Leicester 3-1 Fulham

[OntarioFox]

I won't lie - i found that game incredibly frustrating, especially for large periods of the 2nd half.

 

We really are good going forward and building up, but it is still telling that unless we have Vardy in a central position we are completely bereft of ideas.

 

Defensively we remain poor. Maguire needs a rocket up his arse and Chilwell has been poor since his return from injury.

 

That said, eventually we did turn it on and laboured to a positive result. But let's not sugar-coat it: the dumb back passes, lack of 'intensiteeee' and silly individual lapses of concentration are still there. I have to give huge praise to Rodgers, however, for seeing what we all knew all along and making Vardy the focal point of our otherwise blunt forward line again. You could see us working toward the Man City-style cutbacks looking for him a few times in the first half before we decided to take a holiday for most of the second half - definitely the way forward.

 

Next season will hopefully be great, but the shadow of 'Puelball' still very much hangs over this team. Rome wasn't built in a day, but a few green shoots amongst the weeds.

 

Still, pint and MOTD, because a win is a win.

[Dames]

23 minutes ago, l444ry said:

The fact that Vardy has scored 4 in 3 games since Puel left says it all. Anyone trying to defend Puel's hopeless time at the club when every rational person can see the improvement after just 10 days with Rodgers beggars belief.

I wouldn’t say there has been a massive improvement as there are still lingering issues. Though for me the massive difference is we seem to be looking to pass the ball forwards with purpose a lot more and a we are getting up the pitch quicker which does suit Vardy a lot more.

 

Other than that there still seems to be a confidence issue at the club and when we conceded and Fulham got on top for a period I really thought it was going to be one of those days. Thankfully we rode it out and got back on top and hopefully it does the team the world of good.

[StriderHiryu]

From the official site:

“It’s a really nice feeling,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “I thought that was a very good win for us, thoroughly deserved. We pressed the game how we would want and started to see the ideas that we’ve been trying to impose on the players.

“I thought they carried them out very well, so it was a good win for us. I said to the players beforehand that you have to respect these games, because these are games that the team have struggled with for a period of time.

 

“But if you go into it and stay focused and believe in your quality and do your work, then you’ll always have a chance to win.”

“It goes to 1-1 and it’s a disappointing goal from our perspective because other than that we didn’t give away much,” said the City manager. “The players showed that sprit and that resilience to come back again.

“It’s a wonderful pass by James Maddison that puts Jamie [Vardy] away for his first goal and from there, we had that intensity in the game. It was a great win.

“I’m so happy for the players and the supporters because they had a real connection with the team today. I’m hopeful that they can enjoy it and going forward, enjoy many more wins.”

 

On Jamie Vardy

 

“He’s an incredible player and I’m very lucky he’s here. I’m very happy he’s here, but it’s not just his striking. I think that defensively, I always like my central striker to be able to press and be tactically good.

“From this early period working with him, he’s tactically exceptional, I have to say. He understands what it is we’re trying to do. On top of that, he’s a real, real major threat in the game.

“I think he showed in the first goal how unselfish he is as a player, a team player. He’s through on goal [going for] 100 goals, but he squares it and Youri gets his finish. I’m lucky he’s here.”

 

I think when he says "connection with the fans" he means "didn't start booing the team until the second half." Which to be fair, was a nice change for once

Still all round interesting to hear what BR thinks about the game. I will say that this game already showcase some of the things we can expect to see from the team going forwards and that is very encouraging given how little time he's been here.

 

[shade]

29 minutes ago, OhYesNdidi said:

Was the sort of performance I’d expect from one of the supporters if they were ever given a chance. Totally out of his depth today imo 

that’s a bit harsh, I would be lot more composed than most of our youngsters in the final third, and i’m 38.

[l444ry]

3 minutes ago, Dames said:

I wouldn’t say there has been a massive improvement as there are still lingering issues. Though for me the massive difference is we seem to be looking to pass the ball forwards with purpose a lot more and a we are getting up the pitch quicker which does suit Vardy a lot more.

 

Other than that there still seems to be a confidence issue at the club and when we conceded and Fulham got on top for a period I really thought it was going to be one of those days. Thankfully we rode it out and got back on top and hopefully it does the team the world of good.

I didn't say "massive" improvement. Other than that, agree totally with you.

[shailen]

If we can become more clinical we will be a real force I'm sure. Some of the interplay between the front four was exceptional. 

[leicesterseddon]

Good first half without doing enough to kill the game off. 

 

Very poor second, luckily Fulham are incapable of defending. 

 

We we badly need another goal scorer; without Vardy we look only marginally better going forward than most of the relegation fodder. 

 

Chilwell was dreadful today, utterly dreadful. A total liability at the back and his crossing, even when under no pressure at all, is woeful. 

 

On the positive side I thought Tielemans, Barnes and Vardy all played well. 

[EverybodyDannsNow]

Loved watching the aggressive high press today.

 

Lost count of the amount of times we pressured their defenders into making a mistake, which then led to us having a decent chance.

 

Under Puel we played too deep and never forced mistakes high up the pitch, which meant we relied solely on creativity to have chances - something we lacked dearly.

 

Today, many of our chances didn't come from our own creativity; they came from mistakes forced by the high press. 

 

Quite simple when you think about it, but incredibly effective - especially when you have someone as hardworking as Vardy leading the line.

[demon_dog]

Much better all round. Rode through a sticky twenty minutes in the second half after they scored. Vardy excellent. Gray very, very poor. Chilwell at fault for their goal.

[urban.spaceman]

41 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

From the official site:

“It’s a really nice feeling,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “I thought that was a very good win for us, thoroughly deserved. We pressed the game how we would want and started to see the ideas that we’ve been trying to impose on the players.

“I thought they carried them out very well, so it was a good win for us. I said to the players beforehand that you have to respect these games, because these are games that the team have struggled with for a period of time.

 

“But if you go into it and stay focused and believe in your quality and do your work, then you’ll always have a chance to win.”

“It goes to 1-1 and it’s a disappointing goal from our perspective because other than that we didn’t give away much,” said the City manager. “The players showed that sprit and that resilience to come back again.

“It’s a wonderful pass by James Maddison that puts Jamie [Vardy] away for his first goal and from there, we had that intensity in the game. It was a great win.

Oh god no.

[Ric Flair]

Chilwell was heinous today, probably the worst he's been all season. Hope he picks his form back up as the first half of the season he was superb. 

[gw_leics772]

As a puel-in member right up until the palace game, i can now see that puel not utilising vardy by playing to his strengths, whilst having no plan b, was piss poor management of the highest order.

Yes we know he's not going to last forever but we should at least let his body decide when that is, especially if we haven't done anything in the transfer market to replace him.

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

18 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Oh god no.

It begins 

[Hammo]

Since Puel was sacked we have scored six goals in open play, mostly through the centre, with proper assists (including two each from our two playmakers) and clinical finishes (four of them by our main striker).

 

Coincidence? I don't think so..

 

 

 

 

[SouthStandUpperTier]

The first 70 mins was very similar to what we'd been seeing for most of the season. I think a better team than Fulham might have punished us today. Fortunately they gifted us our second goal and we finally clicked into gear towards the end.

[Clever Fox]

Highlights from today we're Vardy setting up Tielemans and Barnes all round performance. 

The first goal says so much about Vardy. There's a lesson for all young players watching today, and it's this. The team comes first, over personal glory.

Barnes was superb today also. I loved his physical presence where he showed he wasn't going to be pushed off the ball, and they did try to rough him up.

Only a worldclass save denied him from getting off the mark. Plus his hold up play to find Vardy for the 3rd goal shows he's maturing into the star player of the future.

 

It wasn't a classic but a win is a win and with others around us losing , it's been a good day.

[alanf0x]

What the Jeremy Kyle was going on in the family stand second half? 2 women thrown out? 

[fuchsntf]

18 minutes ago, SouthStandUpperTier said:

The first 70 mins was very similar to what we'd been seeing for most of the season. I think a better team than Fulham might have punished us today. Fortunately they gifted us our second goal and we finally clicked into gear towards the end.

Easy solution..stop thinking..

If you haven't noticed we have  lost to bad & good teams...

[Corky]

First half was as comfortable as it has been for a long while, second half was frustrating until a couple of bursts of quality won the game. 

 

The movement and pace of the play in the first half was very encouraging but we needed more than the one goal and so it proved. Still plenty to work on but generally I was happier with how we played, although Gray and Chilwell were disappointing. Rodgers' substitution in bringing on Okazaki was a good move as he was much more involved and effective than he has been. 

 

Let's take the points and move on and enjoy a weekend for the first time in weeks.

[Ian Nacho]

Confidence is a massive thing for us. We were playing really well until they scored then we were a bit shakey. As soon as we scored again we were playing again. Got to do us the world of good for a week of training before Burnley. 

[SuperMike]

3 hours ago, SheppyFox said:

Many many times I said we should sack Puel immediately. So pleased I got it right. 

I said the same (...many times) and yet was called many names (retard and muppet were my favourites) by those 'experts' who thought Puel was God, and who decided I had no right to hold a different opinion. So pleased to see City on the road to recovery - early days, but the signs look good already.

[Dr The Singh]

1 hour ago, alanf0x said:

What the Jeremy Kyle was going on in the family stand second half? 2 women thrown out? 

They were both fighting over me

[howlinmadmurfdoc]

1 hour ago, alanf0x said:

What the Jeremy Kyle was going on in the family stand second half? 2 women thrown out? 

There was a bloke got chucked out a few minutes before. Then when the two women went a bloke went with them but he got let back in.

[gw_leics772]

As a puel-in member right up until the palace game, i can now see that puel not utilising vardy by playing to his strengths, whilst having no plan b, was piss poor management of the highest order.

Yes we know he's not going to last forever but we should at least let his body decide when that is, especially if we haven't done anything in the transfer market to replace him.

[gw_leics772]

Mendy has some shot on him.

A bit lower and that was going through the goalie!