injury, was a precaution to not play him today.

[lgfualol]

Fantastic comeback but we really have to play a first half! Wonder why we're starting so poorly?

Drinkwater and Kante were superb again today. Vardy class as always

 

I thought we actually started pretty well, for the first 15 minutes Stoke looked a bit overwhelmed by how direct we were. That goal really ruined momentum though. 

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

I still don't know what Wes was trying to do there

[Blue Ed]

Dear Claudio.

We are capable of playing both halves like we did in the second if you put on the correct starting 11.

Regards

Leicester fans.

 

I love the way we play when we are attacking but I don't believe we can approach every game to go like that for 90 minutes. Our player would be shattered by Christmas and the 2nd halves we'll be holding on.

 

We need to be able to control the game better. keep the ball better without having to go at it at a million miles an hour.

[blueharmie]

Did anyone notice how many times kante gave away possession in the last part of the game?

Good performance in general though.

Think the whole defence needs replacing mind.

[egg_fried_rice]

I still don't know what Wes was trying to do there

 

Why has he tried to do that DiCanio style scissor? He didn't need to jump.

[KP Fox]

For Arsenal: (3-5-2)

Kasper

Morgan, Huth, ??? (Benalouane?)

Schlupp, Albrighton

Kanté, Drinkwater

Mahrez, Vardy

Ulloa

Bench: Schwarzer, Fuchs, RDL, King, Inler, Kram, Okazaki

Yes! 3 at the back troubled them at the Emirates. In fact if I am not mistaken that's when the back 3 at the back started for us last season! Would change Was for Benny though with a bench of Schwarzer, Fuchs, Dyer,King, Inler, Kram Okazaki

[Thracian]

Don't say i didn't see some of this coming although, for all the mistakes both in play and regarding team selection, Leicester must be the most entertaining team in the division right now and their spirit is something to be deeply proud.

 

Having chosen to play Mahrez from the off I wish he'd played him in a free role supporting Vardy because he was typically wanting as a defender and, as ever, DeLaet got a fair bit of stick for having no support.

 

Even Matt Elliot stuck his oar in and said he was a weakness but then virtually admitted there were no better alternatives. And given that we know DeLaety's limitations you wouldn't think it beyond the imagination of our manager and coaches to give him some help...like Albrighton as I suggested to start with.

 

The whole shambles cost us a goal with DeLaet rashly diving into a tackle on the halfway line leaving all the space behind him unprotected.

Then there was Inler. I'm sick of people making excuses for him. How many times do we have to go two down on is watch and see runners go unchecked and so many loose balls in defensive midfield because, without King, there are so few passing options.

 

And quite what the Swiss International was doing dawdling on the ball - and getting caught in possession near the edge of our penalty I've no idea any more than I've no idea why Kingy's suddenly become the fall guy even on the back of good performances. Maybe because he's an Academy lad who didn't cost fortunes and who won't make a fuss whatever decision the manager makes. So much for being the nice guy!

 

If Inler's going to magically develop pace, stamina and fast thinking then the sooner he gets on the training ground and does it the better. But until then, Kante, King and Drinkwater represent our best, fastest and most efficient central midfield without the slightest doubt in my mind. Drinkwater made plenty of mistakes, particularly in the first half but my life, did he stay involved even when we were two-nil down and to the point that he earned himself a 6.5/7 rating on a day of largely disappointing performances.

 

Then comes the debate about Okazaki and Ulloa. The more I see Okazaki the more he looks more of a midfield player than a Premiership striker and, whether that proves right or wrong in the fullness of time,  today's was never a comfortable environment for him. In fact we badly need strengthening up front. I'm yet to discover why we bought Kramaric - and haven't seen him play much - but he must be pretty awful not to be able to force his way into our attack - unless you use Mahrez as a free-ranging support striker.

 

Another thing I don't understand from today is the way Huth seems to be partially blamed for Wes Morgan's gift goal. Huth seemed to get a call or to be aware that Morgan was covering behind so he simply learned on the Stoke striker to make space for the ball to pass seemingly harmlessly into the space behind and instead of clearing in over the touchline Morgan tried what was always going to be a more risky tap back to Kasper. Morgan's fault 100%.

 

Again, first half, Stoke had the chances to sink us deeper than the Marianas Trench but other than that I don't there was so much difference between the teams - even in the number of careless or daft mistakes both made.

 

Positives? We retained our unbeaten record, Vardy showed he can make the best of the sparcest service with yet another goal, Mahrez showed that no matter how badly he plays - and he did play badly - he still affects games, particularly in the second half. This time with a goal and assist.

 

Ranieri deserves little credit. If he'd started with the team that finished against Villa I'd have understood it. But repeating mistakes that he made in the first half selection in the Villa game only smacks of someone who refuses to see what's in front of his eyes.

 

Kante, yet again, did all he could to cement the cracks in our organisation. And Drinkwater too for all that the pair of them had far too much to do. Schlupp remained a danger but needs to work hard on his crossing as do others at getting on the end of them.

 

Otherwise, yes, I wish Vardy had ended the day with a cracking winner instead of shooting wide but for all that a point was as much as I really expected and one that I always believed would be hard won.

 

Time now to stop giving goals away, start picking our strongest team and to start playing two decent halves of football instead of one.         

[KP Fox]

Remember guys, if we started with the team the finished against Villa we would have a chappy bench!

Remember guys, if we started with the team the finished against Villa we would have a chappy bench!