2015/2016 How it could have all gone wrong

[The whole world smiles]

3 hours ago, StevieLynex said:

Let's have some discussion about your recollections of times in the 2015/2016 season when our dream of winning the Premier League could have ended in tears. Here's my list:

 

Ulloa failing to score late on against Norwich, and missing the penalty against West Ham at home

 

Simpson  being red carded in the home game against Southampton when Mane goes around Schmeichel and Mane hits the ball towards goal, the ball striking Simpson on his arm

 

Kane's shot in the away game going in instead of hitting the bar

 

Jack Rodwell equalising from twelve yards out for Sunderland in the away game, instead of blazing over

 

 

 

 

Good thread but we won by 10 points so difficult to point to specific moments. 

 

But one that sticks in my mind we were playing West brom at home on the Tuesday and battered them but somehow drew, feels like a huge and cruising moment in the season. 

 

Arsenal played Swansea and spurs away at West ham (when they were shite) on the Wednesday fairly routine games for them and if they win they are something like 2 points behind us and the title race is wide open and we are really under pressure for the first time. Anyway they both lose and play each other on the Saturday lunch time, draw 1 all. We are at Watford in the evening game and somehow scrape a win with a bit of mahrez magic and instead of being 2 points clear we end the week 7 points clear and really with one hand on the trophy. I was lucky enough to be at that Watford game and City fans leaving the ground really started to think they were actually going to do it. 

[Dan]

I think getting Ranieri late in that summer was quite key. Didn't he only come something like 4 weeks before the Sunderland game - I wonder if with more time that summer he'd have more more changes to the squad before the season started.

[Koke]

We finished 11 points ahead of Spurs because they clocked out mentally after their 2-2 draw with Chelsea. You think a motivated Spurs would lose 5-1 to Newcastle? Not a chance. 

 

I do think if Var existed back then Simpson would be red carded after Mane's shot hit him on the arm in the Southampton game. 

 

In the end we were clear and deserved winners anyway. 

[Koke]

4 hours ago, Freeman's Wharfer said:

We were so fortunate that Kante didn’t pick up any significant injury all season. He was out of the home game against West Brom and I think King and Drinkwater started in the middle of midfield and we really laboured to a 2-2 draw that night. Anything more serious and we could have had a really patchy spell of form.

 

On a similar note, I remember Mahrez pulling up with cramp away at Watford during the run-in and the away end collectively gasping.

 

Him, Vardy and Mahrez were equally important. If one of them missed 3-4 games in a row we'd been fvcked tbh. 

[ealingfox]

If Tony James hadn't bagged against Oxford

[Saxondale]

12 hours ago, moore_94 said:

If Nathan Dyer doesn't take a smack to the face against Villa to score

 

Early on but I still think that is the game for me that season that showed the "Foxes Never Quit" attitude

That was actually one of my stand-out memorable games of that season, for the reason you stated. You really got the feeling we had something about us (early in the season though it was).

[Smashing-Pumpkin]

The early spirited comebacks set the tone.

 

Coming from 2 down at Stoke and Southampton and turning the game around vs Villa really started the momentum

[surrifox]

14 hours ago, fuchsntf said:

It seems some People masochistically prefer to turn a pastime -entertainment History achievement around....

Instead of just enjoying the moment forever....

 

Then Enjoy Building it up, just  so they can Enjoy in their minds , an entitled View that anything after is only Chaos & failure...

this sounds like the strapline to a Werner Herzog movie 

[CosbehFox]

5 hours ago, ealingfox said:

If Tony James hadn't bagged against Oxford

Most influential figure in history of the club 

[CosbehFox]

I watched the Villa game in St Ives. One of my most enjoyable times watching City in a pub. Slowly it became apparent most of it was Leicester fans. There was some local going around counting his money on a bet on Villa at half time. 

[CosbehFox]

Talking of Simpson remind when he missed from two years out against Saints at home? 

[Guest StevieLynex]

Thank God we had plentiful supplies of the blue bandage

 

[surrifox]

my recollection (possibly flawed) is that in the 1-1 draw with Man United when Jamie set the record for sequential scores in the PL , the goal was scored from pretty much our only clear cut chance in the game from an unlikely provider (CF)  but pin point pass. I think the belief that must have been  instilled in the team must have been priceless and sustaining.

On another matter did Claudio promise to cook pizza for the team if they kept a clean sheet or did I dream that?

[surrifox]

46 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Talking of Simpson remind when he missed from two years out against Saints at home? 

wasn't Danny the only regular member of the side (apart from KS) not to score in that season?

[Guest Electric Yetis]

6 minutes ago, surrifox said:

wasn't Danny the only regular member of the side (apart from KS) not to score in that season?

Fuchs didn't score that season either.

[Bert]

10 hours ago, Koke said:

We finished 11 points ahead of Spurs because they clocked out mentally after their 2-2 draw with Chelsea. You think a motivated Spurs would lose 5-1 to Newcastle? Not a chance. 

 

I do think if Var existed back then Simpson would be red carded after Mane's shot hit him on the arm in the Southampton game. 

 

In the end we were clear and deserved winners anyway. 

Yep. You don’t win a title by ten points (one of the biggest winning PL margins) by complete fluke. 

[1984]

We originally started the season in a flexible 4-4-2 which could switch to a 3-4-1-2 mid game (Re-watch the sunderland home game!!), with Albrighton switching flanks and De Laet moving to RCB.

 

Schmeichel

De Laet, Huth, Morgan
Albrighton, Drinkwater, King, Schlupp

Mahrez

Vardy, Okazaki

 

Switching to a rigid 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 after the Arsenal defeat is what turned us into champions !!! Defence wins titles

[copunk]

15 hours ago, Freeman's Wharfer said:

We were so fortunate that Kante didn’t pick up any significant injury all season. He was out of the home game against West Brom and I think King and Drinkwater started in the middle of midfield and we really laboured to a 2-2 draw that night. Anything more serious and we could have had a really patchy spell of form.

 

On a similar note, I remember Mahrez pulling up with cramp away at Watford during the run-in and the away end collectively gasping.

Totally agree with the Kante statement!

However I remember the West Brom game and thought we were really unlucky to draw, can remember last 10-15 mins we had some good chances to win it, Morgan hit the bar late on with a header if I recall correctly 

Edited 6 April 2022 by copunk

[copunk]

The Villa home game will stick with me for the rest of my life

Planned on watching it at home but my mate rang me last minute saying he had a spare ticket so shot over to the King Power

When De Laet scored to make it 2-1 I genuinely believed we were going to go on and win, the atmosphere in the ground was one that made you realise that these were a group of players who would never give up

I nearly broke my leg when Dyer scored, then the agonising wait to see if the goal stood

One of the greatest games I’ve ever been to 

[weller54]

2 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Talking of Simpson remind when he missed from two years out against Saints at home? 

Light years?.... that's an awfully long way from goal, you can't blame him for that!!