Leicester City player ratings

[Flynny]

Hendo - 6

Average.

Chambers - 7.5

MotM for me. Great attacking runs into space and some superb, crucial tackles.

Mattock - 4.5

Was having a good game and then fell to pieces after one mistake. I feel dead sorry for him and hope he bounces back.

McAuley - 6

Defended quite well, hoofed too much.

Bruno - 6.5

Classy

Newton - 6.5

Out of position for long periods, did what he could for the most part. Nothing memorable.

Wesolowski - 5.5

Out of position for half of the game, and the midfield was entirely bypassed by long balls by the time he found himself in the centre. Wasn't bad.

Clemence - 6

Not bad. The odd good pass, but not in the game for long periods.

Kishishev - 5.5

Similar to Clemence, but looked Clumsy.

De Vries - 7

Some good chances, still needs to work on his heading (though its improved just slightly)

Hume - 6.75

Ran his bollocks off. Got involved all over the pitch. Seemed to play down the right flank for a period and looked comfortable there.

Subs.

Hayes - 6

Not bad at all, might have started instead of one of the CM's.

DJ - 5.5

Played well when he could. Led the line but got next to no service. He needs the ball on the floor.

Stearman - 6

Comfortable, pacy, didn't **** up. Nothing memorable.

[Simon]

Errmmm.........the paid to play football, not talk. What was there to talk about........So James you having a roast dinner tomorrow? Get a grip.

What was there to talk about?

How about "James, time, Keepers on."

FOUR WORDS.

You have just demonstrated in that sentence right there how much you know about football.

[dandannieldanok]

Shocking comment.

I didn't think you'd post such an idiotic comment such as this. Of course talking has a lot to do with goalkeeping. It's basic stuff. You need to communicate with your defense to get them organized etc.

1 of the key things a goalkeeper does in the game is talk to defences, makes sure they are picking up their man at set pieces etc. not to mention given a loud clear shout to make sure they get out of the way when he is coming for the ball, you comment shows a total lack of knowledge about the skill of goalkeepeing

50% of football is about communication.

As my old manager used to say.

But surely it is a defenders job to pick up their man without having to be told by the goalkeeper, it should be instinctive. Or if you really are desperate to hear someone shouting, what about our captain, he should do it. The goalkeeper shouldn't have to childmind the defence, just stop the ball from going into the back of the net. Anyway, it isn't a valid discussion, our defence was the least worst part of our play today, if Chambers had not gone down with an injury then I doubt whether that chance would have been taken.

[Simi]

But surely it is a defenders job to pick up their man without having to be told by the goalkeeper, it should be instinctive. Or if you really are desperate to hear someone shouting, what about our captain, he should do it. The goalkeeper shouldn't have to childmind the defence, just stop the ball from going into the back of the net. Anyway, it isn't a valid discussion, our defence was the least worst part of our play today, if Chambers had not gone down with an injury then I doubt whether that chance would have been taken.

The keeper can call it from his position, he has the best view. It's his box, he should control what's going on around it.

[Simon]

But surely it is a defenders job to pick up their man without having to be told by the goalkeeper, it should be instinctive. Or if you really are desperate to hear someone shouting, what about our captain, he should do it. The goalkeeper shouldn't have to childmind the defence, just stop the ball from going into the back of the net. Anyway, it isn't a valid discussion, our defence was the least worst part of our play today, if Chambers had not gone down with an injury then I doubt whether that chance would have been taken.

I'm not even going to bother picking out the holes in that argument.

I'll just give you one piece of advice: when you're in a hole, stop digging.

[Jimmy]

But surely it is a defenders job to pick up their man without having to be told by the goalkeeper, it should be instinctive. Or if you really are desperate to hear someone shouting, what about our captain, he should do it. The goalkeeper shouldn't have to childmind the defence, just stop the ball from going into the back of the net. Anyway, it isn't a valid discussion, our defence was the least worst part of our play today, if Chambers had not gone down with an injury then I doubt whether that chance would have been taken.

sometimes people lose their man or an extra player comes forward, then it is down o the keeper to make sure he is picked up, a keeper has to assume the defence no nothing, treat them as if they are thick as shit, that way they cant say "why dint you tell me he was there"

[Blue Fox]

I'm not even going to bother picking out the holes in that argument.

I'll just give you one piece of advice: when you're in a hole, stop digging.

Or start licking

[Simon]

Or start licking

[Yaxx]

Hendo - 3 - Another kamikaze performance. Frightening.

Chambers - 6 - One of the better players on the day. Looks more comfortable at RB than Stearman.

N'Gotty - 6 - A reasonable enough performance but needs to improve.

McAuley - 5 - Had his moments and made some telling interceptons, but woeful distribution let him down today.

Mattock - 2 - Out of his depth and should be out of the team. Simple as that.

Newton - 4 - Had a terrible game.

Clemence - 3 - Pisspoor. Another Stephen Hughes if you ask me. Why on earth is he captain? Made no impact against Blackpool or Portsmouth. Awful corner kicks.

Kishishev - 4 - Lost the plot as well as the ball.

Wesolowski - 5 - A few good touches, but plenty of bad ones too.

De Vries - 6 - Clearly suffered from the pitiful service from midfield and did his best to try and make something of the shit long balls. Desperately unlucky not to score a 'wonder goal'.

Hume - 7 - Worked his socks off as ever.

SUBS:

Hayes - 6 - Exciting, direct, and caused lots of problems whenever he got the ball - which wasn't very often.

Campbell - 6 - Another strong showing and clearly has the potential to be our top striker. So why's he on the bench?

Stearman - 6 - Had a reasonable game but the jury's still out for me.

[Thracian]

another post i agree with... 2 posts in one day you are doing well today mate !!!

Thanks - and I thought you had a good un for the Over 21's. If I could slow you down just a fraction you'd be my kind of player.

[Free Falling Foxes]

Impressed with Chambers - hope the injury isn't bad.

Two other points though:

For a small striker Hume gets up well for headers & wins more than his fair share. Last season - & today - I was screaming at others for not anticipating his flick-ons.

MDV. I'm always hoping/wishing he'll turn a defender and shoot. He did it today and nearly scored a blinder! More please.

FFF

[Lovejoy]

Hendo-5 nervy and erratic

Chambers-6 good going forward, occasionally got caught too far up the pitch

N'Gotty-8 solid

McAuley-6 most of the time solid but just appears uneasy at times

Mattock-5 looked uncomfortable

Weso-8 dominant once moved to the centre

Kishishev-6 worked hard, little reward

Clem-6 quiet, terrible set-pieces

Newton-7 dangerous once moved to the right

Hume-7 busy as ever, few opportunities

MDV-7 great 1st half effort, otherwise qiuetish

DJ-6 thwarted by excellent Rachubka

Stearman-6 looked decent coming forward

Hayes-6 full of tricks and a perfect cross unconverted by the DJ

MA-5 went 3up to early, lopsided midfield, general lack of understanding on the field. BUT was at least willing to attack, something which Rob Kelly wouldn't ever do.

[Grub]

Henderson 5 almost cocked up one clearance and doesn't communicate.

chambers 5 no real imrovement especially in an attacking capability. caught out of position in 1st half quite a few times.

n'gotty 6 badly caught for pace but great recovering tackle. steady

mccauley 6 won a lot in the air but ultimately at fault for their goal as he didn't get across to cover even though he had the chance.

mattock 3.5 showed exactly what he is a young lad with a lot of promise but only 3 games under his belt. is he a full back?? didn't look one today. 1 dreadful backpass in particular and not great in the air. very hesitant going forward.

kishishev 5 a slightly better tiatto on this evidence though not as quick.

clemence 6 worked hard but will need to be much much better if we are to reach the top half of the table.

newton 5 flattered to deceive. yes he ran around a lot but with little or no effect. we need better if we are to challenge.

weso 4.5 low score because he was shown up by being played out of position. should he have been subbed instead of kishishev? not a wide player!

hume 6 usual performance. ran around alot but needs 6 or 7 chances to score.

de vries 7 good effort one great swivel and shot which hit the cross bar. also one excellent glancing header which went close. probably our best player on the day which sums up the overall standard.

subs

dj 5 didn't offer a lot though played wide right. should play full game vs stanley

stearman 6 average performance. did nothing wrong. loked better than chambers.

hayes 5.5 looks like he might be a late impact player. worryingly reminded me a little of hammill. to be fair though he didn't get enough of the ball.

overall this was a disappointng start.

for the first 25 mins we were utterly outplayed by a side that passed and moved far better than us. overall they shaded the 1st half. we were better in the 2nd but like previous years it took a goal against us for us to up the ante.

worrying that we have not addressed the left hand side problems or the fact that generally we just played with no width.

Their goalie played well but we just don't look to have the strikers to put the ball in the net.

Yes it is early days but the next 4 games are important. we must take at least 8 point from them and on this form it is hard to see where we wil get them.

I thought Chambers looked very good until he got injurednand was better than Stearman.

Hayes played well in the time he was on pitch.

[Chocolate Teapot]

All this talk of De Vries being the best player is bollocks. If he hadn't hit the bar you wouldn't be saying that. He destroys Hume's game and makes him chase flick ons which isn't his strength. He was fair today, but he isn't effective and he should have scored today. I'd like to see Hume and DJ up front really. They will get us 40/50 goals a season not De vries.

[TheBlinding]

All this talk of De Vries being the best player is bollocks. If he hadn't hit the bar you wouldn't be saying that. He destroys Hume's game and makes him chase flick ons which isn't his strength. He was fair today, but he isn't effective and he should have scored today. I'd like to see Hume and DJ up front really. They will get us 40/50 goals a season not De vries.

"If my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle"

[Jimmy]

All this talk of De Vries being the best player is bollocks. If he hadn't hit the bar you wouldn't be saying that. He destroys Hume's game and makes him chase flick ons which isn't his strength. He was fair today, but he isn't effective and he should have scored today. I'd like to see Hume and DJ up front really. They will get us 40/50 goals a season not De vries.

if hume cant deal with flick on's maybe he shouldn't be a striker

[Hullfox]

All this talk of De Vries being the best player is bollocks. If he hadn't hit the bar you wouldn't be saying that. He destroys Hume's game and makes him chase flick ons which isn't his strength. He was fair today, but he isn't effective and he should have scored today. I'd like to see Hume and DJ up front really. They will get us 40/50 goals a season not De vries.

De Vries was very good in patches today.

Problem with some people's opinions is that they need a hate figure in the team and it's not always necessarily based on the day's performance. I don't think he'll be playing week in week out for us for one moment but when he does pull on the shirt, if he continues to perform in that vein he'll get my support.

Similarly, I've absolutely no doubt that some of you can't wait for him to have a mare.

[Daggers]

Henderson 6 (apart from his bizarre bit of dribling had little to do)

Chambers 6.5 (Efficient and made some useful drives forward)

N'Gotty 7.5 (Looked in control. Did the simple things. Some excellent blocks.)

McAuley 6 (Also blocked well and had control in the air. But playing two slow centre-backs was iffy at times and may have been a factor with the goal thiough I couldn't be sure))

Mattock 5.75 (Goodish first half but made errors of judgement in the second although Newton left him up two blind alleys)

Clemence 5 (Indifferent. Looked a bit of a Hughes today - plenty of touches but no real outcome.)

Kishishev 6 (a bit sluggish but well involved)

Wesolowski 7.5 (Shocking that he was messed about but still our most effective midfielder by a distance. So unlucky with his blocked shot. Should have scored with a header but was forever in the box - even for free kicks on the far post - trying to make things happen. Covered so much ground in energy sapping sapping conditions and rearely wasted possession.).

Newton 3 (I've said he's not good enough for what we want and it was plain to see. Mattock will get the blame for his bizarre backpass and his slip that eventually led to their goal but it was Newton who left him with no options and who failed to take responsibility by getting the ball into the box early when he had chance.)

DeVries 7.75 (Hit the woodwork with a brilliant volley and led the line so well I cannot believe we failed to score. We had more chances than a Kelly team would create in a month).

Hume 7 (Another to miss his half-chances but he was a constant menace)

Subs:

Hayes 7 (So close to making a goal for Campbell with his first cross. Had far more effect than Newton in a third of the time but is clearly not fit yet).

Campbell 7 (Such a threat and hit the woodwork but strikers are paid to take chances and he should have taken two).

Stearman 6.5 (Helped make a difference like the other subs as Leicester put more into attack and really wrested control)

MoM: Mark DeVries. (So unlucky with his turn and volley).

Agreed, apart from midfield. I think you have Clemence and Kish mixed up. Kish's range of passing in the first half was dreadful until he started laying off short ones (leading to a justifiable sub) while Clemence grasped responsibility and was as vocal as a captain should be in the first. Oddly he wilted in the second after their goal but I'd still give him a 6.

I think you are being dreadfully harsh on Newton who I thought had a good first half, interchanging with Weso quite well, and was no worse than others on the pitch in the second half.

I don't understand people lambasting Allen. He played what he deemed to be his best starting eleven in a 442 formation and we were unlucky to come away with nothing. It is a squad as a work-in-progress and I saw enough to give me hope for the future.

I for one appreciated the change to 433 then the 334 at the end. I appreciated the amount of efforts we had but hardly anyone is giving credit to a Blackpool team that is well drilled in doing what they did today. Their keeper was excellent and they defended well and in numbers, throwing body after body at the ball.

Our performance wasn't good enough but neither was it the best we can do. What we did achieve was a level of effort far superior to last season and we simply have to patiently wait for the players to bed into a cohesive unit. That is exactly what is going to happen so all the kiddies currently throwing their toys onto the lawn may be best advised to go find something else to do for a couple of months.

[MPH]

Im tempted to pick DJ ahead of MDV...

but that leaves 2 little guys.....

its simply not an option to drop Hume and i hope MA realises that...

do you guys think MDV deserves to keep his place?

[MPH]

Agreed, apart from midfield. I think you have Clemence and Kish mixed up. Kish's range of passing in the first half was dreadful until he started laying off short ones (leading to a justifiable sub) while Clemence grasped responsibility and was as vocal as a captain should be in the first. Oddly he wilted in the second after their goal but I'd still give him a 6.

I think you are being dreadfully harsh on Newton who I thought had a good first half, interchanging with Weso quite well, and was no worse than others on the pitch in the second half.

I don't understand people lambasting Allen. He played what he deemed to be his best starting eleven in a 442 formation and we were unlucky to come away with nothing. It is a squad as a work-in-progress and I saw enough to give me hope for the future.

I for one appreciated the change to 433 then the 334 at the end. I appreciated the amount of efforts we had but hardly anyone is giving credit to a Blackpool team that is well drilled in doing what they did today. Their keeper was excellent and they defended well and in numbers, throwing body after body at the ball.

Our performance wasn't good enough but neither was it the best we can do. What we did achieve was a level of effort far superior to last season and we simply have to patiently wait for the players to bed into a cohesive unit. That is exactly what is going to happen so all the kiddies currently throwing their toys onto the lawn may be best advised to go find something else to do for a couple of months.

top posting.

[Jimmy]

Im tempted to pick DJ ahead of MDV...

but that leaves 2 little guys.....

its simply not an option to drop Hume and i hope MA realises that...

do you guys think MDV deserves to keep his place?

why is it not an option to drop hume, WHAT DID HE ACTUALLY DO TODAY? and leave out the worked his socks off crap

[Thracian]

why is it not an option to drop hume, WHAT DID HE ACTUALLY DO TODAY? and leave out the worked his socks off crap

He did work, which is not to be sneered at. He also linked well with DeVries and various midfielders in decent 8-man passing moves and his average goals per game ratio is pretty good and consistent overall, including pre-season.

We failed to score as much because of MA's team selection as the failing of the players and if I were MA I'd be looking seriously at that before I started criticising anyone. There was insufficient balance.

And even then we rarely looked like conceding apart from one simplistic error which came from a slip.

Yet all the hammer's being aimed at the strikers who carved out stacks of chances or half-chances against an excellent Blackpool defence whose manager Simon Grayson sent out well organised, swift to close people down and tireless in their efforts to limit our options.

[Milky]

He did work, which is not to be sneered at. He also linked well with DeVries and various midfielders in decent 8-man passing moves and his average goals per game ratio is pretty good and consistent overall, including pre-season.

We failed to score as much because of MA's team selection as the failing of the players and if I were MA I'd be looking seriously at that before I started criticising anyone. There was insufficient balance.

And even then we rarely looked like conceding apart from one simplistic error which came from a slip.

Yet all the hammer's being aimed at the strikers who carved out stacks of chances or half-chances against an excellent Blackpool defence whose manager Simon Grayson sent out well organised, swift to close people down and tireless in their efforts to limit our options.

Agreed

[dandannieldanok]

He did work, which is not to be sneered at. He also linked well with DeVries and various midfielders in decent 8-man passing moves and his average goals per game ratio is pretty good and consistent overall, including pre-season.

We failed to score as much because of MA's team selection as the failing of the players and if I were MA I'd be looking seriously at that before I started criticising anyone. There was insufficient balance.

And even then we rarely looked like conceding apart from one simplistic error which came from a slip.

Yet all the hammer's being aimed at the strikers who carved out stacks of chances or half-chances against an excellent Blackpool defence whose manager Simon Grayson sent out well organised, swift to close people down and tireless in their efforts to limit our options.

Couldn't agree more

[Fez of Mahrez]

I'm not going to bother with individual ratings as I didn't think anyone was particularly amazing and I don't think it's very constructive to slag off players who are either 17 or being played out of position. Mattock has shown so much promise for his age and if we refuse to sign a left-back then we should give him all the support in the world. I was disgusted with the fans who got on his back today. Young players need time, especially if they are playing in defence when an error can be so much more costly than if playing in an attacking role. He didn't cost us a goal today, he didn't even make any huge errors. He didn't have a recognised left-winger in front of him and we didn't play well in general anyway. I am ashamed to be a Leicester fan when I am surrounded by people who start the season by barracking a teenager. The Walkers Stadium has become a negative, lifeless place populated by a lot of moaning twats who can't wait to get on a particular player's back. That is no good at all to a young player. Experienced players can put mistakes behind them by thinking to themselves "it's okay, I've played hundreds of games at this level in my career and I know I can do this" whereas to young players, it's a constant learning curve. A large minority of our fans don't seem to want to help them in the slightest. I dread to think what sort of ratings Mattock would be getting if he'd actually made an error that led to a goal or looked totally out of place all game, which he didn't.

I thought De Vries he had a good game but I just don't like the way we play when he's in the team and I don't think he'll score enough goals to justify a place up front. If we had a goal threat from midfield it wouldn't be a problem but we didn't have any goal threat from midfield today, in fact we played four players who we will be lucky to get 15 goals from between the four of them this season in my opinion. If we're going to play de Vries then we need to be more positive with our team selection in wide positions than we were today. Ka'abi may help solve this problem but the left side is still hopeless.

Spending millions on a striker is all well and good but the more I see us play, the more I start to think that every position on the pitch is equally important and if you've got as few as two positions being held by players to whom the role is unfamiliar, it upsets the whole balance of the team.

The bottom line is that neither Mandaric or Allen are your average chairman or manager. We are going to have to put up with a lot of things that seem to make no sense at all, whether that is a member of staff leaving, a dodgy signing, strange team selections or certain players being preferred or frozen out completely. This sort of stuff is going to go on all season and we are going to moan about it all. We're football fans. It's what we do. We're Leicester fans. We wouldn't be happy unless we were moaning about something.

Personally, I didn't enjoy today at all - but that is a good thing. The reason I didn't enjoy it is because I expect us to be a better football team than that and I felt the pressure of not beating a team we were expected to beat.

That is a much better reason not to enjoy a game than last season's defeats where you wondered how on earth we were going to win the next game.