Chelsea (H) pre-match

[Hoopla10]

On 17/01/2021 at 00:28, Gamble92 said:

Chances like this won't come along very often. 

 

FIGHT AND WIN and as man from seattle once said.

What, Frasier Crane? 

 

It's not that anybody wont take the opportunity, but how we manage it. Like somebody said, Ranieri did an excellent job in the run out of the season managing expectations, deflecting while keeping the team's motivation up. I don't think anybody can predict what the second half of this season will look like. Chelsea aren't going to roll over for us, Kante is still Kante (even though Chelsea have mismanaged him imo). I can see Werner suddenly finding his scoring boots, which will annoy the life out of me. I don't rate Lampard as a manager but they're still a team with a lot of talent. 

I'd bench Vardy if his hip is playing up. The gap between games where it's having an effect is shortening and will continue to shorten as the season progresses. Better to target games and manage his injury. 

[Sharpe's Fox]

Toss up this one for me. One nil either way.

[urban fox]

The next couple of games or so could be our “Man City moment” for this season. Come through them with a couple of wins and we are still right there in the mix and the belief will start to grow. Losing on the other hand may well still prove not to be a complete disaster as there will still be a few more surprises in this topsy  turvy season. Nobody has shown any signs of enough consistency to start pulling away yet and with so many teams in and around the 30plus points bracket it’s still anyone’s for the taking.

[HighPeakFox]

1 hour ago, Bert said:

Can’t wait to see Barnes running at Chilwell. 

I think that's unlikely. 

[leicesterseddon]

I hope he does, but the pessimist in me says Vardy won’t start. 
 

Pains me to say it but we might be getting an early glimpse of next season, where he only plays one game in three or something...

 

Other than that, tempted to say it will be the same team. Although I also agree that Cags might get the nod over Fofana, not sure why but just reckon he might...

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

Our press started at the full backs on Saturday forcing Southampton to go long. We could very well do similar tomorrow. @StriderHiryu

Will be interesting to see how both teams setup and play. Last few times I've seen Chelsea play they've looked hopeless. Not just because their players are off form, but more because it's hard to work out what they are trying to do. Last season when we played them they seemed to have a very German identity in terms of pressing from the front with fast transitions. They do still press, but I often see players occupy the same spaces, not properly pressing as a team and leaving oceans of space on the turnover. I think it's a case of a young manager seeing a style he likes and trying to implement it without actually understanding how to implement it properly or how to fix it. That said, the teams they have struggled to beat are teams playing a deep low block, which is a very familiar story. In fact you could say that right now the Premier League is divided into two types of team: the ones that try and play expansive football to open up teams and the ones that stay compact and hit on the break.

Man U are top despite being a low block kind of a team and both Liverpool and Man City have struggled against such teams.

 

Leicester have shown we can play in multiple styles and have had games where we've hit teams on the break as well as games where we've broken down stubborn opposition, so we could go for either approach or a combination of the two. I think back to the away game against Chelsea last season where they started at a crazy pace and got an early lead through Mason Mount, but then we totally outplayed them in the second half and should have won. I think we will see the opposite of that initially, IE we will start quickly as the home team, but they will look to play themselves back in. Of all the top 4 teams we played last season, Chelsea were the ones I felt we got our style working the most effectively against and despite a massive outlay on new players look if anything a bit worse! But in the cup game we totally outplayed them for the first 45 minutes, missed all of our chances and then they ran out as convincing winners. So I think it's a case of knowing which blueprint to apply, but this time we need to be more ruthless and take our opportunities when they present themselves.

[An Away Move]

On 17/01/2021 at 00:57, Sunbury Fox said:

That's how I feel. Can't stand Lampard, Mount, their racist fans, the fact that they've bought success, how they keep signing our players, the fact that they're not really a big club despite the hype, how they always beat us in the FA Cup. Have I missed anything?

Yes. That despicable Erling Haaland dive in the last minute of extra time. I shall never not be angry about that. 

[copunk]

Can see us playing a back 5 in this consisting of Castagne RWB, Cags, Evans, Fofana and Justin LWB

[StriderHiryu]

10 hours ago, Aus Fox said:

Not dropping him, giving him a rest and playing the team to win this game. We have got 2 games a week for the rest of the season from here on in , and we are going to have to rest and rotate. Particularly those players the other side of 30. Albrighton has been playing brilliantly for us, however the role I was suggesting wouldn’t suit his skill set.

Can't see Albrighton being dropped in his current form against teams that play a high intensity pressing style. Chelsea have better players than us almost man for man, but are in a worse league position. Why? Because their team does not work coherently as a unit. There are some stats going round about how many more points we've won as a team with Albrighton starting versus without him. You need players like that in the team to win the pressing battle and take control of the game. Under is the by far the more talented player, probably the same is true of Perez too. But Albrighton makes the team play better as a unit. We need him to press Chilwell back, because as we know if you do that instead of bombing forward he reverts to playing sideways and safe, something he's been guilty of in many of Chelsea's recent games.  

[North Leeds Fox]

Same team as Saturday for me then rest the majority of the team at the weekend before everton. Only question would be cags or little wes. Either way we have great options at cb and sure we will just rotate them as the season goes on. Probably go for little wes and let cags complete his first 90 on Saturday. 

[HighPeakFox]

11 minutes ago, SydenhamFox said:

Yes. That despicable Erling Haaland dive in the last minute of extra time. I shall never not be angry about that. 

I was more angry about Erland Johnsen, personally.

[FoxinNotts]

Marc is really good for us, but I hope we unleash Ünder for this one. Get him a Timmy to make sure Chilwell is facing his own goal, more often than not.

[ElusiveEd]

My feeling is we are starting to see and benefit from the days Vardy gave up International football for.

 

Hope he plays but the plan surely must be to extend his game time long term and manage the injuries and niggles he's starting to pick up with that in mind.

 

Risking exacerbating his injuries for single games is a no no for me as I think things are starting to take their toll on him and his body.

 

The way he left the pitch on Saturday doesn't bode well for Tuesday.

[lcfcfoz]

Kasper. Castange Fofana Evans Soyuncu Justin. Ndidi. Tielsmans Maddison Barnes. Vardy.

 

Ricardo on at 60 odd mins for Castagne and will get the winner in 87th min.

[Fox seen in Norwich]

Cags for fofana.. otherwise same team as Southampton.

 

Ricardo for Albrighton after 70 mins

[An Away Move]

36 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I was more angry about Erland Johnsen, personally.

See. I’m still so traumatised I can’t think straight! Yes Johnsen! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Dahnsouff]

37 minutes ago, FoxinNotts said:

Marc is really good for us, but I hope we unleash Ünder for this one. Get him a Timmy to make sure Chilwell is facing his own goal, more often than not.

Was thinking Marc's knowledge of Chilwell might be useful 

[tsintskaro]

last time we were so exposed because of our fullbacks being high up on pitch.justin and castagne were always late and even tho Evans was very good he could not cover all the space.

if same happens we will probably concede early 

[SexyGammonFox]

If Brendan reverts back to three CBs for this then he needs poking in the eye. It weakens us going forward and we also seem to let in more goals. Chelsea are there for the taking, we're in a groove atm lets just play our game. 

[volpeazzurro]

1 hour ago, Hoopla10 said:

What, Frasier Crane? 

 

It's not that anybody wont take the opportunity, but how we manage it. Like somebody said, Ranieri did an excellent job in the run out of the season managing expectations, deflecting while keeping the team's motivation up. I don't think anybody can predict what the second half of this season will look like. Chelsea aren't going to roll over for us, Kante is still Kante (even though Chelsea have mismanaged him imo). I can see Werner suddenly finding his scoring boots, which will annoy the life out of me. I don't rate Lampard as a manager but they're still a team with a lot of talent. 

I'd bench Vardy if his hip is playing up. The gap between games where it's having an effect is shortening and will continue to shorten as the season progresses. Better to target games and manage his injury. 

It's becoming increasingly clearer that we are in dire need of another striker. I remember Vardy nursing a similar injury last year and it was claimed that it was his groin. As no operation was forthcoming, it was reasonable to assume that it had healed on it's own but now he's having to come off and even walks in the same way. He still retains his competitiveness and will to win but now we're lead to believe that its a hip problem, but it's starting to look a little ominous I think and I just wonder if there's more to it than meets the eye. It's very sad because he encapsulates something so special about what it now is to be Leicester City. I just fear that it's one of those injuries that if you do have an operation then effectively, you can never be the same again. Is he just carrying on until the end of the season before a surprise enforced retirement?

 

In the meantime, without wanting to sound too harsh, we just haven't got anyone to step into the breach. Admittedly, Vardy is a one off and you can't just replace a special player like him, there isn't one about but, in Perez and Iheanacho there isn't even a vaguely decent number 9 who can even on a short term basis be a stop gap. They are poor and inadequate in comparison. Without Vardy, his goals, influence on us and the fear he strikes into the opposition, we could fade very quickly into mid table obscurity in my opinion. It's a difficult time of the year to buy a striker and will no doubt have to wait until summer. He has to be managed extremely carefully from now on and undoubtedly miss quite a few games. Whether Edouard is the answer I don't know, but he can't be worse than what we've got. 

[Shane]

Hope we don’t go 3atb, why change a winning formula

[Motty]

57 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Can't see Albrighton being dropped in his current form against teams that play a high intensity pressing style. Chelsea have better players than us almost man for man, but are in a worse league position. Why? Because their team does not work coherently as a unit. There are some stats going round about how many more points we've won as a team with Albrighton starting versus without him. You need players like that in the team to win the pressing battle and take control of the game. Under is the by far the more talented player, probably the same is true of Perez too. But Albrighton makes the team play better as a unit. We need him to press Chilwell back, because as we know if you do that instead of bombing forward he reverts to playing sideways and safe, something he's been guilty of in many of Chelsea's recent games.  

Not sure they have better players man for man.

 

Certainly not in defence 

Up front yes as they have a choice of strikers. Midfield is debatable for me.

 

 

[gw_leics772]

1 hour ago, les-tah said:

 

hmm i cant see it... Will be a right sucker punch for Fofana as been playing very well.. However i can see a 3 at the back with them both playing with Evans.

I'm with bert on this, especially the bit about seeing barnes running at chilwell.

 

I also think fofana wasn't quite as good against southampton, a few more mistakes which is understandable given his age. I wonder how much the pressure of knowing soyuncu is chomping at his heels, has played a part in that. Don't forget that the plan wasn't for him to walk into the team and after seeing cage on Saturday, I think it might be back to plan a on the cob front and get them both working with evans ready to test it up when evans steps back.

 

Excited and nervous as a win here is totally possible, and then we become recognised contenders, which is the scary bit for me!

[HighPeakFox]

2 minutes ago, gw_leics772 said:

I'm with bert on this, especially the bit about seeing barnes running at chilwell.

Sorry, am I losing my mind? Since when did Barnes play on the right?

[gw_leics772]

1 hour ago, urban fox said:

The next couple of games or so could be our “Man City moment” for this season. Come through them with a couple of wins and we are still right there in the mix and the belief will start to grow. Losing on the other hand may well still prove not to be a complete disaster as there will still be a few more surprises in this topsy  turvy season. Nobody has shown any signs of enough consistency to start pulling away yet and with so many teams in and around the 30plus points bracket it’s still anyone’s for the taking.

Feels like a real sliding doors moment for me.

 

A couple.of wins and we are right in it and creating a gap. Anything else and we are still too close to 9th with a few poor results. (10th if villa win their games in hand.)

 

Mad mad season (and world)