Foxxed Posted 3 February 2016 Posted 3 February 2016 Some have said Simpson allowed a bit too much space. Even so, I'd be very, very hesitant to mess with our back four. As a unit they've been phenomenal, especially if you compare them to our defence from a few months ago. I'm not sure where this leaves Amartey. I'd hate to break up that unit. And even if Amartey does offer more of an attacking threat - do we even need that when we have Mahrez on that side?
foxes21 Posted 3 February 2016 Posted 3 February 2016 Currently I think Albrighton is our weakest link!.. He's lost a bit of form since Christmas and his main weapon (crosses into the box) are largely beneficial to Ulloa, who isn't getting much action... Perhaps Amartey will replace him in the side? Granted he's lost a little bit of form. But the lad personifies the definition of what this team is about. Hard working, aggressive, determined and always gives 100%. And he has more chances created then anyone in our team including Mahrez. I hope he's not taken from the starting 11 next season tbh. He's a great player for us.
foxes21 Posted 3 February 2016 Posted 3 February 2016 About the whole right back debate.. One of the reasons for Riyads great form was De Laet's attacking nature. Him bombing up the wing gave Riyad more space, as the opposition full back had to deal with the run of De Laet as well as Mahrez. Now Simpson does not provide that support which is a factor in Mahrez poor form. However his introduction into the side has improved our defence so much.
Guest Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Interesting question. When we weren't scoring many goals, as in boxing day until last Saturday when we beat Stoke, we only picked up 6 points out of 15. That was our worst run of the season. But cast minds back to the first 3rd of the season, we were leaking goals all over the place, yet were still winning games. You mention 0-0 draws, but 0-0 draws only get you 1 point. That will not win us the title. To win the title you need to have quality at both ends but you certainly need to score a goal to win a game. We seem to have the balance right at the moment which is a very good sign. I'd be more confident with a better striker than Shinji/Ulloa to partner Vardy and a better right back than Simpson, but as a unit we're getting it right. A clean sheet assures a draw. A goal is needed to win a game You can only win by scoring goals, this is true. But at the same time you can only lose by conceding goals. And while a draw is only one point, in 6 pointer games like Man City & Arsenal that draw would be more like 3 points. Also we might get to the point where our firepower starts to wane for whatever reason, and it will be down to our defenders to make the most of the 1 goal, or no goals, we score each match. If our defenders are able to prevent us from losing a match our strikers aren't able to win, or prevent a lucky 1 goal lead turning into a 1-1 draw, that counts for a lot. Over the next few months there's the very real possibility that opponents will find our defensive ability even more of a challenge than our attacking ability.
Grewks Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 All season we have allowed teams out wide to cross into the box when they didn't have a target man on the pitch.
WesMorganGod Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 People saying about Simpson.. well to be honest I was not his biggest fan, but the last 6 matches Simpson has been excellent, he has been a solid 8/10 in all of those games, he seems to be getting better as the season is going. As far as attacking/defending, well both will be important and be an all round team. We have the best defender in the prem in Morgan, and we have the best striker in the prem in Vardy (with Aguero), so we can defend and attack better than anyone.
Vlad the Fox Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 CR got us scoring first Then he got us defending And now he's got us doing both Theirs an haiku in that; He got us scoring Then he got us defending Now we're doing both. Poetic just like our football.
Koke Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Attack wins you games. Defence wins you titles. We've seen to have struck a balance. We conceded 1 against Villa but kept 3 clean sheets against Spurs, Stoke and Liverpool, and I actually feel more comfortable now. We've been more resolute defensively since Christmas.
Thracian Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Some have said Simpson allowed a bit too much space. Even so, I'd be very, very hesitant to mess with our back four. As a unit they've been phenomenal, especially if you compare them to our defence from a few months ago. I'm not sure where this leaves Amartey. I'd hate to break up that unit. And even if Amartey does offer more of an attacking threat - do we even need that when we have Mahrez on that side? I've not seen Amartey play so cannot even begin to judge where or when he should be playing but I do think there's a danger - when a team's playing well and getting generally good results - of being scared to make improvements. How many thought we wouldn't get even better when Pearson left? But we did - at least in more ways than not. Teams evolve. They don't stand still. There is such an art to maintaining and improving momentum both in terms of the personnel themselves and the psychology of keeping everyone happy and involved. Right now I think our biggest strength is in having so many strong, winning characters. Personalities who couldn't easily be dominated by anyone but who themselves set such high standards they serve as an example to others. Most clubs have one or two but we've got a dressing room full. Think about it and apply it to the other great eras of MON and Matt Gillies. So many strong characters who took such pride in doing their jobs well.
Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 It's really hard to choose. We have conceded1 in 6 now? Mental... and that was against Villa, having played Man City, Spurs and Liverpool in that run
kingcarr21 Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Mental... and that was against Villa, having played Man City, Spurs and Liverpool in that run Which Gestede handballed. Basically teams have to cheat to score past us
Thracian Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 People saying about Simpson.. well to be honest I was not his biggest fan, but the last 6 matches Simpson has been excellent, he has been a solid 8/10 in all of those games, he seems to be getting better as the season is going. As far as attacking/defending, well both will be important and be an all round team. We have the best defender in the prem in Morgan, and we have the best striker in the prem in Vardy (with Aguero), so we can defend and attack better than anyone. Simpson's been the antidote to Mahrez. We all know Mahrez will never be a natural defender. If he wasn't so brilliant that might cost him. But he is brilliant and there's no sense in ruining the impact of a bloke who scores and makes so many goals by wearing him out defensively - especially when, like Knockaert, he'd probably do as much harm as good. A problem arose when DeLaet was used as a naturally attacking full-back and we were forever getting situations where we had scant cover at all down that side. Simpson's come in and largely closed the door. Mahrez does what he can (he's not lazy just not a defender) but others are around to provide help when needed, like Drinky or Kante. Okay we've lost our attacking full-back but it's not much mattered given what we actually get from Mahrez in terms of those goals and assists. On the other side we're far less potent but defensively sound. I'd say there's room for improvement but it's by no means a desperate situation given the results we're getting and the goals we're scoring again now the players are refreshed. Indeed there may be beneft is because Gray can be used more sparingly than might have been the case and get used to the way we play without undue pressure.
HighPeakFox Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Some great posts in here. In essence, our boys play as a team and that means we're top. There's not a bad apple in the current starting basket. Good defence leads to good attack and vice versa. Joyful.
Simi Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 About the whole right back debate.. One of the reasons for Riyads great form was De Laet's attacking nature. Him bombing up the wing gave Riyad more space, as the opposition full back had to deal with the run of De Laet as well as Mahrez. Now Simpson does not provide that support which is a factor in Mahrez poor form. However his introduction into the side has improved our defence so much. What about the defending when RDL was in the side compared to Simpson? Surely that's the more worthwhile stat since Simpson is a defender after all... 15 conceded with RDL in the side in 8 games. 11 conceded in with Simpson in the side in 16 games. Simpson has been a fantastic asset to the side this season, no two ways about it.
foxes21 Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 What about the defending when RDL was in the side compared to Simpson? Surely that's the more worthwhile stat since Simpson is a defender after all... 15 conceded with RDL in the side in 8 games. 11 conceded in with Simpson in the side in 16 games. Simpson has been a fantastic asset to the side this season, no two ways about it. Aye It wasn't a dig at Simpson, he has been great for us and I reckon he's our most improved player. I was just meerely stating De Laets contribution helped Riyads form. However I think we would all take the defence stability Simpson gives us over De Laets attacking threat. 100%.
Vardinio'sCat Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Couldn't agree more about the space last night. I didn't raise it because I was so high on the Vardy spectacular and felt it party-pooping to criticise a defender who's just played his part in another clean sheet and a night of so few chances for a supposedly capable Liverpool team. There's no doubt it's harder for Simpson to stay tight with Mahrez not being a natural defender for all that he's willing to try at times. So did we simply close out all the space in the box and accept the crosses coming in because we knew Huth and Morgan would gobble em up with Benteke sat on the bench? If so it worked. Might not have done on a couple of occasions but, otherwise, the crossing was disappointing and the threat on the other end was token. If Simpson had gone tighter just maybe Liverpool could have stretched our centre-backs and made some space they hardly found at all in the event. Just a thought. No hard and fast conclusions I'm afraid. Good post. Simpson not diving in has good and bad sides to it, but I think he gives time for Riyad to get back. Simpson is just about quick enough, and clever enough, to make this work. Unlike RDL, he is a proper defender. It is, to some extent, the Italian way. We see Kante continually nibbling away, but rarely going to ground, and others are doing the same.To say it is working well would be an understatement. Sticking with what is working seems a given, to me.
Fatty Arbuckle Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 About the whole right back debate.. One of the reasons for Riyads great form was De Laet's attacking nature. Him bombing up the wing gave Riyad more space, as the opposition full back had to deal with the run of De Laet as well as Mahrez. Now Simpson does not provide that support which is a factor in Mahrez poor form. However his introduction into the side has improved our defence so much. Poor form? Are you sure? I mean I know he missed a couple of penalties and didn't really look interested against Villa, but poor form is a bit of a stretch isn't it?
Dan Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 You have to do both every game. Except for maybe West Brom at home.
Simi Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 I wouldn't say that. As a unit we defend well but as an individual he's clearly a weak link. I appreciate Mahrez doesn't give him much help but he shows an alarming lack of urgency when he needs to be closing players down. Compare him with Fuchs on the other side and you'll notice the difference in the amount of space he gives. Moments of worry often come down his side and he's erratic in possession. He's more solid than De Laet but in truth he's benefiting from being in a good side that currently has no other player that can compete for his position. I actually think in some cases it is a deliberate tactic from us. Both full backs tend to defend quite narrow and encourage teams to play the ball wide against us, hence not closing down opposing wingers / full backs as quick. Think we're happy to back ourselves defending crosses as opposed teams playing through us.
Monsell1976 Posted 4 February 2016 Posted 4 February 2016 Keep as we are, we seem to have the balance right. We are happy to allow teams to have possession, and defend from the front, and when the opportunity is there, we are good on the attacking side of the game, so as the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Yes diferent players have had dips in form, and we struggled to score for a while, but we are now back at it. The only thing that worries me, is that is the Unknown for all of us, including the players, but this is where Claudio's experience comes in, and he will help them with the pressure, and confidence. The amarty thing, from what I have read, he's rated better as a midfielder, so in the tough games, like the next few, I can see him in the middle, sitting in front of the back 4.
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