davieG Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 OS City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has made improving the team's defensive record a priority next season, as he looks to lead the Foxes' Premier League promotion challenge. Eriksson's side have already been marked as one of the bookies' favourites for the 2011/12 Championship campaign, with the Swede expected to strengthen his squad considerably over the summer months. But the former England boss says the Foxes will have to be more difficult to break down than they were this season, if they are to be genuine contenders for promotion to the top flight. He said: "We conceded too many goals, made too many mistakes defensively and when I talk about defensively I don't just mean the back four and the goalkeeper - I mean the whole team. "Unfortunately, we lost games against teams we should not have lost against and, if you remember, most of those games were down to silly mistakes." While scoring goals proved far from problematic for City this term, their progress was hampered by the alarming number they conceded. Though only four clubs fired more than the Foxes' 76 in 2010/11, only the bottom four shipped more than the 71 that got past them. It was an issue that eventually caught up with Eriksson's side in late-February, when a promising run of nine unbeaten games came to an end at Cardiff City and their promotion challenge began to falter. Sven says the lack of experience among the loan players in the squad may have been a contributing factor, but is confident the likes of Jeff Bruma, Ben Mee, Kyle Naughton and Patrick Van Aanholt will be stronger for the experience, should City re-acquire their services next season. "During January and February we were playing very well and with a lot of consistency," Sven said. "But we lost that at the end of February and in early March and that was a pity. "It's difficult to understand why because we didn't have a lot of injuries, but perhaps the lack of experience in some of the players was a reason. "It's such a difficult league; you have to be at your best and extremely concentrated for 90 minutes twice-a-week. If you don't have the experience it's easy to lose some of that concentration and we did that. "More or less all of those players now have a year of experience in this league and, when you are young, you learn very quickly. If we had the same squad, I am sure we would do better next season."
shen Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 Jumping to conclusions a bit here... But Sven talking about shoring up the defence, does that imply that he has secured the striking power for next season i.e. a deal for Yakubu/Kamara already in place?
MikeyT Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 Jumping to conclusions a bit here... But Sven talking about shoring up the defence, does that imply that he has secured the striking power for next season i.e. a deal for Yakubu/Kamara already in place? Think you may be reading too much into it.
Guest Col city fan Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 I agree that the young uns, if they come back, will be stronger and more experienced. however, I'd still like to see an older head in that centre back pairing to organise the defence and improve the confidence of the younger lads.
shen Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 Think you may be reading too much into it. Wishful thinking I agree that the young uns, if they come back, will be stronger and more experienced. however, I'd still like to see an older head in that centre back pairing to organise the defence and improve the confidence of the younger lads. Tunchev
funkyrobot Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 It took Sven until the end of the season to realise that fielding an inexperienced defence was a big factor in why we shipped so many goals. I think the majority of fans realised this months ago!! Not rocket science Sven and yet he was the one that built the defence and then continually tinkered with it, relying on young lads to come in and out of the side and play in unfamiliar positions with ever changing defensive partners and goalies.
cc_star Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 A new keeper & an old head to partner Hobbs/Vitor/Mee with the two young lads re-signed at fullback will do me.
Ric Flair Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 We need an experienced goalkeeper who organises the defence as well. Someone in the mould of Paddy kenny, a horrible loud mouthed bastard but get's the job done. I'm not sure what Westwood is like for organising, i'll admit i've seen only bits and bobs of him as I can't stand Cov and tend not to watch them if they are on. It worries me that if Sven had his own way he'd sign every defender he had last season again, really worrying. Individually these lads might be talented but together it didn't work. If he does bring some of them back then he's got to learn that an experienced head in there is vital. What's Alessandro Nesta up to these days?
shen Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 It took Sven until the end of the season to realise that fielding an inexperienced defence was a big factor in why we shipped so many goals. I think the majority of fans realised this months ago!! Not rocket science Sven and yet he was the one that built the defence and then continually tinkered with it, relying on young lads to come in and out of the side and play in unfamiliar positions with ever changing defensive partners and goalies. No he said the whole team were not good enough defensively, not just the defence and the goalkeeper. But of course you and 'the majority of the fans' are much brighter than Sven when it comes to coaching a football team, evaluating players and selecting match squads.
Haydos Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 It took Sven until the end of the season to realise that fielding an inexperienced defence was a big factor in why we shipped so many goals. I think the majority of fans realised this months ago!! Not rocket science Sven and yet he was the one that built the defence and then continually tinkered with it, relying on young lads to come in and out of the side and play in unfamiliar positions with ever changing defensive partners and goalies. And still people fail to realise that he knew what he was doing and it was a gamble. These were the most talented players he could bring in at the time, we were unlikely to get anyone better in. It was the switching of CB's and the fact that the core of the team as a whole was unfamiliar with each other, not just the inexperience. Don't for a second think he just 'didn't realise.'
Ricey Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 "It's difficult to understand why because we didn't have a lot of injuries..." Not really difficult to understand, Sven. You constantly changed the back four/goalkeeper, irrelevant of form and performances. A constantly changing defence with an average of around 20-22. Plus, our worst defensive performers (Bruma and Van Aanholt) were picked almost every week ahead of our best defensive performers (Mee and Vitor). It seems crystal clear to me.
Guest Col city fan Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 And still people fail to realise that he knew what he was doing and it was a gamble. These were the most talented players he could bring in at the time, we were unlikely to get anyone better in. It was the switching of CB's and the fact that the core of the team as a whole was unfamiliar with each other, not just the inexperience. Don't for a second think he just 'didn't realise.' I agree. It was an experimental season in terms of loanees and partnerships. Now Sven needs to decide who and what his best 'back four' comprises of and make them gel. I again say I'd like to see an experienced head leading them, in terms of experience of the tough old championship. I like Bamba, but I'm not sure whether he can be that defensive organiser that I'm referring to? Yes to naughton, mee and vitor, but someone to guide them, instruct them and organise them is, IMO crucial at this level. I'm sure that Sven has targets in mind
The Year Of The Fox Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 You dont have an experimental season. You have an experimental game or so. Get something wrong, change it back the game after. Not persevere with it
Guest Col city fan Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 You dont have an experimental season. You have an experimental game or so. Get something wrong, change it back the game after. Not persevere with it I usually agree with you stu but not this time. In terms of understanding the championship, trying out new players and formations I reckon this season was always going to be experimental. Now is the time for Sven to assemble his own squad of players, with funds to do so. A settled squad and team is called for, beginning with a defensive unit... Including keeper. Ten or so games in, we can more accurately judge whether or not we are going places, or not...
Danno Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 Naughton Vitor Tunchev cunningham/bertrand/Pva Would love Mee back but tunchev has far more experience :/
jamesmilner Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 TUNCHEV ! not a murmur about him . mistake if we let him go , hes worth a shot . remember curtis davis , tunchev is not that bad .
hackneyfox Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 "It's difficult to understand why because we didn't have a lot of injuries..." Not really difficult to understand, Sven. You constantly changed the back four/goalkeeper, irrelevant of form and performances. A constantly changing defence with an average of around 20-22. We had loads of injuries the back.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 Thats my point tho col city fan- you don't experiment with different players during the season. Not to the extent sven did. To me, that was the major factor in our downturn of form and the missed opportunity of a top 6 finish. Granted he didnt have the pre season friendlies to do all that, but sven found the right team pretty quickly- ie pretty much the line up pearson used, so there was never any need to chop n change. As sven admitted, injuries were never really a factor.
funkyrobot Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 No he said the whole team were not good enough defensively, not just the defence and the goalkeeper. But of course you and 'the majority of the fans' are much brighter than Sven when it comes to coaching a football team, evaluating players and selecting match squads. Oh that's fine then, it wasn't just the defence that were shit at defending it was the whole team. Does that make it better then? If your team is shipping a lot of goals then you have a problem with your defensive players, especially the 4 defenders and the keeper.
Adster Posted 17 May 2011 Posted 17 May 2011 I agree. It was an experimental season in terms of loanees and partnerships. Now Sven needs to decide who and what his best 'back four' comprises of and make them gel. I again say I'd like to see an experienced head leading them, in terms of experience of the tough old championship. I like Bamba, but I'm not sure whether he can be that defensive organiser that I'm referring to? Yes to naughton, mee and vitor, but someone to guide them, instruct them and organise them is, IMO crucial at this level. I'm sure that Sven has targets in mind You agree?! :w00t: :locked:
topharry123 Posted 18 May 2011 Posted 18 May 2011 Whoever we get, the key is to have a partnership that plays together week in week out. The reason we shipped so many goals was not because the defenders we have are bad it's because they had no chance to build an on field relationship with their defensive partner.
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 18 May 2011 Posted 18 May 2011 Jumping to conclusions a bit here... But Sven talking about shoring up the defence, does that imply that he has secured the striking power for next season i.e. a deal for Yakubu/Kamara already in place? He is looking to sign Nicky Shorey
Nick Posted 18 May 2011 Posted 18 May 2011 Heskey is going to take a couple of months to bed in partnering hobbs at the back....................
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 18 May 2011 Posted 18 May 2011 Heskey is going to take a couple of months to bed in partnering hobbs at the back.................... Dion Dublin is coming out of retirement as a back up
Guest Col city fan Posted 18 May 2011 Posted 18 May 2011 You agree?! :w00t: :locked: Oh just Fook off! Hehe
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