Thracian Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Well, Craig collected his 6th successive victory and fifth Premiership win on the trot to very nearly double our points tally from the time he took over and all but seal our place in the top flight. Victory also gave him his most awkward decision - what to do against Everton in the next match. In stark contrast to the game against Stoke, Shaky made exactly the right substitutions at the right time and to the right effect this evening and we duly saw the closing stages out at the Sunderland end threatening more goals, which pleased me no end. It wasn't a great game by any yardstick but the result was important, Sunderland were always going to compete and we did learn two or three things along the way., One concerned the value, ability, energy and effect of Albrighton when he has proper targets to aim for. Grey was our biggest threat in the first half but yet again failed to produce the end product that may one day transform him from a promising support player to an outstanding first choice. Albrighton did deliver end product and changed the course of the game. Not only that but his energy and mobility ensured we had the good passing options and purpose up front to deny Sunderland any chance of recovering from the quick one-two we gave them through the excellent goals scored by Slimani and Vardy. A second point was the emergence of Benny from the background of being a squad also ran to genuine first team contender. Our second clean sheet in succession didn't represent a perfect defensive display but Kasper didn't have a lot to do and Benny played a big part in that. It means we now have three genuine options at centre-back and that's a good kind of problem for the manager, My third point was the cameo of King at the end and the way he so easily slotted into the rhythm of our game and ensured that available passing options were taken and, with Albrighton, that we continued to offer a threat. Indeed, Kingy could and probably should have marked his return with a goal but his just being there in the closing stages showed that he still carries that threat as well as any of our central midfielders. So maybe he won't be completely forgotten just yet. Fifteen points from five games....this team of ours doesn't do good or bad by halves - and it's another commendable achievement for the boss and his team. As is moving into 10th place in the table when I honestly thought we were destined for relegation just before Ranieri was sacked...and might well have left that decision too late. So a 6/10 performance but a 10/10 result and another 10/10 for the manager for making such astute and effective substitutions in good time to change the course or the game for the better. What next I wonder?
Strokes Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 1 minute ago, Finnegan said: Slimani just scored mate.
murphy Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 2 minutes ago, Aus Fox said: Pretty sure he is well past Muzzy and Heskey, he's on about 40 PL goals now. You're right - 39. It was that Mercury premier league scorers quiz, had him on 29. Anyway, I stand corrected. Congrats JV, all time LCFC premier league goal scorer.
fuchsntf Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 34 minutes ago, lestajigs said: Played poor tbf, But still win so good signs, that playing poor and wimning, having said that, we won't get luck like that against a good team Disagree, below par Maybe, Not as fluent but not poor...Sunderland was always going to go down fighting +they actually have a couple of decent Players, just not enough. Our 1st 15 minutes plus the odd break, we had good chances, Sunderland put in a better shift than Stoke. Drinkwater was off his game again, that why our fluency suffers...
kingfox Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Pretty crap and boring first half, that continued into the second half until Slimani & Albrighton came on. Much needed subs that turned out to be perfect, Albrighton has been fantastic since Ranieri got sacked, his second assist was quality. Another solid performance from the defence, all four in with a shout for MOTM. Not great at times but a very key win, especially with the amount of away games coming up.
Matt Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Hard game to watch that was but we won 2-0 so who cares! Mahrez and Gray were very poor. Stick or twist now in terms of momentum/resting players....
Guest Col city fan Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Rarely have I seen a game turn so completely upon the addition of one man. Marc Albrighton, take a bow. Why you didn't start tonight, I'll never know.
Livid Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Painful after the first ten minutes until we scored. We were just weren't firing. Got the result though.
Clever Fox Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Another great win to keep momentum going and moral high. It went pretty much as I anticipated with Sunderland crowding us out and targeting DD for special attention. As a result we played it long trying to get in behind them which played into their hands. Second half we changed tactics to play in front of their defence and got the breakthrough with Slim scoring with a header as I expected. Then Vardy scored and even better Goal with his only real chance and he took it well. From then on it was game over. Great credit to Shaky for his substitutions and for King getting on the end of a few chances. If only he would add a mean streak to his game because the rest of hid game is sound. Onwards and Upwards we go.
NeilLCFC Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Albrighton was immense. Great subs from Shakey, looked as if he was making them all of last season as well. Great result
walkerleeds Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Just now, Col city fan said: Rarely have I seen a game turn so completely upon the addition of one man. Marc Albrighton, take a bow. Why you didn't start tonight, I'll never know. Would have been harsh on Gray after his display against Stoke and Mahrez is obviously undroppable. He's certainly nailed down his place for the CL game thats for sure!
fuchsntf Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Just now, Col city fan said: Rarely have I seen a game turn so completely upon the addition of one man. Marc Albrighton, take a bow. Why you didn't start tonight, I'll never know. To give him longer recovery time, and Gray another game after his weekends performance, I suppose. Plus against my normal stance of best team Should always Play, I would do the same for Everton. Now we have won these 6pts I would Start Gray against Everton. If DD has another below avg run of games, its Albrighton allround game, that could give us the edge against Athletico. I have always said that Albrighton is one of those unsung club players, gets mentioned in dispatches for Int.honours but might not get that nod. When hes on form, Marvellous and a joy to watch, Then sometimes gets lost in games, when we are not on the front foot, but then doesnt get recognised enough for his defensive qualities. Like you mention, how the citys game turned on his introduction...That determination, then skill on the ball upto his cross for Vardys goal, thats when you remember why you love watching football at our level. His cross for HuthS goal in the other game, his cross for Slimani and Vardy today..Sahne/cream/choclate mousse with rum... Undescribable...
BenTheFox Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Benalouane may have saved us a few quid. For me it means we only need to go out and sign one centre half and not two.
Hammo Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Pretty dreadful for an hour but fortunately Huth and co defended well against all those set pieces and we kept it at 0-0 until Albrighton produced one of the best substitute cameos I have ever seen from a Leicester player and turned the game. Two great finishes too. Jamie deserved his goal as he had a great game despite very little service and woeful support from Okazaki, who after Saturday's stellar effort was back to his annoying worst. Low marks too for Mahrez, who looked like a little boy lost at times, and Gray, who didn't play for the team. 36 pts and tenth place is dreamland given where we were pre-Shakespeare. What a manager! And to repeat- what a performance from Marc Albrighton! Man of the match by a country mile.
fuchsntf Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 32 minutes ago, Matt said: Hard game to watch that was but we won 2-0 so who cares! Mahrez and Gray were very poor. Stick or twist now in terms of momentum/resting players.... If those chances from both had gone in??? ...They werent poor in my mind, their runs caused problems and chances. IMO, just like Fuchs throw ins, Shakespeare has told Gray, no matter what go for it.. Drinkwater being off his game isnt helping us. Ndidi still plays hot and cold , but I wont critiscise the young lad for that.
MC Prussian Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Absolute piss-poor first 69 minutes. I still wonder whether we wanted to be dragged down to Sunderland's level or simply couldn't be arsed to string two passes together. Okazaki and Ndidi were the worst offenders today, followed by a rather greedy Gray and a knackered Drinkwater. Mahrez struggled to get anything going on his side of the pitch. The amount of mistimed passes and balls lost on the sidelines was massively frustrating. Sunderland were hardly in it for the win, all they wanted was to destroy our style of play. Shakespeare identified our main troublemakers and substituted accordingly. Albrighton obviously the MOTM, two wonderful assists. But hey - play shit and still win it? Signs of champions. Wish our fans would've answered the Sunderland "Where were you when you were shit?" with an appropriate "Where were you when you were good?".
nnfox Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 We were poor, especially in the first half but then the double substitution was genius. It wasn't about changing the personnel on the field so much, it was about changing our shape and tactics and it worked. We went from having a very direct pacey winger and a second striker who was spending more time in midfield to having 2 proper strikers and a winger who was trying to get the ball in the box. And it worked! It gave the Sunderland defence a new set of problems and they couldn't cope. Lot of love for Albrighton. Gray is still learning. Benny was great. Drinkwater needs a rest.
Ted Maul Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 1 hour ago, ARCHER said: I would like to take the opportunity to dedicate this win to Bear and all the lads on the Sunderland Message Board.? Haha! Bear is an Everton fan, if memory serves. Unlucky mate!
Bayfox Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Love shakey. May have snaked claudio if you wanna believe the media. But buzzing that he's his own man and learned to ingore big nige. By that i mean. Anyone remember when nige used to hook Albrighton just as he brought the big man leo on. Imagine if you bring Albrighton on at the same time as a big man who only scores with his head. Oh wait. Just happened. Keep up the good work.
Beliall Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 http://www.timesoccer.com/video/leicester-city-vs-sunderland-live-stream-highlights.html match highlights. I don't think you can overstate how good vardy's goal was, that ball was fizzed to him by albrighton, he kills it dead and thwacks it into the top corner with his weaker foot, fantastic strike I cant stop watching it. one of the best goals I've seen
Ted Maul Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 To say we weren't particularly good for the first hour would be kind. No urgency on or off the ball, slow to react, static, sloppy passing. Albrighton was absolutely outstanding when he came on, as he has been ever since Shakespeare took over. I thought Mahrez was atrocious tonight- not sure why we keep him on the pitch when we're on the back foot, absolutely no intention of tracking his runners. So frustrating as he has all the talent in the world, but it's like playing with 10 men sometimes when the going gets tough. Glad Slimani got a goal and looked up for it, he needed that. Vardy is an animal, simply unplayable when he gets on one of these runs. YB29. What a bloke. Massively important win, that- means we can pick a team with Atletico in mind for both Everton and Palace.
UPinCarolina Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Said this in the match thread: "Marc will almost certainly get a run out second half; I can't see past us staying on the front foot all match as I think we've learned our lesson. I can also see liberal substitutes early on after the break." I can't believe I was right about something for once!
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 4 April 2017 Posted 4 April 2017 Excellent! The second half did it for us. Nice to see Albrighton and Slim. on the score sheet City march on!
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