Are we missing

[Jonbluefox9]

I'm not sure i used those exact words but they are apt. For me it's not just the 50-50 situation, he just doesn't seem to want to be part of the play. All the best creative players I've sen over the years would rip your leg off to get a touch of the ball, they've needed to satisfy their creative spirit. Williams looks like he's hiding all the while, afraid that someone will pass him the ball, sure if it comes to his feet he'll try and do something with it, often quite creative.

Do you ever seem him pass the ball and imediately run into space to receive a return ball, hardly ever. I've sat and watched him in some games for a good 20 mins and he's not only not been involved he's not even tried to be involved. Other players try to find themselves some space, Williams seems to go and find an oppo player to stand next to ensuring that no one passes the ball to him.

I'm sure it's not a conscious thing he does, but he does it none the less, people have described him as shy and I guess that's what we're seeing. I don't hold out much hope of a change though; he was like it at Forest, and he's been like it under Adams and Levein with only the odd cameo of involvement.

Sad really such a waste of natural talent.

Exactly

I can't remember the last time I saw Williams pick the ball up and play a short pass, make a forward run and pick the ball up again. He drops deep, collects, tries to ping a cross field pass and then leisurely jogs forward.

Creative/attacking midfielders should want the ball at every opportunity and bust a gut to get forward and support the strikers. Williams doesn't do either of these things and as you say it's a waste of natural talent. I wonder if it's a confidence thing rather than a bad attitude. It's easy for people like me to call him lazy but maybe he has a lack of self belief which is hard to believe when you think about how much he earns and things like that but maybe like a striker short of goals, Williams' 'lack of confidence' makes him shy away. Just thinking of reasons. Maybe he is just a lazy footballer.

[Thracian]

Like I said earlier in the thread it's the timing of the comments and not the actual comments I disagree with.

Regarding my team idea, you can only play people in their rightful positions if you have such personnel and are confident they are up to the task.

With McCarthy out I do not feel that is the case with Nils or Gerrbrand, particularly aerially. O'Grady was a potential alternative, being strong, mobile, skillful.

However, I changed my team, because another poster had personal experience of playing against O'Grady as a tackler and convinced me it probably wouldn't work. That is the point of debate, to explore ideas and, hopefully, to arrive at the best conclusion.

My main criticism about Saturday was not that we lost but that there were more compelling reasons to attack than defend.

Indeed, there was really no reason not to attack because, as you yourself said, we've rarely done any good at Ipswich - yet, to me, we went a long with the idea simply of pinching something from the game.

With an eight point cushion we could have had a go.

You may think differently and I respect that. But am I so wrong to want a genuinely positive team at Leicester?

I have celebrated all the points we have collected since Kelly took charge and have well understood (and supported) his decision to rely on battling, harassing players to steer us to safety.

But we need to move forward... and Ipswich offered an opportunity, because of all the special circumstances, to do that.

Instead, even Kelly apologised for failing to offer more to our fans and I believe it was an opportunity lost to find out what else we could do apart from harass our way through games.

[Ric Flair]

It reflects my frustration really. We are always losing goals to headers from corners, free-kicks because we don't have any really dominant aerial defenders, especially when McCarthy's out. Dion was the best but his so-called mistakes against Stoke cost him permanently.

O'Grady just struck me as stronger and better in the air than Gerrbrand or Nils but the reality is we don't really have an alternative that fills you with confidence.

If we can't defend corners and near the penalty area free kicks, I suppose the next best thing is to play high enough not to conceded them.

You don't have to play him at centre half just because we're crap at defending set pieces. All tall players go back to defend corners and free-kicks irrespective of where they are playing on the pitch. From open play other than a few occasions this season (Stoke away, Cardiff at home) we are actually excellent at defending crosses from open play (Kisnorbo is extremely dominant in the air) but at set pieces where everybody needs to pick up a player we struggle. You could pick 10 8ft players but if they don't mark the opposition properly then chances are the opposition will have an effort on goal from a set piece. It's got very little to do with being good in the air, that's only relative if you mark properly. O'Grady wouldn't help matters by playing at centre half unless all the other players marked properly at set pieces, but O'Grady could do that by playing upfront as he'd come back to defend set pieces anyway.

[Thracian]

You don't have to play him at centre half just because we're crap at defending set pieces. All tall players go back to defend corners and free-kicks irrespective of where they are playing on the pitch. From open play other than a few occasions this season (Stoke away, Cardiff at home) we are actually excellent at defending crosses from open play (Kisnorbo is extremely dominant in the air) but at set pieces where everybody needs to pick up a player we struggle. You could pick 10 8ft players but if they don't mark the opposition properly then chances are the opposition will have an effort on goal from a set piece. It's got very little to do with being good in the air, that's only relative if you mark properly. O'Grady wouldn't help matters by playing at centre half unless all the other players marked properly at set pieces, but O'Grady could do that by playing upfront as he'd come back to defend set pieces anyway.

You are right and I have been persuaded. It is just that I think we have a real problem with our lack of dominant headers at the back from set-pieces and I thought playing O'Grady would give us extra going forward for corners/free-kicks. It was never an idea I was happy with but neither are the alternatives.

[vanfox12]

"One off day" - what about Southampton then. Ipswich wasn't a one-off day, Ipswich was the result of how Kelly elected to approach the game. He tried to smother the opposition and pinch a win instead of going for the throat and trying to take the pressure off his weakened defence.

But that said, if you think I get one iota of pleasure from Leicester losing or from Rob Kelly or any other manager doing badly then you quite obviously don't have a clue how I think. Your other comments about managing also indicate that you know nothing about me whatsoever.

Of course I am pleased and grateful that Kelly has lifted us out of the relegation zone (and have said so in several sizeable articles that have gone out all over the country, or is that not enough?). But, the team should never have been there in the first place and he played a part in that or had you forgotten?.

What I would like to see now is some indication that we are going to fashion a team for the future. It certainly wasn't there against Ipswich and if you think I'm going to praise that sort of approach you're going to be disappointed.

Kelly only had a couple of days to Prepare and we were just shit on the day and we lost it in the last few minutes of the game. At the end of the day he only has the job till the end of the season.