Bolton Match Thread

[Milky]

i cant be arsed to read that, ill take your word for it.

[Thracian]

Honestly Thracian, It was 55-65 minutes that we really turned it on, we looked hungry and had Bolton running scared. I was surprised when reading the match thread that people didn't comment on this spell, weather that was Barber portraying the game in a different way or what i don't know.

The three way's in which you can take in a match is either radio, TV or actually going. All give a totally different aspect of what’s going on. For instance, On TV you don't get to see player's running off the ball you just see what the director think's you will want to see.

Something happened last night that I have not seen from Leicester for a long time, there was an aura that you can't teach a team on the training ground or ever try and understand. I left feeling better than any other game I've seen Leicester win recently.... Sheff Wed! It was FOOKING AMAZING!!! BLUE ARMY

It's obvious Barber doesn't help cos it wasn't long after that he (or his co-presenter) described the game as "horrible".

However I did get the impression (and referred to it) that Bolton were wavering a bit towards the end of 65/70 minutes which is why I thought we should have sent Sheehan on then and tried to steal a goal.

I also thought, after all their travelling, they might be a bit worn down by then. I quite accept what you say about the growing team spirit.

Anyway whether his tactics were right or too cautious doesn't matter now. It's not going to change the result and it's all eyes on Leeds, now.

Glad you enjoyed it. Pity one of you fans don't do the commentaries to be honest.

[Collymore]

It's obvious Barber doesn't help cos it wasn't long after that he (or his co-presenter) described the game as "horrible".

However I did get the impression (and referred to it) that Bolton were wavering a bit towards the end of 65/70 minutes which is why I thought we should have sent Sheehan on then and tried to steal a goal.

I also thought, after all their travelling, they might be a bit worn down by then. I quite accept what you say about the growing team spirit.

Anyway whether his tactics were right or too cautious doesn't matter now. It's not going to change the result and it's all eyes on Leeds, now.

Glad you enjoyed it. Pity one of you fans don't do the commentaries to be honest.

I might be getting excited then, It could have been that spell TBH

[Katy]

I just cant listen to JB anymore he gets excited at the wrong/inappropriate moment and doesnt commentate properly.

[SystonFox]

send in your CV Katy

[Collymore]

I just cant listen to JB anymore he gets excited at the wrong/inappropriate moment and doesnt commentate properly.

never thought I’d hear you say that He is terrible though, I'm sure he is a nice guy and really does love leicester but don't think Commentary is the best way for him to advertise this.

[Katy]

send in your CV Katy

Hmm need a bit more experience than ive got, ive only been on Radio Leicester once

never thought I’d hear you say that He is terrible though, I'm sure he is a nice guy and really does love leicester but don't think Commentary is the best way for him to advertise this.

Ive seen the error of my ways Colly

[Bilko]

Just wanted to add my comments to the above as it is rare l get to a game living in deepest Cumbria. I feel the criticism of Bolton being dour and aggresive is unfounded. I thought they passed well, retained possession and have a group of players that have an excellent touch and link well. The likes of Okocha, Campo and Jaidi are not cloggers or long ball merchants, that's why they do well in the Prem and Europe. In the light of this the fact that City took them all the way is a credit on the lads and CL.

At first l thought we were going to get a hiding but as the game went on we seemed to grow in confidence and took the game to them. We looked like a unit and there was a hunger, l liked the players reaction at the final whistle, they looked really gutted, like it actually mattered.

Don't want to get carried away but if last night (and Saturday) were anything to go by we may just be turning a corner. Ever the eternal optimist!!

[filbertway]

Three thing si remember especially from the game that i enjoyed

One was okocha's shot that almost went out foir a throw in, second was mayburys great tackle to get back win the ball of their striker was brilliant and lastly mcarthys tackle at the end which actually led to williams' goal

Also for those that went, what was going on after the game , loads of chav coming out the ground laughing at us

[Leicester_Mad]

Haha, their younger fans really are little tossers. Walking back i got about 20 of them come up to me laughing at me, never had that an away game before to be honest, one older bloke did come up to me and shake my hand and said we was unlucky and good luck in the future n all that, which was quite a nice touch.

Overall, shit game until extra time, Williams goal was a corker! Dublin was sooooo close aswel

aye i got the train from Manchester to Horwich and there was a load of Bolton chavvy fans on the train and they saw my city shirt and 1 lad said "oi there's a leicester fan" (he was about 13 <_<) i was like "yeah" then he goes "Tosser" He then went on telling me how he was going to rob my cap until i stood up and he came up to my tits - he then ran off down the other side of the train

As for the game, not the greatest in terms of quality football, but two 4-5-1's with 11 players on each side going out 100% wanting to win the game. The two goals we conceded were very scrappy, although the 2nd was a half decent move Williams goal speaks for itslef. I thought we were going to have a repeat of Reading and Charlton when Dion headed that ball but it just wasnt to be.

The fans were top notch, only a few minutes in the first half where we stopped singing but even at 2-0 down we were louder than the stupid Bolton fans.

Thracian - what are you on about Levein got what he deserved, we played 4-5-1 and we played it well, 4-4-2 and we wouldnt have made extra time.

[Guest]

Hold on Louise. There's plenty of people who weren't at the game and only had commentary to judge by (and the same is the case every week though I don't go suggesting their opinion is therefore irrelevent).

However I have since read in detail what's been said by those who were there and stand by everything I said.

Don't just blame Bolton for being boring - we contributed in equal measure as we have done in so many away games this season.

As I've said about others, I totally respect your point of view but don't ever ask me to condone negative football cos I won't.

Levein had no attacking options for this match because he hadn't signed any (despite it being obvious they were needed for months).

He was snookered yesterday and the players did their best to make something out of nothing. But no shots in 90 minutes Louise. If you're happy with that fine but I wouldn't wanna miss work to watch it. thanks.

My own sights are set much higher than that for this club and I am 100 per cent convinced we can achieve those expectations - but not like yesterday.

I'm not suggesting people's comments are irrelevant when they don't go to the game, I just find it interesting that someone who has relied on commentary, and dodgy commentary at that, slags the manager off for getting it wrong when those that actually went seem to think differently. It was merely an observation, however if people are going to get sensitive about observations I won't bother in future.

Of course I know that we played our part in the game, again the point I was making was that it is fine slagging the manager off, but often teams play as well as the opposition, if you get my drift, and not to their own strengths. Both teams contributed to a game that contrasted sharply with Saturday's, agian where both teams had their part. Again I find it interesting that someone who has laid his cards on the table as pro-Levein, can also sound as though he is building up an argument for his instant dismissal. Oops, there I go again....

As for signing players, I've said it elsewhere, but how does anyone on this forum know for definite CL has or hasn't tried to bring in a striker? As much as we'd all love to play for City, I am unfortunately pragmatic enough to see why it would be difficult to get anyone here.

[Guest]

agreed we were fantastic last night

spot on Lisa especially the last paragraph. those who went are more than pleased with Citys performance but those who listened to Barber are disapointed. work it out guys!

I think you'll find that Lisa's name is not Louise.

I am not a CL fan but this was a class apart from other games.

Whats more, from my viewpoint the substitutions were well timed.

I agree with Lisa's view on this.

Thank you. It's great to feel appreciated.

[Scow]

I was there last night as well, and can only echo Lisa's comments.

I was a little surprised to see Williams lining up in the midfield holding role, with Joey and Hughes ahead of him. I suppose it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise considering that Williams played a similar role at Cardiff.

I can see why Levein played him there though. The idea was for him to demand the ball from the back 4 and initiate attacks or retain posession. Unfortunately, he gave the ball away too many times. It didn't help that Hughes looked hopelessly off the pace. He was supposed to act as the main support for de Vries, but he didn't show any anticipation or effort to get beyond or around de Vries to make the most of the knock downs. I think a lack of match fitness was the telling factor there.

Joey battled away and typically showed plenty of energy to compete against the likes of Okocha and Nakata. The wide men in Tiatto and Hamill were non-effective for most of the first half as containment was priority (Just like the rest of the team). They did improve after the break, but neither troubled Bolton.

We were the better side in the second half as we pushed forward and started to pass it better, which made all the difference.

Two poor pieces of defending let us down in extra time - especially the first, when one of their main threats was left free at the back post. Then Stearman was caught out by a long diagonal ball, and was on the wrong side of Vaz Te, who made him and McCarthy look like fools as he fashioned some space to scuff the ball in to the net.

Great goal by Williams though, probably goal of the season so far. Shame we couldn't get in front in either normal or extra time, as I felt we could have held on. Dublin was commanding at the back, dealing with all the flat, straight balls they lump in to the box for Davies.

Overall, I'm encouraged by that display. We looked comfortable against a top six side (on present form) and deserved to take the game to penalties at least. Some people are over reacting about the team selection. We were missing our best 3 attacking players from Saturday in Hume, Hammond and Smith - with Momo on the bench until the second half. So 4-5-1 was the only real option, and we had to ensure we weren't overrun by their strong midfield.

I'm sure we'll revert back to a 4-4-2 against Leeds on Saturday, with the same forward line as the Sheffield United game.

[Thracian]

Thank you. It's great to feel appreciated.

Levein frustrates me beyond belief. He does so much right. But his team selections and tactics just seem to result in far too many points being conceded unnecessarily. Think about it. How many times have we been genuinely beaten by what looked like a better side this season? Yet how many matches have we failed to win?

Yesterday was the same to me. Because it was Bolton and because most people's expectations were low, they were delighted with the performance. I genuinely thought we could win - I really have loads of faith in our team - but we needed to be spot on with our strategy. In my view we weren't and I well know I'm in the minority but that's the way I feel just the same.

[filbertway]

Thracian or other, do you think levein would seriously consider going 4-5-1 against leeds?

I think the formation worked and we broke down alot of their quick attacks down quite easily just soaking the pressure up.

When we went 4-4-2 we lookd a bit more vulnerable but stronger going forward.

Against leeds im sure we will be back to 4-4-2 with hammond and hume up front

I'd like to see the stearman and maybury keeping their same place though. I thought stearman had an excellent game, his tackles were all times perfectly and he didnt seem to dive in much, i was worried when davies clattered him, how late was that challenge?

Maybury also played well i thought, never really putting a foot wrong and made some good tackles.

One other thing i noticed was Mccarthys leadership skills showing, when we conceded that first goal we had 3 players lying on the floor clearly deflated by it all, mccarthy went and picked all three up and gave them encouragement, he's a natural captain

my team for leeds would be

douglas

stearman mccarthy gerrbrand maybury

sylla gudjonsson williams ( i want to see him given a run) smith

hume hammond

subs: henderson, johansson, kisnorbo, de vries dublin

I'd give hughes a few reserve ga,mes before chucking him back in, looked off the pace last night

[Thracian]

Thracian or other, do you think levein would seriously consider going 4-5-1 against leeds?

I think the formation worked and we broke down alot of their quick attacks down quite easily just soaking the pressure up.

When we went 4-4-2 we lookd a bit more vulnerable but stronger going forward.

Against leeds im sure we will be back to 4-4-2 with hammond and hume up front

I'd like to see the stearman and maybury keeping their same place though. I thought stearman had an excellent game, his tackles were all times perfectly and he didnt seem to dive in much, i was worried when davies clattered him, how late was that challenge?

Maybury also played well i thought, never really putting a foot wrong and made some good tackles.

One other thing i noticed was Mccarthys leadership skills showing, when we conceded that first goal we had 3 players lying on the floor clearly deflated by it all, mccarthy went and picked all three up and gave them encouragement, he's a natural captain

my team for leeds would be

douglas

stearman mccarthy gerrbrand maybury

sylla gudjonsson williams ( i want to see him given a run) smith

hume hammond

subs: henderson, johansson, kisnorbo, de vries dublin

I'd give hughes a few reserve ga,mes before chucking him back in, looked off the pace last night

Logic says he's bound to go 4-4-2 at Leeds with the personnel available. Indeed I cannot imagine him being very far from the side that played against Sheffield United (which is pretty well our best at present).

If I were playing Maybury and Stearman as full-backs (and both played well by all accounts at Bolton) I'd have Stearman left side and Sheehan on the bench.

In contrast to Bolton, there is no reason Leicester shouldn't attack the game at Leeds with Hume, Hammond and Smith likely to be back.

I cannot imagine him using Williams in preference to Kisnorbo in midfield with Joey (Levein will want some insurance anyway in an away match) nor can I imagine Hughes getting more than a place on the bench (cos he's not playing well enough).

I remain concerned about Sylla at right wing (and might be tempted to use Stearman there in a variation of the the old right-half role) but would fully understand if he stuck with the Sheffield side (apart from Nils who is categorically flawed at left-back).

Yet why is it, in my heart, that I believe Levein will still go safety first, that he will not go with the Sheffield team or the equivalent but will somehow find reason to slip in still more defensive cover (perhaps on the right of midfield as I mentioned). And that he will play Nils regardless.

PS: Totally agree with you about McCarthy.

[Thracian]

aye i got the train from Manchester to Horwich and there was a load of Bolton chavvy fans on the train and they saw my city shirt and 1 lad said "oi there's a leicester fan" (he was about 13 <_<) i was like "yeah" then he goes "Tosser" He then went on telling me how he was going to rob my cap until i stood up and he came up to my tits - he then ran off down the other side of the train

As for the game, not the greatest in terms of quality football, but two 4-5-1's with 11 players on each side going out 100% wanting to win the game. The two goals we conceded were very scrappy, although the 2nd was a half decent move Williams goal speaks for itslef. I thought we were going to have a repeat of Reading and Charlton when Dion headed that ball but it just wasnt to be.

The fans were top notch, only a few minutes in the first half where we stopped singing but even at 2-0 down we were louder than the stupid Bolton fans.

Thracian - what are you on about Levein got what he deserved, we played 4-5-1 and we played it well, 4-4-2 and we wouldnt have made extra time.

Will you explain to me where I suggested 4-4-2?

For the umpteenth time I said he got what he deserved because he didn't use the passing skills of Sheehan earlier to try and score a goal when Bolton appeared to be rocking (from 70 minutes in). We needed to score in 90 minutes but Levein's focus was on "countering" Bolton, and only very briefly on beating them.

Sheehan was criticised defensively in his short extra time cameo (though I imagine he had instructions to push forward seeing as we were 2-0 down) yet contributed to our one goal and very nearly to the equaliser (which only served to emphasise the value of his passing).

However, at no stage would Sheehan's substitution have necessitated moving from 4-5-1 (though it would have been an option) and I never called for it.

I am not in favour of 4-5-1 but always accepted it was Levein's only logical option last night. I just said it would look awful.

[Michael Doyle]

Hey Bilko

I like your previous post and agree with you

"The future is all ours"

COME ON THE MIGHTY FOXES :fox:

MadMick

[Guest]

Levein frustrates me beyond belief. He does so much right. But his team selections and tactics just seem to result in far too many points being conceded unnecessarily. Think about it. How many times have we been genuinely beaten by what looked like a better side this season? Yet how many matches have we failed to win?

Yesterday was the same to me. Because it was Bolton and because most people's expectations were low, they were delighted with the performance. I genuinely thought we could win - I really have loads of faith in our team - but we needed to be spot on with our strategy. In my view we weren't and I well know I'm in the minority but that's the way I feel just the same.

It seems to me that you equate realism with a lack of ambition. I can't speak for anyone else, but I knew that Wednesday's match would be frustrating; Bolton have made themselves a very difficult team to beat, especially at home, and all credit to them. They need to be.

We've already seen how CL struggles tactically against the more defensive teams, and the fact is that despite this, we were still in the tie going into the final minutes of the game. Both matches against Burnley, for example, once they'd got their noses in front, we were never in the game. To me, that's an improvement. It might not be pretty, but I take heart from the fact it was 0-0 after 90 minutes, and if this had been a league game, we'd have come away with a bloody good point. Remember 4 supposed better teams out of 6 haven't this season.

That's not to say my expectations are lower than anyone elses, on the contrary, it just means that if we don't win, I don't see the world through blue-tinted glasses. It's alright, it seems, to pick holes in CL's tactics, but we can't give credit to the opposition. Barring the first 10 minutes or so, Bolton were reacting to our game plan as much as we were to theirs. This wasn't something I realistically expected when we came away from Burnley.

[Dr The Singh]

It seems to me that you equate realism with a lack of ambition. I can't speak for anyone else, but I knew that Wednesday's match would be frustrating; Bolton have made themselves a very difficult team to beat, especially at home, and all credit to them. They need to be.

We've already seen how CL struggles tactically against the more defensive teams, and the fact is that despite this, we were still in the tie going into the final minutes of the game. Both matches against Burnley, for example, once they'd got their noses in front, we were never in the game. To me, that's an improvement. It might not be pretty, but I take heart from the fact it was 0-0 after 90 minutes, and if this had been a league game, we'd have come away with a bloody good point. Remember 4 supposed better teams out of 6 haven't this season.

That's not to say my expectations are lower than anyone elses, on the contrary, it just means that if we don't win, I don't see the world through blue-tinted glasses. It's alright, it seems, to pick holes in CL's tactics, but we can't give credit to the opposition. Barring the first 10 minutes or so, Bolton were reacting to our game plan as much as we were to theirs. This wasn't something I realistically expected when we came away from Burnley.

Bolton I think have been unbeaten at home all season, without our main attack force i don't think Leicester did too badly. CL, played 1 upfront and played to frustrate, if we had won we would have called him a genius but we didn't. I personally would have like to city play atacking football, but I don't think we could compete with bolton and I suppose CL saw it like that. It just shows that our squad is nowhere near strong enough to compete with the top flight!!

[Thracian]

It seems to me that you equate realism with a lack of ambition. I can't speak for anyone else, but I knew that Wednesday's match would be frustrating; Bolton have made themselves a very difficult team to beat, especially at home, and all credit to them. They need to be.

We've already seen how CL struggles tactically against the more defensive teams, and the fact is that despite this, we were still in the tie going into the final minutes of the game. Both matches against Burnley, for example, once they'd got their noses in front, we were never in the game. To me, that's an improvement. It might not be pretty, but I take heart from the fact it was 0-0 after 90 minutes, and if this had been a league game, we'd have come away with a bloody good point. Remember 4 supposed better teams out of 6 haven't this season.

That's not to say my expectations are lower than anyone elses, on the contrary, it just means that if we don't win, I don't see the world through blue-tinted glasses. It's alright, it seems, to pick holes in CL's tactics, but we can't give credit to the opposition. Barring the first 10 minutes or so, Bolton were reacting to our game plan as much as we were to theirs. This wasn't something I realistically expected when we came away from Burnley.

I think we'll just have to agree to having a totally different philosophy. To me, however it is dressed up, we achieved nothing and 0-0's even after 90 minutes do nothing for me.

However I hope it is a measure of how I regard your opinion and admire your dedication that you'll still get my City Fan of the Year vote. It was close but with your all round enthusiasm and contribution (in various ways) I think you deserve it.

[Guest]

I think we'll just have to agree to having a totally different philosophy. To me, however it is dressed up, we achieved nothing and 0-0's even after do nothing for me.

However I hope it is a measure of how I regard your opinion and admire your dedication that you'll still get my City Fan of the Year vote. It was close but with your all round enthusiasm and contribution (in various ways) I think you deserve it.

Thanks, I just wish others could learn to disagree so magnanimously. This is the true meaning of debate.

[Collymore]

Thanks, I just wish others could learn to disagree so magnanimously. This is the true meaning of debate.

But remember your place Lisa

[Guest]

But remember your place Lisa

Pfft @ Collymore!