Kierzz Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Wish it was that simple..... The real issue is that our midfield can be hustled and harried out of it's stride, and it can be done so quite easily. Picking on Oakley is the usual knuckledraggers excuse, saves having to think. Why pick on him when the same thing happens even when Oakley is not in the side? Maybe you will have to realise that Wellens, King and Abe are not quite so great after all.... But no, that couldn't be true, could it? when was the last time we got beaten in midfield? a long time ago, not recently. (possibly against Swansey but we still won) When oakley is in the team, he offers nothing offensively and is rubbish at spreading the play, unlike Abe in the anchoring position. Also as I said before Oakley can't defend when a player is running at him and this happens a lot to a player playing in defensive midfield. Also Abe complements Wellens and King's style of play so they play so much better when Abe is on the pitch, since he spreads the play out when anchoring so much better than Oakley. I apppreciate that Oakley talks more than Abe, but since Wellens talks a lot and King wears the armband, it is not necessary to play Oakley for that reason
Vlad the Fox Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Dont forget we have a young squad. Experience will be vital during the run in. A few games now giving a tired looking Abe a rest will sharpen Oakley up for when this experience is needed.
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 when was the last time we got beaten in midfield? a long time ago, not recently. (possibly against Swansey but we still won) When oakley is in the team, he offers nothing offensively and is rubbish at spreading the play, unlike Abe in the anchoring position. Also as I said before Oakley can't defend when a player is running at him and this happens a lot to a player playing in defensive midfield. Also Abe complements Wellens and King's style of play so they play so much better when Abe is on the pitch, since he spreads the play out when anchoring so much better than Oakley. I apppreciate that Oakley talks more than Abe, but since Wellens talks a lot and King wears the armband, it is not necessary to play Oakley for that reason Sorry but that is almost total nonsense. Not beaten in midfield? How about 2nd half at Derby, large chunks of the games at Sheffield and Preston and before that pretty much every away game, Millwall, Ipswich, Watford and the rest. And that does not even include the 2nd half on friday which was another example going by the posts on here. (Didn't see the game so can't say for certain) Furthermore Abe does not play the anchor role, wish he could actually, but he is a midfield hustler and harrier, hunting down the opposition all over the field, but like both King and Wellens he is easily outmuscled and he was playing in all the games noted above with the exception of Derby. Where this idea that Wellens, King and Abe actually compliment each other comes from I have no idea..... In fact it is their very sameness that is the root of the problem, where is the player shielding our back 4? the player fighting for the midfield when the opposition start to get on top? the player driving forward with the ball to attack the box? the creativity to play in our frontmen? and King apart, any goal threat whatsoever? It is only when you look at what is not there do you realise what the issues are!
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Have you still got that tin hat? Your concern for my welfare is quite touching....
jamesmilner Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 yeah the whole midfield didn't have a great game . oakley was the worst , could have cost us goals and is past his sell by date . his passing was poor , marking poorer and all round game nearly cost us . i don't like the way he plays one bit . he has lost the plot .
accessory Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Oakley was sussed out three years ago in this league. Remember how our form nosedived in the last few weeks of last season, and only recovered when Pearson left him out? He's only good for the odd 20 minutes here and there nowadays, mainly to close games out. He doesn't have the legs to play 90 minutes any more.
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 yeah the whole midfield didn't have a great game . oakley was the worst , could have cost us goals and is past his sell by date . his passing was poor , marking poorer and all round game nearly cost us . i don't like the way he plays one bit . he has lost the plot . Oakley was sussed out three years ago in this league. Remember how our form nosedived in the last few weeks of last season, and only recovered when Pearson left him out? He's only good for the odd 20 minutes here and there nowadays, mainly to close games out. He doesn't have the legs to play 90 minutes any more. So explain to me why our midfield was so poor in those games mentioned in my earlier post? You know, the ones that Oakley didn't play in....
funkyrobot Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 So explain to me why our midfield was so poor in those games mentioned in my earlier post? You know, the ones that Oakley didn't play in.... Most of us aren't suggesting that there aren't other issues with city's midfield. What we are saying is that Oakley is certainly not the answer. He simply isn't good enough at this level anymore. Get over it.
Kierzz Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Sorry but that is almost total nonsense. Not beaten in midfield? How about 2nd half at Derby, large chunks of the games at Sheffield and Preston and before that pretty much every away game, Millwall, Ipswich, Watford and the rest. And that does not even include the 2nd half on friday which was another example going by the posts on here. (Didn't see the game so can't say for certain) Furthermore Abe does not play the anchor role, wish he could actually, but he is a midfield hustler and harrier, hunting down the opposition all over the field, but like both King and Wellens he is easily outmuscled and he was playing in all the games noted above with the exception of Derby. Where this idea that Wellens, King and Abe actually compliment each other comes from I have no idea..... In fact it is their very sameness that is the root of the problem, where is the player shielding our back 4? the player fighting for the midfield when the opposition start to get on top? the player driving forward with the ball to attack the box? the creativity to play in our frontmen? and King apart, any goal threat whatsoever? It is only when you look at what is not there do you realise what the issues are! As SVE said leicester have the best midfield technically in the whole division. What are you talking about? no player who drives from midfield? What about King. Look at his second goal against Milliwall, he got the ball at the half-way line and drove towards their defence with the ball and scored, driving from midfield with the ball is a whole new dimension he's brought into his game this year The very sameness? King and Abe are completely different players and Abe was blatently bought by Sousa to playing the anchoring role instead of Oakley, he was going to be the player that everything went through as that is how they play in foreign football. Oakley can't play that position, hence why NP always played him further up the pitch or out wide, and King and Wellens sat back As Wellens said a while ago, it's so much easier for him and king to play when Abe is shielding the defence so they can push forward and also they can always pass back to him and he can spread the ball about. The creativity to play out front men? Thats complete BS, do you really think Yakubu and Vassel would come to Leicester if our midfield wasnt good enogh to play them in? Wellens doesn't take corners or free-kicks and he's still got 7 assists this year. Think of all of the times he has sent King with a pass to score when he makes a surging run into the box, he got playing of the month without scoring a goal. However, I do agree that we are missing a ball-winner in midfield and we have been missing that for a long time. Millwall did not beat us in midfield. All they did was hoof the ball up to Morrison every time, when the ball was on the deck we were killing them. And one of the reasons we were beaten in midfield against Derby was because are team sat back, there was no need to chase another goal when we were 2-0 up.
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Most of us aren't suggesting that there aren't other issues with city's midfield. What we are saying is that Oakley is certainly not the answer. He simply isn't good enough at this level anymore. Get over it. I actually agree with you..... These days Oakley is an occasional sub at best. The point is that we have 14 games to go and can afford few slip ups. Abe has been rested, rightly in my view, I want him back on Tuesday but an awful lot rests on the form and fitness of King and Wellens. Personally I find that rather worrying....
Starkwell Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Because Abe has been shit recently so Sven gave him a chance. He was great at Derby so he deserved to keep his place. Lets be honest our whole midfield was awful last night (including-14 goals-already-King and player-of-the-month-Wellens) Coincidence? I think not. We really missed Abe yesterday. It is Abe's sweeping up that has allowed Wellens and King to do what they do best. Oakley was adequate, at best, against Derby - for all our domination we never really destroyed a very poor Derby side, and the majority of our good play came from Gally and VA. Yesterday, we only came to life again when Abe came on and shored up a midfield that was getting walked all over. Oakley is a nice luxury to have to come on and add some calm at the end of games; whilst i appreciate that Abe needed a rest, I hope sven brings him back for these games against decent sides - Bristol and Derby were survivable, but these upcoming games will be a sterner test.
tomtom Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 We win 5 games on the trot and we slate our midfield?..priceless!
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 We win 5 games on the trot and we slate our midfield?..priceless! Nice point...... But we do need to keep up this level of performance to get promotion, can we?...
marbelladave Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 As SVE said leicester have the best midfield technically in the whole division. What are you talking about? no player who drives from midfield? What about King. Look at his second goal against Milliwall, he got the ball at the half-way line and drove towards their defence with the ball and scored, driving from midfield with the ball is a whole new dimension he's brought into his game this year The very sameness? King and Abe are completely different players and Abe was blatently bought by Sousa to playing the anchoring role instead of Oakley, he was going to be the player that everything went through as that is how they play in foreign football. Oakley can't play that position, hence why NP always played him further up the pitch or out wide, and King and Wellens sat back As Wellens said a while ago, it's so much easier for him and king to play when Abe is shielding the defence so they can push forward and also they can always pass back to him and he can spread the ball about. The creativity to play out front men? Thats complete BS, do you really think Yakubu and Vassel would come to Leicester if our midfield wasnt good enogh to play them in? Wellens doesn't take corners or free-kicks and he's still got 7 assists this year. Think of all of the times he has sent King with a pass to score when he makes a surging run into the box, he got playing of the month without scoring a goal. However, I do agree that we are missing a ball-winner in midfield and we have been missing that for a long time. Millwall did not beat us in midfield. All they did was hoof the ball up to Morrison every time, when the ball was on the deck we were killing them. And one of the reasons we were beaten in midfield against Derby was because are team sat back, there was no need to chase another goal when we were 2-0 up. A manager 'biggin up' his players? Pinch of salt time.... Kings goal is a great example of what I mean because it is so rare, I'm struggling to think of other examples. King, Abe and Wellens are similar in the respect that they are all, fundamentally supporting players, none of them are capable of dominating a midfield, particularly if the game gets physical but they are all excellent a picking up the bits and pieces and playing supporting roles. Wellens has improved considerably in the last month or two, particularly his attacking play but he has to be at the top of his game to be really effective, not the case in the last game ans a half and as you point out, none of our players are capable of playing a defensive holding role. Millwall may well have 'gone long' in attack but when we had the ball we were hustled and harrased into giving it away cheaply, a prime example of what I was talking about.
CelebFox Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Wish it was that simple..... The real issue is that our midfield can be hustled and harried out of it's stride, and it can be done so quite easily. Picking on Oakley is the usual knuckledraggers excuse, saves having to think. Why pick on him when the same thing happens even when Oakley is not in the side? Maybe you will have to realise that Wellens, King and Abe are not quite so great after all.... But no, that couldn't be true, could it? Picking on Oakley?Err, No!! .. As club captain he should be respected Nuckledragger? Err, Maybe thats those who feel Wellens, King and Abe are not so good afterall! Top of the form table, six wins in seven! Unbeaten in 2011. You should be knocking on Tops door being such an expert!!
Haydos Posted 20 February 2011 Posted 20 February 2011 Picking on Oakley?Err, No!! .. As club captain he should be respected Nuckledragger? Err, Maybe thats those who feel Wellens, King and Abe are not so good afterall! Top of the form table, six wins in seven! Unbeaten in 2011. You should be knocking on Tops door being such an expert!! There's nowt wrong with a little constructive criticism. It's a forum for football discussion for fvck sake. This is how it begins. We lose two matches now and you'll go from being all rosy to "what the fvck's going on?". You think the team's perfect? Fine, but let it go if other's are trying to have an intelligent discussion about the rest of the season.
marbelladave Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Picking on Oakley?Err, No!! .. As club captain he should be respected Nuckledragger? Err, Maybe thats those who feel Wellens, King and Abe are not so good afterall! Top of the form table, six wins in seven! Unbeaten in 2011. You should be knocking on Tops door being such an expert!! Another famed knuckledragger quote, "winning when you play poorly is the sign of a good team"..... Bollox, it's the sign of a lucky team, maybe a lucky team with the odd good player who can make things happen. We have been on a fantastic run because, in the main, our best players have done something special and scored goals we perhaps have not really deserved, great when it happens but it is not going to happen every game. Tuesday will be interesting, I can live with virually any result providing we play well, losing would be a pain but it is surmountable if we give a good account of ourselves and move on to the next game with a degree of confidence. At the end of the day, the team that plays the best usually wins, the occasional game might go the other way but over the season the best teams win the most games, so a teams performance is really important, it's not just about the result!
CelebFox Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 There's nowt wrong with a little constructive criticism. It's a forum for football discussion for fvck sake. This is how it begins. We lose two matches now and you'll go from being all rosy to "what the fvck's going on?". You think the team's perfect? Fine, but let it go if other's are trying to have an intelligent discussion about the rest of the season. I was, and got called a knuckledragger, (If you care to read my previous post) for NOT slating Oakley. Just simply stating I felt Wellens seemed to play better when he's not playing alongside Oakley. Btw, I don't think its all rosy, and i don't think the team is perfect. "Still can't paly full 90 mins, first half good second half bad, and vice versa! But we are getting somewhere
marbelladave Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 I was, and got called a knuckledragger, (If you care to read my previous post) for NOT slating Oakley. Just simply stating I felt Wellens seemed to play better when he's not playing alongside Oakley. Btw, I don't think its all rosy, and i don't think the team is perfect. "Still can't paly full 90 mins, first half good second half bad, and vice versa! But we are getting somewhere My apologies, the 'knuckledragger' quote were most definitely not aimed at you... I was having a go at the mindless 'Oakley is shit' brigade. Oakley has been and still is a pretty decent player, the fact that he is being left behind as the quality of our team improves is the issue. I am faintly astonished that Sven has not moved to bring in another midfielder, losing King or Wellens at this stage would be very big deal, not in a good way.
CelebFox Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Agreed, he is a decent player who has been very unlucky not to get on the score sheet of late, and certainly still has a lot to offer. Im also surprised that midfield was the only area we didnt strengthen. Who knows maybe Sven tried! I guess if it was a loan signing even, we would still have space If Ricardo wasn't playing The pressure to go up has now become immense, as anything short of promotion would be classed as failure by a majority of our fans. But what we have acheived in the last few months is astonishing, but unsertandably overlooked if we didnt go up!
B52 Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Im also surprised that midfield was the only area we didnt strengthen. Not quite true. Sven likes players that can play in more than one position. Bamba and Bruma can play in midfield also. Probably Van Aanholt also.....
blueredswed Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 I just thought I have given my last update on Oakley But here I am again. I don´t know what Sven sees in him but we don´t seeing them on the training and perheps there nobody can do what he does! As I said before SVEN IS THE MANAGER and in SVEN i TRUST
Haydos Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Agreed, he is a decent player who has been very unlucky not to get on the score sheet of late, and certainly still has a lot to offer. Im also surprised that midfield was the only area we didnt strengthen. Who knows maybe Sven tried! I guess if it was a loan signing even, we would still have space If Ricardo wasn't playing The pressure to go up has now become immense, as anything short of promotion would be classed as failure by a majority of our fans. But what we have acheived in the last few months is astonishing, but unsertandably overlooked if we didnt go up! I hope it won't! It certainly won't for me. Don't get me wrong, disappointing and all but anyone who classes it as a failure will get shot down straight away. From where we were in October, Bottom with 5 points it will be a miraculous achievement. Obviously from last season's point of view the start we got off to was disappointing but where the club has come to now? You don't deserve an opinion if you call it a failure.
blueredswed Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Wonder shall we play in Champion league next year! OR SHALL WE PLAY IN PREMIERE? Soo come on all your negatives Who will play it is the best players today and none knews who except Sven so stop this. He shall play because he was our best men yesterday or I knew him he must play, or Sven you are not good enough in this match. So I think but perhaps I am wrong and you out there knews better Excuse me spell wrong!
Tommy G Posted 21 February 2011 Posted 21 February 2011 Had a few beers mate? Or been drinking Oakleys wine?
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