Rogers tactics

[Mr Weller]

Fair point. However, Rogers seems aware of this and the team are young so I think they can learn. Last year they were very predictable, this year less so and next year hopefully we’ll be better still.

 

They seem a little lost at the moment, maybe a combination of fatigue and distractions in the transfer window. They need to be revitalised and perhaps reorganised but there is nothing here that a good manager like Rogers can’t address.

[Rigga]

I would say we are very predictable this season... first 15 mins of games happy to play the ball along the back 3 or 4... with very little attacking intent

We gradually step it up through midfield as the games go on but also let the opposition get back into formation by playing needless sideways/backward passes.

Fine manager that he is, Rodgers needs to settle in a formation and find a way to breakdown stubborn defences especially at the KP.

Our lack of a plan B late in games when chasing the game is all too evident also.. Every PL squad should have a big striker as an alternative option.

 

Just don’t want our fantastic start to the season going to waste.. The pack are beginning to close..

[Churchill]

Forgetting about the other games where we have dropped points or snatched a win, the two games that standout for me are Man City and Liverpool. Both occasions we started with wide players that wont provide much cover for our full backs, Man city we had Barnes and Perez then Liverpool Perez and Maddison, correct me if I am wrong, for me you're asking for trouble even though I don't think Chilwell is all that to leave him 1v1 and sometimes 2v1 against a very very good Mahrez and then Salah and TAA is just suicide not to mention the amount of time we let them have. You can excuse one game (man city) hoping he learns by the mistake and shapes up differently against Liverpool but we didn't and got a real footballing lesson. Surely in these games whilst we haven't got the capabilities to go toe to toe with the likes of Liverpool you'd look at starting Albrighton one side (work horse and will cover his full back 100%) and then push ricardo up the other side with James Justin in at full back, I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I cant help but feel frustrated that both them games we just rolled over and played it into their hands. Hopefully our form improves and we see the performances like the majority of the first half of the season.

[Collymore]

You may have heard about storm Brendan that is currently putting horizontal rain against my window as I type but how does storm Brendan differ from any other storm?

 

Rodgers must have called into the BBC and wrote the script - just watch the first 20 seconds! It's like she's possessed by our Brendan!

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather

[fuchsntf]

Typicall..things Don t run smoothly.lets Take Everything apart and forget its The Teams und Rodgers tactics that has got us in the Top 4 with decent cup Runs..

..But no !!some dozos want to question all round tactics....The  name Rodgers I know ,and  a Proven coach at  the Top level.

I Don t know and havent heard of the anonymous no names Chasing shadows in this forum,...

because they Don t understand football!!!

Edited 13 January 2020 by fuchsntf

[StriderHiryu]

27 minutes ago, Churchill said:

Forgetting about the other games where we have dropped points or snatched a win, the two games that standout for me are Man City and Liverpool. Both occasions we started with wide players that wont provide much cover for our full backs, Man city we had Barnes and Perez then Liverpool Perez and Maddison, correct me if I am wrong, for me you're asking for trouble even though I don't think Chilwell is all that to leave him 1v1 and sometimes 2v1 against a very very good Mahrez and then Salah and TAA is just suicide not to mention the amount of time we let them have. You can excuse one game (man city) hoping he learns by the mistake and shapes up differently against Liverpool but we didn't and got a real footballing lesson. Surely in these games whilst we haven't got the capabilities to go toe to toe with the likes of Liverpool you'd look at starting Albrighton one side (work horse and will cover his full back 100%) and then push ricardo up the other side with James Justin in at full back, I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I cant help but feel frustrated that both them games we just rolled over and played it into their hands. Hopefully our form improves and we see the performances like the majority of the first half of the season.

We definitely did in both games, but there is also a bit of a stylistic choice here too. Spurs narrowly lost to Liverpool yesterday with a very defensive setup, surrendering the ball to Liverpool. Wolves beat Man City at the Etihad earlier in the season playing a counter attack. On paper, that is what we should have done in both games against those teams. But the thing is that if you want your team to ultimately be able to challenge those very top teams, do you have to be like them and impose your style on any team regardless of whom they are? Maybe there is a logic in trying to do that now even if you lose games, so players get the experience and hunger to put it right next time round? If we still get to the Champions League then those results may not matter.

 

Rodgers has done this type of thing plenty of times throughout his career. Celtic once lost 7-0 to Barcelona when Luis Enrique was in charge and they had Messi, Suarez and Neymar up front. During that match they tried to play football against a vastly superior team and were destroyed as a result. But those are his principles and he'll generally stick to them.

 

In my opinion given our form and position in the league he was entitled to try and outplay them. Had we actually done it to either team, the confidence lift would have been huge and away at Anfield we competed decently. But of course, it didn't work out and we've looked worn down after those losses.

[volpeazzurro]

1 hour ago, StriderHiryu said:

We definitely did in both games, but there is also a bit of a stylistic choice here too. Spurs narrowly lost to Liverpool yesterday with a very defensive setup, surrendering the ball to Liverpool. Wolves beat Man City at the Etihad earlier in the season playing a counter attack. On paper, that is what we should have done in both games against those teams. But the thing is that if you want your team to ultimately be able to challenge those very top teams, do you have to be like them and impose your style on any team regardless of whom they are? Maybe there is a logic in trying to do that now even if you lose games, so players get the experience and hunger to put it right next time round? If we still get to the Champions League then those results may not matter.

 

Rodgers has done this type of thing plenty of times throughout his career. Celtic once lost 7-0 to Barcelona when Luis Enrique was in charge and they had Messi, Suarez and Neymar up front. During that match they tried to play football against a vastly superior team and were destroyed as a result. But those are his principles and he'll generally stick to them.

 

In my opinion given our form and position in the league he was entitled to try and outplay them. Had we actually done it to either team, the confidence lift would have been huge and away at Anfield we competed decently. But of course, it didn't work out and we've looked worn down after those losses.

Whilst I appreciate what you're saying, surely it's a manager's job to win or, at the very least, try not to lose. A manager should recognise his teams strengths and weaknesses and that of the opposition, there are no points for ego. IF Rodgers, when losing 7-0 to Barcelona was trying to outplay them with a passing game 'trying to play football' then he was a mug.

 

This time last year against the odds, we were beating Man City, Chelsea and drawing with Liverpool with arguably a poorer choice of players. This was because certain tactics and team selection were employed. Trying to mimic either Man City or Liverpool by using their tactics would be crass. Rodgers tactics and team selection in those two matches recently were decidedly poor as were they against Villa when he had ample opportunities to change things but different. 

[StriderHiryu]

5 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Whilst I appreciate what you're saying, surely it's a manager's job to win or, at the very least, try not to lose. A manager should recognise his teams strengths and weaknesses and that of the opposition, there are no points for ego. IF Rodgers, when losing 7-0 to Barcelona was trying to outplay them with a passing game 'trying to play football' then he was a mug.

 

This time last year against the odds, we were beating Man City, Chelsea and drawing with Liverpool with arguably a poorer choice of players. This was because certain tactics and team selection were employed. Trying to mimic either Man City or Liverpool by using their tactics would be crass. Rodgers tactics and team selection in those two matches recently were decidedly poor as were they against Villa when he had ample opportunities to change things but different. 

That's why I'm raising it as a talking point, because what you say is completely correct. The ultimate goal of any manager is to make their team win. Our style of play in 15/16 wasn't as pretty as it is now, but it worked out pretty well for us!

 

But then you can argue that the likes of Dyche, Pulis and Big Sam are dinosaurs that play old fashioned football even if it's effective.

 

For me given the "Leicester City Project" I can buy into the style of play being more important than results and league position for a while. It took Klopp quite a while to get Liverpool to the level they are now of being this relentless winning machine that is destroying all records in their path. We don't have the resources to get to that beastly level, but if we are to somehow break up the top 6 on a permanent basis we probably have to do it creatively such as through a style of play and superb coaching from youth level to senior team so that we don't need to compete for over priced players.

 

For what it's worth in the thread for the Man City game I was calling for us to play the same as Wolves did and go for the counter attack style. But I am not going to hang out Rodgers to dry for not making that decision because he has earned my trust and support. This current Leicester team has played the best football of any Leicester team I have personally ever seen, with a young team and players that are likable, including many from our own academy. This may become more of an issue in years to come, but for now it's not an issue to me.  

[Dahnsouff]

19 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

 

For me given the "Leicester City Project" I can buy into the style of play being more important than results and league position for a while. It took Klopp quite a while to get Liverpool to the level they are now of being this relentless winning machine that is destroying all records in their path. We don't have the resources to get to that beastly level, but if we are to somehow break up the top 6 on a permanent basis we probably have to do it creatively such as through a style of play and superb coaching from youth level to senior team so that we don't need to compete for over priced players.

 

The bit in bold has been a thought for a while now, and whilst I will happily concede it reeks of revisionism, there is still a nagging thought that any project will have bumps in the road, especially if there are tweaks or experiments that  are implemented during a season, which they must be, as performing them in the off season cannot ever produce realistic results.

 

I am not personally tactically savvy enough to detect subtle tweaks/experiments in the play style during games, but just wondered if this was a possible cause in results, coupled with possible fatigue.

 

[StriderHiryu]

2 hours ago, Dahnsouff said:

 

I am not personally tactically savvy enough to detect subtle tweaks/experiments in the play style during games, but just wondered if this was a possible cause in results, coupled with possible fatigue.

 

We have changed our formation a lot more often over the last two months but it has come off quite a few times eg Villa and Newcastle away even it’s also failed against Norwich and Villa at home. But I don’t think it’s the major reason we’ve dipped our performance levels. Instead it’s because our squad is young and very few young players are the finished article in terms of consistency. Raheem Sterling is a great example for me. It took him quite a few years plus coaching from Guardiola to get to the level he’s at now. So expecting all of our players to produce weekly is unrealistic IMO. The good news is that some are already doing it; Ndidi, Soyuncu and I’d say Maddison are consistently very good which is hugely impressive for their age. 

[Dan LCFC]

I couldn't really tell you what we were even trying to do against Man City and Liverpool. We didn't really play attacking, defensive, counter, I'm genuinely perplexed by what we were trying to do, it was miserable.

[WigstonWanderer]

On 12/01/2020 at 20:05, Stadt said:

We never have any width, Ricardo takes up narrow positions for an attacking full back, Chilwell is often too deep and the wife players move too centrally too early. 

I find centrally is the best way to play the wife

[StriderHiryu]

5 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

I couldn't really tell you what we were even trying to do against Man City and Liverpool. We didn't really play attacking, defensive, counter, I'm genuinely perplexed by what we were trying to do, it was miserable.

To be fair that’s because the way they play makes teams like us look clueless. Both teams ran a high press with pressing traps making us play passes into congested areas where we’d lose the ball over and over. That meant we’d increasingly frustrated and Evans ended up kicking it long and also losing it. 

 

The irony is we play the exact same way against many other teams in the league but when we face a team that is better and more experienced at doing it then us we look like amateurs. I’d argue that other than a small spell in the second half at the Etihad we never got started in either game. And that’s why both teams got so many points last season and Liverpool so many this - they literally stop you playing!

[Oxfordfox83]

Occurs to me that our downturn in form and people getting on Chilwell’s back have coincided with Rodgers trying to shoehorn in another 10, pushing centre mids wide and reducing the width of the team. 

 

Brendan does so much well, but failing to realise that Maddison on the LW is suicide is costing us points. Perez may prefer to be a 10, but he can do a job wide, and Maddison really can’t. If we go back to round pegs for round holes, even if it ties us to 4141, so be it. A predictable system is better than one that has no prospect of working.

[Guest An Sionnach]

33 minutes ago, Oxfordfox83 said:

Occurs to me that our downturn in form and people getting on Chilwell’s back have coincided with Rodgers trying to shoehorn in another 10, pushing centre mids wide and reducing the width of the team. 

 

Brendan does so much well, but failing to realise that Maddison on the LW is suicide is costing us points. Perez may prefer to be a 10, but he can do a job wide, and Maddison really can’t. If we go back to round pegs for round holes, even if it ties us to 4141, so be it. A predictable system is better than one that has no prospect of working.

Bad form in an individual is normal and that's what we have a squad for. Bad form in a whole team is Always and I mean Always the managers fault.

[David Hankey]

The fact is that we have not being playing like a team in 2nd spot and as I've said before it was only a question of time before we dropped back to 3rd. Many, I know, will be happy with a top 4 spot in May, why, when we held onto 2nd for so long. We should be more dominant at home, more decisive and more clinical and we're not. So, starting with the next game let's get these shabby performances be a thing of the past and put in a real fight for 2nd spot. And if anyone knows how we do that, ask Brendan, he's the manager.

Edited 14 January 2020 by David Hankey

[foxinsocks]

We have been thru period if patchy form from young players.... it's hard to evaluate bredan direction when chilly..barnes..ayoze... youri and madders can all go missing in games. 

[Dan LCFC]

3 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

To be fair that’s because the way they play makes teams like us look clueless. Both teams ran a high press with pressing traps making us play passes into congested areas where we’d lose the ball over and over. That meant we’d increasingly frustrated and Evans ended up kicking it long and also losing it. 

 

The irony is we play the exact same way against many other teams in the league but when we face a team that is better and more experienced at doing it then us we look like amateurs. I’d argue that other than a small spell in the second half at the Etihad we never got started in either game. And that’s why both teams got so many points last season and Liverpool so many this - they literally stop you playing!

I still didn't feel like against Liverpool there was really any discernible plan from us. Man City I agree we tried to go toe to toe and frankly were hammered, but Liverpool I just didn't really get the set up, Maddison on the wing just baffling.

 

Realistically we'd have likely lost both games no matter what, both of them had a bit of a point to prove against us given where we were in the league, can't help but feel those two games have knocked our confidence a bit.

[oxtonfox]

20 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I still didn't feel like against Liverpool there was really any discernible plan from us. Man City I agree we tried to go toe to toe and frankly were hammered, but Liverpool I just didn't really get the set up, Maddison on the wing just baffling.

 

Realistically we'd have likely lost both games no matter what, both of them had a bit of a point to prove against us given where we were in the league, can't help but feel those two games have knocked our confidence a bit.

I agree with that last point. If we can put the West Ham and Newcastle wins down to: a) very good performance from the reserves in the first case and b) an abject 10 man team in the second our form since  villa away has been poor for many games now from the first team. The slump has been going on a while, I hope Brendan gets this and doesn't excuse it because they  are young, they have a lot to learn, management speak etc. We need action not words!

[Rusko187]

If we get a convincing win against Burnley, then I'm convinced our problem is that our team doesn't like playing at home in front of the miserable buggers who boo any misplaced pass.

Edited 14 January 2020 by Rusko187

[Manini]

Looking for a general view: How have you, as a Leicester fan, taken to Brendan Rodgers as manager? I think there’s been quite a bit of excitement about given the results over the past 10 or so months, but I still get the feeling that there’s quite a few who haven’t really taken to him as an individual. Obviously the future is what will define his spell here, he hasn’t really done anything yet, and that will probably change opinion. But you do see some odd comments from some relating to the bloke on here. 
 

Not trying to antagonise anybody with this - it’s just an open question. 

[HighPeakFox]

9 minutes ago, Manini said:

Looking for a general view: How have you, as a Leicester fan, taken to Brendan Rodgers as manager? I think there’s been quite a bit of excitement about given the results over the past 10 or so months, but I still get the feeling that there’s quite a few who haven’t really taken to him as an individual. Obviously the future is what will define his spell here, he hasn’t really done anything yet, and that will probably change opinion. But you do see some odd comments from some relating to the bloke on here. 
 

Not trying to antagonise anybody with this - it’s just an open question. 

He's not perfect, nobody is, and he evidently has things he gets wrong. That said, I don't think there's better out there that would want to manage Leicester. 

[Guest An Sionnach]

8 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

He's not perfect, nobody is, and he evidently has things he gets wrong. That said, I don't think there's better out there that would want to manage Leicester. 

Rodgers has a very good job here , a team of mostly high quality players ,  very supportive and ambitious owners and a very high salary . He has definitely done very well so far results wise but you can never be complacent managing a top club , new thinking , different line ups and flexible tactics are part and parcel of the job. In some ways managing a big fish in a tiny barrel like Celtic can make you think that one method suits every match . Down here that will soon be undermined as we have seen recently . Its hard I know, but you have to come up with something the opposition is not expecting . We have a squad that can do that so he has to use their capabilities.

[Blue ROI]

Still at least we don't normally concede first now eh??!!

[Dan LCFC]

1 hour ago, Manini said:

Looking for a general view: How have you, as a Leicester fan, taken to Brendan Rodgers as manager? I think there’s been quite a bit of excitement about given the results over the past 10 or so months, but I still get the feeling that there’s quite a few who haven’t really taken to him as an individual. Obviously the future is what will define his spell here, he hasn’t really done anything yet, and that will probably change opinion. But you do see some odd comments from some relating to the bloke on here. 
 

Not trying to antagonise anybody with this - it’s just an open question. 

I like him personally. I'm seeing a few more of his flaws in recent weeks but I rate him and don't realistically think we can get anyone better for the time being.

 

I think he's changed as a personality a bit, he's a lot more reserved, to put it bluntly - talks less crap.

Edited 14 January 2020 by Dan LCFC