The Enzo Thread

[dillonpanthers87]

2 hours ago, Stevosevic said:

People definitely over estimate how good our squad is.

 

Yeh it’s good for this level but it’s not run away with the league with 120 points good.
 

Saying that I don’t feel Enzo has built on his strong start. Needs to get them going and I do not think we should be seeing as many flat performances as we do. 

In my opinion I really don't think that's true. I agree - I don't expect to run away with it - but a Championship side with the the likes of Ricky, Ndidi, Vardy, Mavadii, Fatawu, KDH...

 

Enzo in my opinion right now is about par for the course, just on the recent few months Before that, we were overperforming. May be unfair, he's shown some really positive stuff, but there is a lot to doubt or question too.

[dillonpanthers87]

2 minutes ago, MGLCFC said:

Bennett

I forgot about him. Bizarre signing

[dylanlegend]

54 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

I'm quite concerned by his refusal to use his subs (and often only one or two).  People try and chalk it up to injuries but this was an issue even when the squad was pretty healthy.  It's an unfortunate trait he shares with Fraudgers.

And pep

[MPH]

3 hours ago, winteriscoming said:

Imagine being 10+ points clear and everyone saying only a few weeks ago we were up and now only 3 points clear…..

Not calling for him to be sacked but we’ve fvcked it up massively. 

 

 

come back and say that when we have missed out on promotion.

[MPH]

3 hours ago, honeybradger said:

Similar was said when Rodgers got us fifth in his first season after having a 14 point lead. We have thrown away our points lead on second, Enzo really needs to show he knows how to turn around a poor run of results as he wont leave this season with much credit if we finish 3rd or even second really.

but why is it Enzo’s fault? He said we  need strengthening. In January and we didn’t. He was told we needed to shift players out first  and they didn’t . We couldn’t even manage to complete a loan signing.  

[Dan LCFC]

Increasingly of the view he'd get badly exposed in the top flight and that's if we actually do make it there.

[Phenom]

2 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

Increasingly of the view he'd get badly exposed in the top flight and that's if we actually do make it there.

He would need to change his tactics and the team at the next level. 

[Dan LCFC]

8 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

He's been given 15 or so premier league players and the biggest budget ever at this level (by a mile) to play at a level below and finish in the top two. 

 

I'm not having a pop at him. But it's a stark reality that literally any normal manager should be able to win promotion when dealt  a hand like that. 

Correct. The last five games have knocked us down to about par and the fact it's come now rather than at the start is a real worry.

 

I'd be lying if I said my faith in him hadn't taken quite a hit in recent weeks. He's got to get better.

[honeybradger]

2 hours ago, MPH said:

but why is it Enzo’s fault? He said we  need strengthening. In January and we didn’t. He was told we needed to shift players out first  and they didn’t . We couldn’t even manage to complete a loan signing.  

We're in midtable form, if Enzo cant improve on that with the squad we have then it is his fault. A run of poor form is not the end of the world but he does need to turn it around soon.

[LCFCJohn]

7 hours ago, LVFox said:

I think that's a fair concern, I also wonder if he's now realising what a basket case of a club he's come in to and whether it's not the right environment for a "project style" manager.

 

Personally, I'm a fan. I don't think he gets enough credit for turning the squad atmosphere around from the shambles of last year. He's also developed plenty of substandard players into decent performers this year. 

I’d say we need a project style manager. Short term fix managers themselves come wanting to splash cash. We need to recover slowly, decrease the wage bill and go again.

 

Obviously Enzo’s project vision is more specific and might take a bit longer to come together than others but it’s still the right way to go. 

[JimmyC74]

1 hour ago, LCFCJohn said:

I’d say we need a project style manager. Short term fix managers themselves come wanting to splash cash. We need to recover slowly, decrease the wage bill and go again.

 

Obviously Enzo’s project vision is more specific and might take a bit longer to come together than others but it’s still the right way to go. 

Will be interesting at the end of the season if enzo’s idea of the project matches that of the club.

[Matt]

For what it worth, coming from someone who really quite dislikes a pure possession based game and playing out from the back i've enjoyed this season, not just because we've won more - Even when we were winning and had somewhat successes under Rodgers I really disliked how we played. This season is possession based, is playing out, but the difference is, it's with purpose as i've said a few times this season, I get it, in this league.

 

It has been successful this season, until now, where we looking awfully vulnerable and having a wobble raising some big questions and concerns.

 

Unfortunately somethings gotta give regarding a plan B, whether as someone quoted me saying "Plan B is becoming abit of parody" or not.

 

I've rarely complained about style of play this season, many have and rightly or wrongly on either side people have said "playing this way has been successful", "it's the only way to be successful", I disagree with that as sweeping statements, in isolation for example as a top team, this season, in this league, I agree but i'm not sure that argument will stand up next season and if we play this way we're in for a world of pain and largely it'll be no better than the previous 7 years, there would be no rhyme or reason for us to play this way in the Premier League - That's if we get there. 

 

Edited 10 March by Matt

[PaulW]

12 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

He's been given 15 or so premier league players and the biggest budget ever at this level (by a mile) to play at a level below and finish in the top two. 

 

I'm not having a pop at him. But it's a stark reality that literally any normal manager should be able to win promotion when dealt  a hand like that. 

He's been given no budget at all, and the 15 or so ex-premier league players weren't good enough under the previous manager to stay in that league.  He wasn't given a magic wand.

[Pliskin]

32 minutes ago, Matt said:

For what it worth, coming from someone who really quite dislikes a pure possession based game and playing out from the back i've enjoyed this season, not just because we've won more - Even when we were winning and had somewhat successes under Rodgers I really disliked how we played. This season is possession based, is playing out, but the difference is, it's with purpose as i've said a few times this season, I get it, in this league.

 

It has been successful this season, until now, where we looking awfully vulnerable and having a wobble raising some big questions and concerns.

 

Unfortunately somethings gotta give regarding a plan B, whether as someone quoted me saying "Plan B is becoming abit of parody" or not.

 

I've rarely complained about style of play this season, many have and rightly or wrongly on either side people have said "playing this way has been successful", "it's the only way to be successful", I disagree with that as sweeping statements, in isolation for example as a top team, this season, in this league, I agree but i'm not sure that argument will stand up next season and if we play this way we're in for a world of pain and largely it'll be no better than the previous 7 years, there would be no rhyme or reason for us to play this way in the Premier League - That's if we get there. 

 

Everything was going well, we seemed in complete control, then there was the Leeds game and since then everything has unraveled. 
 

We’ve looked like a different team, since then, we even layer well in the Leeds game….. perhaps the manner of the loss has hit the team and Enzo hard. They need this international break to really regroup and kick on. I fancy us to come back strong after the break, and hopefully go on a winning run to finish the season properly. We need to just take a moment to regroup. It’s been a heavy week, thanks to the media trying their best to put us off. 

[dr.o.ball]

23 minutes ago, Matt said:

For what it worth, coming from someone who really quite dislikes a pure possession based game and playing out from the back i've enjoyed this season, not just because we've won more - Even when we were winning and had somewhat successes under Rodgers I really disliked how we played. This season is possession based, is playing out, but the difference is, it's with purpose as i've said a few times this season, I get it, in this league.

 

It has been successful this season, until now, where we looking awfully vulnerable and having a wobble raising some big questions and concerns.

 

Unfortunately somethings gotta give regarding a plan B, whether as someone quoted me saying "Plan B is becoming abit of parody" or not.

 

I've rarely complained about style of play this season, many have and rightly or wrongly on either side people have said "playing this way has been successful", "it's the only way to be successful", I disagree with that as sweeping statements, in isolation for example as a top team, this season, in this league, I agree but i'm not sure that argument will stand up next season and if we play this way we're in for a world of pain and largely it'll be no better than the previous 7 years, there would be no rhyme or reason for us to play this way in the Premier League - That's if we get there. 

 

Great points. I don't love possession based stuff either but have enjoyed a lot of this season conducted by Enzo. I think the reason why so many Leic fans struggle with our keep ball style is because we had so much success, and great on the eye goal scoring, with very little possession in our glory days. 

 

It's OK if we argue about Enzo's style, we all love the badge, for me its an Inexperience thing and I get that's then this is now move on, but there is no substitute for experience. Lampard, Stevie G and Kompany will probably tell you the same, brilliant footballing icons they still are.

 

 

[Flappit]

9 hours ago, Nolucklcfc said:

It’s genuinely embarrassing the amount of people that want to turn on him because of a bad patch. 

As mentioned a few posts back though, it's not just a bad patch. For the squad and players we have, we've rarely completely dominated games and blown teams away. It's fairly often been fragile, squeaky, edge-of-your-seat stuff where we've bemoaned the lack of goals scored or been grateful for the opposition failing to take chances. 

 

Yes, we built a commanding points lead, but it never really felt like we played in a way that consistently deserved it. We have patches in games where we rip teams apart and then either they change tactics and we can't cope, or we just sit back and try to 'control the game', which invites pressure. 

 

I've lost count of the times this season where either Mavididi, Fatawu or KDH have bamboozled players and then failed to shoot or cocked up a simple pass. It's been great at times, good at lots of times, but let's not kid ourselves it's been honking at times too.

 

Recently teams have worked out how to play against us and, as frequently stated, Enzo doesn't appear to have a plan B to make the opposition have to worry about us, so we're stifled and look very ordinary. 

 

We've just got to hope we manage to limp over the line somehow. 

[jmono84]

7 minutes ago, Flappit said:

As mentioned a few posts back though, it's not just a bad patch. For the squad and players we have, we've rarely completely dominated games and blown teams away. It's fairly often been fragile, squeaky, edge-of-your-seat stuff where we've bemoaned the lack of goals scored or been grateful for the opposition failing to take chances. 

 

Yes, we built a commanding points lead, but it never really felt like we played in a way that consistently deserved it. We have patches in games where we rip teams apart and then either they change tactics and we can't cope, or we just sit back and try to 'control the game', which invites pressure. 

 

I've lost count of the times this season where either Mavididi, Fatawu or KDH have bamboozled players and then failed to shoot or cocked up a simple pass. It's been great at times, good at lots of times, but let's not kid ourselves it's been honking at times too.

 

Recently teams have worked out how to play against us and, as frequently stated, Enzo doesn't appear to have a plan B to make the opposition have to worry about us, so we're stifled and look very ordinary. 

 

We've just got to hope we manage to limp over the line somehow. 

This has been our biggest problem. We squander chances like no other team I have ever witnessed, I get it happens but no where near the level it does for us. How many times have we seen us pass the ball out for a goal kick this season 😩😩

[winteriscoming]

4 hours ago, Phenom said:

He would need to change his tactics and the team at the next level. 

There’s no evidence based on this season with his tactics that he will do that.

[majaco]

It was said it would take players time to get used to his system and we would get better as the season went on.

Perhaps his effect was actually more immediate. Which players seem to be improving currently. 

 

We are top of the table.   To me, we need to still be top of the table for me to see him as a great coach at this stage.  He has consistently had good players at his disposal; struggling to fill one position shouldn't lead to massive problems.   I feel disappointed by recent form but we are still top.

 

Over the next few weeks, there is an opportunity for him to show how good he is as a coach.

[Rossiter]

13 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

He's been given 15 or so premier league players and the biggest budget ever at this level (by a mile) to play at a level below and finish in the top two. 

 

I'm not having a pop at him. But it's a stark reality that literally any normal manager should be able to win promotion when dealt  a hand like that. 

Imo don't think he's got 15 or so PL players at his disposal. Not proven PL players imo. Maybe the youngsters have potential.

[weller54]

5 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

Increasingly of the view he'd get badly exposed in the top flight and that's if we actually do make it there.

Sums it up perfectly.

[Nolucklcfc]

46 minutes ago, Flappit said:

As mentioned a few posts back though, it's not just a bad patch. For the squad and players we have, we've rarely completely dominated games and blown teams away. It's fairly often been fragile, squeaky, edge-of-your-seat stuff where we've bemoaned the lack of goals scored or been grateful for the opposition failing to take chances. 

 

Yes, we built a commanding points lead, but it never really felt like we played in a way that consistently deserved it. We have patches in games where we rip teams apart and then either they change tactics and we can't cope, or we just sit back and try to 'control the game', which invites pressure. 

 

I've lost count of the times this season where either Mavididi, Fatawu or KDH have bamboozled players and then failed to shoot or cocked up a simple pass. It's been great at times, good at lots of times, but let's not kid ourselves it's been honking at times too.

 

Recently teams have worked out how to play against us and, as frequently stated, Enzo doesn't appear to have a plan B to make the opposition have to worry about us, so we're stifled and look very ordinary. 

 

We've just got to hope we manage to limp over the line somehow. 

Do you think it’s only just now that teams have figured out a way to play against us? It’s not. Yes you can get chances against us and be successful. Any team can beat anyone in this league, we’ve seen it all season. What’s happening at the moment is confidence levels have dropped, we’ve missed big chances and we look leggy. Whether outside noise is responsible we won’t know but after the international break we will hopefully have Ricardo back and the players will have had a rest. Not to mention how absolutely horrendous the officiating has been as well. The style of football isn’t my cup of team is I’m brutally honest but it’s been effective all season. We can just give up on it now. 

[Livid]

5 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

Increasingly of the view he'd get badly exposed in the top flight and that's if we actually do make it there.

The financial mess the club is in, and I’m fully expecting a sanction of some kind next season, has drained my enthusiasm somewhat. 
 

What’s the point ? We go up and we’re financially constrained, we take a year’s PL cash but unless there’s a rabbit to be pulled from the hat we’re probably going to be back where we started. 
 

That plan that everyone seemed to be touting of let’s get relegated and rebuild in the championship is looking a little flawed right now. 

[ian__marshall]

I like Enzo and think any talk of him leaving is premature. It's very early days still and time will tell whether he and the club can align their ideas. 

 

That said I am a bit miffed by his decision making and in recent months he's gone full BR in not trusting his squad. The latter is the biggest concern for me. He's openly talked about his philosophy of wearing down the opposition to capitalise in the final 20 minutes as they tire but I don't think he makes the most of the situation.

 

For me he needs to place more faith in the likes of Yunus, McAteer, Marcal, Praet, Cannon, etc. and start with these player's. They're more than capable of taking a lead or keeping the game level to the allow us to inject some serious energy and quality in the likes of KDH, N'didi, Mavididi, Fatawu's, Vardy/Daka to turn the screw in the last 30 minutes of a game and finish strongly when the opponent is at their weakest. Leeds and Ipswich both seem really good at this. Leeds are blessed with an abundance of quick tricky forwards so are fortunate in that regard, Ipswich though seem to be incredibly good at managing a game. The amount of times Hutchinson has come on late in a game and helped them get something out of it suggests this is a tactical plan rather than plain luck. 

 

Whilst I get the system is largely based on Pep's Man City formula, I've felt for a while now that we play the system too deep and invite pressure on ourselves as any mistakes subsequently end up around our box which gives little room for recovery. Contrast that to Man City who play this style much higher up the pitch meaning there's plenty of room to get back or commit the tactical foul should the play be turned over. I understand Enzo's idea but for me the execution is wrong. 

 

Finally, whilst not so much a conscious decision as it fundamentally comes down to his philosophy I do agree with those saying that the shape of the system isn't particularly best suited in getting the best out of the current personnel. Whether that's on him or the board I'm unsure, although I do think Leeds system is a) our nemesis, and b) better suited to the Championship, c) the system would accommodate our squad better with the resources we have at our disposal. This opinion isn't a knee jerk reaction to the fact we are stumbling and Leeds are in a good run of form, as I think they'll struggle with that system in the PL as Farke found numerous times with Norwich, however for me it's more a case of horses for courses in order to extract the best out of the squad at any particular moment in time. 

 

I do think we'll go up. Leeds and Ipswich run-in until the end of the season is a lot harder than I'd anticipated as suddenly many of their opponents are either fighting survival or challenging for the play offs so I think we'll do what's needed to come through this blip. Whether Enzo will be our manager next season given the off field shenanigans I'm not so sure. It feels like there's certainly cracks appearing in the relationship. 

 

Edited 10 March by ian__marshall

[Guppys Love Child]

49 minutes ago, Flappit said:

As mentioned a few posts back though, it's not just a bad patch. For the squad and players we have, we've rarely completely dominated games and blown teams away. It's fairly often been fragile, squeaky, edge-of-your-seat stuff where we've bemoaned the lack of goals scored or been grateful for the opposition failing to take chances. 

 

Yes, we built a commanding points lead, but it never really felt like we played in a way that consistently deserved it. We have patches in games where we rip teams apart and then either they change tactics and we can't cope, or we just sit back and try to 'control the game', which invites pressure. 

 

I've lost count of the times this season where either Mavididi, Fatawu or KDH have bamboozled players and then failed to shoot or cocked up a simple pass. It's been great at times, good at lots of times, but let's not kid ourselves it's been honking at times too.

 

Recently teams have worked out how to play against us and, as frequently stated, Enzo doesn't appear to have a plan B to make the opposition have to worry about us, so we're stifled and look very ordinary. 

 

We've just got to hope we manage to limp over the line somehow. 

And in my opinion therein lies the crux of the matter.  

 

Slowly before this current "Blip" really manifested, we were gradually becoming less dominant and effective in matches. 

 

As the season has run on..

 

Other teams have changed tactics (or their playing style) either mid game or have done so on their return fixtures (due to loosing to us before) they have adapted, tried to overcome, improvised.

 

We don't. We may have to change players due to injuries or suspension but EnzoBall with the same formation is rolled out each game and all of the game, even if it's 10 mins to go and we are one nil down or the opposition is hounding for an draw.

 

Most subs made are also like for like to a certain degree. But that player comes  on into the same system not to bring something different by changing the system.  As in a mini Plan B.

 

He's too stubborn to change and don't expect it to change, even with new players if we gain promotion, (which I hope we do)