Playoff 2nd leg - Cardiff City Away Post Match Thread

[Webbo]

Ah well, no trip to Wembley this year after all. I had a feeling on Sunday that it would end up in penalties. Did Whittingham cheat for his goal on sunday ? Was Chopra offside when he was awarded his penalty? Was Yann an arse for that penalty? The answer to all those questions is yes, but at the end of the day does knowing that change the result?There's no point blaming anyone, these things happen .

We've had an exceptional season for a newly promoted club. Lets just be happy for what we've achieved and look forward to next season.

[ScouseFox]

Ah well, no trip to Wembley this year after all. I had a feeling on Sunday that it would end up in penalties. Did Whittingham cheat for his goal on sunday ? Was Chopra offside when he was awarded his penalty? Was Yann an arse for that penalty? The answer to all those questions is yes, but at the end of the day does knowing that change the result?There's no point blaming anyone, these things happen .

We've had an exceptional season for a newly promoted club. Lets just be happy for what we've achieved and look forward to next season.

Agree with all of this. Small things change games, but it's happened, and hopefully we'll come back stronger

[Lillehamring]

Sorry, mate, but that's the worst post you've probably ever made.The bottom line is he didn't "bottle" it or succumb to pressure, he tried something obnoxious and showy to be flash and ended up putting egg on all of our faces.

I am not blaming our not getting to Wembley on him alone and I am not judging his ability as a footballer entirely on that one incident but it was childish, it was unprofessional and it was immensely embarrassing. And, yes, I'd have been irked at his irresponsibility even if it HAD gone in. I've always hated showboating at penalty kicks and I still do now.

Absolutely shambolic and he should be ashamed with his abject immaturity today. The people that are coming on here trying to defend the man make me seriously question their common sense. Which is sad, because for the most part a lot of you are the ones (like yourself, Val) who are normally calm and level headed. I suppose it's those attributes that make you cautious, make you take a step back and make you not want to appear like every other knuckle-dragger using Yann as a scapegoat.

Well I'm sorry, I'm no angry numbskull just desperately looking for someone to blame but what he did was genuinely out of line and should be recognized. Stupid.

whether yann was right or wrong to do what he did, we all owe it to ourselves to step back and think about the amount of pressure the team were under last night, and given the season yann has had, i think he was a brave man to step up and take the penalty... and i don't think he did "bottle" it or 'succumb to pressure', on the contrary, it was a more a case of overconfidence, god forbid we should suppress that in our players (even if perhaps it was really the time or place).

so maybe most of us would not have chosen to take a kick like that, we all know yann is decent at hitting a dead ball, and he made decision to do what he did, it didn't work out - but for so many people to come on here with knee jerk obscenities and ugly words about one of our own players is really rather embarrassing.

there were many reasons why we lost yesterday, i experienced wembley defeats against swindon and spurs, so i know how irrational people can become in these circumstances, but equally i have a lot of respect for yann and all of our players, and i'm not going to lambaste one of them and create a scapegoat for something so very random as a penalty.

if blame is to be apportioned, perhaps we should look closer at the defenders who got so easily beaten for the two cardiff goals.

i get the feeling that some posters (not yourself) on here couldn't have been happier that it was kermo and not one of the others that missed.

[Raj]

During the pre match build up,when the PA was playing all the thumping music to get the Cardiff fans "up for it' ,but when they realised that Leicester fans joined in with singing to the music,did they try and change it to something else to quell us???

Found it pretty funny at the time that in a spate of a few mins they changed the music a few times hoping it'd shut us up....or perhaps it was just me!!!???

[davieG]

During the pre match build up,when the PA was playing all the thumping music to get the Cardiff fans "up for it' ,but when they realised that Leicester fans joined in with singing to the music,did they try and change it to something else to quell us???

Found it pretty funny at the time that in a spate of a few mins they changed the music a few times hoping it'd shut us up....or perhaps it was just me!!!???

I've found that nothing will shut you up Raj.

[Raj]

TIs what Mrs Raj says Davie!

[Fosse Boy]

To those saying we should aim for automatic next season, be very wary. Next years league will be tough, and we're actually looking at losing quite a few players. I personally think given the competition;

Forest

Cardiff if they don't go up

Leeds

Norwich

Ipswich

QPR

One of Millwall/Swindon/Charlton/Huddersfield

Burnley - gonna have some dosh

Portsmouth and Hull - Poor or not, you can't write off relegated teams. They have a knack of squeezing millions into their transfer budget even when they're destitute

Middlesborough, who I think will come back strongly

Reading

Sheff Utd, who finished the season strongly

Bristol City who have a top manager

Next season is going to be ludicrously tough. I personally think top 10 remains the highest goal.

Agree. Obviously we should be aiming to replicate this season, but we have massivley overachieved this year and I'd realistically settle for top ten. No doubt the ****** will be calling for NP's head if we're not ten points clear at the top by halfway through August though...

[VampLCFC]

This is my first proper post on here, been a LCFC fan since i was roughly 10 yrs old, season ticket holder, been to every away game this season bar 3 I think

Where do I start, I can only really repeat what everyone else on here is saying, complete and utter heartache after last night, what an awful way to lose, but what a truly fantastic performance, to come back from 2-0 down on aggregate to 3-2 up, no one wouldve thought it

I'm obviously furious with Kermogant for trying a rediculous penalty, absolutly no need for it, I almost feel like he destroyed our whole season and all the hard work and fantastic performances over 48 games with 1 kick of a ball!! I will really struggle to see him him in a City shirt next season if he stays

Nigel Pearson absolute legend, must keep hold of him!!

At the end of the day, I'm a Leicester City fan and always will be, we've still had a fantastic season and exceeded most peoples expectations, so cannot wait for August!!

LCFC forever

[Super_horns]

Bad luck guys.

Great game and your side certainly battle back well but it wasn't to be.

See you next season.

[Guest ttfn]

Ok, so I've finally just got home. Went to the game last night and trained it in to work brutally early this morning.

First things first. I am so proud of the way the team performed last night. Seeing Gallagher scrap for the ball on the touchline for about 30 seconds is something I never thought I'd witness, and it just showed the character and determination of the players.

Howard was absolutely terrific. I've rarely seen a centre forward dominate in such a way, and for him to do it having had a few weeks out is testament to his professionalism, ability and experience.

I've never been so nervous watching football as I was after we went 3-1 up, I was physically shaking for most of the rest of the game.

The atmosphere (not just in our end) was absolutely fantastic, like nothing I've experienced in ages. The noise was absolutely deafening throughout.

I thought Jay Bothroyd was again virtually unplayable for Cardiff, but we had Jack Hobbs in his usual decent form. And we all know Superman wears Jack Hobbs pyjamas...

Howard Webb was absolutely woeful. There was a period of half an hour after we scored our third when he was giving them EVERYTHING. Even 20-80 decisions were going their way. It's a disgrace that he can put in a performance like that and be off to referee the world's best in a month's time.

Kermorgant's penalty was poor, but he had the minerals to take one - fair play to the lad. People need to get off his back, he didn't do it on purpose.

To see King (badge-clenching) and Waghorn (crying) react as they did gave me faith in footballers. Maybe they do care after all...

Nigel Pearson made some errors in the first leg, but his decision to start with Fryatt against the will of 95% of posters here was fully vindicated, as Fryatt helped get the best out of Howard and got his name on the scoresheet.

And finally, a word for NP. Please, please, please sign a new contract. What a magnificent job he's done not only this season, but in the last 2 years. He's rejuvenated Howard and Fryatt, brought King through, and bought astutely. We won't be able to find an adequate replacement if he leaves.

All in all, I left last night disappointed but far from broken.

[iBleedLeicesterColours]

check my post below

[iBleedLeicesterColours]

Both team had luck at different times. E.g. Whittingham miss and hitting bar. Marshall punching onto his own crossbar and save on 88 from Howard. Bothroyd hitting the bar etc.

Although im mega pissed off It was meant to be and it may well be good for us. We will go up automatically next year definitely.

Good selection by Nige and lads did us proud. Steve Howard surely a living legend. Played alot of games now , that may have been his last, but what a player he's been for us. Never forget them goals especially the 1 at The Den and v Leeds.

The challengers next season I think will be: Forest, Us, Cardiff(?) , Boro, Ipswich.

Well done to everyone at the club on a great season. Roll on next season for some more epic days and we WILL go up.

[Koke]

Cardiff probably edged it over two legs tbh. Though as our league position and previous meeting this season suggest we are pretty evenly matched overall. On another day, we might have gone through.

I hope they stuff Blackpool in the final. I'm cheering on Cardiff.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

No disgrace to us in any sense or form..

It's a shame it wasn't decided in the old way, of goals scored way from home, before a penalty shoot out would have to take place.

One man has destroyed our hopes, with that dire penalty kick.

[Koke]

This is a great pic

[Simi]

WTF is with the pics on the OS?

Taken with like a 2MP camera?!

[Finnegan]

And yes, Finnegan, you are indeed making Kermorgant a scapegoat.

Wrong.

Kermorgant has been the preferred target for a couple of FTers and other fans for months during the regular season, the alleged weakest link in an otherwise pretty balanced squad/impressive surprise package.

I am not one of them. Check my posting history - I'm very much a fence sitter on the issue, in fact, and only a week or so ago I pleaded for a little bit of common sense and for people to take moderate views on the lad. He's not the messiah and he's certainly not the worst player in the world. He has had few good opportunities but then he's not exactly dazzled when given time, either.

All in all I think he's alright, I've no beef with him and I'd almost say I liked the guy from what I've seen up until last night. Just...

Anyone can miss a penalty. Everybody makes mistakes, in particular footballers who are under constant pressure from (some) fans

No. This is where your (and others like you) argument(s) fall completely flat on their face. He didn't just miss a penalty, missing a penalty (or a chance within the game, let's not forget Matty Fryatt's easy one on one in the first leg) is forgiveable. If you give your best and your best isn't good enough then, fair enough. I'm an immensely forgiving person. I was one of the first to forgive Holloway, for example, in the wake of our relegation - he was simply out of his depth, at the wrong team at the wrong time.

What Kermo did was resort to juvenile, playground tricks when maturity, composure and sense were called for. He was asked to invest himself in the situation, to take it with the seriousness and the sincerity that thousands of City fans wanted him to and he made a mockery of it by flaunting some shit bit of skill and giving a very solid and very focused shot stopper an easy chance at thwarting him. What he did was show the watching world exactly how much a trip to Wembley and the prospect of the Premiership for Leicester City Football Club actually meant to him; apparently not as much as stroking his ego.

I wonder why hardly anyone has the guts to point out that we lost the game at home already and that Pearson has as much to answer for having come up with a 4-5-1 formation that Sunday. Or how about blaming Howard for that stupid foul and the red card against Watford?

I reiterate. I am not blaming Kermogant entirely for our exit. That doesn't mean that what he did wasn't horrifically misjudged and utterly tragic. Look around the forum, it's not just the morons of the board pointing the finger at him - there are plenty of respectable, sensible, intelligent posters (see below) who are utterly fuming with the man and rightfully so.

Yann Kermorgant will be an integral part for Leicester City in 2010/2011, answer the critics with more than just one goal and redeem himself personally.

now you're just being an eejit.

Just watched the penalty again. I still can't believe he actually tried that, one of the most woeful penalties I've ever seen in my life. You can talk up having the bottle to go and take one but there's absolutely no way I can condone anything involved in that penalty. Just terrible.

Spot on.

i get the feeling that some posters (not yourself) on here couldn't have been happier that it was kermo and not one of the others that missed.

I've watched Earnshaw balls up penalties trying to be clever and I've been furiously annoyed with him, too. This isn't some kind of bias - it's just a massive, massive, MASSIVE pet peeve of mine.

I'm not calling for his head or the cancelation of his contract. I just want people to stop getting a hard-on over Kermogant because he's a little bit exotic and acting like he's some hard-done-by hero. He's just Steve Howard with a better touch and a more continental name. If he was called Dave Smith and he looked like Luke Chadwick he wouldn't even have half the amount of fanboys/girls on here.

What he did was frankly retarded. Regardless of Howard's red card, Pearson's selection policy Fryatt's one on one miss, Webb's decision making or however much of a cheat Chopra may or may not be can we not just have some honesty from the Kermo Brigade and a few admissions that it was an utter disaster?

[Ozwin]

I want that framed.

[flanimal]

What he did was frankly retarded. Regardless of Howard's red card, Pearson's selection policy Fryatt's one on one miss, Webb's decision making or however much of a cheat Chopra may or may not be can we not just have some honesty from the Kermo Brigade and a few admissions that it was an utter disaster?

Agree. I have been one of Kermorgant's biggest supporters, but based on his Leicester performances I have to change my position. He's scored one great goal, got one vital flick on, and missed a terrible penalty. I hope he proves me wrong, but the skills and talent shown in his video clips when he was playing in France has to be put to one side. It's time for him to demonstrate his skills with Leicester.

I'll cheer him on and give him a chance, but he has to step up now.

[CKB]

WTF is with the pics on the OS?

Taken with like a 2MP camera?!

I know what is that all about? can't we afford decent camera's?

[MC Prussian]

Wrong.

I am not one of them. Check my posting history - I'm very much a fence sitter on the issue, in fact, and only a week or so ago I pleaded for a little bit of common sense and for people to take moderate views on the lad. He's not the messiah and he's certainly not the worst player in the world. He has had few good opportunities but then he's not exactly dazzled when given time, either.

All in all I think he's alright, I've no beef with him and I'd almost say I liked the guy from what I've seen up until last night. Just...

No. This is where your (and others like you) argument(s) fall completely flat on their face. He didn't just miss a penalty, missing a penalty (or a chance within the game, let's not forget Matty Fryatt's easy one on one in the first leg) is forgiveable. If you give your best and your best isn't good enough then, fair enough. I'm an immensely forgiving person. I was one of the first to forgive Holloway, for example, in the wake of our relegation - he was simply out of his depth, at the wrong team at the wrong time.

What Kermo did was resort to juvenile, playground tricks when maturity, composure and sense were called for. He was asked to invest himself in the situation, to take it with the seriousness and the sincerity that thousands of City fans wanted him to and he made a mockery of it by flaunting some shit bit of skill and giving a very solid and very focused shot stopper an easy chance at thwarting him. What he did was show the watching world exactly how much a trip to Wembley and the prospect of the Premiership for Leicester City Football Club actually meant to him; apparently not as much as stroking his ego.

I reiterate. I am not blaming Kermogant entirely for our exit. That doesn't mean that what he did wasn't horrifically misjudged and utterly tragic. Look around the forum, it's not just the morons of the board pointing the finger at him - there are plenty of respectable, sensible, intelligent posters (see below) who are utterly fuming with the man and rightfully so.

now you're just being an eejit.

Spot on.

I've watched Earnshaw balls up penalties trying to be clever and I've been furiously annoyed with him, too. This isn't some kind of bias - it's just a massive, massive, MASSIVE pet peeve of mine.

I'm not calling for his head or the cancelation of his contract. I just want people to stop getting a hard-on over Kermogant because he's a little bit exotic and acting like he's some hard-done-by hero. He's just Steve Howard with a better touch and a more continental name. If he was called Dave Smith and he looked like Luke Chadwick he wouldn't even have half the amount of fanboys/girls on here.

What he did was frankly retarded. Regardless of Howard's red card, Pearson's selection policy Fryatt's one on one miss, Webb's decision making or however much of a cheat Chopra may or may not be can we not just have some honesty from the Kermo Brigade and a few admissions that it was an utter disaster?

I'm not calling you biased towards Kermorgant. Still, all of your (scarce) post-match critique circles around Yann's miss, you spend so much effort trying to make him the sole responsible for last night's outcome. That's not fair. I have yet to see you question some other players as ferociously as le French. Being a fence-sitter is one thing, coming down on a single player ain't pretty, either. And what's with this Kermorgant being a little "exotic" thing? What's still "exotic" these days? A Frenchman in England? Are you still living in the 17th century? I'm not rejoicing every single time I see him play (which has hardly been the case), but I'm one of the last ones slagging off players who have seldomly featured in the first team and who face the enormeous pressure of a penalty kick that decides over a probable promotion or not. And there are plenty of smart fellas on here that think exactly the same.

As some have already mentioned before me, I'd like to see the Kermorgant Hate Brigade doing better in a penalty shootout under these circumstances.

It's either hit or miss.

Being forgivable is nice - but you mentioning "being forgivable" reminds me of a Christian who's slowly going loony because he can't let all that human frustration out due to his religious belief.

You call yourself "forgiveable", yet slag off one player in particular.

That's not being forgiveable, that's being two-faced. Isn't it?

[Anish]

Unsurprisingly it appears that all the Foxiles are sticking up for Yann. He wasn't to blame for our defeat but you have to question his wisdom in taking a stupid penalty like that in such an important match at such a crucial stage in the penalties. It's not the miss that we're criticising, it's the manner in which he took the penalty that angers people. If Waghorn had missed by chipping it and Yann had missed by hitting it to the corner, I can assure you Waghorn would be criticised and not Yann. It's just that when Yann has had a terrible season and then tries to be a fancy dan, that really winds up the supporters.

[LCFC-ARAB]

Unsurprisingly it appears that all the Foxiles are sticking up for Yann. He wasn't to blame for our defeat but you have to question his wisdom in taking a stupid penalty like that in such an important match at such a crucial stage in the penalties. It's not the miss that we're criticising, it's the manner in which he took the penalty that angers people. If Waghorn had missed by chipping it and Yann had missed by hitting it to the corner, I can assure you Waghorn would be criticised and not Yann. It's just that when Yann has had a terrible season and then tries to be a fancy dan, that really winds up the supporters.

I agree

[CKB]

He wasn't to blame for our defeat but you have to question his wisdom in taking a stupid penalty like that in such an important match at such a crucial stage in the penalties. It's not the miss that we're criticising, it's the manner in which he took the penalty that angers people. If Waghorn had missed by chipping it and Yann had missed by hitting it to the corner, I can assure you Waghorn would be criticised and not Yann. It's just that when Yann has had a terrible season and then tries to be a fancy dan, that really winds up the supporters.

Spot on

[colbo68]

I agree

Kermo's penalty was an embaressment yes, but the tie was lost at home. Is non-one gonna have a go at Pearson for playing so defensively at home, or Howard for the fookin stupid lunge that get him sent off a few weeks ago, or Pearson for even playing Kermo last night then he had Vaughan and Danny on the bench.

Kermo is at best, a very average French League player - his penalty was twattish but the tie was lost for other reasons....