Play Off Push

[stevolcfc]

To be honest the best we can do is get behind our team and believe in Nigel Pearson we have lost 4 consecutive games and seems as the supporters of city are going crazy about how crap were doing , lets be reallistic we have done so well so far this season and im backng NP to get the job done that now is expected but at the start of the season i would of been happy with 13/14th we had just been promoted and not alot was expected so come on and get behind the boys

[Daggers]

To be honest the best we can do is get behind our team and believe in Nigel Pearson

I believe in fairies.

[davieG]

Seems like others think it's down to the fans to keep us in the play offs.

From the Merc and their "Dare to Dream" Campaign

Fans can give Leicester City a vital push over the finishing line

Monday, April 05, 2010, 08:00

Something Cardiff City manager Dave Jones said after his side's victory over Leicester City in South Wales last Tuesday struck a chord with me.

Jones is locked in his own personal battle with the South Wales media and, although I have no knowledge or desire to really know what has gone on between the cash-strapped Bluebirds and their local press, one thing Jones did say was very interesting.

He made a statement along the lines that his side were in a great position in the play-offs and need the support of everyone in the local community.

Through their own financial prudence, Leicester City are not experiencing the difficulties that Cardiff are, but Jones's words could have come out of the mouth of City boss Nigel Pearson and they would not be any less true.

Whether they have surprised you or not this season, City find themselves with a fantastic opportunity to get themselves back into the Premier League.

Admittedly, their recent poor run could not have come at a worse time, but they are still very much in the driving seat to reach the play-offs and now have five very winnable games ahead of them.

When a team are struggling, it is exactly at that moment when their supporters earn their description, and that time has come for City fans.

Historically, newspapers must maintain their independence, objectivity and unbiased nature if they are to play the role for which they are designed. However, from time to time they must pin their colours to the mast and throw their weight behind something positive in the community they serve.

That is why the Mercury is delighted to get behind Pearson and his men and call on the support of the whole of Leicestershire to back them over the final five games of the season and give them that vital push over the finishing line.

Since I have been working in Leicester, I have been struck by the sense of community within the county. It may be that, apart from the city of Leicester, the county is made up of smaller communities. But it is also one big sporting community and whether it is the cricket club, the Tigers or City, people in Leicester love their sport and love their sports clubs.

City have had some tough times in recent years, but Nigel Pearson's men have put a smile back on the faces of City fans.

They now have a wonderful opportunity to chase a second consecutive promotion and what a fantastic boost it would be, not only to the club but the entire community, if they could do it.

Never underestimate the knock-on effect a successful sports club can have on the community. It can boost the local economy and raise the profile of the city.

Speak to any player or coach and they will tell you how significant it can be when the home supporters are right behind the team, and they are not paying the fans lip service, they genuinely mean it. They believe in the value of the "12th man".

When there is an electric atmosphere in the stadium, it makes any football match extra special. The Walkers Stadium is a ground that, when full of members of the Blue Army who are in full voice, it can be very intimidating for the visiting team.

Three of City's final five games are on home soil and they will decide whether their season will be extended and whether they will get the chance to battle for a place at Wembley and promotion to the Premier League.

They need the full backing of the City if that dream is to become a reality.

Dare to dream!

Chris Powell column: We'll be really grateful for everyone's support

Monday, April 05, 2010, 08:00

First of all, I would like to wish all the Leicester City fans and Mercury readers a happy Easter. I was delighted to hear that the Mercury has launched a campaign to get the whole city behind us as we try to secure that place in the play-offs. I hope it gets a good response because we need everyone's support.

We haven't had the best of weeks but I am sure there are a lot of teams in the Championship who would like to swap places with us.

Instead of putting the last four games in isolation, we can look back on the last 41 games and be pleased with where we are. Now we effectively have a five-game season. We have three home games and two away to secure our place in the play-offs and, on top of that, we have a one-point start.

People will look at us recently and say we haven't picked up points in our last four games but, really, we can look at the course of the season and see we have had blips like this. We need to bounce back now and perform over the last five games.

It is very important that everyone pulls together. We do need a siege mentality now. It is all about Leicester City and that is what we need to do to get over the finishing line. We need our fans to roar us on.

We need to display our own talents and stamp our authority on games now. I think that comes with everyone trying to perform under what many might say is pressure. But just think about how much pressure there would be at the other end.

We are under scrutiny and under pressure to deliver and get across that finishing line. But I am sure everyone would prefer us to be where we are in trying to achieve something that benefits everyone.

It isn't easy to draw a line under the last four games because the old saying is true that you are only as good as your last game. Once you end games in a positive manner, whether that is scoring goals or getting points, you want everyone to leave the ground pleased with our performance. That hasn't happened in the last four games. We haven't performed as we can and we need to just tweak that and be more consistent.

The players are under no illusions now that we are looking at five games, but what has gone on before has given us this platform to perform and make everyone aware of Leicester City this season. We have made our mark but we want to carry that through all the way to the end.

We need to look at it now as a short season with five games and I am sure we will see it through.

This is important to us because it is people's livelihoods and it is the hopes and dreams of players and supporters.

The manager has spelled out exactly what he wants from the players. Everyone wants to do well and look back at moments when you achieve things and we want everyone to be proud of their team, but the mood is very buoyant around the place.

It is a serious time but it is important to be able to relax at times and we have some fun when it is the right time, as we did on April Fools Day. As an April Fools prank, we put a sign up to tell everyone coming into the training ground building to take their shoes and socks off – and some people did.

The jokes have been flying around and I have been the butt of a fair few and that is fine because, when the serious business comes around, the boys switch on, and that is important even when the results don't go for us.

We have a fantastic opportunity to achieve something that we will all remember in years to come and the players are fully aware of that. They want it too.

We are very focused on what lies ahead, so bring it on.

Let's bring the good times back to Leicester City – Matt Oakley

Monday, April 05, 2010, 08:00

Leicester City captain Matt Oakley has backed the Mercury's Dare to Dream campaign to get everyone behind the promotion push, and said he is determined to bring the good times back to the club.

Oakley has tasted the glory of lifting the Championship play-off trophy before at Wembley when he was skipper of Derby County three years ago, and he is hungry for a repeat with City.

Despite four consecutive defeats, City still occupy the last play-off spot, one point ahead of Blackpool, and today entertain QPR at the Walkers Stadium (3.0) in the first of five season-defining games.

Oakley said City would hold their nerve with the backing of the Blue Army.

"We want to bring the good times back to Leicester," he said.

"Leicester has been a place where there hasn't been much joy coming from the football club in recent years.

"There are a lot of people who support Leicester and, if you look at when we went down to League One, we were still getting gates of 22-23,000 every week. That shows the support we have got.

"The play-offs would be a massive thing. We showed against Nottingham Forest, when we filled the stadium, we could probably get another 10,000 in there. The support is there so we need to keep pushing on and stay in the position we are now.

"If we keep picking up points, then we can get to that pot of gold at the end.

"It makes a massive difference to sell out the Walkers. You saw that against Forest. When we get on the front foot it becomes a difficult place to come for the opposition. Forest found that pretty hard to deal with.

"If we can add that 4,000-5,000 every game between now and the end of the season, it will make a massive difference."

Oakley said the memory of that day at Wembley three years ago still drives him on.

"You have to try to not let the nerves get to you on the big occasion," he said. "But it was an experience I loved.

"I really enjoyed the build-up. I beat my old team West Brom in the semi-final, which was fantastic for me.

"I was on a high from that. We were the underdogs, went in there with a game-plan and did the job."

[CupidStunt]

What i get sick to death of is people who keep saying, "remember where we were last season, get a reality check, blah blah blah and we should be grateful that were even play-off contenders"

I personally dont give a damn about last season, as thats exactly what it was, "last season"

we are in play off's by merit, whether some say we are punching above our weight doesn't wash with me either, we are there because we have won the points, plain and simple, you dont get given points because the FA feel sorry for you.

We have been up and around the play-off's all season, and that's no fluke by any stretch of the imagination.

Cant say we have played the best football i have ever seen, but who cares, as brucie says "points makes prizes" ,and the prize is the potential promotion to the premier league.

I for one would be very very disappointed along with every other LCFC fan if we didnt make the play-off's at least, surely we cant throw it away this late on?

I was hoping to make todays match, but my son has the bloody chicken pox

will be tuning on on the radio, cheering the boys on, hopefully 3 points coming our way

get in

[Lillehamring]

good post cupid....

this whole 'dare to dream' crap smacks of self-deprecation, as if we don't deserve to be where we are....

that said, the problem we have at the moment is that our game plan is dependant on scoring first, and at the moment we just don't look like scoring thanks to the lack of quality balls coming from the midfield.

reaching the playoffs doesn't depend on the crowd -the crowd always start of noisy, get a goal and they will be vocal - what we need is players like oakley to make a real effort and to play confident and attacking football and for our set pieces to hit howard and morrison and hobbs.

what we need is an end to overhit, hopeful balls over the top, and a return to the midfield pushing up in numbers to support...

[Vestan Pance]

If the club wants a full stadium then make all tickets for the remaining games £15. Sell them out no problems. I've read enough of this sort of stuff over the years to last me a lifetime. Infact I read the same sort of stuff before we played Sheffield Weds 2 years ago, the support was fantastic and made very little difference on the day, Matt Oakley must have a short memory . Make no mistake these remaining games are about the players and the manager and whether thet can get back to playing at their maximum for the remaining games. The supporters have more than proved their worth over the past 5 years.

[huddfox]

What would be the worst thing

Not making the play-offs

Getting beat in the play-offs

Getting beat in the final

Going up and being relegated

I for one would like to see us go up and fight for what we have worked so hard for and with money coming into the club (after promotion) being a premier league side.

Come on get behind OUR team, lets cheer them on to victory

[caz05]

What would be the worst thing

Not making the play-offs

Getting beat in the play-offs

Getting beat in the final

Going up and being relegated

I for one would like to see us go up and fight for what we have worked so hard for and with money coming into the club (after promotion) being a premier league side.

Come on get behind OUR team, lets cheer them on to victory

[shiv]

If the club wants a full stadium then make all tickets for the remaining games £15.Sell them out no problems. I've read enough of this sort of stuff over the years to last me a lifetime. Infact I read the same sort of stuff before we played Sheffield Weds 2 years ago, the support was fantastic and made very little difference on the day, Matt Oakley must have a short memory . Make no mistake these remaining games are about the players and the manager and whether thet can get back to playing at their maximum for the remaining games. The supporters have more than proved their worth over the past 5 years.

It's Milan. Unfortunately that is unlikely.

[Spiritwalker]

Also, offering large discounts on match tickets tends to upset season ticket holders.

[Corky]

Also, offering large discounts on match tickets tends to upset season ticket holders.

I've no problem with it, especially in this run-in.

The ground would look much better full.

[iancognito]

If the club wants a full stadium then make all tickets for the remaining games £15. Sell them out no problems. I've read enough of this sort of stuff over the years to last me a lifetime. Infact I read the same sort of stuff before we played Sheffield Weds 2 years ago, the support was fantastic and made very little difference on the day, Matt Oakley must have a short memory . Make no mistake these remaining games are about the players and the manager and whether thet can get back to playing at their maximum for the remaining games. The supporters have more than proved their worth over the past 5 years.

Keep The Faith, The Future's Marked Out etc etc The gimmicks are all very well and good but there's thousands of City fans who can't afford STs or aren't able to make every game and would appreciate not having to pay the best part of £30 to show their support. There's a reason that the Sheeps****rs sell out 30000 seats for a crap football experience and that's ticket prices & initiatives to keep people coming through the turnstiles.

[ozleicester]

What would be the worst thing

Not making the play-offs

Getting beat in the play-offs

Getting beat in the final

Going up and being relegated

I for one would like to see us go up and fight for what we have worked so hard for and with money coming into the club (after promotion) being a premier league side.

Come on get behind OUR team, lets cheer them on to victory

This is a great theory and one i would agree with, however, it relies on not spending too much money in the Prem year to ensure that we dont go down with as much debt as we gain. So in effect are we saying... dont buy players... we accept relegation and getting hammered every week to ensure we have lots of cash in season 11/12?

Also, offering large discounts on match tickets tends to upset season ticket holders.

Understand that it would upset STH's, perhaps some sort of alternative "special offer" ( i know there have been many successful offers in the past ) to STHolders giving them a discounted offer for the next season etc. Obviously the more at the Walkers.. the better.

[Flynny]

[maddog]

I just want to see us get into the playoffs so we have a chance, i think we deserve to be there.

Not to fussed about winning them, just want to be part of it.

[Bluefoxtim]

I just want to see us get into the playoffs so we have a chance, i think we deserve to be there.

Not to fussed about winning them, just want to be part of it.

We deserve to finish wherever we finish.