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CosbehFox

The "do they mean us?" thread pt 2

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It is a good thing for Jürgen Klopp that Liverpool keep winning, because so do their most impressive rivals. Leicester swept to their eighth league victory in a row – their best ever run in the top flight – to move back to within eight points of the league leaders. An insurmountable gap? Probably, but only a fool would completely discount this fearsome Leicester team.

Brendan Rodgers insisted he has no target in mind and is not bothered that many people still consider Manchester City to be Liverpool’s most serious challengers. “You saw after Manchester United won at Manchester City, the caption comes up [on television] about how far City are away from Liverpool,” he said. “We respect that, we just get on with our work and try to improve our performances, just keep developing. I don’t think anyone expects us to be anywhere near the top. We’ll take it game by game and try to improve in our training and see where it takes us. We’re a team that finished ninth over the last two seasons but I thought [at Villa Park] we looked like a top team.”

They sure did. Naturally, Jamie Vardy scored, the eighth game in a row in which he has done so. He struck twice to bring his tally to the season to 16 and close in on his own Premier League record of 11 consecutive matches with a goal. Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans also found the net, with Jack Grealish offering only fleeting hope to the hosts. Villa may be out of the bottom three on goal difference only, but no one else this season has beaten them as emphatically as this.

 
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Before kick-off there was a warm ovation in tribute to Ron Saunders, the former Villa manager who died on Saturday at the age of 87. Saunders was the inspiration behind some of Villa’s greatest achievements, turning them from a second-tier side into English champions before leaving with the club on course for European coronation in 1982. Those are feats any football supporter can appreciate, though it was perhaps fitting that Leicester were the visitors here, as their rise in recent years is vaguely comparable to the one led by Saunders, so long as allowance is made for the differences in eras.

Vardy, meanwhile, is a phenomenon that everyone can celebrate. Five years ago, on the only previous occasion that Leicester won eight league matches in a row – in the Championship – he scored the decisive goal at Birmingham City. Here, in a different part of the second city, he showed his enduring deadliness by opening the scoring in the 21st minute. It was not his surest finish, as, after going around the goalkeeper, he initially miskicked. But Ezri Konsa slipped, allowing Vardy to recover and prod in the net from close range.

 

The chance had been created by a loss of possession in midfield by Wesley and an astute through-ball by Iheanacho. Rodgers had decided to award the Nigerian a first league start of the season after being impressed by his performance off the bench against Everton last week.

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Iheanacho further justified that decision by notching Leicester’s second goal from close range in the 41st minute. Konsa may have got a touch as he tried to deflect it out of the striker’s path but the goal was fair reward for a slick move that started with Caglar Soyuncu striding out of defence before James Maddison pinged a low cross to the near post.

Things were looking ominous for Villa, who lost Tyrone Mings to a hamstring injury after the first goal and cursed an 11th-minute miss by Anwar El Ghazi, who shot against the crossbar from six yards.

Leicester, however, had threatened even before that, with Iheanacho forcing a decent save from Tom Heaton in the third minute after being slipped in by Maddison.

Maddison thrived at the tip of the midfield diamond that Rodgers chose to deploy for this game instead of his usual 4-3-3. Dennis Praet sent Vardy racing clear down the right just after the half hour. The striker tried to feed Iheanacho but Bjorn Engels, who had replaced Mings, made a key interception.

 
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Villa were having little joy in attack, where Wesley struggled to make an impact. But so long as they have Grealish, they have a threat. He underlined that in stoppage time at the end of the first half. After Leicester for once failed to clear a corner, the ball broke to Grealish, who, from about 16 yards, swept a superb shot in off the far post.

That proved to be no more than an irritant to Leicester. They regained their two-goal lead shortly after half-time. Maddison floated in a corner and Evans guided an expert header into the net. Dean Smith complained that Evans had found space only because of a block on Ahmed Elmohamady. “VAR should be disallowing it, that’s what their role is,” Smith said. “I don’t know why it wasn’t.”

What struck most after that was Leicester’s relentlessness. They craved more goals. Vardy got one thanks to a crisp finish after another pass by Praet. Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans nearly made the toll heavier, and Heaton had to make a brilliant save to foil Soyuncu. Villas fans streamed out long before the end for fear of witnessing something embarrassing. But for neutrals this Leicester team are a pleasure to watch.

Edited by Paddy.
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1 hour ago, dayday said:

From the fighting cocks, Spurs forum

 

Leicester fans singing we’re all going on a European tour

 

I remember their last European tour, the most embarrassing showing of any English club in Europe.

 

Totally out of there depth and they will be again.lol

 

 

If my memory serves me correct we were still in the champions league after spuds had been eliminated from both the champions league and europa cup. How embarrassing is that.

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1 hour ago, Babylon said:

The lack squad depth stuff does my nut in.

How many clubs have 22 players of equal ability or effectiveness? You will always have a weakness if a key player gets injured/ suspended so we aren't alone in that. I think we have the capabilities of adapting should an issue arise.

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2 minutes ago, Corky said:

How many clubs have 22 players of equal ability or effectiveness? You will always have a weakness if a key player gets injured/ suspended so we aren't alone in that. I think we have the capabilities of adapting should an issue arise.

I actually think our depth is pretty good in the main. So long as you don’t lose say 4 or 5 at the same time. I think you can swap out most of our players without too much of a hit.

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6 minutes ago, Corky said:

How many clubs have 22 players of equal ability or effectiveness? You will always have a weakness if a key player gets injured/ suspended so we aren't alone in that. I think we have the capabilities of adapting should an issue arise.

Praet and Nacho both come in today and didn’t look out of place; Fuchs slotting in nicely against Watford and so did Justin. We have better squad depth than most think. 

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10 minutes ago, foxes_rule1978 said:

Praet and Nacho both come in today and didn’t look out of place; Fuchs slotting in nicely against Watford and so did Justin. We have better squad depth than most think. 

Yep.

 

But it doesn't matter that much as long as the media keep spinning the story of a title race between Liverpool and Manchester City. :cool:

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The squad depth repetitive nonsense is a red herring. Take VVD and Mane out of Liverpool and watch them struggle. Of course it will be difficult to replace Vardy and one of the CBs but in the main our squad is pretty decent.

 

Look at Man City, they lose Lapprte and their defence goes to ****ing shit but nobody had Man City down as having poor squad depth.

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Guest BlueBrett
8 hours ago, Babylon said:

I actually think our depth is pretty good in the main. So long as you don’t lose say 4 or 5 at the same time. I think you can swap out most of our players without too much of a hit.

 

8 hours ago, foxes_rule1978 said:

Praet and Nacho both come in today and didn’t look out of place; Fuchs slotting in nicely against Watford and so did Justin. We have better squad depth than most think. 

I don't know. We do have some good back up options but the levels being achieved by the key players in the first eleven are unreal. Losing several simultaneously would be awful and ridiculously unlucky but even being without one or two for more than a game or two could be just as damaging imo. We are riding our momentum, can't really afford any slip-ups.

 

We have players who can come in when needed - Wes has done a job a couple times, Praet slots nicely into midfield and Fuchs was great the other night - but so far it has only been necessary for one offgames. I'm happy for Praet to get a game any time if BR feels his training displays warrant it, but there's no denying in the other two cases we are considerably weakened. The thing that struck me the other night vs Watford was how mad it was that Fuchs came in and played out of his skin, literally couldn't have done more, and yet it still felt like we missed Chilwell quite a bit. He's become such a key player for us, always an outlet and a potent attacking threat as well as a top defender. Basically just overperforming and the same can be said for several others.

 

The back 4, Ndidi, Maddison and Vardy have been out of this world and it's unrealistic to hope and unfair to expect that anyone who had to take their place for a run of games could even come close to replicating their form consistently. I'm not saying this is definitely going to become an issue for us, hopefully we can avoid injuries altogether and who knows what business will be done in Jan, but I do feel it's a reasonable back of the mind concern.

 

 

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30 minutes ago, BlueBrett said:

 

I don't know. We do have some good back up options but the levels being achieved by the key players in the first eleven are unreal. Losing several simultaneously would be awful and ridiculously unlucky but even being without one or two for more than a game or two could be just as damaging imo. We are riding our momentum, can't really afford any slip-ups.

 

We have players who can come in when needed - Wes has done a job a couple times, Praet slots nicely into midfield and Fuchs was great the other night - but so far it has only been necessary for one offgames. I'm happy for Praet to get a game any time if BR feels his training displays warrant it, but there's no denying in the other two cases we are considerably weakened. The thing that struck me the other night vs Watford was how mad it was that Fuchs came in and played out of his skin, literally couldn't have done more, and yet it still felt like we missed Chilwell quite a bit. He's become such a key player for us, always an outlet and a potent attacking threat as well as a top defender. Basically just overperforming and the same can be said for several others.

 

The back 4, Ndidi, Maddison and Vardy have been out of this world and it's unrealistic to hope and unfair to expect that anyone who had to take their place for a run of games could even come close to replicating their form consistently. I'm not saying this is definitely going to become an issue for us, hopefully we can avoid injuries altogether and who knows what business will be done in Jan, but I do feel it's a reasonable back of the mind concern.

 

 

Great example of how different players bring different things. Without Chilwell we lose a great attacking outlet. But Fuchs is still a better defender. So it's a balance. In most areas we have decent back up but an injury to Soyuncu or Evans would be a real concern. Wes is not the player he was, and I don't know what's the story with Benkovic.

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8 hours ago, NewquayFox said:

Brilliant, just brilliant and he is being serious too... :clap:

10F2BE2C-817A-4148-825C-2A8079D9A6D2.png

 

Wtf. Are they our three best rated players on fifa or something? 

 

 

27 minutes ago, Vacamion said:

 

This image tickled me. 

 

 

 

 

Screenshot_20191209_070818_com.twitter.android_1.jpg

 

I mean it's a bit of a step back but we'll have to get used to the idea that we'll never replace Brendan entirely. I guess he'd do in a pinch. 

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1 hour ago, BlueBrett said:

 

I don't know. We do have some good back up options but the levels being achieved by the key players in the first eleven are unreal. Losing several simultaneously would be awful and ridiculously unlucky but even being without one or two for more than a game or two could be just as damaging imo. We are riding our momentum, can't really afford any slip-ups.

 

We have players who can come in when needed - Wes has done a job a couple times, Praet slots nicely into midfield and Fuchs was great the other night - but so far it has only been necessary for one offgames. I'm happy for Praet to get a game any time if BR feels his training displays warrant it, but there's no denying in the other two cases we are considerably weakened. The thing that struck me the other night vs Watford was how mad it was that Fuchs came in and played out of his skin, literally couldn't have done more, and yet it still felt like we missed Chilwell quite a bit. He's become such a key player for us, always an outlet and a potent attacking threat as well as a top defender. Basically just overperforming and the same can be said for several others.

 

The back 4, Ndidi, Maddison and Vardy have been out of this world and it's unrealistic to hope and unfair to expect that anyone who had to take their place for a run of games could even come close to replicating their form consistently. I'm not saying this is definitely going to become an issue for us, hopefully we can avoid injuries altogether and who knows what business will be done in Jan, but I do feel it's a reasonable back of the mind concern.

 

 

Same goes for every team, their backup players aren’t as good as their starters. But these players haven’t let us down at all and actually continue to play well.

 

Both wingers can be replaced. Maddison or Tielemans you could swap with Praet. Fuchs has done a grand job, yes we looked a little weaker but we still won the game.

 

Justin actually looked great in his cameo, If Vards was out you could put Nacho and Perez up top. 

 

Hamza whilst no N’didi is capable of shielding the back four.

 

We are far stronger than people give us credit for. As I said, you couldn’t lose too many for extended periods, but there is enough there to cover even some of our better players.

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https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11712/11882069/leicester-city-are-still-evolving-as-a-team-under-brendan-rodgers

 

Leicester City are still evolving as a team under Brendan Rodgers

 

There was a moment in Brendan Rodgers' press conference after seeing his Leicester City side dismantle Aston Villa at Villa Park when he referred to a caption that had appeared on his television screen while watching the Manchester derby the previous evening. The graphic had displayed the gap in points between Liverpool and Manchester City.

 

It did not mention there was a team between them.

 

Rodgers was quick to stress this had not irked him. "It's just natural," he added. "Manchester City and Liverpool are both incredible teams."

 

Nevertheless, it was interesting he noted it. There is a growing feeling Rodgers himself is beginning to fashion an incredible team of his own over in the East Midlands.

 

Leicester were sensational on Sunday. One moment they were carving open the Aston Villa defence to produce clear-cut openings for James Maddison and substitute Harvey Barnes, the next they were forcing Tom Heaton into a spectacular save to deny Caglar Soyuncu.


And those were just the ones that did not go in.

 

Even Villa boss Dean Smith admitted Leicester could have had eight. The four goals they did score showed just what a complete team they are becoming under Rodgers.

 

Jamie Vardy scored twice on the counter-attack, Kelechi Iheanacho capped off a wonderful team goal that had begun inside their own half, while Jonny Evans netted from a corner.

 

"That was the beauty of today," said Rodgers. "We showed different ways to score goals."

 

Leicester showed they could play in a slightly different way too. Not content with fusing the best bits of the club's counter-attacking style from their title-winning season with a passing game reminiscent of the richest teams in the land, Rodgers is now dabbling with the formation too. He changed the shape and went with a diamond against Aston Villa.

 

Barnes made way for Dennis Praet, playing tucked in on the right, with Youri Tielemans mirroring his compatriot's role on the left. Iheanacho partnered Vardy in attack. Those tweaks might have seemed an unnecessary gamble for a team coming into the game having won their previous seven Premier League matches, but there were few signs of uncertainty.

 

Indeed, this was always part of the plan.

 

"I said when I first came in that having tactical flexibility is so important," Rodgers said. "The style will always stay the same, how we want to build the game, how we want to play. But having that ability to change systems and give teams different problems is how we want to work.

 

"We did it in pre-season in our preparation phase so that we could lay in some principles for that. We felt we have never really had to use it until this point, but the players carried it out ever so well. The players were so good in how they coped with it."

 

Rodgers had spotted something in Villa's setup he could exploit.

 

"Sometimes you come away from home against a good attacking team like Aston Villa where the full-backs will go and the midfield is very strong," he explained. "I just felt having four in there would give us the extra man. When you are playing a team at home that is going to commit the full-backs, that gives us two versus two against the centre-halves.

 

"I will always back our two against the two centre-halves."

 

Iheanacho seized his opportunity, for sure.

 

While Evans rejected the theory his team had been outmanoeuvred by Leicester's tactics, the space the striker had in which to work made for a dream first Premier League start of the calendar year. Iheanacho has had to be patient. This was his reward.

 

Having scored in each of his three previous appearances this season, including that late winner against Everton, he made it four out of four with his most complete performance yet. As well as the goal, a lovely near-post flick to double Leicester's lead, he set up Vardy for the opener and showed off his pace, awareness and technique throughout.

 

"I thought he was great, he played the role how we wanted him to play it," said Rodgers. "He has been absolutely first class in his training. You have seen it in the cup games when he comes in and scores. It is just a case of him coming in with confidence. Today, I thought he was very good. His hold-up play, his link up with the midfield. He was excellent."

 

That it was Praet who produced the expertly lofted pass that found Vardy for Leicester's fourth and final goal seemed to sum it all up. The performances of the newcomers to the line-up underlined the fact Leicester have strength in depth. No wonder Rodgers gave a one-word reply when asked what had pleased him about the afternoon's work.

 

"Everything," he said.

 

Liverpool's own excellence this season means they have the luxury of not having to worry too much about anyone else. But the teams below Leicester? They have every reason to be concerned about the improvements Rodgers continues to coax from this squad. Those rivals for the Champions League places are playing catch-up against an improving team.

 

Not only are Leicester a young side with huge scope to improve as individuals, they are developing together too. They do not have the distraction of European competition either, something Rodgers himself used to great effect during his best season at Liverpool.

 

"We know we have the mentality and the stamina to keep going," he said.

 

Extra time to cover. Extra time to coach. That could be enough to elevate Leicester above just about everyone else in this Premier League. "We just get on with our work, get on with trying to play and improve our performance level and just keep developing as a team," added Rodgers. "I don't think anyone expects us to be anywhere near the top."

 

But that's not quite true. Not any longer. The suggestion this is a false position in which Leicester find themselves has long since been debunked. They have the top scorer in the Premier League and they have the best defensive record in the Premier League.

 

They have a young team playing with confidence and they have a coach who the rest of the country have belatedly come to realise is one of the best in the business. Do not expect Leicester to fall away. In fact, everything points to them getting better and better.

 

Maybe the time has come to include them on those title-race graphics.

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