Unpopular LCFC Opinions

[Ted Maul]

Just now, Finnegan said:

 

With a squad that should have been top 6.

 

In the end it was... but that was the squad he assembled (which is why I gave him a bit more time than the onfield performances merited).

 

The squad he inherited was threadbare, could barely string 3 passes together and needed a complete overhaul.

[Corky]

1 hour ago, Sir Steve Howard said:

The home atmosphere during the title winning season was crap

Not crap but nowhere near as good as the survival run-in. The best and most consistent support in decades. Possibly the most thrilling run we have had.

[MattFox]

Puel finished below the likes of Dyche’s Burnley and Fat Sam’s Everton

 

The job he did on the pitch is massively overrated because of the drop off the past three years

 

[Stadt]

8 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

 

 

How do you define "very good" in this context? 

 

I'd see it as a synonym for "effective", which makes Bovril's claim particularly problematic.

If it's used as a synonym for "skilful", I'd agree with both statements.

 

Dyer:

- Good: Pace, work rate

- Medium: Erratic shooting/finishing/crossing (both scored & missed plenty in Championship), basic passing, ok dribbling

- Bad: Close control ball skills

- Overall: Good upper Championship player 2009-14

 

Okazaki:

- Good: Pressing, positional awareness, work rate, team leader by example

- Medium: Erratic finishing, basic passing

- Bad: Close control, dribbling

- Overall: Key man in a peculiar & somewhat effective team 2015-16

 

Put prime Dyer in the current squad and he might be a useful sub for last 20 mins in PL (less so than in 14-15, as defending & fitness levels have risen). Possibly still a starter in Championship.

Put prime Shinji in the current squad and we stay up this season! 

 

 

I’m not sure how serious you are with the final point but I’d obviously disagree.

 

Shinji was selected far less frequently year on year even as when we’re getting worse. Being a workhorse isn’t enough. 
 

Obviously his role was to work out of possession probably more than it was in possession, so the usual yardsticks matter less. 

Again, I’m not denying his utility but as you said his actual footballing ability was limited.

[Daggers]

Given a decent run in the side, Danny Ward could one day be thought of as being as good as legend Gavin Ward.

[Stadt]

11 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

With a squad that should have been top 6.

 

I looked at the xGD in 18/19 recently - we were 6th (which I guess Rodgers’ strong finish helped massively).

 

16/17 - 18/19 were pretty serious underperformances. 
 

The most haunting signing and biggest sliding doors moment really was Perez. A proper RW would have had us on the top 4 at least once and maybe even a European trophy.

[Electric Yetis]

29 minutes ago, Sir Steve Howard said:

Is 91-97 a typo? That's not a squad is it.

From a quick glance the only 3 players present in 91-92 and 96-97 were Poole, Whitlow and Willis

Sorry meant all of those years inclusive. Think it's cos maybe when I was a child going in to teenage years. Now they just get on my nerves.

[MattFox]

8 minutes ago, Stadt said:

I looked at the xGD in 18/19 recently - we were 6th (which I guess Rodgers’ strong finish helped massively).

 

16/17 - 18/19 were pretty serious underperformances. 
 

The most haunting signing and biggest sliding doors moment really was Perez. A proper RW would have had us on the top 4 at least once and maybe even a European trophy.

I look back on this era fondly weirdly because I was 19-22 at the time and it was the first time going to the game myself and starting to drink properly etc.

 

(Newcastle away in 2017 must be one of the best ends we’ve had for a non important game)

 

But on the pitch it was a complete underperformance 

 

 

[Foxmeister]

No Rudkin no title

[HybridFox]

25 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

With a squad that should have been top 6.

 

Isnt that the point though? Might not have got the most out of them but was never taking us down.

 

When you look at the players we had in 2022-23, relegation should not have happened but it did

[bovril]

3 hours ago, An Away Move said:

Rodgers, on balance, did way more harm than good. Peter Taylor levels of damage that outweigh an FA Cup win.  

Difficult to know how unpopular this is. I think he's nowhere near Peter Taylor levels and winning the FA Cup was as important as winning the league, though I suspect this is itself an unpopular opinion.

[Vazman]

Everyone at the Club saying, "Everything will be fine" when we got relegated. 

[Gamble92]

1 hour ago, Samilktray said:

I really dont know what else to say to you, thank you for confirming my unpopular opinion about LCFC is unpopular?

I just really really hate Forest and you made me think of that horrible night 

[whetstonefox]

PLEAT IN! 

[Sir Steve Howard]

48 minutes ago, Electric Yetis said:

Sorry meant all of those years inclusive. Think it's cos maybe when I was a child going in to teenage years. Now they just get on my nerves.

It's meant to be unpopular so crack on.

15-16 has Robert Huth for a start. How anyone could say with a straight face they don't love that man is beyond me

[Alf Bentley]

42 minutes ago, Stadt said:

I’m not sure how serious you are with the final point but I’d obviously disagree.

 

Shinji was selected far less frequently year on year even as when we’re getting worse. Being a workhorse isn’t enough. 
 

Obviously his role was to work out of possession probably more than it was in possession, so the usual yardsticks matter less. 

Again, I’m not denying his utility but as you said his actual footballing ability was limited.

 

Partly tongue-in-cheek (I haven't a clue whether we'd stay up with prime Shinji in harness, as so many different factors are involved) - but I'm partly serious.

 

I did say "prime Shinji" (i.e. 2015-16 Shinji), so accept your point about his decline thereafter. I just remember that in his prime, despite his footballing limitations, we always seemed to perform better as a team when he was playing. His workhorse commitment seemed to inspire teammates and disrupted opposing defences/midfields.

 

That takes me back to the wider point: a player can have seriously limited football skills, but be highly effective as a team member due to other qualities - and therefore a very good player. If footballing skills are the sole criterion, that doesn't apply, but that's not my definition of a very good player - it's a team game. Shinji - and Lloyd at a lower level - were very good LCFC team players for me.

 

All just fun and personal opinion, anyway....

[Lambert09]

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that Jermaine Beckford was weak and therefore felt pressure 

[Ted Maul]

Pound for pound (I.e. considering numbers, home and away), we've got the worst/least vocal support in the league. Possibly even the country.

Edited 5 February by Ted Maul

[Jobyfox]

1 hour ago, Daggers said:

Given a decent run in the side, Danny Ward could one day be thought of as being as good as legend Gavin Ward.

I’m assuming that you’re talking about the referee and not the former goalkeeper 

[Jobyfox]

We’d have more points at this point if we had retained Steve Cooper 

[bovril]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

Did you read the thread title at all 

I've thought this for a few posts but bear in mind that 90% of contact with Leicester fans I have is through foxestalk so I'm starting to believe "winning the league was the worst thing that happened to us" is a widely held belief amongst the LCFC faithful.

[Alf Bentley]

Wout Faes is the best centre back at LCFC and he's subject to excessive criticism. 

 

Yes, he makes gaffes occasionally and switches off or gets caught in the wrong position occasionally. That's why his level is no higher than bottom-end PL.

 

But critics don't factor in his positive qualities - particularly the fact that he's a front-foot centre back, who seeks to anticipate opposing attacks so as to intervene, intercepting the ball or tackling/challenging the attacker. He also has good physicality (unlike Vestergaard or Coady), is decent in the air and quicker than Jannik.

 

Okoli might make a better centre back some day, as he's young and still learning. Vestergaard could only be a PL player in a team that sat deep and faced little pressure, as he'd be comfortable on the ball and his lack of pace and physicality would matter less. I'm sure Coady is a nice, positive bloke with a good attitude but I'm afraid he's just past it - there are reasons why he lost his place at Wolves, didn't play regularly on loan at Everton and couldn't even win back a regular starting place for us in the Championship, after he recovered from injury. 

[Winchesterfox]

12 minutes ago, Ted Maul said:

Pound for pound (I.e. considering numbers, home and away), we've got the worst/least vocal support in the league. Possibly even the country.

Everton were worse on Saturday for starters

[HybridFox]

1 hour ago, Corky said:

Not crap but nowhere near as good as the survival run-in. The best and most consistent support in decades. Possibly the most thrilling run we have had.

Sort of atmosphere we should be having now with our backs to the wall against the PL goons. Shame the club has become such a shambles 

[bmt]

1 hour ago, OntarioFox said:

Ok, this is the hottest take I've seen yet. The man played like a fish on a boat deck. 

My most liked post ever on FoxesTalk was a post about how Ricardo was decent at the time.