Guest Mee-9 Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 This is only our second competitive game under Sousa. We've had 3 different back fours in these 2 games, what we need is a settled defence, and I'm sure in a few weeks that'll come. We can't expect everything to click straightaway, what does need sorting asap is set piece defending. Sure it doesn't look too good right now, but Rome wasn't built in day. Going forward, we look decent and again in time, that'll only get better as well, we've just got to find the right balance. A fanatastic game to watch none the less. Not being a boo boy, but surely pre-season's meant to be for sorting things out like this? Foul mood tonight Bert?
Heart-Shaped Fox Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Entertaining game, how they scored 3 I dont know. The defence really was poor, logan looked shakey and Hobbs had a shocker. Going forward we looked good, but should have scored more against what was a poor keeper.
Joe. Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 My report. OS only just put theirs up... Leicester 4-3 Macclesfield A seven-goal battle at the Walkers Stadium saw Leicester progress to round two of the Carling Cup, but defensive errors once again provided manager Paulo Sousa with worrying food for thought. League Two visitors Macclesfield managed three goals on the night, but a brace from Matty Fryatt inbetween strikes from Robbie Neilson and Richie Wellens saw the home side progress. It was the second time in a row that the two sides had met in the competition, the Foxes winning last season's encounter at Moss Rose by two goals to nil. New manager Paulo Sousa gave home debuts to left back Tom Kennedy and Portuguese star Moreno in defence, while there was a place in midfield for Paul Gallagher, recently recovered from injury. Logan Neilson --- Hobbs --- Moreno --- KennedyN'Guessan --- Oakley --- Wellens --- GallagherHoward --- Fryatt The opening exchanges saw little in the way of action for either side until the 15th minute, when the visitors pulled themselves into a shock lead. Some woeful miscommunication from Jack Hobbs and goalkeeper Conrad Logan saw the former head out needlessly for a corner, from which Macclesfield centre back Nat Brown headed home above Hobbs to put the lower league opposition ahead. The Foxes huffed and puffed their way to a route back into the game, responding immediately when Paul Gallagher's free-kick was saved well by goalkeeper José Veiga. Sousa's side came close to an equaliser ten minutes later when Dany N'Guessan's powerful header cannoned back off the crossbar to keep the visitors in the lead. Matty Fryatt should have grabbed City's opening goal of the game soon after when he turned smartly inside the penalty area, but his left foot effort fell wide with the goal at his mercy. But Leicester did have their goal on 34 minutes, through the most unlikely of sources. Some neat interchanging play in the midfield ended with a Steve Howard effort parried by Veiga, setting up right back Robbie Neilson for his first goal for the Foxes. It was only Neilson's second goal in a lengthy club career spanning well over 200 appearances. From here on it was Leicester who took a firm stranglehold on the match, and for the remainder of the first half dominated proceedings. City could have put themselves in the lead soon afterwards when Richie Wellens' delightful pass found Fryatt, who chose not to pass to the confident Neilson and instead wastefully fire straight at Veiga. Dany N'Guessan was the next man on the opportunity list when he found himself clean through on goal, but a lack of composure saw him blast his left-foot shot wide. It was a powerful final 15 minutes of the first half from the Championship side, but with the scoreline still level there was much work to be done in the second period. And Sousa will have been delighted with the reaction after the break, as a relentless Foxes side ran Macclesfield ragged from the off. It took just a minute and a half for Fryatt to find the net for the Foxes, cutting inside before delivering a magnificent curled shot past Veiga to put the home side ahead. Five minutes later the same player had his second of the match. Some neat play in the middle of the park saw the ball worked through to Wellens, whose pass through to Fryatt was finished off in style by the striker. Leicester continued with their foot on the accelerator when Howard forced a save from Veiga, before Fryatt came close to a hat-trick when he flashed wide from close range. Macclesfield made a double swicth on 53 minutes with the introductions of Vinny Mukendi and Lewis Chalmers, and it wasn't long before the former made a significant impact on the match. Macclesfield capitalised from space on the wing, as Shaun Bridley crossed in for Mukendi to power a header home past Conrad Logan in the Leicester goal. But just seven minutes later Leicester had the game wrapped up. Steve Howard, involved in so much link-up play throughout the evening, squared for Richie Wellens who fired home a powerful shot for City's fourth of the night. Silkmen goalkeeper Veiga did well to prevent a Fryatt hat-trick when he saved well from the striker's deflected effort on 76 minutes. Sousa was forced into a substitution in the final 15 minutes when recent Portuguese signing Moreno limped off. It was a promising debut from the midfielder, who had played much of the game at centre back with a stylish performance. Macclesfield's pocketful of fans (really, there were around 60 of them) were given hope of a comeback with eight minutes remaining when their side pulled off a third goal. Jack Hobbs' second crucial error of the game saw him give away possession in a dangerous position. Mukendi's shot was superbly saved by Logan, but Colin Daniel pounced on the rebound quickest to set up a nervous finish. It was yet another uncharacteristic mistake from Hobbs, who has struggled in the early stages of the campaign. With an unforgiving Middlesbrough side on the horizon on Saturday afternoon Sousa faces a key decision on whether to keep faith with his struggling man at the back. Leicester saw out the remainder of the match with little in the way of danger, instead racing up the other end of the pitch to have one final effort through Steve Howard. It was a game in which Leicester could and certainly should have had more goals - Fryatt being the main culprit - but it is at the back once again where Sousa will have his concerns. The performance of Jack Hobbs will not have gone unnoticed by the City manager, but with Moreno perhaps now injured and Miguel Vitor not yet fit, the former-Liverpool man may keep his place at the heart of defence. Elsewhere there was a hugely impressive performance from Steve Howard, who now looks almost certain to start against Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough at the weekend. Robbie Neilson again showed confidence going forward with a series of attacking runs into the penalty area, helping himself to an unlikely goal on the evening. Read more: http://www.leicester...3#ixzz0wFAbB5ev
C-man Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Going to do my analysis back to front and get the positives out the way early.... Fryatt saw a lot of the ball which is encouraging and he could and probably should have had 5. Great finishes for his pair though. Steve was heroic again. So glad we've kept him - he's linking play beautifully at the moment. Think despite Fryatt's goals the front two for Saturday should be DJ and Steve, and if Sousa does the right thing and plays three up top, Matty should be the one to drop out. Dany should have had a couple and caused a lot of problems going forward. Unfortunately he gets caught in possession too much and with the way we're set up we'll always be in trouble on the counter, so I'd like to see Lloyd play ahead of him. Wellens and Oakley were set up the wrong way round for me and it was no surprise Wellens improved as the system changed. Hoping Moreno isn't badly injured but it looks as though his back went. Defensively we were an absolute shambles. Although I thought it all started with the system we were playing and the obvious problems we have through midfield, I was frightened by some of our back four's play tonight. Kennedy was poor - seems rash and I didn't think his touch was as great as had been reported by the Rochdale fans. Hobbs was completely off it (couldn't make a pass in the first half, and looked lacking in sharpness throughout) and it wouldn't surprise me to see Pearson table a cheeky bid for him before August's up. Neilson was again our top boy in defence and I'm delighted he scored after a load of cretins booed him pre-match.
fleckneymike Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 One of the big problems is no one looks comfortable in the left CB position least of all Hobbs. He started there tonight but was soon swapped with Moreno but once Morrison came on back he went and to be frank his bloody useless in that position. Vitor is a right sided player so we have no one other than Tunchev who can fill that position. Agree 100% Strange how moving from right to leave rendered him completely useless. Easily the worst defensive display I've ever seen from a city player.
C-man Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Jack Hobbs' second crucial error of the game saw him give away possession in a dangerous position Good report Joe but I thought it was Kennedy who made the error for their third? One thing that disappointed me was that when we got to 3-1 we really should have been much more solid as a unit. There were gaps everywhere and we gave them way too much possession. We should have tightened up, controlled the pace of the game and picked them off. We were really fluent when we took our time. If we had done so, I could have seen a 5 or 6 goal margin. I suppose these are the sort of things that take time and we'll improve, no question. More worried than I was on Saturday but I enjoyed the game nonetheless.
Lcfcman2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 It's quite fitting that, two of the most slated players during the last week or so managed to get on the scoresheet. Hopefully this puts a stop to it! couldn't agree more!
Joe. Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Good report Joe but I thought it was Kennedy who made the error for their third? I was convinced it was Hobbs at the time but I'll check it out...
Bert Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Not being a boo boy, but surely pre-season's meant to be for sorting things out like this? Foul mood tonight Bert? No. Just putting my opinion across if that's ok with you. I was convinced it was Hobbs at the time but I'll check it out... I thought it was Hobbs.
fleckneymike Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 I was convinced it was Hobbs at the time but I'll check it out... It was definitely Hobbs.
C-man Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Really? Fvck my eyes must be going. I swear I saw Hobbs floundering in the middle of the park, nowhere near his man who took the first shot.
fleckneymike Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Good to see us go past League Two opposition in the cup. Four goals, a brace from Der Der Der Matty - our scoring department is well up for it now. Shame the defense can't cope with the current level (so far). Although it's been a rather untested one tonight, I blame it on the inexperience of Moreno and Kennedy. Bring on Middlesbrough and a good draw in the Carling Cup! ? How on earth can you blame it on them? First goal Hobbs heads the ball out of Logan's hand to concede a corner and then gets beaten in the air from the resulting corner for their first. He then trips over the ball which leads directly to their third goal. How is that down to Kennedy and Moreno?
Lcfcman2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 I was convinced it was Hobbs at the time but I'll check it out... yeah pretty sure it was hobbs. had a shocker!
Joe. Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Come on Alexei, as somebody who wasn't there tonight it's a bit difficult to blame it on those two. Moreno had a solid debut and I don't think put a foot wrong. Kennedy was not convincing but it was his home debut at a much bigger club than he's used to, and the nerves probably hit him a little bit. He wasn't directly at fault for any of the goals, either.
Dom_Harborough Fox Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Who was blowing them horns ALL game. I thought they were banned?? It was a group of kids over in the left corner of the west stand. Looked like a football team who had been given a bunch of tickets or something. They were all about 8 years old and I think they were something to do with Macclesfield because they all jumped up when they scored their third. Might be wrong though because they didn't seem to celebrate their other 2 goals. They all had horns which did look distinctly like vuvuzelas. Pretty annoying whatever they were!
Fosse Boy Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 It was a group of kids over in the left corner of the west stand. Looked like a football team who had been given a bunch of tickets or something. They were all about 8 years old and I think they were something to do with Macclesfield because they all jumped up when they scored their third. Might be wrong though because they didn't seem to celebrate their other 2 goals. They all had horns which did look distinctly like vuvuzelas. Pretty annoying whatever they were! They were probably all wearing Man U or Chelsea coats, or summat daft like that.
Guest Mee-9 Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 They were probably all wearing Man U or Chelsea coats, or summat daft like that. Theres 3 kids aswell who were in c2, had these little blue vuvuzela things. Stewards didn't confiscate them or anything! Dicks. They were probably all wearing Man U or Chelsea coats, or summat daft like that. Or screaming 'Gallagher!!' whenever Oakley, Fryatt, Wellens, or even Logan touch the ball.
C-man Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 I'm so glad someone invented the family stand. There were 4 with shit for brains sat directly behind me. Piercing.
Dom_Harborough Fox Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 As for the match, I thought attacking-wise we were impressive. There was some slick passing at times and we could easily have scored twice as many as we did. Defensively I am a bit worried. As everyone else seems to agree, Hobbs had another poor game. There doesn't seem to be much communication/leadership at the back and I think we are also struggling with long balls and crosses into the box at the moment. Think the back four is missing a bit of experience for me. Obviously Berner coming back in will go some way to making up for that though. Still early days so I'm not getting too worried. Individually, Neilson had another decent game, I though Moreno looked classy on the ball but a bit lazy. Not sure if he was fully fit though (certainly wasn't when he took himself off at the end ). Wellens played well & some of his ambitious flicks & passes actually came off tonight! Howard was great, Fryatt could've had a hat-full and N'Guessan looked great at times but frustrated as usual with his inconsistency.
akwahoo Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Or maybe they won't be in it until the third round. Haha success.
Toby or not Toby Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 Didn't go to the game, but glad we scored 4, dissapointed we conceeded 3. Hopefully Vitor is a leader who can manage and organise the back four, not sure if he is though?
Fez of Mahrez Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 I think some people are underplaying just how good Moreno looks. Yes, it was only Macclesfield (certainly no disrespect intended), but I watched him all game and his pace could be important for us. He also moves well off the ball and never gave the ball away. I also thought Gallagher was really good. The defensive errors so far this season are partly down to a wide-open formation with only one defensively-minded midfielder (and one whose legs seemed to have gone last season, at that) and partly poor decision-making from Hobbs, Morrison and Kennedy. Hobbs is really struggling in the left-sided centre-back position. I thought it was notable that, when Moreno and Hobbs switched at the start of the second half, we looked far better at the back. I wouldn't normally notice the two centre-backs swapping with each other but it's become unavoidably important.
Guest Posted 10 August 2010 Posted 10 August 2010 I also particularly liked the way Moreno just walked off the pitch when injured and the officials seemed a bit confused Really enjoyed that game, wish it hadn't been quite so close in the end but hey, a win's a win. Hobbs obviously had a bit of a mare. Think it was their second goal when there was acres of space out on the left which I suppose is part of the problem of encouraging full backs to get forward. DNG had a really shaky first 20-30 mins but turned it round and caused lots of problems for their defence second half in particular. Pleased for Neilson, played well for both games this week and to grab a goal certainly shut some of his detractors up. Also pleased for Fryatt, think we all recognise how important it is for him to have a bit of confidence from a couple of goals. Howard was MOTM for me. I was slightly worried that this new passing ethos of PS might render him less useful but if he plays like that every game he'll be a valuable member of the team this season.
Ozwin Posted 11 August 2010 Posted 11 August 2010 He plays center back He plays defensive mid He's our boy Moreno And could play for Madrid
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