4 Games In

[Bryn]

4 minutes ago, SuperMike said:

The season is dead already with regards to top four / top six / top half. Gonna spend the next 34 games playing for pride. No way are we going to be in a relegation battle - the squad is way, way too strong for that. SUCH A WASTE! even 2 more points would have painted a completely different picture. 

Don't blame the players or the manager and ffs stop the constant rattle about 3-5-2 or 4-1-3-1-1 or all the other trendy Conté / Guaudiola inspired smart-ar*e formations. We are wot we are - we are the best at it, and it's just we've been shafted by the fixture computer and FiFa !  Roll on 2018/19 - premier league champions again!!

 

[RODNEY FERNIO]

7 minutes ago, SuperMike said:

The season is dead already with regards to top four / top six / top half. Gonna spend the next 34 games playing for pride. No way are we going to be in a relegation battle - the squad is way, way too strong for that. SUCH A WASTE! even 2 more points would have painted a completely different picture. 

Don't blame the players or the manager and ffs stop the constant rattle about 3-5-2 or 4-1-3-1-1 or all the other trendy Conté / Guaudiola inspired smart-ar*e formations. We are wot we are - we are the best at it, and it's just we've been shafted by the fixture computer and FiFa !  Roll on 2018/19 - premier league champions again!!

Finished in terms of top half ??????????? 

Have you not seen Everton and Southampton play this season ?

[st albans fox]

I can picture super mike in dads army - guess which character ??

[Dan]

23 minutes ago, SuperMike said:

The season is dead already with regards to top four / top six / top half. Gonna spend the next 34 games playing for pride. No way are we going to be in a relegation battle - the squad is way, way too strong for that. SUCH A WASTE! even 2 more points would have painted a completely different picture. 

Don't blame the players or the manager and ffs stop the constant rattle about 3-5-2 or 4-1-3-1-1 or all the other trendy Conté / Guaudiola inspired smart-ar*e formations. We are wot we are - we are the best at it, and it's just we've been shafted by the fixture computer and FiFa !  Roll on 2018/19 - premier league champions again!!

The season isn't "dead" after that opening few games. Bloody hell.

 

I'd have killed for Huddersfield's opening 4 games.

[RODNEY FERNIO]

5 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

I can picture super mike in dads army - guess which character ??

We're doomed .... I say we're doomed 

[Countryfox]

26 minutes ago, SuperMike said:

The season is dead already with regards to top four / top six / top half. Gonna spend the next 34 games playing for pride. No way are we going to be in a relegation battle - the squad is way, way too strong for that. SUCH A WASTE! even 2 more points would have painted a completely different picture. 

Don't blame the players or the manager and ffs stop the constant rattle about 3-5-2 or 4-1-3-1-1 or all the other trendy Conté / Guaudiola inspired smart-ar*e formations. We are wot we are - we are the best at it, and it's just we've been shafted by the fixture computer and FiFa !  Roll on 2018/19 - premier league champions again!!

 

[Vestan Pance]

Having watched our attempts to limit the opposition vs Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal I can't see us picking up points against last seasons top 6, therefore it's hard to see past anything other than us scrapping away for points on the bottom half. Hopefully we can integrate these new signings and find some magic.

[Harry - LCFC]

SuperMike is SuperTrolling. Has to be.

[Jattdogg]

If we had drawn united, arsenal and chelsea but lost to brighton i think most of us would have been happy. But it would have left us with the same 3 points.

 

Only negatives for me was the arsenal game. We should have taken 1 point there. Same could be said for chelsea. Either way im not to worried yet. If we dont pickup a minimum of 3 points from the next two games i will start to be concerned.  

 

I think we can take a point off liverpool and  win against huddersfield.

 

Realistically we should be able to finish anywhere between 10th and the 13th. I think our aim should be 7 to 10 at the worst.

[vanity]

(1) Our midfield is awful with the ball. We need players like Silva and Iborra available against teams we struggle with possession against, like Man. U. We have historically struggled with vertical linkage, but now we are having trouble with horizontal linkage, and this is a consequence of not having an Iborra or Silva. We attack down the wings, and we look for a deep ball from the wings to Vardy, but our attack is too one-dimensional without a real threat in the middle. We need to get healthy in the worst way. Dragovic, incidentally, is an excellent passer from range, which is not a skill we have in our present back four. The elite Spanish teams tend to prioritize having, at a minimum, one CB who can take the ball out, and another one who can pass accurately from around 20-40 meters. This is the first time we have had this sort of set-up in the current era, so we need to be sure to have them both playing against the better sides, assuming Dragovic isn't giving anything up to Wes or Robert defensively.

 

(2) We need to start valuing possession, which we can start doing immediately by focusing on the small things. For example, one thing that has always driven me mad about Kasper is that he is typically good to just punt a couple balls out of bounds each game. That sort of thing can stop immediately if we want it to. We need to start valuing possession up and down the field. We need to have the patience not to force things forward. The more time we have the ball, the less time we are defending, the more worn out the other team gets. All very basic stuff, but ignoring it didn't stop us winning the title, so we are cavalier about the details. We have to improve on the details. We cannot be prisoners of the past. 2015/2016 Leicester would not win the league this season, not with these monstrous attacking sides like Man U., Man City, Liverpool, Tottenaham, even Arsenal has a great deal of offensive talent. We need to adjust and evolve, we can stay a counterattacking team while still taking better care of the ball. We might well have held Man U. scoreless.

 

(3) Against elite teams, we need either Gray opposite Mahrez, or we need to play Slimani with Vardy. We absolutely must prioritize offensive balance, there is nothing more frustrating than watching Mahrez double marked and unable to do anything with the ball, but we still keep feeding him the ball bc nobody else can get the ball to Vardy. This season's team must have better balance, otherwise they simply load up on Mahrez and we get nothing from him, the whole attack grinds to a halt as our forwards never touch the ball. For us to put pressure on the opposing defense, we need to have a critical mass of offensive players. We cannot just load up defensively and hope for a 1-1 draw. They are going to score, we need to plan for 2 goals, minimum, to have a shot at winning. If/when we get Silva, when Iborra is healthy, and if/when Iheanacho's toe is not a problem, this becomes less dire. But for right now, we simply cannot play elite teams without Gray to help distribute the defense's attention, or Slimani in place of Shinji. We have to spread the defense, especially without a viable threat in the midfield. FFS, King is our best attacking midfielder at the moment. 

 

(4) Watching the first few games, it is very clear to me that, in the long-run, we need to keep replacing one-dimensional players. I think especially on the wings, so Mahrez obviously and then swap out Gray. Granted, if Gray turns into something truly special, we can get away with playing him opposite Albrighton, but adding a premium wing who can really get back and defend, well, I think that is the sort of place Leicester would be wise to invest in young legs with a well-rounded skill set. The fact that we have two wings in Mahrez and Gray who don't defend consistently or effectively really limits who else we can play. Would love to see us break our transfer record with just such a player, an elite young wing/wing-back who defends well and is special attacking. If we put our money anyplace, I think that is where to put it, so that we can play a 3-5-2 at times, and so that we can truly incorporate an AM into the squad, and so that players like Maguire and Dragovic can take pressure off our MFs by bringing the ball out. 

 

(5) We are improving in possession. It is pretty clear to me. But we need our transfers to be available, the injuries to Iborra and Nacho and the registration issue with Silva is just killing us. All three play in the middle, leaving our backbone soft. When we have them available, the team will automatically have a real mass of attacking players on the field most of the time, with four of: Vardy, Slim, Nacho, Silva, Mahrez, Gray...  

 

(6) When our transfers are healthy, we need to let them play. They are our most talented players. We need to see Iheanacho starting games, and if he isn't healthy, then he needs to sit for awhile and not play for Nigeria either.

 

[Countryfox]

2 minutes ago, vanity said:

(1) Our midfield is awful with the ball. We need players like Silva and Iborra available against teams we struggle with possession against, like Man. U. We have historically struggled with vertical linkage, but now we are having trouble with horizontal linkage, and this is a consequence of not having an Iborra or Silva. We attack down the wings, and we look for a deep ball from the wings to Vardy, but our attack is too one-dimensional without a real threat in the middle. We need to get healthy in the worst way. Dragovic, incidentally, is an excellent passer from range, which is not a skill we have in our present back four. The elite Spanish teams tend to prioritize having, at a minimum, one CB who can take the ball out, and another one who can pass accurately from around 20-40 meters. This is the first time we have had this sort of set-up in the current era, so we need to be sure to have them both playing against the better sides, assuming Dragovic isn't giving anything up to Wes or Robert defensively.

 

(2) We need to start valuing possession, which we can start doing immediately by focusing on the small things. For example, one thing that has always driven me mad about Kasper is that he is typically good to just punt a couple balls out of bounds each game. That sort of thing can stop immediately if we want it to. We need to start valuing possession up and down the field. We need to have the patience not to force things forward. The more time we have the ball, the less time we are defending, the more worn out the other team gets. All very basic stuff, but ignoring it didn't stop us winning the title, so we are cavalier about the details. We have to improve on the details. We cannot be prisoners of the past. 2015/2016 Leicester would not win the league this season, not with these monstrous attacking sides like Man U., Man City, Liverpool, Tottenaham, even Arsenal has a great deal of offensive talent. We need to adjust and evolve, we can stay a counterattacking team while still taking better care of the ball. We might well have held Man U. scoreless.

 

(3) Against elite teams, we need either Gray opposite Mahrez, or we need to play Slimani with Vardy. We absolutely must prioritize offensive balance, there is nothing more frustrating than watching Mahrez double marked and unable to do anything with the ball, but we still keep feeding him the ball bc nobody else can get the ball to Vardy. This season's team must have better balance, otherwise they simply load up on Mahrez and we get nothing from him, the whole attack grinds to a halt as our forwards never touch the ball. For us to put pressure on the opposing defense, we need to have a critical mass of offensive players. We cannot just load up defensively and hope for a 1-1 draw. They are going to score, we need to plan for 2 goals, minimum, to have a shot at winning. If/when we get Silva, when Iborra is healthy, and if/when Iheanacho's toe is not a problem, this becomes less dire. But for right now, we simply cannot play elite teams without Gray to help distribute the defense's attention, or Slimani in place of Shinji. We have to spread the defense, especially without a viable threat in the midfield. FFS, King is our best attacking midfielder at the moment. 

 

(4) Watching the first few games, it is very clear to me that, in the long-run, we need to keep replacing one-dimensional players. I think especially on the wings, so Mahrez obviously and then swap out Gray. Granted, if Gray turns into something truly special, we can get away with playing him opposite Albrighton, but adding a premium wing who can really get back and defend, well, I think that is the sort of place Leicester would be wise to invest in young legs with a well-rounded skill set. The fact that we have two wings in Mahrez and Gray who don't defend consistently or effectively really limits who else we can play. Would love to see us break our transfer record with just such a player, an elite young wing/wing-back who defends well and is special attacking. If we put our money anyplace, I think that is where to put it, so that we can play a 3-5-2 at times, and so that we can truly incorporate an AM into the squad, and so that players like Maguire and Dragovic can take pressure off our MFs by bringing the ball out. 

 

(5) We are improving in possession. It is pretty clear to me. But we need our transfers to be available, the injuries to Iborra and Nacho and the registration issue with Silva is just killing us. All three play in the middle, leaving our backbone soft. When we have them available, the team will automatically have a real mass of attacking players on the field most of the time, with four of: Vardy, Slim, Nacho, Silva, Mahrez, Gray...  

 

(6) When our transfers are healthy, we need to let them play. They are our most talented players. We need to see Iheanacho starting games, and if he isn't healthy, then he needs to sit for awhile and not play for Nigeria either.

 

Was just going to post that and you beat me to it !! ...     

[vanity]

1 minute ago, Countryfox said:

Was just going to post that and you beat me to it !! ...     

haha i'm a yapper, sorry mate

[Countryfox]

Just now, vanity said:

haha i'm a yapper, sorry mate

I'm a sarcastic git !! ...   good post.   

[MrsJohnMurphy]

2 hours ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Give it a rest.

This is why he's on my ignore list, contributes nothing. Unfortunately when you quote him I see his posts

[maddog]

4 hours ago, Finley Parsons said:

After 4 games into the premier league season what are we all thinking? Seems like the players are putting in a performance but we can't seem to get the points. What do we all think?

I'm thinking we should have gone for David Wagner when Claudio was sacked, and possibly Marco Silva which I said at the time.

 

But we didn't and I am really sad about it, because I don't think Shakespeare is the man to take us forward and progressively improve our style of play/technical footballing ability season upon season.

 

This isn't a I want Shakey out blah blah. Like its fine, he will easily keep us up with the squad he has at the moment. 

 

But I feel we missed the boat to go for Wagner, check my posts from 18 months ago if you want before Huddersfield were anywhere near the playoffs, I think he's great. 

 

Where do we go from Shakey? A Wagner or Silva and we could have been Southampton under Koeman and Pochetino. That's my main fear. Is it relegation, is it Gary Rowett.

 

What next? I feel we have missed a springboard by not going for Wagner/Silva. 

[Livid]

It's not been great but not horrendous either.

 

Arsenal - Tactical mistakes cost us 3 points.

Brighton - A poor side put away with us being effective but nothing special.

Man Utd - We never really gave them a game. It was only a matter of time before they scored and that was that.

Chelsea - A good team who didn't look at their best but were too good for us.

 

There is no drive in midfield, everything is pushed down the wings. 

 

Maguire looks good, our other signings haven't figured so who knows. Hopefully the Silva situation gets sorted soon.

[nnfox]

As a team (and CS is the guy with the tactics) we are too negative.  We have proper defensive defenders (i.e. we don't play wing backs - which I'm fine with) but the midfield two are fairly defensive minded and it seems that at least one of our front two is earmarked for getting back and helping the midfield.

 

We have an attacking side to the team that is up there with the best of them.  Nacho, Vardy, Slim, Gray, Mahrez, Albrighton and even Musa should be combining to batter the bottom half teams and give serious concern to the top teams.  Instead though, we seem to line up with a mentality of "try not to get beat and maybe we can nick a goal at the other end".

 

There's a lot to be said about not wanting to be beat by 5 or 6 goals and I wouldn't want that to happen, but we should be able to score 5 or 6 ourselves if we had a different mindset.

[Bazly]

We are 17th in the league, not an unfamiliar end of the table for us and have all the three promoted teams ahead of us. Invariably at least one of the promoted teams gets relegated so that leaves us trying to avoid 2 relegation slots. 40 points, that not the target but I think by the end of October it could be looking a haul.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

48 minutes ago, MrsJohnMurphy said:

This is why he's on my ignore list, contributes nothing. Unfortunately when you quote him I see his posts

Makes Weller54 look like the eternal optimist.

[MrsJohnMurphy]

2 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Makes Weller54 look like the eternal optimist.

 Funnily enough he's another on the list, miserable with painfully unfunny jokes!

[HighPeakFox]

I disagree with this 'they didn't get out of 2nd gear' put-down - maybe we aren't letting teams GET OUT of 2nd gear.

[Lionator]

31 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I disagree with this 'they didn't get out of 2nd gear' put-down - maybe we aren't letting teams GET OUT of 2nd gear.

Yesterday we matched Chelsea in a lot of area's. The difference was one moment of class for me with the Azpilacueta cross. Apart from that we weren't far behind. Of course it's frustrating to lose 3 games but we're in a good place and we really don't want to be getting on anybody's back with much easier games coming up.