Great Escape Season 2014-15

[Guy]

Just had a memory pop up on my Facebook - titled 10 years ago. It showed the league table as it was with us in 20th (bottom) - with 17 points (as of now in 18th!). QPR were next up with 19 and then Hull with 20 points. IIRC we'd still only racked up 22 points by the start of April and were still occupying bottom position by the time we played West Ham at home re the Andy King game! - that after running Spurs close in that 4-3 thriller beforehand. On a broader point then I'm not saying history will repeat this season a decade later as I feel this Cooper-RvN team is a long way short of that Pearson team but it is still do-able. 

Edited 7 February by Guy

[ParkerPen]

Just now, Guy said:

Just had a memory pop up on my Facebook - titled 10 years ago. It showed the league table as it was with us in 20th (bottom) - with 17 points (as of now in 18th!). QPR were next up with 19 and then Hull with 20 points. IIRC we'd still only racked up 22 points by the start of April and were still occupying bottom position by the time we played West Ham at hom,e re the Andy King game! - that after running Spurs close in that 4-3 thriller beforehand. On a broader point then I'm not saying history will repeat this season a decade later as I feel this Cooper-RvN team is a long way short of that Pearson team but it is still do-able. 

that season we were performing ok but not getting results, sometimes a little unlucky,

 

we firmly deserve to be where we are this time, and you could argue even overachieved under super Cooper to get the points we did

[Guy]

1 minute ago, ParkerPen said:

that season we were performing ok but not getting results, sometimes a little unlucky,

 

we firmly deserve to be where we are this time, and you could argue even overachieved under super Cooper to get the points we did

Agreed, we also had a much better squad - and the team was transformed once Pearson set us up to be less defensive and more attacking after the goalless debacle v Hull at the start of March. All helped the entire team firing on all cylinders again (reminiscent of the 5-3 over Man. Utd early on that season) ) and by Vardy finding a freer role and as he'd got his scoring boots on. All good omens for the following season of course!! A different, more gloomy feel altogether to this one sadly, as you say. 

[ClaphamFox]

That season we acquired Robert Huth on loan in January and went three at the back. It took a few weeks to click, but when it did we were a different team. I hope Coulibaly turns out to be a good 'un, but it seems a bit much to expect him to have the same effect. Our failure to sign a quality CB last month has almost certainly relegated us.

[Mickyblueeyes]

The team in 14/15 was a mid table team. A lot of talent and the addition of Cambiasso was very good for (back then) youngish/inexperienced players like King, Drinkwater and James. However, they had some awful form combined with the unlucky defeats etc. 

 

Even after staying up, as a fan base, generally, we were not hoping for a complete overhaul in the summer. A few quality additions only - obviously we surpassed even our wildest expectations. If we stayed up this year, we would want a complete overhaul.

 

So as a squad, they’re not comparable. One would wipe the floor with the other. Our inability to add in the Jan window could very possibly be detrimental. However, 23/24, it was Everton who failed to add what they required and stayed up by the skin of their teeth. So while it will not be as magical as 14/15, while there is a chance, there is a possibility. 
 

Where this team does need a bit of 14/15 imitation is the change of system/style. If we keep doing what we are doing, sod it off, it’s gone.

Edited 7 February by Mickyblueeyes

[don_danbury]

a team with schmeichel, cambiasso, mahrez and vardy should've been no way near bottom

[CrazyKopCorner]

1 hour ago, ParkerPen said:

that season we were performing ok but not getting results, sometimes a little unlucky,

 

we firmly deserve to be where we are this time, and you could argue even overachieved under super Cooper to get the points we did

in 2014 / 2015 people say we were playing okay but I thought we were terrible for the first two thirds of the season. 

 

We played quite well at Spurs but were a shambles at the back and lost 4-3 and I was on the way back and said well that's us down then. 

 

We weren't great against West Ham or West Brom but more or less everything from there we were either good, very good, excellent or steely - It's impossible to see another great escape this season from this lot 

 

[Guy]

31 minutes ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

The team in 14/15 was a mid table team. A lot of talent and the addition of Cambiasso was very good for (back then) youngish/inexperienced players like King, Drinkwater and James. However, they had some awful combined with the unlucky defeats etc. 

 

Even after staying up, as a fan base, generally, we were not hoping for a complete overhaul in the summer. A few quality additions only - obviously we surpassed even our wildest expectations. If we stayed up this year, we would want a complete overhaul.

 

So as a squad, they’re not comparable. One would wipe the floor with the other. Our inability to add in the Jan summer could very possibly be detrimental. However, 22/24, it was Everton who failed to add what they required and stayed up by the skin of their teeth. So while it will not be as magical as 14/15, while there is a chance, there is a possibility. 
 

Where this team does need a bit of 14/15 imitation is the change of system/style. If we keep doing what we are doing, sod it off, it’s gone.

Not forgetting Mahrez in that team too of course!

 

Yes, despite our not strengthenig there are still chinks of light at the end of the dark tunnel this season but only four teams are truly in the mix now to the end of the season and Wolves look by far the strongest and most convincing to stay up from the four - and rather like us arguably in 2014/15, shouldn't really be anywhere near the bottom three!.

[Stadt]

Ulloa scored some important goals early on and helped keep the ball up the pitch. Ayew is the closest thing we have now  

 

Vardy, Nugent, Schlupp and Mahrez all chipped in too. 

[CrazyKopCorner]

I always had the impression in 2014/2015 that we’d just not hit on the right formation or team and as we lurched toward relegation I thought it was a missed opportunity - this season feels like 94/95 in that we are clearly just on good enough

[Out Foxed]

we lost every match pretty much by 1 or 2 at most and some terrible ref decisions and bad luck effed us. we had a quality defence.

 

now we're just shit. 

[Leicesterpool]

It's was weird we were bottom of the league at christmas without being bad I mean to be bottom of the league and to be two goals down at Anfield and to come back to get a 2-2 draw you can't be that bad, we were just unlucky. But suddenly our luck changed, that late goal against West Ham sparked something truly special that carried on until may 2016. What helped that was we had a lot of good experienced players that had confidence to turn it round. They never felt it was over, they knew they needed just that moment and once it happened we flew.

 

Also interesting Marc Albrighton was not involved in the first few months, when we beat Man Utd 5-3. Albrighton said he was out with his family, just could get no where near the team.

Edited 7 February by Leicesterpool

[Guy]

7 hours ago, Leicesterpool said:

It's was weird we were bottom of the league at christmas without being bad I mean to be bottom of the league and to be two goals down at Anfield and to come back to get a 2-2 draw you can't be that bad, we were just unlucky. But suddenly our luck changed, that late goal against West Ham sparked something truly special that carried on until may 2016. What helped that was we had a lot of good experienced players that had confidence to turn it round. They never felt it was over, they knew they needed just that moment and once it happened we flew.

 

Also interesting Marc Albrighton was not involved in the first few months, when we beat Man Utd 5-3. Albrighton said he was out with his family, just could get no where near the team.

Yes, rather strange re the above mentioned Albrighton's exclusion for the first half of that season, considering he and Ulloa were considered relative 'marquee' signings as such that close season, even if one was a free and the other an £8 million signing, seen to be overpriced that summer by most but boy, was Leonardo vital all that GE season really and Albrighton more so in the title winning season!

Edited 8 February by Guy

[HybridFox]

This disappointment has to be the catalyst for a run like this. Firmly believe we have to take something next week against Arsenal to show even a glimpse. It just doesn't have the same belief as in 2014-15 as others have said, we were genuinely a good team unlucky. But until it's over, it ain't over eh? And I still think we'll take it to the last day like 22-23 courtesy of slip-ups around us

Edited 8 February by HybridFox

[PAULCFC]

The 14/15 side had fight and played for the shirt.......There's not a sign of either in this lot.

[Leicesterpool]

It's possible the players we had then were probably on less wages compared to this crop.

Edited 8 February by Leicesterpool

[hebangsthedrums]

Put wout faes in the 14/15 team and he'd have relegated them. 

 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

9 hours ago, PAULCFC said:

The 14/15 side had fight and played for the shirt.......There's not a sign of either in this lot.

From what I saw last night, Ndidi coming back and hopefully staying fit give us half a chance. He was directing people around and using his experience to lead - we’ve been massively lacking that. I’d like to think he cares enough and that it will rub off on those around him.

[sylofox]

I knew we would stay up that season.

 

Just like I know these clowns don't have it in them to stay up.

 

Seriously we should be playing the youngsters as the adults are just flushing us down the shitter.

[phoneticerror]

21 hours ago, Stadt said:

Ulloa scored some important goals early on and helped keep the ball up the pitch. Ayew is the closest thing we have now  

 

Vardy, Nugent, Schlupp and Mahrez all chipped in too. 

Christ it’s upsetting to compare that to what we’ve become

[Mickyblueeyes]

14/15 side also suffered quite a bit with Kasper out for large spells. We had Hamer and then Schwarzer in goal but Kasper returning was massive. What an impact
 

(looking at you Mads for a similar impact)

[It'sblueupnorth]

On 08/02/2025 at 11:43, hebangsthedrums said:

Put wout faes in the 14/15 team and he'd have relegated them. 

 

Pearson wouldn’t have entertained the ****

[tylesta]

4 hours ago, Mickyblueeyes said:

14/15 side also suffered quite a bit with Kasper out for large spells. We had Hamer and then Schwarzer in goal but Kasper returning was massive. What an impact
 

(looking at you Mads for a similar impact)

If I remember rightly alot on here wanted Hamer as number 1 after the stoke away win. (He was solid that day btw)

[Dickov22]

I love Pearson, but he was picking the wrong team quite a lot that season. As soon as he started regularly playing Vardy and Albrighton, it clicked and we showed our quality. 
There is not even a tiny glimmer of hope this season; our back 4 is awful and we won’t score enough goals. The striker situation is beyond ridiculous 

[Graceroad]

59 minutes ago, Dickov22 said:

I love Pearson, but he was picking the wrong team quite a lot that season. As soon as he started regularly playing Vardy and Albrighton, it clicked and we showed our quality. 
There is not even a tiny glimmer of hope this season; our back 4 is awful and we won’t score enough goals. The striker situation is beyond ridiculous 

Thought Vardy played all season