LCFC 0-2 Man City - Post-Match Thread

[Mike Oxlong]

Playing Man City is a bit like when you were in the playground at school and the kid with the ball picked all the best players for his side and then complained when the shit kids tried to stop them scoring 

[sacreblueits442]

14 hours ago, Deeg67 said:

Woof.

 

Losing to Man City is not a catastrophe, but you do worry that being reminded how much better someone else is than you can impact the psyche.  That was a thorough pantsing from whistle to whistle.  Abandon the back five, no more Amartey and Perez in the starting 11 please.

...it was necessary, we were limited to personnel!!!

 This talk of how brilliant a team is should not be a way of demotivating a team. We keep on saying this team or that team are the best we have ever seen,  it was Liverpool last season ,Manchester City the season before and Man. City again. They are vulnerable to sitting and being countered, United turned them over, they are not that great.

[don_danbury]

what was that weird stat about us having 0 percent possession over a 5 min period? pretty sure 4 minutes of that was taken up on that free kick. pointless stat

[HighPeakFox]

4 hours ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Playing Man City is a bit like when you were in the playground at school and the kid with the ball picked all the best players for his side and then complained when the shit kids tried to stop them scoring 

The perfect analogy.

[Bazly]

Sharky stats for the game get the sliderule.

[st albans fox]

2 hours ago, don_danbury said:

what was that weird stat about us having 0 percent possession over a 5 min period? pretty sure 4 minutes of that was taken up on that free kick. pointless stat

Backed up by 53 passes by them and none for us in that period .... not so many ...

[StanSP]

3 hours ago, don_danbury said:

what was that weird stat about us having 0 percent possession over a 5 min period? pretty sure 4 minutes of that was taken up on that free kick. pointless stat

I think there was far too much made out of that phase of play.

Did Man City even create any chances in that period? 

 

Did they knock it around and not get through us because of our defensive shape? Admittedly our retention of the ball and inability to complete one pass was quite poor but if Man City are doing fvck all with the ball when they have it, it becomes pretty pointless.

 

Compare it to the 28-pass move we did a couple of weeks ago against Utd which actually did result in a goal by Youri and I know which one I'd rather have, even if I wasn't a Leicester fan. Possession doesn't win you games, scoring goals does.

Edited 4 April 2021 by StanSP

[Mike Oxlong]

2 minutes ago, StanSP said:

I think there was far too much made out of that phase of play.

Did Man Utd even create any chances in that period? 

 

Did they knock it around and not get through us because of our defensive shape? Admittedly our retention of the ball and inability to complete one pass was quite poor but if Man City are doing fvck all with the ball when they have it, it becomes pretty pointless.

 

Compare it to the 28-pass move we did a couple of weeks ago against Utd which actually did result in a goal by Youri and I know which one I'd rather have, even if I wasn't a Leicester fan. Possession doesn't win you games, scoring goals does.

Spot on Stan 👍

[filbertway]

10 minutes ago, StanSP said:

I think there was far too much made out of that phase of play.

Did Man Utd even create any chances in that period? 

 

Did they knock it around and not get through us because of our defensive shape? Admittedly our retention of the ball and inability to complete one pass was quite poor but if Man City are doing fvck all with the ball when they have it, it becomes pretty pointless.

 

Compare it to the 28-pass move we did a couple of weeks ago against Utd which actually did result in a goal by Youri and I know which one I'd rather have, even if I wasn't a Leicester fan. Possession doesn't win you games, scoring goals does.

Lucky for man city, they did both

[StanSP]

20 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Spot on Stan 👍

ffs  

[Grebfromgrebland]

11 hours ago, TAFKA Castroneves said:

I think we should take it as a massive compliment that they felt they had to literally hack down our players with a range of dangerous tackles throughout the match to get something, they were remarkably heavy handed. Fernandinho could have got done for GBH over the course of the match - how Wilf got a yellow and he didn’t get one for a good 80 mins I’ll never know. 

 

Glad no one got injured because It’s not how we do football but they obviously view us as a threat to their quadrupole - otherwise why did they literally target Maddison with a range of heavy handed tackles when they were already 0-2 up? 

 

Will be a spicy match now if we do end up getting this lot in the FA Cup final, the boys will remember this, perhaps it’s time to offer Wasilewski a new deal so we can bring him off the bench to fight fire with fire if they want to go down that route 😂 would love him to get defending with his elbows against some of their lot 😆 

They know we're a bit soft when things get physical so kept battering us. Sound tactical play IMO.

 

 

[gerblod]

On 04/04/2021 at 02:09, deanolegend1989 said:

Pep outdid Rodgers today picking Fernandinho and Rodri with KDB. He knew that’s our strong area in the middle with Youri and Wilf bossing most 2vs2s and nullifying that nullifys us. 2 v 3 in there made us pressed into submission and the sad thing is Wilf and Youri actually both played pretty well but got caught and pressed too much with nowhere to go, Pep bossed it and BR didn’t react.

Rodgers showed today why he’s got huge flaws. Nothing wrong with how he started the game but when it was clear we were being pressed so hard and he as usual doesn’t react until we concede the goal just shows why his bottle has to be questioned.

 

I had no problem with his starting line up as it’s been working and Soyuncu had to come out, but it was evidently not working and it was a pray to hold on till ht.

This is when he constantly does my head in. I even joked at the time ‘he just hasn’t got the bollocks to change anything, it’s like an auto button 65/70 mins subs come on so rather than reacting before it’s too late, we have to just pray to get through then change and it’ll be ok’.

 

As usual though no plan no adjusting and being bold, just ‘safe’ sticking to something that isn’t working.

Praet should of come on to help get a lot the middle. Anytime between 45-55 before it’s too late! Perez Vardy and Nacho were all ahead of the ball mainly and out the game - playing right into their hands and KDB had the freedom of the pockets to do what he does best.

Its happened so many times this year and it’s a huge flaw in Brendan.

 

The worst thing is, we didn’t play bad. I think pretty much every player on our team actually didnt really make unforced errors or played poorly.

We just were set up in a way that had been working but today was wrong , being constantly forced into errors and maybe a lack of energy compared to their team.

You have to be bold enough to change it and make a new plan.

 

I can’t believe anyone(let alone a supposed top manager) who looked at that first half today and thought ‘going along nicely, no need to change’.

Anyone watching that game who wanted Leicester to win would think ‘phew we were lucky to get 0-0 out of that, think we need to adjust something to stop this constant pressure or it’ll be an inevitable outcome’ but nope nothing.

No change, no plan. Just pray. Gutless and frustrating

This is going to be his epitaph when he eventually leaves - 'He just wasn't bold enough'.

 

I switched off after the second goal. Nothing I saw told me that Rodgers has the necessary qualities to be a leader in the 90 minutes when it's most needed for him to act like one. I'm no reader of the game, but this reminded me of the times against other teams when there's no outlet being made for the attack. Just endless minutes of passing back and back and back. It was a relief when Evans did some accurate (as possible) long range hoofs up the pitch to try to cut out their dominance in midfield.

Amartey (and Choudhury) are decent enough players but we missed Soyuncu no end. He's not afraid to push forward when the opportunity arises and he's not afraid to bully the opposition either. But Covid rules when spurious internationals get priority. Amartey is a safety-first player and will inevitably pass back - that's ok if you're protecting a 2-0 lead - not chasing  a game against the league leaders.

You're right about Praet being brought on to counter their midfield dominance, and that developing dominance should have been apparent after twenty minutes. Instead BR persists in his usual practice. Would it not have been best to start with Ricardo - a defender, and, if he needed subbing later then Albrighton could have provided attacking options once they were tiring? Albrighton was thrown a yard to his right by Mendy's feint. I suspect Ricardo would have been on him like a rash - but that's conjecture.

 

Rodger's qualities as  a man-manager are undeniable - he's a nice guy. Now we would be blessed if he just got braver. Had we got thrashed in trying to take the initiative from them it would have been difficult to take, yet this kind of stubborn endurance thing is like slow suffocation. There's no room at this level for being a jobsworth.

As for Man City - Guardiola is a master of propaganda as well as tactics (but he also has always had money behind him!). As soon as he begins to praise City you know Kaa the python is whispering "trussst in meee, little Leicester - it's ok to lose to usss". The game always starts a week before the actual match and Pep plays that game so well.

 

Kevin de Bruyne has lost any admiration I had for him as a bloke. He casually fouled Castagne (?) moments before being brought down himself and making a hell of a whingeing fuss to the ref. Jesus was also notable for doing his fair share of appealing for the cards to be brought out. Does anyone think that Pep isn't in full approval of that sneaky gamesmanship?

 

And those shirts! Who thought it would be a fashion statement for them to wear pastel Paisley on white?

 

[UpTheLeagueFox]

Worth remembering MCFC had won 25 games out of 26 before playing us. That's an insane record.

[Sunbury Fox]

This was arguably the dullest game of the season. It just wasn't a contest - this Man City are not the exciting, attacking team of 2/3 years ago who always gave you half a chance because their defence was iffy. This version just kill you slowly with their stultifying and endless recycling of possession, gradually wearing you down both mentally and physically. It's absolute torture watching it, so imagine continually shuttling sideways and backwards as an opposition player trying to block their passing lanes, etc. And if things aren't going well they just bring on subs from a bench of players worth £500m+. Not sure how you counter all that to be honest.

[st albans fox]

7 minutes ago, Sunbury Fox said:

This was arguably the dullest game of the season. It just wasn't a contest - this Man City are not the exciting, attacking team of 2/3 years ago who always gave you half a chance because their defence was iffy. This version just kill you slowly with their stultifying and endless recycling of possession, gradually wearing you down both mentally and physically. It's absolute torture watching it, so imagine continually shuttling sideways and backwards as an opposition player trying to block their passing lanes, etc. And if things aren't going well they just bring on subs from a bench of players worth £500m+. Not sure how you counter all that to be honest.

All v true and a big danger that the premier league will simply become who is going to get top 4 as Man City will win the league whilst pep remains there.

 

i dont think Liverpool are now prepared to invest what it would take to compete with them 

the advent of the new CL set up will just make things worse aswell ...

[gerblod]

22 hours ago, Sunbury Fox said:

This was arguably the dullest game of the season. It just wasn't a contest - this Man City are not the exciting, attacking team of 2/3 years ago who always gave you half a chance because their defence was iffy. This version just kill you slowly with their stultifying and endless recycling of possession, gradually wearing you down both mentally and physically. It's absolute torture watching it, so imagine continually shuttling sideways and backwards as an opposition player trying to block their passing lanes, etc. And if things aren't going well they just bring on subs from a bench of players worth £500m+. Not sure how you counter all that to be honest.

Until a strict transfer and salary limit is introduced then it will remain this way. The dice are loaded against any team that hasn't got millions of pounds flooding from these immensely wealthy entrepreneurs.

[sacreblueits442]

4 minutes ago, gerblod said:

Until a strict transfer and salary limit is introduced then it will remain this way. The dice are loaded against any team that hasn't got millions of pounds flooding from these immensely wealthy entrepreneurs.

...FFP was brought in to protect clubs from themselves!!!

  Clubs found a way around it, take a look at Saracens (Rugby Union) they got away with it by not so creative accountancy ie setting up companies and their owners investing regularly in them.

  They were demoted to the second tier as they refused to open their books to auditors but are now going to be playing in the Premier League again next season. They should have received a punishment which demoted them to the backwaters of the game but with their pull and marketable presence it was felt that Rugby and other clubs survival, needed them more than the game needed cleaning up.

  It is very much a corrupt business which goes all the way up the chain,  where  the people in charge turn a blind eye, it is naive to believe any laws, brought in to limit the spending by the big clubs, would stop them doing what they are doing now.

[RonnieTodger]

The gameplan just wasn't executed well enough. For it to work, we'd need to beat Man City's press with slick passing and cut out errors. 

 

We never got going and I think if we were open, we would've been hammered. I do understand the frustration though.

[Chocolate Teapot]

5 minutes ago, RonnieTodger said:

The gameplan just wasn't executed well enough. For it to work, we'd need to beat Man City's press with slick passing and cut out errors. 

 

We never got going and I think if we were open, we would've been hammered. I do understand the frustration though.

To beat man City you require two things: to be at your absolute best and for them to be off their game. They were on it and we weren't. The same tactics worked in the reverse so I'm not sure how people can complain about Rodgers being bold enough - we're one of only 3 sides to beat man City this year and they're in my opinion the best side on the world.

[jws0209]

After watching the Man City match, can't see Leicester scoring again if they keep playing around their own goal area when the goal they need to score is at the other end of the pitch. It seemed as if Leicester were scared of going forward and all I saw was Leicester playing from side to side and back to goalkeeper - how are they going to score if they don't venture forward?

[turtmcfly]

35 minutes ago, jws0209 said:

After watching the Man City match, can't see Leicester scoring again if they keep playing around their own goal area when the goal they need to score is at the other end of the pitch. It seemed as if Leicester were scared of going forward and all I saw was Leicester playing from side to side and back to goalkeeper - how are they going to score if they don't venture forward?

 

Welcome to FFS

 

To save you asking... you can't. You have to click the three dots in the top right corner of your post and hit 'Edit'

 

[volpeazzurro]

On 05/04/2021 at 10:48, UpTheLeagueFox said:

Worth remembering MCFC had won 25 games out of 26 before playing us. That's an insane record.

Regardless of Manchester City's undeniably good record, I think deanolegend1989 and gerblod make some very good and salient points about Rodgers. He has some excellent qualities in his overall role as a manager but also some glaring flaws at times. You take the package for what it is because not everyone can be an elite manager like Pep or Klopp. The odds of winning against Manchester City were absolutely stacked against us from the start but Rodgers flaws did come to the fore again as outlined by these two posters.

Does it mean people want Rodgers out? No, I don't think so for a minute because he's the best we could possibly ask for at this moment in time by far. I think sometimes people just get a little frustrated at times an air their views. 

[An Sionnach]

59 minutes ago, jws0209 said:

After watching the Man City match, can't see Leicester scoring again if they keep playing around their own goal area when the goal they need to score is at the other end of the pitch. It seemed as if Leicester were scared of going forward and all I saw was Leicester playing from side to side and back to goalkeeper - how are they going to score if they don't venture forward?

Playing out from the back is a sure way to lose against them , Kasper should have booted it as far as he could and waited for a mistake . Rodgers always wants to win pretty . It never worked against Barca and it doesn't work against Man.City.

[Corky]

4 hours ago, jws0209 said:

After watching the Man City match, can't see Leicester scoring again if they keep playing around their own goal area when the goal they need to score is at the other end of the pitch. It seemed as if Leicester were scared of going forward and all I saw was Leicester playing from side to side and back to goalkeeper - how are they going to score if they don't venture forward?

 

[knitro]

Very late to this, but the dizzying stupidity of a particular poster who has a hardon for hating Amartey prompted this:

 

The first goal, play starts with De Bruyne passing to Mahrez and beating Evans, Fofana and Ndidi with the pass, with Castagne outside of the play:

 

 

Amartey has to move to the ball, coming across Aguero to step to Riyad and forces him to take a low-percentage shot which Kaspar parries straight back out (preferably caught or deflected out of play/to the corner), where it's picked up to the right of the box by a Man City Player:

 

 

You can see now that as Evans and Fofana have recovered, Amartey is now in the middle of the back 3, and Jesus/Mendy have more space than desired - subsequently the ball is crossed towards Jesus:

 

 

Because things are still scrambled, both Youri and Albrighton go for the ball, with Marc nicely getting a foot to it and preventing Jesus from connecting, but it does have the ball fall out to Mendy. Marc runs out to close him down and is done in by a nice cutback, which you see also catches Kaspar leaning the wrong way. 

 

 

By the time Evans moves to close Mendy down, the balls already off his foot and it's beaten Kaspar:

 

Is the criticism that Amartey doesn't block this shot? You literally do not understand this sport if you think Big Dan has fault here. 

GOAL 2:

 

World class pass takes out Evans, Fofana and Castagne again:

 

 

From here it's purely scrambling, with Ricardo and Amartey desperately trying to get behind the ball:

 

 

The ball is squared to Sterling:

 

 

Since he's a one-footed player, he looks to shoot with his preferred right - this allows our defenders to get back in front of the potential shot, which they both slide to block, taking themselves out of the play. It's a good decision by Sterling:

 

 

I suppose you'd prefer they make no effort to stop it a shot from seven yards away?

Anyhow, Sterling nearly bungles it, but is able to square back again:

 

 

From there with Kaspar out of position, its basically a matter of slotting into an empty net. When you have passes that dissect defenses this way removing 2 of 3 central defenders, the one remaining is going to have to scramble and chase. This is so fundamentally clear it is baffling to read otherwise.