A Year Ago

[Fez of Mahrez]

I think the Hume thing is just a question of match fitness. Probably would have been ready for Wolves but Levein wanted to implement a specific gameplan. I'd be extremely surprised if he didn't start against QPR, a game Levein should be approaching in a similar vein to the game against Stoke.

[Vo Rogue]

some good points Ivarti.Possibly something in picking young hungry players on a mission in the world like Stearman's, Sheehan's,Hume's and Wesolowski's.These players have that potential, but more importantly that thing in common with us fans,that absolute drive and will to win,as if every game were a World Cup Final.When we do play the teenagers we've won most matches,a clue in there about desire to do well and win.And possibly a clue for CL for team selection to get that winning mentality.

[ivarti]

I'm a bit new to post things at this forum, so be patient with me.

I would say that at this moment we don't have a lot of very good players, since most of them have been out of the game for a while.

Most of the players in Levein's squad didn't play much last season for their clubs and they have to find their position in the team and their rank.

That's how things work, they are not dummies they are humans.

This is really the problem for Levein. If you look at the squad only Alan Maybury, Joey Gudjonsson are the only two players with a good hard season behind them for City last year.

The squad

Henderson (left out of Bradford after he denied to sign a new contract, played 40 games for Bradford)

Douglas (lost his place for Scotland and not a certain first choice at Celtic, played only 14 games in SPL, but has done ok)

Logan (not ready yet, and just a cover)

Maybury (played regurlarly last season, would have expected more of him this season)

Johansson (in and out at Blackburn, not a confidence boost to not get a new contract offer)

Gerrbrand (steady player at Hammarby, but new in the club and at the moment injured)

Dublin (a bit rusty and in his last year at the club, lacks fitness and has to be rested)

McCarthy (Levein not yet convinced about McCarthy, looks promising but lacks a lot of routine)

Gilbert (Left back but hardly a first choice, Levein has used five players in this position so far)

Sheehan (A young player, but for me the most promising left back at the club)

Stearman (Not a regular, but he can play football, needs experienced players around him)

Williams (Injuries seems to be his problem and never managed to fulfill his potential)

Gudjonsson (Play to his trengths, but hardly a midfield leader, but has done ok)

Sylla (Not used much at Celtic, needs a bit of time but has done well so far)

Wilcox (not in the future plans and not worth much when he is not playing)

Hamill (A young player with great promise, but looked up on by Levein as a fringe player)

Wesolowski (maybe City's greatest talent, injured at the moment)

Hughes (Quality and a great prospect, but has been out with injuries and needs games to progress)

Kisnorbo (Not yet match fit, out with injuries for almost 6 months)

Tiatto (a joke that he is captain, he is never playing and lost in midfield, a battler but not a midfield player at all)

Hammond (Not played much and needs games in the first team to fullfill his potential)

Hume (Need fully 90 minutes fast, if not this signing can be a big flop, three games no goals)

de Vries (A bit riddled about this guy, 30 years of age and doesn't really fit the bill if you ask me)

Wright (Out on loan at Blackpool, cannot imagine him playing much for City in the future)

Morris (Troubled with injuries, cannot see him either as a first choice in City's forward line)

O'Grady (Scores in division 2, but looked unsettled when I watched him playing in Norway)

A lot of the players in the squad needs time to get into the right mode. They need to get settled in the team to know their place and start building confidence. Most of the squad Levein has build up needs time, and if he isn't aware of this himself, by changing them in and out, he's got a problem, that he might not see.

That was what Adams experienced last season. He couldn't figure out why so many good players couldn't manage to get City into the right table position. The fact that he had a squad full of players without first team experience and players that had been thrown in and out of his Leicester team and other teams, destroyed his hope of taking City straight back.

Levein can get this right, but he needs to give certain players his trust and build them up to become strong players for City. He is not doing that with throwing them in and out. He needs to settle his defence and be shure who is his first choice, if not he will not be able to bring this team forward.

If you look behind the rotation at clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool, never be fooled to believe that the managers of this club don't know when to rotate and when to pick their best line-up. That's why they are top of the league and others are not. Of course there is a bit of money involved as well, and that is really Levein's biggest problem, he doesn't have any money to sign players that he would like to sign. But that he knew when he signed on the dotted line to become City's manager.

[Vo Rogue]

Wow! When I read that list it does not leave many up to scratch.Now I'm happy with that 1 point against wolves.

[Gamesmaster]

For example: Sheffield United

First 4 games last season

Stoke - 19,723

Reading - 22,429

Leeds - 22,959

West Ham - 21,058

This season

Leicester - 18,224

Preston - 20,519

Coventry - 17, 739

Ipswich - 21,059

I'm not sure what changes they made to ticket prices and I'm sure the opposition will have affected the figures but the simple fact is that here's a team riding as high as they could and the gates are lower.

was the stoke game on tv, reading have a better support than preston, leeds certainly do over cov, and its a derby plus last season is likely to be cheaper, but yes they are ridding higher.

[freund]

The average age of Adams's squad at the start of 2004/2005:

Goalkeepers: 28/29

Defenders: 28/29

Midfielders: 29/30

Strikers: 27/28

Total Squad: 28/29

The average age of Levein's squad at the start of 2005/2006:

Goalkeepers: 27

Defenders: 21/22

Midfielders: 24/25

Strikers: 24/25

Total Squad: 23/24

oh look, we have a younger average squad! that must be a sign of progress, well done levein. i've been converted

[Guest]

I'm not calling for CL's head, but at some point we have to face up to the fact that he might not be the man for the job. I've seen enough encouraging signs not to start panicking, but unfortunately football is about results, and if he doesn't start getting them then it will be more than a few numpties saying he should go.

[Katy]

Going back to the Ian Hume posts, I think this lad is the way forward. When he came on for a pathetic amount of time during the Sheff Weds game he ran them ragged, had pace and was into everything. If hes not match fit and thats the reason why hes not starting games then we need to get him up to speed pronto and he'll only get that by playing more than 20 odd minutes a game!

Levein has done a lot of hard work off the pitch, reducing the way bill, assembling a younger squad etc, he just needs to sort the on pitch 'problems' out. Im am fairly confident he can do that.

[step]

You can prove anything with statistics.

Statistics are based on facts and the people that make statments like that are generaly the people who base their arguments on rumers and assumptions and have no idea what stats are and what they prove

[Hullfox]

Statistics are based on facts and the people that make statments like that are generaly the people who base their arguments on rumers and assumptions and have no idea what stats are and what they prove

The point being made though has some mileage. One set of statistics when looked at in isolation can muddy the waters somewhat.

Most on here applaud the fact that the average age of the squad has reduced, I think I'm right in saying that.

Most on here also reluctantly say that Warnock has his best team for some time at Sheff Utd. Certainly based upon their start to the season it would be hard to argue against that.

Sheff Utd however have a squad with 7 players over the age of 30. With the signings of Nalis, Gillespie, Unsworth, Short and Shipperley, their average age in the squad must have increased.

However, most on here applaud the fact that the average age at LCFC has reduced.

Would we argue that age therefore is the way forward?

No, but you could use statistics (ie the facts) to argue such a point and I've no doubt that someone could find some stats to argue the opposite.

My point? Be careful about what youu read into stats and how you use them.

[Katy]

The point being made though has some mileage. One set of statistics when looked at in isolation can muddy the waters somewhat.

Most on here applaud the fact that the average age of the squad has reduced, I think I'm right in saying that.

Most on here also reluctantly say that Warnock has his best team for some time at Sheff Utd. Certainly based upon their start to the season it would be hard to argue against that.

Sheff Utd however have a squad with 7 players over the age of 30. With the signings of Nalis, Gillespie, Unsworth, Short and Shipperley, their average age in the squad must have increased.

However, most on here applaud the fact that the average age at LCFC has reduced.

Would we argue that age therefore is the way forward?

No, but you could use statistics (ie the facts) to argue such a point and I've no doubt that someone could find some stats to argue the opposite.

My point? Be careful about what youu read into stats and how you use them.

True....MA had a heck of a lot of players heading towards pension day though - far too many, a lot of the the more successful teams have a good mixture of youth and experience (eg Sheff Utd) We all could see (apart from a select few) that having too many players over 30 were going to, eventually, need replacing and that was part of MAs problem.

[Guest]

Statistics are based on facts and the people that make statments like that are generaly the people who base their arguments on rumers and assumptions and have no idea what stats are and what they prove

Statistics are based on the facts available, and can be easily misinterpreted or manipulated. For example it would be fair to say most footballers are on obscenely high wages, especially if you looked at the Premiership or the top three or four teams. However, it is not a fair statistic when you consider the wages of players playing outside the PL, and especially in the lower 2 divisions.

Not black and white, is it.

[Hullfox]

True....MA had a heck of a lot of players heading towards pension day though - far too many, a lot of the the more successful teams have a good mixture of youth and experience (eg Sheff Utd) We all could see (apart from a select few) that having too many players over 30 were going to, eventually, need replacing and that was part of MAs problem.

Do we have enough of a blend though? What's classed as youth? (I only ask that because I don't remember that far back)

[Katy]

Do we have enough of a blend though? What's classed as youth? (I only ask that because I don't remember that far back)

I guess anyone under the age of 23 could be classed as 'youth' or a 'yonger player', I dunno Jase, I would say though that players heading towards 30 are nearing the end of their careers even though more players can go on until 35+ I wouldnt say it was a particularly good idea to build a team of players nearing the end of their careers would you?

As for us now, I think the mix is a damn sight better than this time last season, not perfect but better.

[Ric Flair]

Levein is starting to feel the pressure and some of his decisions at the minute are baffling. Why the hell he dropped Sheehan after a decent game and replaced him with the forgotten Gilbert for him to be completely dropped from the squad the next game. Crazy.

If he continues to chop and change he'll do himself no favours, I understand that when we aren't winning games then changes need to be made but some thought needs to be put in to it. Simply making 4 or 5 changes won't have the desired effect and if it does it's more of a fluke than anything. We have a good young team with some exciting players and some of them will make mistakes and it might take time before we take this league by storm but we should still be looking at the top half of the table with us pushing on as the season goes on.

Levein obviously isn't motivating them properly, these are apparently young and hungry players who are desperate for success. I haven't seen much of that of late, is Levein struggling to get the best out of them or are they simply not good enough? Individually they are as good as the majority of players in this league so it's time Levein got abit nasty and put himself on the line.

Sort it out or **** off

[Hullfox]

I guess anyone under the age of 23 could be classed as 'youth' or a 'yonger player', I dunno Jase, I would say though that players heading towards 30 are nearing the end of their careers even though more players can go on until 35+ I wouldnt say it was a particularly good idea to build a team of players nearing the end of their careers would you?

As for us now, I think the mix is a damn sight better than this time last season, not perfect but better.

It's difficult isn't it.

I just wonder how long we're supposed to be patient for, I'd put up with losing if I thought the players cared. That needs to come through more.

[Katy]

It's difficult isn't it.

I just wonder how long we're supposed to be patient for, I'd put up with losing if I thought the players cared. That needs to come through more.

Indeed but thats another thread....

[The People's Hero]

Now THAT'S a post from someone with balls!

[The People's Hero]

Whoops, that post has come up in the wrong place! It was meant to refer to something posted by Ric_Flair. Nevermind. I co cked it up.

[davieG]

Now THAT'S a post from someone with balls!

Whoops, that post has come up in the wrong place! It was meant to refer to something posted by Ric_Flair. Nevermind. I co cked it up.

Balls, Cocked it up; never mind the wrong topic are you sure you got the right forum

[The People's Hero]

Erm.... I can't actually explain my current apparent subconscious pre-occupation with the male genitalia.

I think we should leave it at that!

[Thracian]

Going back to the Ian Hume posts, I think this lad is the way forward. When he came on for a pathetic amount of time during the Sheff Weds game he ran them ragged, had pace and was into everything. If hes not match fit and thats the reason why hes not starting games then we need to get him up to speed pronto and he'll only get that by playing more than 20 odd minutes a game!

Levein has done a lot of hard work off the pitch, reducing the way bill, assembling a younger squad etc, he just needs to sort the on pitch 'problems' out. Im am fairly confident he can do that.

That's right - he was like a breath of fresh air. By far the best player on view. So why play him as sub all the time?

The same went for Sheehan. What on earth did he get left out for? Did he do anything much wrong in that clean sheet against Wednesday? Was Nils better at left-back?

Players must be so confused at times about how to stay in the team.

Maybe I'm too dim to understand modern football thinking. It used to be so easy. Just pick your best players and fit them into a system that suits em.

Now the manager's pick a system and sometimes have to fit square pegs into round holes to suit it or to accomodate the players whose salaries/seniority insist they ought to be playing.

[Hullfox]

That's right - he was like a breath of fresh air. By far the best player on view. So why play him as sub all the time?

The same went for Sheehan. What on earth did he get left out for? Did he do anything much wrong in that clean sheet against Wednesday? Was Nils better at left-back?

Players must be so confused at times about how to stay in the team.

Maybe I'm too dim to understand modern football thinking. It used to be so easy. Just pick your best players and fit them into a system that suits em.

Now the manager's pick a system and sometimes have to fit square pegs into round holes to suit it or to accomodate the players whose salaries/seniority insist they ought to be playing.

Not sure how it was when you coached and managed Thracian but you are talking as though nobody has been talking to the likes of Hume and Sheehan.

There will be reasoning behind the decisions made which will be explained to the players.

At worst, if nothing is said to them, they can always ask.