Half Way Report

[AKCJ]

Given that we're half way through the Premier League season I thought i'd go through our results and discuss them with you all.

 

GAMEWEEK 1 LOSS

Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City

Vardy

 

GAMEWEEK 2 WIN

Leicester City 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Doherty OG, Maddison

 

GAMEWEEK 3 WIN

Southampton 1-2 Leicester City

Gray, Maguire

 

GAMEWEEK 4 LOSS

Leicester City 1-2 Liverpool

Ghezzal

 

GAMEWEEK 5 LOSS

Bournemouth 4-2 Leicester City

Maddison, Albrighton

 

GAMEWEEK 6 WIN

Leicester City 3-1 Huddersfield Town

Iheanacho, Maddison,Vardy

 

GAMEWEEK 7 WIN

Newcastle 0-2 Leicester City

Vardy, Maguire

 

GAMEWEEK 8 LOSS

Leicester City 1-2 Everton

Ricardo

 

GAMEWEEK 9 LOSS

Arsenal 3-1 Leicester City

Bellerin OG

 

GAMEWEEK 10 DRAW

Leicester City 1-1 West Ham

Ndidi

 

GAMEWEEK 11 WIN

CardiffCity 0-1 Leicester City

Gray

 

GAMEWEEK 12 DRAW

Leicester City 0-0 Burnley

 

 

GAMEWEEK 13 DRAW

Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 Leicester City

Vardy

 

GAMEWEEK 14 WIN

Leicester City 2-0 Watford

Vardy, Maddison

 

GAMEWEEK 15 DRAW

Fulham 1-1 Leicester City

Maddison

 

GAMEWEEK 16 LOSS

Leicester City 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

 

GAMEWEEK 17 LOSS

Crystal Palace 1-0 Leicester City

 

GAMEWEEK 18 WIN

Chelsea 0-1 Leicester City

Vardy

GAMEWEEK 19 WIN

Leicester City 2-1 Manchester City

Albrighton, Ricardo

 

So after 19 games we are 7th in the Premier League. P19  W8  D4  L7  GF24  GA22  GD +2

 

James Maddison and Jamie Vardy lead the way in goal contributions. (Maddison 5g 3a, Vardy 6g,2a)

 

The team's poor discipline has cost the team numerous points. We have received a league high 4 red cards. Wes Morgan has been sent off twice for two bookable offences (Everton and Bournemouth), James Maddison was sent off for diving having given away a needless yellow minutes earlier and Vardy's wild lunge against Wolverhampton went unpunished in the game itself as we managed to hold onto the 2-0 lead but his suspension resulted in a loss in a tight game at home to Liverpool. We have accumulated 31 yellow cards.

 

Defensively we have been better this  season. 6 clean sheets is joint 5th. Only Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham have kept more. However we have looked very susceptible to pace with games against Everton and Bournemouth proving particularly painful. We have conceded 22 goals which means we are the joint 5th strongest defense in the division.

 

Possession wise we average 49.6% of the ball. This is 8th in the league. Considering we have been down to ten men in four of our games, this is quite impressive and shows a good progress in terms of becoming more of a "prettier" footballing side. However, our passing accuracy is down at just 78% which is the 12st best in the league. To me this shows that while we're trying to pass and keep the ball better, we simply don't have the quality to do so. 

 

In attack we average 11.8 shots per game. This is the 12th highest in the league. To me this backs up the "Boring Puel" claim. As much as we have the ball we don't seem to be able to turn it into goalscoring chances. Ndidi has taken the most shots with 35, worrying as he's a defensive midfielder. 

 

Overall I think we're going in the right direction and we're a work in progress. I think our squad should definitely finish either 7th or 8th so I don't think we can moan too much. Lets hope we push on in the second half of the season and get into Europe again.

 

Edited 27 December 2018 by AKCJ

[coolhandfox]

Good summary, 

 

Quote

Possession wise we average 49.6% of the ball. This is 8th in the league. Considering we have been down to ten men in four of our games, this is quite impressive and shows a good progress in terms of becoming more of a "prettier" footballing side. However, our passing accuracy is down at just 78% which is the 12st best in the league. To me this shows that while we're trying to pass and keep the ball better, we simply don't have the quality to do so. 

I think this improve after another transfer window, as we improve the quality of the squad.

 

 

Quote

In attack we average 11.8 shots per game. This is the 12th highest in the league. To me this backs up the "Boring Puel" claim. As much as we have the ball we don't seem to be able to turn it into goalscoring chances. Ndidi has taken the most shots with 35, worrying as he's a defensive midfielder. 

It not surprising with the attacking players at Puel's disposal, Vardy has missed 4 games and has only been half-fit for half of the games he has played, with only Okazaki and Nacho as back up.

 

In the attacking midfield we have only got Gray, Albrighton, Maddison, Ghezzal and Diabaté, only one of which is a proven PL player. 

 

Once again this need to be addressed in the next transfer window.

Edited 27 December 2018 by coolhandfox
typo's

[Mark_w]

5 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

In the attacking midfield we have only got Gray, Albrighton, Maddison, Ghezzal and Diabaté, only one of which is a proven PL player.  

Define proven?

Maddison has proved he belongs at this level, Albrighton was a regular starter in a Premier League winning side.

[winteriscoming]

Not top not good enough. 

[coolhandfox]

15 minutes ago, Mark_w said:

Define proven?

Maddison has proved he belongs at this level, Albrighton was a regular starter in a Premier League winning side.

Unlike most on here I don't judge a player instantly, I prefer to take a view over a period of time. For me Albrighton is a proven as PL player and has show this over 229 apps. Maddison has show flashes of being a top quality player so far this season, but he only played 18 games at this level. Gray has shown he is capable of occasional flashes of brilliance, like the Everton game last year, but still hasn't a shown he can perform on a regular basis.

 

The other two have really had time to show whether they are up to it.  

 

Edited 27 December 2018 by coolhandfox

[Red Squirrel]

Like Pearson did in the great escape I think Puel has hit upon an effective formation with the inclusion of Choudhury which allows Maddison to play the No 10. I feel differently to when it went wrong with Ranieri and Shakey and you can discern the pattern of play Puel is looking for albeit I wonder if the players have not won the argument to hit Vardy earlier which has been noticeable in the last 2 games.

 

With 2 massively confidence-building wins it will be interesting to see how we go in the 2nd half of the season and whether we make a couple of signings in Jan to push for a Europa League place or wait until the summer.

[BoyJones]

Tries hard, but could do better. 

[brucey]

 

[urban.spaceman]

We’re doing well at the minute. A few blips the last few weeks but the last two performances have been excellent. We just need to gather a bit of momentum and stay consistent!

[SheppyFox]

Thanks for this  

[SystonFox]

We really should’ve beat Arsenal away that’s the one that gets me. Such an impressive first half followed by a crappy ref decision and then a customary goal on halftime that sucker punched us.

 

arsenal battered us second half so deserved the win overall

[kingfox]

Unsurprisingly inconsistent, unsurprisingly good and bad.

 

We've beaten teams we should be beating, bonus wins against Chelsea and Man City, few dodgy draws and the losses to Bournemouth and Palace were our biggest lows.

 

The football on offer has been hit and miss too, pretty decent at times, pretty boring at times but I do admire Puel in some ways.

 

Things are far from perfect but he's developing a young talented side here, it's going to take time.

 

At the minute I'm fairly happy, I expect things to remain tight from about 7th to 12th but at the minute we're in the perfect position.

[The Doctor]

1 hour ago, AKCJ said:

In attack we average 11.8 shots per game. This is the 12th highest in the league. To me this backs up the "Boring Puel" claim. As much as we have the ball we don't seem to be able to turn it into goalscoring chances. Ndidi has taken the most shots with 35, worrying as he's a defensive midfielder. 

Don't think that really backs up the boring claim so much as it highlights that we're generally middling as a side. Ndidi isn't worrying as much as it is annoying, because that's his usual two long pops that come closer to hitting the ball boys than the target.

[UniFox21]

41 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

Don't think that really backs up the boring claim so much as it highlights that we're generally middling as a side. Ndidi isn't worrying as much as it is annoying, because that's his usual two long pops that come closer to hitting the ball boys than the target.

Not sure which I'd rather see...

[CosbehFox]

If the season stopped today, we’ve somehow managed to be the best of the rest; in process out performing Everton and West Ham who’ve spent very big in the summer. 

[Stadt]

Reading that it’s clear just how important Maddison been. Despite being patchy (not just his beard ) he’s probably our key player now 

[Deeg67]

1 hour ago, Red Squirrel said:

Like Pearson did in the great escape I think Puel has hit upon an effective formation with the inclusion of Choudhury which allows Maddison to play the No 10. I feel differently to when it went wrong with Ranieri and Shakey and you can discern the pattern of play Puel is looking for albeit I wonder if the players have not won the argument to hit Vardy earlier which has been noticeable in the last 2 games.

 

With 2 massively confidence-building wins it will be interesting to see how we go in the 2nd half of the season and whether we make a couple of signings in Jan to push for a Europa League place or wait until the summer.

I honestly don't believe there was any players winning arguments here - that's just another attempt to deny Puel any credit when things go well.  It was a reflection of the opponents - two of the most possession-oriented (and effectively so) teams in the PL - and Puel making a formation change to adapt.  Also, I don't think it's any coincidence that Vardy's goal-scoring record against big 6 sides has been so consistently good.  Commentators like to play up the "he's fiery and a great competitor" angle because it makes a good tagline, but most of it is simply that these teams come at us and give Vardy the space to be the signature Vardy we know and love.

[foxes_rule1978]

Puel out...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

if you are an idiot

[Langston]

16 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Reading that it’s clear just how important Maddison been. Despite being patchy (not just his beard ) he’s probably our key player now 

 

It's those weird lamb chops that need their own twitter account

[Anglodanglo]

8 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

I honestly don't believe there was any players winning arguments here - that's just another attempt to deny Puel any credit when things go well.  It was a reflection of the opponents - two of the most possession-oriented (and effectively so) teams in the PL - and Puel making a formation change to adapt.  Also, I don't think it's any coincidence that Vardy's goal-scoring record against big 6 sides has been so consistently good.  Commentators like to play up the "he's fiery and a great competitor" angle because it makes a good tagline, but most of it is simply that these teams come at us and give Vardy the space to be the signature Vardy we know and love.

I hear you mate. I also think both are true.

Part of a commentators job is to package a players style in a succinct & easily digestible way.

At the same time, your point about signature Vardy is spot on imo

[Xen]

9 home games, with 4 wins.

 

I've had tickets to every home fixture, but had to miss 3 of them for other commitments so given the tickets to family. All 3 of those have been wins.

 

Fml.

[Stadt]

19 minutes ago, Langston said:

 

It's those weird lamb chops that need their own twitter account

Yeah who'd be in their early twenties and have such terrible facial hair like that? 

[StriderHiryu]

Excellent OP !

 

The last two results have had a huge impact on our season and personally got me much more excited for the second half. We are in transition and losing Vichai a devastating loss not just for the club but the city and the game of football. I personally was ready for a challenging season and think we’ve done better than expected. 

 

At the end of last season after the tonking from Palace I thought Puel should go and to be honest was very sceptical after this year’s Palace away game and the John Percy stories but fair play he’s got two excellent results and some great performances. 

 

If you think about it there is so much to be excited for:

- We are 7th after 19 games in a very competitive league. 

- Blooding lots of young players many of whom look good. 

- Are changing the way we play slowly but surely. Yes it’s often boring but take the last two games as examples... our ability to play it out from the back stopped the high press from working. 

- We have done well against the big teams. Not just the last week but we outplayed Man United, passed Arsenal off the pitch at times and competed against Liverpool. Not many teams have done that. 

- Our major signings have made a big impact. I’d rate our best outfirld players as Chilwell, Ricardo, Maddison and Vardy in that order. 

- We’ve successfully switched tactics when necessary. 

- Several players are evolving and improving their game. Vardy can stretch play and link, Albrighton isn’t just a winger but a forward. 

- We handled ourselves with dignity after a truly tragic event. 

 

This isn’t including infrastructure improvements like a new training ground and stadium complex or that two of our loan signings are tearing it up. 

 

I still expect to finish below Everton this season as I feel they went for more of a short term approach with loan signings of Zouma and Gomes as examples. They have a better team now but will have to continue to invest. For us I think we are laying the groundwork now for a major shift in the future. I think in the next few years we will become a team that plays technical football and develops players this way from a young age. I think we’ll end up as the English version of Sevilla / Monaco in that we will compete in cup competitions but will also be synonymous for developing exciting new talent and giving those players a chance. 

 

I expect quite a few more boring games between now and May but I’ve seen a glimpse of where we are headed. I think we are on track and doing things the right way. Realistically to break into the top 6 could be impossible - look at the stadiums and resources those clubs have. In fact really just beating other teams trying to break in like Everton, West Ham and dare I say Wolves is a challenge in itself. But we are certainly in the mix!

[Royston.]

3 hours ago, Stadt said:

Yeah who'd be in their early twenties and have such terrible facial hair like that? 

A mega rich footballer?

[Hanan96]

4 hours ago, Xen said:

9 home games, with 4 wins.

 

I've had tickets to every home fixture, but had to miss 3 of them for other commitments so given the tickets to family. All 3 of those have been wins.

 

Fml.

Not your fault sir, not your fault..