Dean Smith New Interim Manager - Official

[lcfcsnow]

7 minutes ago, adam said:

Worrying signs today.

There seems to be too many voices on that bench. It took ages for them to bring a sub on. Seems to need a committee meeting before anything happens.

Tactically clueless tonight.

I agree it's too packed. Sadler and Stowell offered absolutely nothing in the two games they had so why are they still hanging around there?

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, ARTY_FOX said:

The thing that worries me the most is the amount of people happy with it. I'm walking out the ground and folk are keen to keep him on regardless. Our fan base is terrible. We don't hold ourselves or the team to any sort of standard at all. 

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Too many are happy for 'little old leicester' to just plod along and doesn't matter if we win or lose and doesn't matter if we get relegated. Still see so many with the old 'but we were in league 1 once'. Nobody expects us to win the league or even challenge the top 6, but we should be comfortably mid table with a decent go in the cup comps. Yes we over achieved when we won the league and our 2 top 5 finishes but that doesn't mean we should accept the shit show we've become now. I could even accept mediocrity. Mid table would be fine, it's where we'd expect to be with the players we have. But to be happy or even just ok with the shit show Rodgers has precided over in the last 12+ months is just unfathomable. 

[Ross 'LCFC' Turner]

The last 3 games have been chaotic end to end basketball matches. We seem to have no midfield at all

[jamfox]

His aftermath conference was the again refreshing , 

I get feeling he knows what we need to do..it's all very honest from him

 

[MattFox]

I know he’s largely been a bresh of fresh air and done a lot of good but the tactical set up in the first half yesterday (and against Wolves) was a complete shambles

 

Completly neglected midfield and gave them all the initiative

 

Reminded me of the end of Shakespeare’s time as manager 

[funkyrobot]

The selection of Thomas and Ndidi last night was a strange call by Smith I thought. The fact he kept them on the pitch for so long when they were both clearly struggling throughout was a real concern. 

[Vazman]

I really am not sure what to think, the last 2 matches have been scrappy against out of form teams, but then are we any better than them, I think regardless of what people think, his DS approach have given us draws instead of losses, we will ultimately deserve what comes our way, be it remaining in the Prem, or Relegated, if we remain in the Prem we will likely struggle again next season, if we go down, I think we will be there for a couple of seasons, if not more, before a return to the Prem, our golden era is on the decline, some extremely hard and searching questions need to be asked at Boardroom level, whatever happens sweeping changes need to be made throughout, loyalty is great but you can't ignore the decline, or the reasons for it.

[ronnup]

To have Everton creating that many chances given their form is criminal at home. Especially given he's admitted he didn't want an end to end scrap. I'd say he's inept and we can do much much better. If we stay up it'll be on general atmosphere and a psychological bounce

Edited 2 May 2023 by ronnup

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Maybe I'm beaten down by years of BR empty platitudes and self preservation, but it is so refreshing to hear a manager speak openly and with insight about a game, admitting there were faults and showing he knows what needs changing, also leaving a genuine positive message for the games ahead. 

[Dan]

I like the bloke and think he's done a lot of the right thing but I think last night convinced me that it can't go beyond the West Ham game. Allowing this appalling Everton team to be that dangerous going forward has tilted it for me.

[shiv]

Subs were far too late but aside from that I’ve been happy with how he’s approached games.

 

You also have to remember he’s having to figure out the best XI as he goes along due to the time he’s had. 

[st albans fox]

Thought it might be worth seeing if xg stats reveal anything about what’s different now compared to post World Cup 

 

Everton.  3.3 v 3.3

leeds.      2.1 v 2.1

wolves.  2.7 v 0.6

man city  1.9 v 1.6

bournmth 0.7 v 1.9

villa.          0.7 v 1.0

palace.   0.2. V 1.9

brentfd.  1.4. V 0.5

chelsea   2.3 v 1.5

soton.     1.6 v 1.3

arsenal.   0.0 v 0.7

Man Utd. 1.4 v 4.2

spurs.      1.4 v 1.1

villa.       2.5 v 1.5

brightn.  1.4 v 1.9

forest.     0.8 v 1.7

Fulham.  1.4 v 1.3

lpool.       0.9 v 2.0

newcas.  0.3 v 1.7

Whilst xg is a blunt instrument, it does have some value as an indicator 

 

it seems clear that a less controlled approach to the game creates more opportunities for us. Recent two games have also had too many for our opponent - I wonder if Fulham will follow suit ??

[st albans fox]

6 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I like the bloke and think he's done a lot of the right thing but I think last night convinced me that it can't go beyond the West Ham game. Allowing this appalling Everton team to be that dangerous going forward has tilted it for me.

I think you should wait to see how this Everton side get on in their final four games if DCL stays fit - of course I expect their opposition to be more intelligent in how they deal with him by cutting off some supply and also screening him better from defensive midfield position. 

[Lambert09]

I know this isn’t something that we want to hear and to many all that matters is results. But I must admit i’ve really not been impressed tactically.  Now just to be clear, I fully back him and his appointment. I think we needed a pure motivator and him and his team are doing that. But I think that’s honestly where the performances are coming from, a motivated team that understands the seriousness of the situation. 

 

For me, we have set up the wrong way in every single game under smiths reign. It’s hard to argue that the other teams haven’t been on top. To his credit he’s made good changes when needed but if he was better prepared from the off perhaps we would have more points on the board. 

 

Man city- overly defensive… allowed them to play until they scored, no real counter threat. 

 

wolves - 424 kama****ingkaze. that was wild but definitely not the best way we could have approached it. 

 

Leeds- I think this one the line up felt right, it had balance and i won’t necessarily blame smith for a few players underperforming under the pressure. But we still had some glaring gaps and I can’t have been the only one that thought it looked like we were never going to break them down when they went up.  Thankfully the subs saved the day. 

 

Everton- It wasn’t the game for long ball, i know we’ve cried out for it at times and unleashing vardy was always a good idea but more often than not, we were aimlessly hoofing it. I felt we gave them the ball back so much it encouraged them to attack us and played themselves into the game.  433 wasn’t necessary and I think at home to everton… 4231 would have been the way to play. 

 

I think my point is that even if he keeps us up, i’m currently far from convinced that tactically he’s going to be the right man for the permanent job. 

 

There also is a huge question mark over this attempt to make daka a winger. I understand the need for his energy, but just switch to 2 up top... he's not technical enough to contribute from out there. 

Edited 2 May 2023 by Lambert09

[pmcla26]

2 minutes ago, Lambert09 said:

I know this isn’t something that we want to hear and to many all that matters is results. But I must admit i’ve really not been impressed tactically.  Now just to be clear, I fully back him and his appointment. I think we needed a pure motivator and him and his team are doing that. But I think that’s honestly where the performances are coming from, a motivated team that understands the seriousness of the situation. 

 

For me, we have set up the wrong way in every single game under smiths reign. It’s hard to argue that the other teams haven’t been on top. To his credit he’s made good changes when needed but if he was better prepared from the off perhaps we would have more points on the board. 

 

Man city- overly defensive… allowed them to play until they scored, no real counter threat. 

 

wolves - 424 kama****ingkaze. that was wild but definitely not the best way we could have approached it. 

 

Leeds- I think this one the line up felt right, it had balance and i won’t necessarily blame smith for a few players underperforming under the pressure. But we still had some glaring gaps and I can’t have been the only one that thought it looked like we were never going to break them down when they went up.  Thankfully the subs saved the day. 

 

Everton- It wasn’t the game for long ball, i know we’ve cried out for it at times and unleashing vardy was always a good idea but more often than not, we were aimlessly hoofing it. I felt we gave them the ball back so much it encouraged them to attack us and played themselves into the game.  433 wasn’t necessary and I think at home to everton… 4231 would have been the way to play. 

 

I think my point is that even if he keeps us up, i’m currently far from convinced that tactically he’s going to be the right man for the permanent job. 

Totally agree. Potter is such an obvious choice to rebuild, coach and develop a young squad that I think we'd be foolish to not go back in for him in the summer. 

[ian__marshall]

Overall he's exceeded my expectations so far, although they weren't particularly high to start with.

 

However, last night is the first time I've felt he got things completely wrong. It was obvious that Dyche's game plan would be to go with the big lads and bully us off the park, particularly in centre mid (as we're quite a soft team generally), whilst also going long and asking questions of our back line in the air. I fully expected them to target our full backs as we're vulnerable on both sides. 

 

For me, last night wasn't a game for the likes of Tielemans, Thomas or even Faes. I'd have preferred to see Souttar chucked into the mix as Everton were never going to trouble us with balls in behind the backline, and he'd have dealt with the aerial threat a lot better. Kristiansen whilst poor recently is another who should have started as I think he would've given Iwobi a tougher time physically. I'd have also expected one of Mendy or KDH to play to match Everton's industry in the centre of the field. 

 

I felt that the subs were too late in coming and I have absolutely no idea what the game plan was for Daka as he looked lost. I was also surprised that we didn't try and isolate their young fullback, Patterson, by getting Barnes to run at him more to exploit his lack of experience. 

 

Finally, I was bit disappointed to hear his post match comments regarding the penalty. I fully appreciate that Maddison may well have been the designated penalty taker for the evening but to suggest that Vardy was out of form when he'd scored prior to the penalty was straight out of the Brendan Rodgers notebook of excuses, and seemed inconsistent with the very honest summations that we've come to expect from him since he joined. 

 

Edited 2 May 2023 by ian__marshall

[Fear Of The Fox]

When I was saying here that we have the Trio Stooges on bench fellow fans told me off. I'm not even going to say anything about the bizarre midfield choices. Forget that. 2-1 up, Vardy has already scored and he's on fire, penalty to 90% win the game and Maddison takes the ball. Sorry I've got it wrong, this is not the Trio Stooges, it's proper Monty Pythons material. All these are making thousands per day lads. 

[SkidsFox]

9 hours ago, funkyrobot said:

The selection of Thomas and Ndidi last night was a strange call by Smith I thought. The fact he kept them on the pitch for so long when they were both clearly struggling throughout was a real concern. 

We don't know everything that goes off, and maybe those players have performed well in training. Frustrating for us who 've seen where our weaknesses are for a long time. Let's hope Deano can quickly suss it all out. I was very surprised neither Mendy nor Kdh were starters last night. 

[Matt]

 

[Lambert09]

46 minutes ago, Matt said:

 

Its such a monumental f up. It feels like one of those moments we will be talking about for years if we go down. Just how crucial will a missed conversation with the players be. 

 

Im sorry but theres no way maddison backs himself... if he did, I highly doubt he'd be putting every pen down the middle. With his finishing skills you put that in the corner everytime... unless you dont have the bottle to try it... which normally means you probably didnt want the penalty to begin with. 

[An Sionnach]

4 minutes ago, Lambert09 said:

Its such a monumental f up. It feels like one of those moments we will be talking about for years if we go down. Just how crucial will a missed conversation with the players be. 

 

Im sorry but theres no way maddison backs himself... if he did, I highly doubt he'd be putting every pen down the middle. With his finishing skills you put that in the corner everytime... unless you dont have the bottle to try it... which normally means you probably didnt want the penalty to begin with. 

The Everton fans are saying how on earth did Calvert-Lewin miss from one yard , the shocker that might send them down.

[winteriscoming]

I agree that I like his honesty. However I don’t think he’s got it tactically. 

[CosbehFox]

People are kinda of forgetting that Vardy and Tielemans have missed their last penalty attempts for Leicester. Not that I think Maddison is the man for that moment. 

[Blueman1967]

3 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

People are kinda of forgetting that Vardy and Tielemans have missed their last penalty attempts for Leicester. Not that I think Maddison is the man for that moment. 

Best l seen of Vardy for ages, he should have took it last night, had a good game.

[StanSP]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

 

'penalty chat between Maddison and Tielemans' kind of goes against what Smith said about a hierarchy of which  Maddison is at the top. Technically should be no need for a chat it there's a hierarchy.