Chelsea 3 Leicester 0. Post match thread.

[spaghettilegs]

29 minutes ago, Realist Guy In The Room said:

To say we didnt try to replace Kante isnt strictly true is it?  Both N'Zonzi and Silva we wanted and got neither for whatever reason.  As with the central defenders.  We wanted both Keane and Dunk from Brighton again though, ended up with neither.

 

Yeah agreed, we did make moves, but like you say, we should have made sure to sign players even if it meant paying over the odds. The move for Silva seemed very last minute as well. I can understand not signing N'Zonzi if he is a nob head and would risk disrupting the dressing room, but he is a quality player. We should have had 3 or 4 targets for a defensive mid and a centre back and started looking at the start of the summer, we could have done with a back up for Kante even if he had stayed so waiting for him to leave before making moves was naive. Our scouting team are usually very on the ball it doesn't make sense to me. I know Walsh left but the rest of the scouting team didn't. 

 

With Keane, we should have splashed out. We would probably have to pay a lot more in Jan or next summer than we would have had to pay this summer. I can't figure out if the problem is wes and huth, or whether its a lack of Kante to protect them, probably both. Wes looks like the player he was in the first half of the 14/15 great escape season. 

 

We did fall over very easily against the big teams. Although thus far we have done ok against the weaker and mediocre teams, although the only convincing win I can recall is Burnley, I wasn't convinced against Swansea and at the time we played them they were absolutely woeful. And of course we made Hull look like a very strong team and they got thumped 6-1 by Bournemouth yesterday! Palace at home next week is a big game. 

[Eskay]

After having longer to think about yesterdays performance....I'm angrier than I was yesterday. The game wasn't purely lost in central midfield. It was lost at the start with that god awful starting lineup.

 

How many teams would have gone there with a 30mil record signing and the PFA player of the year on the bench?! 

 

Jeff was so bad yesterday it hurts. He made Moses look like Messi. I almost drop kicked my tv when jeff got the ball and just stood still. Absolutely awful.

 

Everytime the ball went out of defence it came straight back....Jeff, Musa, albrighton and vardy couldn't hold it.

 

Someone needs to shake that bell in Ranieris ear. If he pulls something like this at Spurs, we're in for a tonking.

[Realist Guy In The Room]

6 minutes ago, spaghettilegs said:

Yeah agreed, we did make moves, but like you say, we should have made sure to sign players even if it meant paying over the odds. The move for Silva seemed very last minute as well. I can understand not signing N'Zonzi if he is a nob head and would risk disrupting the dressing room, but he is a quality player. We should have had 3 or 4 targets for a defensive mid and a centre back and started looking at the start of the summer, we could have done with a back up for Kante even if he had stayed so waiting for him to leave before making moves was naive. Our scouting team are usually very on the ball it doesn't make sense to me. I know Walsh left but the rest of the scouting team didn't. 

 

With Keane, we should have splashed out. We would probably have to pay a lot more in Jan or next summer than we would have had to pay this summer. I can't figure out if the problem is wes and huth, or whether its a lack of Kante to protect them, probably both. Wes looks like the player he was in the first half of the 14/15 great escape season. 

 

We did fall over very easily against the big teams. Although thus far we have done ok against the weaker and mediocre teams, although the only convincing win I can recall is Burnley, I wasn't convinced against Swansea and at the time we played them they were absolutely woeful. And of course we made Hull look like a very strong team and they got thumped 6-1 by Bournemouth yesterday! Palace at home next week is a big game. 

Agree with this completely especially on not knowing if its Wes or

Huth that are the problem.  They both seem equally shaky but again, not really having any alternatives is not a help at all.

 

What we're seeing now is pretty much what we expected to see at the start of last season.  Perhaps we just need to accept (and quickly) that the great escape and last season were just a once in a lifetime co-incidence of favourable fixtures, other teams failings combined with the entirety of our squad playing consistently at 95% of capability.

 

It was always going to end, after all, we are Leicester City.

 

Perhaps avoiding relegation and a cup run are the best we can now hope for?

[ealingfox]

Went yesterday, very disappointing again. List of issues getting quite long.

 

Still don't think we will be close to relegation. We have been pretty unfortunate with these away fixtures coming consecutively and at the start of the season, but we do only have to play them once. After Spurs the games ease up, and all the other teams will still to play them. The understandable worry is that confidence will be hit so hard we won't recover enough to pick up wins against the lesser teams.

 

Easy to slag off Musa but we looked as if we had absolutely no plan whatsoever when we had the ball in their half, and new players are going to be the first to struggle when that is the case. I'd question the preparation for yesterday's game. With them playing three at the back neither of our strikers ever found an inch of space, and because we had no alternative routes of attack we had nothing. Nothing at all.

 

The lack of competitiveness starts with Ranieri saying we're focusing on Tuesday before yesterday's game and the players responded in spades. Our fans are getting very hard done by to spend their hard-earned following the team to these games just to be served up shite sandwiches. When we'd given a goal away embarrassingly cheaply we looked from thereon in as if we had no chance of winning the game.

[desertfox2]

52 minutes ago, Eskay said:

After having longer to think about yesterdays performance....I'm angrier than I was yesterday. The game wasn't purely lost in central midfield. It was lost at the start with that god awful starting lineup.

 

How many teams would have gone there with a 30mil record signing and the PFA player of the year on the bench?! 

 

Jeff was so bad yesterday it hurts. He made Moses look like Messi. I almost drop kicked my tv when jeff got the ball and just stood still. Absolutely awful.

 

Everytime the ball went out of defence it came straight back....Jeff, Musa, albrighton and vardy couldn't hold it.

 

Someone needs to shake that bell in Ranieris ear. If he pulls something like this at Spurs, we're in for a tonking.

Spot on. I tried not to post much yesterday as I was annoyed thinking it would go but today even more angry about it. Not losing just that the line up immediately said to everyone. Forget this game the champions league is more important.

 

If it was a league cup game fair enough but this was a league game. Last season we were successful with the 1 game at a time approach.  This year if we have a champions league game we forget the game before. After Copenhagen. Let's say hypothetically we have a good run in champions league and get QF that's only another 7 games max we have left in the champions league. Are we really going to risk everything on that? And what does it say about the fitness and state of our squad if we are going to accept we are going to get beat the game before, before a ball has been kicked.

 

The players aren't thick, with possibly the exception of schlupp (sorry had to throw a joke in) they would have seen that line up yesterday and though the game doesn't matter just try and not get injured for Copenhagen.

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, suffolk fox said:

Can't believe some on here are saying it was a cracking atmosphere in our end yesterday?  Always have not liked Chelsea away because of all the razzmatazz of living in the most expensive area of London the ground even before the redevelopment and Ambromovitch millions pumped in is not away fan friendly.

 

Was in the lower corner stand City fans arguing with City fans re standing up a stand so badly designed that disabled people and persons in wheelchairs can't see naff all if anyone stands.  Nature of football indicates that at certain times even the most unhostile and friendly crowd will stand up.  Why Chelsea put all wheelchair persons in the corner expecting them to see clearly at all times is quite frankly ridiculous.

 

As it was I had the worlds tallest 10 year old in front of me persistently standing on his seat In front of me, consequently, I and others around me had to stand.  Stewards then came and ejected about seven people around me for next to nothing when I asked the head steward why he said persistent standing but did naff all to the worlds tallest kid and his father.  I asked the dad that the kid could see perfectly well without standing and all I got was a load of abuse from him.

 

On the pitch it again was all worng.  Players again not seemingly bothered.  No movement up front, many a time we had a throw in in their part of the pitch Vardy, static, Schlupp, well, wtf, static, Fuchs threw it backwards this happened virtually all game.  No desire, second to every 50/50 challenge players like Kante, Pepe outjumping the likes of Schlupp, Fuchs, Albrighton to win headers.  Another goal conceded from a bloody corner.

 

Where has the proper Leicester gone?  The imitation I see turning up at the last four aways I have been to is quite frankly shocking.  In conclusion a shit end to a shit game at an overated plastic soulless ground.  As for the bloody Chelsea dagger.

Our end was poor. Not enough fully commited singing, it was very inconsistent.

 

I saw a steward near me who ejected someone for nothing too but overall Stamford Bridge is like all the top clubs - quiet and full of tourists. I was stood upper tier the seat right next to their end and they look at me as if I'm not meant to be standing, singing and criticising. 

 

Brugge was our best end for ages and probably will be for ages too.

[daddylonglegs]

I'm assuming (I haven't read the thread back to front) that Jeff has recieved a fair amount of critcisim. He's completely stolen a career in professional football.

 

Also Musa is proper, proper shit. In an era of tika taka football and goalkeepers being sold because they're not good enough with their feet - Musa & Jeff are a good reminder that if youre built like a brick shithouse and fast, you can fool even premier league winning managers into thinking you're a talented footballer. 

[Webbo]

I think most on here had decided Jeff was to blame before the game had kicked off. He wasn't any worse than most.

[Riot Van]

15 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

One of the reasons I had little desire to bother today. It had awful away end written all over it. We couldn't even get up for this one last year as champions on the final day, what hope did this one have? Was it really that bad?

 

 

What's even worse is that we have other talents in that position. People talk about Demarai Gray's lack of defensive work but he looked a lot more assured in helping us see out a game last season than Jeff generally does, and Jeff's defensive work, for all he's strong and energetic, is so often undone by a lapse in concentration.

 

Jeff has too many limitations to be a real success at this level for me and I've always thought it. Gray is 19 years old and is a vastly superior dribbler and shooter.

 

And that's not even mentioning Kapustka.

Been to most away games during the last 3 seasons and it was definitely in the bottom 5.

[ealingfox]

It's not easy to get a decent end going when you're behind after 3 minutes and look like conceding every time the oppo get anywhere near your goal in fairness.

[Footballwipe]

5 hours ago, suffolk fox said:

Can't believe some on here are saying it was a cracking atmosphere in our end yesterday?  Always have not liked Chelsea away because of all the razzmatazz of living in the most expensive area of London the ground even before the redevelopment and Ambromovitch millions pumped in is not away fan friendly.

 

Was in the lower corner stand City fans arguing with City fans re standing up a stand so badly designed that disabled people and persons in wheelchairs can't see naff all if anyone stands.  Nature of football indicates that at certain times even the most unhostile and friendly crowd will stand up.  Why Chelsea put all wheelchair persons in the corner expecting them to see clearly at all times is quite frankly ridiculous.

 

As it was I had the worlds tallest 10 year old in front of me persistently standing on his seat In front of me, consequently, I and others around me had to stand.  Stewards then came and ejected about seven people around me for next to nothing when I asked the head steward why he said persistent standing but did naff all to the worlds tallest kid and his father.  I asked the dad that the kid could see perfectly well without standing and all I got was a load of abuse from him.

I was on the "back row" of the lower tier and almost next the the away fans. The attitude of the stewards was horrendous and I guarantee they wouldn't act or say half the stuff they would if they were stewarding West Ham or Millwall fans. I wasn't blocking anyone's view but on the half hour we were all told to sit down "If you've got a problem with it take it outside" was the response. It was pathetic.

 

In the second half I was okay standing until a steward ratted me out. My crime? I am 99% sure it was because I was blocking the 20-30 stewards behind me in the concourse area who had nothing to do but watch the game. Blocking their view so I'm at fault. Pathetic and jobsworth.

 

In terms of the game. The stuff about desire, effort, sacrificing games etc is all mentioned extensively in this and other threads. The only thing I wanted to say was the most depressing thing about yesterday was how unsurprising it all was. The fact that most of us knew we were going to get easily beaten yesterday, we all knew we had little chance of getting everything.

 

Say what you want about us floating back down to our level, but after £70m and god knows what in wages, we should not be heading to Chelsea, Spurs or any other game thinking "well we're gonna get dicked in that game." We should at least have some hope, we finished first last season. The game was over after six minutes yesterday. Last season it wouldn't have been. Last season we would have had, well, a clue.

 

It might be that we pick right up when we get this horrible run of away games out of the road, but it's not like we've lost 1-0, 2-0 and 3-1 or something. We have been wrecked in all three of this four-game run and the loss to Hull compounds it.

[NGoloMode]

Drinkwater is everything but without Okazaki to me it seems like there is no movement up front for him to play is passes to.

[Guest Col city fan]

There's nowt as funny as football fans. Before the game, many were saying we'd win. After the game, many are saying we weren't expected to win anyway cos it was 'another difficult away fixture and that the fixture list hadn't been kind'

 

[lgfualol]

15 hours ago, dominicmsb said:

Drinkwater is everything but without Okazaki to me it seems like there is no movement up front for him to play is passes to.

Depressing. 

[Guest Col city fan]

16 hours ago, dominicmsb said:

Drinkwater is everything but without Okazaki to me it seems like there is no movement up front for him to play is passes to.

What is so so clear is that the 10 yard 'bursts' that were a feature of our midfield play last year, have basically gone.

Kante was great at this and I think it underpinned a lot of our counter attacking. He'd win the ball in our own half, then suddenly put the burners on, sprint 10/20 yards and give it to either Albrighton or Mahrez further up the field.

Those bursts have gone. We have become so pedestrian in some games, it's unreal.

A great example Saturday was when Kante had the ball, in the second half and burst past I think it was Schlupp?, to whip the cross in to the striker who should have scored.

We don't half miss those bursts.

[VLC86]

19 hours ago, Webbo said:

I think most on here had decided Jeff was to blame before the game had kicked off. He wasn't any worse than most.

He might not have been any worse but his complete casual nature on and off the ball is beyond infuriating.

[VLC86]

2 hours ago, Col city fan said:

There's nowt as funny as football fans. Before the game, many were saying we'd win. After the game, many are saying we weren't expected to win anyway cos it was 'another difficult away fixture and that the fixture list hadn't been kind'

 

And other continue to argue that Cambiasso wasn't god  

[RonnieTodger]

Don't anybody say that this is a reality check. Even if we were just promoted (never mind being champions), all 4 of these away performances have been inexcusable. Even as relegation candidates, we never looked so out of our depth as we do now. I don't know what you put that down to, because it can't just be N'Golo Kante. He didn't defend corners or play a killer pass. We miss him a lot, but this is amateurish. 

We're lucky that our goal difference is only -6.

[UPinCarolina]

On 10/16/2016 at 05:33, justfoxes said:

Bit of an interesting read on our performance and team selection!

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/premier-league/graeme-souness-leicesters-selection-gave-players-an-excuse-to-treat-chelsea-game-as-unimportant/news-story/5ab490519951151d330c17b555ebae6c

When he talked about leaving Andy King on the bench as being evidence of unimportant team selection, I nearly fell out of my chair. Rubbish.

[foxy boxing]

we just can't seem to defend this season particularly at set pieces. vardy is not in the same form and we are being beaten in midfield. we need to get back to how we played last season and not give the opposition time on the ball. time they need to destroy us.it has been a bad start to the season apart from Europe and we need to rectify it as quick as possible. at the moment we are being destroyed by the so called big teams and it is getting frustrating for fans to see it.the second season after winning the premier league was always going to prove tough going but we are just making it difficult for ourselves at the moment and our football and our form needs to improve to stop the league season sliding any furthur

[RoyFox]

I was so miffed with Vardy's lack of pressing (again) I made this. Look, plenty of the team are to blame, but he was our ethos last year, defending from the front and terrorising defenders. Now he's doing a Berbatov impression for the 2nd goal....

 

[lgfualol]

19 minutes ago, RoyFox said:

I was so miffed with Vardy's lack of pressing (again) I made this. Look, plenty of the team are to blame, but he was our ethos last year, defending from the front and terrorising defenders. Now he's doing a Berbatov impression for the 2nd goal....

 

He seems to just jog and point nowadays, however I think Saturday was awful for him and Musa. Nobody even gave them a chance, Chelsea could have played one in defence and we still would be kicking it straight to the defender. We really need Gray and Mahrez to mix it up a bit.

[RoyFox]

2 hours ago, lgfualol said:

He seems to just jog and point nowadays, however I think Saturday was awful for him and Musa. Nobody even gave them a chance, Chelsea could have played one in defence and we still would be kicking it straight to the defender. We really need Gray and Mahrez to mix it up a bit.

Agreed 100%

[Foxxed]

We didn't press, shinji wasn't there to help push teams out wide, we had no defensive midfielder to take out any players who did venture into the middle, and so our centre backs' weaknesses were exposed, as opposed to using their strengths, as of last season.

 

We have to get to the point where we can use Morgan and Huth as the lynchpin to counters again, else there'll be no use in having a wonderful attacking force in Vardy, Gray, Mahrez etc: they'll have no opportunity to get on the end of a quick counter.

[m4DD0gg]

24 minutes ago, Foxxed said:

We have to get to the point where we can use Morgan and Huth as the lynchpin to counters again, else there'll be no use in having a wonderful attacking force in Vardy, Gray, Mahrez etc: they'll have no opportunity to get on the end of a quick counter.