The Padster Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Leicester City captain Matt Oakley is desperate to be fit for play-offs Leicester City skipper Matt Oakley is facing a race against time to be fit for the Championship play-offs. The 31-year-old midfielder has also revealed the full extent of the ankle injury which has kept him out of action for nearly three weeks. A pain-killing injection has allowed Oakley to resume training this week and he is desperate to be involved in the promotion push. "I'd hope to be involved against Middlesbrough on Sunday if this week goes well," he said. "As long as I don't get any reaction then, hopefully, I'll play some part in the game and then I can start to focus on the play-offs." Oakley underwent a scan on the ankle which revealed tissue damage, backing up City head physio Dave Rennie's decision to send him for a check. "I'd been playing with it through the season and Dave suggested having a look to see what was going on," said Oakley. "The scan showed there was quite a bit of damage to the ankle and I needed to stop playing to see if we can settle things down. "The manager said it was a case of taking my time to get it right but, to be honest, the treatment room is a pretty depressing place, so it's been great to get out and train. "It makes you feel a whole lot better." Oakley had to watch from the sidelines as City confirmed their spot in the divisional showdown with last week's single-goal success at Preston. He has also had a look at the play-off situation for the first time, such has been City's sole focus on making it through. Nottingham Forest and Cardiff are also in play-off places, while Blackpool and Swansea have to sweat it out in their respective weekend clashes with Bristol City and Doncaster as they chase the one remaining spot. "It's great that it's sorted because I wouldn't want to be in the Blackpool or Swansea side fighting for the final spot on Sunday," said the former Derby and Southampton player. "We've got the first foot on the ladder and now we have to make sure we stay calm and focused and, importantly, avoid injuries. That will be the key thing this weekend, we don't want to lose anyone to a silly challenge or a red-mist moment such as Steve Howard's the other week. "It has taken the pressure off but the lads will still want to put in a good performance. There's no real tension on the Middlesbrough game and everyone can enjoy it. "I didn't realise until this week that Cardiff can catch Forest to finish third. I thought they were three points behind but it's only two, although I still think it's going to be Cardiff who we play." Forest travel to S****horpe for their final league game while Cardiff are at Derby. LM
OriginalRobboFOX Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Fortunately with the emergence of Spearing this has not hit the squad too hard.
Tony Pine Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 why would he have the injection when he's not gonna play anyway. unless they give him a run out on sunday ,hoping he'll aggravate it, and then they don't have to hurt his feelings when he doesn't play in the play-offs. who knows. maybe i'm being harsh
Guest Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 why would he have the injection when he's not gonna play anyway. unless they give him a run out on sunday ,hoping he'll aggravate it, and then they don't have to hurt his feelings when he doesn't play in the play-offs. who knows. maybe i'm being harsh He's had the injection so at least we've got some cover should there be any other injuries to the current midfield lineup. Frankly I'd rather we had him ready to go than not.
Tony Pine Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 yeah true, i was thinking he was basically there for cover. decided to just go for pure character assassination instead though.
maddog Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Your crap, go away, i don't want you anywhere near the bench for the playoffs.
CosbehFox Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Explains his poor form for the season. Doesn't surprise me.
breadandcheese Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Explains his poor form for the season. Doesn't surprise me. Absolutely. All credit to him for playing when injured. Not all players would have done that
Heart-Shaped Fox Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Need him just for backup so I hope he is fit.
MPH Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 he is our captain, he is an experienced pro and i think his presence will be needed for the play offs. i would we wary of throwing in ALL the youngsters for the play offs.. there could be some really nervy moments and someone like spearing, as good as he is hasnt played that many first team games last minute peno's , ect.... its the stuff that could give away the vital away goal that could ruin a spectacular season.... He is needed.
iancognito Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 He's been crap for large chunks of the season but if you take into account he's been used in two or three different position AND has been carrying an injury, it puts a different spin on it. The only thing that bothers me is that this is the first mention of it. Even two or three weeks ago, Pearson was telling the Mockery that there was a way for Oakley to get back in the team like Howard has done. He could have mentioned then he was carrying an injury but hushed it up. Why?
davieG Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 he is our captain, he is an experienced pro and i think his presence will be needed for the play offs. i would we wary of throwing in ALL the youngsters for the play offs.. there could be some really nervy moments and someone like spearing, as good as he is hasnt played that many first team games last minute peno's , ect.... its the stuff that could give away the vital away goal that could ruin a spectacular season.... He is needed. We had plenty of experience in the 4 consecutive 'bad' years and a fat lot of good it did us, experience for the sake of it is pointless, quality of performance is more important.
Aeropars Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 I think Oakley gets a bit of harsh press in all honesty. I dont think he's set the world alight since his arrival however he is certainly an influence. A lot of the time he's been played out of position which i think people seem to forget. Wide right is hard for a midfielder who has no pace and i'm not sure of too many center mids who do have pace to burn. I think he's OK. Agreed he hasnt been missed but i bet he's had an influence in the dressing room, even while injured.
irDeano Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 he is our captain, he is an experienced pro and i think his presence will be needed for the play offs. i would we wary of throwing in ALL the youngsters for the play offs.. there could be some really nervy moments and someone like spearing, as good as he is hasnt played that many first team games last minute peno's , ect.... its the stuff that could give away the vital away goal that could ruin a spectacular season.... He is needed. It isn't all about experience, it's about maturity as well and i think that many of our younger players have shown a great deal of it this season. Our younger players like Morrison, Hobbs, King even Waggy have shown they can keep their nerve in these "nervy moments" you mention. Preston was a very important game and i'm sure they knew it themselves but they managed to keep their nerve and eventually get a 1-0 win. Morrison has especially shown a high level of maturity, not long ago he was playing blue square football, now he's playing championship football in a position that isn't his natural position and in my opinion he's done a damn good job which is really pleasing to see from such a young player. Also you say about throwing "ALL" our youngsters in the team, but it seems like you're forgetting about the Berner's, the Brown's and the Wellen's of the team, we've tryed it with having a squad full of experience and it didn't work now we have a good mix of young and old and i'm sure the more experienced members of the team would be good mentors for the younger players.
Nick Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Your crap, go away, i don't want you anywhere near the bench for the playoffs. You have so little respect for players. Your avatar read that King was an 'invisible man' for most of the past seasons. How do you feel about King now? You're a fickle little boy and your whimsical, daft and aggressive attitudes make it hard for the rest of us to tell if you are drowning or waving. Your posts have no substance, you lack integrity and that's why in turn you have so little respect. Hope you are well, N.
unreachable Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 You have so little respect for players. Your avatar read that King was an 'invisible man' for most of the past seasons. How do you feel about King now? You're a fickle little boy and your whimsical, daft and aggressive attitudes make it hard for the rest of us to tell if you are drowning or waving. Your posts have no substance, you lack integrity and that's why in turn you have so little respect. Hope you are well, N. I enjoy his whimsical posts and respect him. He's a Leicester fan like me.
wakeyfox01 Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 You have so little respect for players. Your avatar read that King was an 'invisible man' for most of the past seasons. How do you feel about King now? You're a fickle little boy and your whimsical, daft and aggressive attitudes make it hard for the rest of us to tell if you are drowning or waving. Your posts have no substance, you lack integrity and that's why in turn you have so little respect. Hope you are well, N. I'm sick of people constantly slating Oakley and using him as this years scapegoat. Even if you don't like him we still need him as cover for the midfield. I accept that he hasn't been brilliant this year but when we switched to 4-3-3 he was in his element and played really well. He could put in a performance like Messi against Arsenal and people would still criticise him and pick faults in his performance. When you dislike a player you only look for what they do wrong and downplay what they do right. I will never boo the team or get on a players back and give my full support to anyone who wears the shirt as I love the club.
caz05 Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 Absolutely. All credit to him for playing when injured. Not all players would have done that
caz05 Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 You have so little respect for players. Your avatar read that King was an 'invisible man' for most of the past seasons. How do you feel about King now? You're a fickle little boy and your whimsical, daft and aggressive attitudes make it hard for the rest of us to tell if you are drowning or waving. Your posts have no substance, you lack integrity and that's why in turn you have so little respect. Hope you are well, N.
MPH Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 We had plenty of experience in the 4 consecutive 'bad' years and a fat lot of good it did us, experience for the sake of it is pointless, quality of performance is more important. yes i do see your point.... but i think going the opposite direction and playing with mostly youngsters won't do us any good either... We will still need one or two experienced heads to steady the ship in nervy moments.. Also he wont be an experienced head just for the sake of it... he is also our captain.. and to leave out your fit again captain for the most important games this club will be playing for the last several years would be a strange decision.
Fox You Forest Posted 29 April 2010 Posted 29 April 2010 strange decision. Not half as strange as dropping one of Spearing, King or Wellens who are all in decent form just to find some way of fitting in the captain and gamble that he might just find some form for the first time in a good while.
Corky Posted 30 April 2010 Posted 30 April 2010 Hope he's fit, adds another option, even if he hasn't been at his best this season.
Houdini Logic Posted 30 April 2010 Posted 30 April 2010 yes i do see your point.... but i think going the opposite direction and playing with mostly youngsters won't do us any good either... We will still need one or two experienced heads to steady the ship in nervy moments.. Also he wont be an experienced head just for the sake of it... he is also our captain.. and to leave out your fit again captain for the most important games this club will be playing for the last several years would be a strange decision. I heard playing with mostly youngsters got nobby into a lot of trouble... TAXI!
davieG Posted 30 April 2010 Posted 30 April 2010 yes i do see your point.... but i think going the opposite direction and playing with mostly youngsters won't do us any good either... We will still need one or two experienced heads to steady the ship in nervy moments.. Also he wont be an experienced head just for the sake of it... he is also our captain.. and to leave out your fit again captain for the most important games this club will be playing for the last several years would be a strange decision. Well it would be just for the sakes of it if he's included just because he's the captain, a good mix of players is ideal but first and foremost they need to be on top of their game that applies to both young and old. I just don't go with this 'put in so and so' because he's experienced. In the same way I don't go with 'he can pass his experience on' that's simple not always the case and depends on the character of the individual not their skill/experience levels.
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