Vlad the Fox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 I had a dream last night that Pearson came back to Leicester as manager of bristol city, the fans were allowed on the pitch before the match so I had the chance to have a chat with him, there was a small chant of one Nigel Pearson before he gave me his Twitter address which was D-lad@twitter if anyone wants to contact him. Later I survived a double tsunami. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st albans fox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 I had a dream last night that Pearson came back to Leicester as manager of bristol city, the fans were allowed on the pitch before the match so I had the chance to have a chat with him, there was a small chant of one Nigel Pearson before he gave me his Twitter address which was D-lad@twitter if anyone wants to contact him. Later I survived a double tsunami. You want to avoid that cheese feast pizza just before bed mate ............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Pearson's a cult and it's all going to end in a shootout. Only if the FBI get involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deucalion Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 I had a dream last night that Pearson came back to Leicester as manager of bristol city, the fans were allowed on the pitch before the match so I had the chance to have a chat with him, there was a small chant of one Nigel Pearson before he gave me his Twitter address which was D-lad@twitter if anyone wants to contact him. Later I survived a double tsunami. Have you checked whether it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitchinFox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Pearson's a cult and it's all going to end in a shootout. Foxestalk is divided between those who spell it with an "l" and those who prefer "n". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad the Fox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Have you checked whether it is? Ha ha yes, unfortunately it's not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deucalion Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 (edited) Anyone seen this? http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/jamie-vardy-not-good-enough-6386030? Personally I couldn't agree more with you. The only players England should pick should be from the the top 5 clubs that the media like, plus a bonus player from a London club and maybe one from the plucky Premier League underdogs that everyone loves but will still get relegated. I mean, what has Vardy done? He does not have a supermodel WAG, he will never get a modeling contract, his hair is often a horror show and I can never see him on 'I'm a Celebrity' in the future. He has had a little go at getting on the front page of the papers with his 'Walk on Jap' gig but it all blew over way to quickly when he took the fine without complaint, apologised in person to the target and agreed to to go on a diversity awareness course. All he has done in his career is worked his way from non-league to the Premier League by a top rate work ethic and by scoring important goals. What is Hodgson thinking of? Personally I couldn't agree more with you. The only players England should pick should be from the the top 5 clubs that the media like, plus a bonus player from a London club and maybe one from the plucky Premier League underdogs that everyone loves but will still get relegated. I mean, what has Vardy done? He does not have a supermodel WAG, he will never get a modeling contract, his hair is often a horror show and I can never see him on 'I'm a Celebrity' in the future. He has had a little go at getting on the front page of the papers with his 'Walk on Jap' gig but it all blew over way to quickly when he took the fine without complaint, apologised in person to the target and agreed to to go on a diversity awareness course. All he has done in his career is worked his way from non-league to the Premier League by a top rate work ethic and by scoring important goals. What is Hodgson thinking of? Edited 5 September 2015 by Deucalion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARTY_FOX Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Mirror in slagging off Leicester Player shocker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freesolo Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 The England team has been shite and completely overrated for a long time its only the last 5 years or so that England fans have started to come down to earth and realise they are not as good as they get hyped up to. Players should be be picked on merit, admididly Vardy has not scored many goals in the Prem but his assists last season were second to Hazzard (if im not wrong) and his workrate is exceptional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 "Just performing in the Premier League shouldn’t be a gateway to the England stage", So what do we base it on then? European football? Well, that limits us to a few strikers from a few clubs. Rooney, Welbeck, Kane, Walcott (who isn't really a front-line striker) and Sturridge (when fit). Only two of those will be in the Champions League this side of Christmas with Welbeck being injured. Nobody outside those clubs will get a look-in if the Premier League isn't the only way to be selected. I don't think Vardy is good enough to trouble the top defences. I don't see many others outside of Rooney (and even that's been a struggle) being good enough either. I was surprised Austin didn't get a chance in the summer, however, given his season. If Vardy was called up in March then I couldn't see the logic. His last three months of football has been excellent and this time deserves a call. He'll give everything for the cause as he always does. I hope better strikers become available for England and we become a better national team. But it's worth trying out new things and Vardy might just do something crucial that helps the side in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xen Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Technically, there are several players (but not that many, really) better than Vardy. If it was purely on technical ability, vardy wouldn't make the squad. HOWEVER, vardy has a much, much higher work rate and plays a much more attacking style than the rest, which levels the playing field and is what's - rightly so - earn him his call ups. If those more technically able than Vardy started to play with half the impetus that our man does, then England might actually start to be a half decent side again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 (edited) The votes are 50 / 50 in favour off or against Vardy playing for England ,wonder how many Leicester fans voted for? Edited 5 September 2015 by rico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnkstern Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Nice article (good images also, I had to chop them to post this): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3220155/Jamie-Vardy-Riyad-Mahrez-Shinji-Okazaki-Leicester-City-Premier-League-s-BARGAIN-HUNTERS.html Leicester City pulled down the blinds on their transfer window with a satisfaction that the view through the glass was rather rosy. Like many other Premier League clubs they worked up until the final hours of deadline day, signing Nathan Dyer on loan from Swansea, but the substantial part of their recruitment had been completed long before – and the fruits are showing. Leicester sit third in the Premier League, undefeated in four games, and look well-stocked for the campaign ahead, which will doubtless require contributions from all quarters. Maintaining their status is still the focus. +15 Claudio Ranieri’s reign has got off to a surprisingly good start but the Italian has been quick to pay tribute to staff working behind the scenes as well as predecessor Nigel Pearson for the players at his disposal. Riyad Mahrez is a leading candidate to be named Premier League player of the month, Jamie Vardy has continued his fine form to gain another England call-up, and Shinji Okazaki has shown guile and finesse to justify his £7million fee. Other players have made telling contributions too, most notably Marc Albrighton – a free transfer from Aston Villa last summer – but that varied trio provide a clear picture of Leicester’s recruitment structure over a duration of time. It is a method worth noting. Vardy arrived from Fleetwood for a non-league record fee of £1m in May 2012, Mahrez was signed for £350,000 from Le Havre in January 2014, and Okazaki came in late June from Mainz, before Pearson was sacked. All three bear testament to Leicester’s scouting system and transfer process led by Steve Walsh, Pearson’s assistant who, notably, was kept on throughout a turbulent summer. Last season Walsh, who is head of recruitment, could be seen sitting in the stands alongside Pearson and nearly every player arriving through the doors will have been watched in the flesh by him personally. He is the one responsible for giving the final word of approval on all targets. Walsh was at Chelsea for 16 years and Jose Mourinho appointed him European scout. He worked with Andre Villas-Boas on the signings of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, before leaving for Newcastle under Sam Allardyce, forming a bond with Pearson, and moving to Leicester. LEICESTER SIGNINGS 2015 Shinji Okazaki (Mainz, £7.2m) N'Golo Kante (Caen, £5.6m) Robert Huth (Stoke City, £3m) Gokhan Inler (Napoli, £3m) Yohan Benalouane (Atalanta, undisclosed) Christian Fuchs (Schalke, free) Nathan Dyer (Swansea City, loan) Walsh works closely with David Mills, the club’s chief scout, and will receive information on players from a team of employees in the field as well as through video analysis from Wyscout, a company that clips thousands of matches across the globe. Trusted agents also play a significant role in recommending clients who might match Leicester’s brief. First, club management identify a desired position and style, and then a shortlist of options is drawn up based on the financial commitment likely in any deal. Importantly, allied to all calls made throughout this process is an appreciation of the statistics; it is someone’s job to forensically crunch the numbers on any given player. Think minutes per chance created, distance covered and speed reached, balls won back, plus many more variables. Responsible for much good work in this regard was Rob Mackenzie, employed as the club’s head of technical scouting until Tottenham Hotspur poached him in February this year. Assistant Ben Wrigglesworth was appointed in his place after a thorough application process, an impressive role at just 24 years old. Japan international Okazaki joined this summer but Mackenzie had long done the analysis and Leicester first enacted a pursuit of his signature in summer 2014. Bundesliga side Mainz are known as a selling club but always had the desire to wait until this window to cash in and a January move was rebuffed. RECENT LEICESTER BARGAINS Esteban Cambiasso Free Riyad Mahrez £350,000 Marc Albrighton Free Jamie Vardy £1m As well as his fine goalscoring record – 43 in 93 internationals – and commercial appeal in the Far East, the home of Thai owners Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, sources have disclosed to Sportsmail that his high work rate, contribution out of possession and versatility were key factors. Okazaki, 29, operated as a striker for club and country, but played wide when at Stuttgart. He was also accustomed to pressing from the front, as Leicester like to do. Mahrez, meanwhile, now looks an incredible bargain plucked from the obscurity of France’s second division. The 24-year-old has scored four Premier League goals to lead the charts this season and wreaked havoc on defences with his flair. Walsh first went to watch Mahrez approximately 18 months before he signed, having identified the need for a wide player of speed and skill. Two other targets were shortlisted – one playing in Ligue 2, the other in Bundesliga 2, both now internationals – but Mahrez stood out. Mackenzie’s team had to generate their own in-house statistics on the trio of targets as data was unavailable for those leagues. In Christmas 2013 they used a small sample of games to code the players’ actions using specialised software. The stand-out stats for Mahrez were the amount of positive, attacking actions he attempted and succeeded executing. His contract situation also appealed – he had six months left so Leicester’s hand in negotiations with Le Havre was strong – as did his intention to play for Algeria rather than France. The African nation had qualified for the World Cup in Brazil so Leicester knew his motivation levels would be high that second half of the season in a bid to make the squad. Walsh and Mills went to see Mahrez a couple of times before Mackenzie travelled across the Channel for the final game before New Year against Auxerre. All three were buoyed by success stories of former Ligue 2 players such as Olivier Giroud, Lorent Koscielny, and Franck Ribery. A similar tale is shaping for Mahrez. Vardy, 28, is getting better with age and is now worth far more than the sum Leicester paid three years ago. But it should be remembered what a gamble that kind of cash represented. Vardy, released by Sheffield Wednesday as a teenager, had never played league football, moving from Stocksbridge Park Steels in the eighth tier to Halifax Town as recently as 2012. Pearson recollects knowing about Vardy from his Stocksbridge days – the former manager lived locally – but only when he was performing consistently for Fleetwood did Leicester properly take notice. Walsh watched him several times at Fleetwood, including Wycombe away in the FA Cup. The club wanted a striker to press from the front and Vardy excelled. Chairman Andy Pilley demanded £1m and a host of clubs including Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion inquired. Southampton were close but chose Billy Sharp that January instead. In the end Peterbrough and Cardiff also had bids accepted but Leicester got his signature after Pearson, who would only get involved in transfers at the finale, invited Vardy to his home and impressed. Vardy initially struggled and doubted himself amid criticism but has come through and is a shining light of Leicester’s recruitment team. As part of ongoing statistical analysis it is recorded he sprints 500m per match, more than double the Premier League average. ‘That deal was a calculated risk that paid off but could have been a disaster,' said a source. 'Fans on social media got to him and he needed to be boosted up. The fee now looks cheap now because he’s been brilliant.’ Obviously not all signings have proved such success. The jury is still out on Andrej Kramaric following his £9m move, for example, but the sense is his quality will tell. The point is Leicester’s structure works and breeds stability, even throughout personnel changes. Former director of football Terry Robinson performed an important role cutting Leicester’s expenditure after the Sven Goran Eriksson era, and negotiated personal terms with Mahrez before being sacked. Jon Rudkin took over from being academy head in November and completed the Okazaki transfer. Ranieri’s opinions are now fed into the system and the signing of Atalanta defender Yohan Benalouane is his primarily. Gokhan Inler was on the radar for some time, while N’golo Kante is very much a product of scouting. Whether these players are hits remains to be seen. What can be certain is that the homework has been done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webbo Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Was already a thread which I assume has been merged with the "do they mean us thread". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 I don't think Vardy is good enough to trouble the top defences. I don't see many others outside of Rooney (and even that's been a struggle) being good enough either. I was surprised Austin didn't get a chance in the summer, however, given his season. If Vardy was called up in March then I couldn't see the logic. His last three months of football has been excellent and this time deserves a call. He'll give everything for the cause as he always does. I don't think Austin will have a chance now he's not in the Premier League so he's off the radar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Vardy's pace will always trouble even the best defences in the world, providing he's not isolated upfront 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain... Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Let's be honest, England should have better strikers than Vardy, and do when everyone is fit/not being a petulant little shit (berahino), he isn't the most technically gifted but he does offer something different and shouldn't be discounted purely because he isn't like Sterling/Walcott/Chamberlain in that he has pace and determination, they are all skilful players but so easy to brush off the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitchinFox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 (edited) Anyone seen this? http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/jamie-vardy-not-good-enough-6386030? Personally I couldn't agree more with you. The only players England should pick should be from the the top 5 clubs that the media like, plus a bonus player from a London club and maybe one from the plucky Premier League underdogs that everyone loves but will still get relegated. I mean, what has Vardy done? He does not have a supermodel WAG, he will never get a modeling contract, his hair is often a horror show and I can never see him on 'I'm a Celebrity' in the future. He has had a little go at getting on the front page of the papers with his 'Walk on Jap' gig but it all blew over way to quickly when he took the fine without complaint, apologised in person to the target and agreed to to go on a diversity awareness course. All he has done in his career is worked his way from non-league to the Premier League by a top rate work ethic and by scoring important goals. What is Hodgson thinking of? Personally I couldn't agree more with you. The only players England should pick should be from the the top 5 clubs that the media like, plus a bonus player from a London club and maybe one from the plucky Premier League underdogs that everyone loves but will still get relegated. I mean, what has Vardy done? He does not have a supermodel WAG, he will never get a modeling contract, his hair is often a horror show and I can never see him on 'I'm a Celebrity' in the future. He has had a little go at getting on the front page of the papers with his 'Walk on Jap' gig but it all blew over way to quickly when he took the fine without complaint, apologised in person to the target and agreed to to go on a diversity awareness course. All he has done in his career is worked his way from non-league to the Premier League by a top rate work ethic and by scoring important goals. What is Hodgson thinking of? John Cross. Maybe some one should go on Twitter and remind him of his pre-season predictions... Twat. Edited 5 September 2015 by HitchinFox 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finchy Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 (edited) John Cross. Maybe some one should go on Twitter and remind him of his pre-season predictions... Twat. That could all realistically happen, so I wouldn't. Edited 5 September 2015 by Finchy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl the Llama Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Tbf anyone predicting the 14th placed team to finish bottom the next year is already making themselves look stupid enough as it is. I could understand pundits putting us in another relegation battle but 20th is one of those lazy punts people make in the hopes it will actually come off and make them look like a genius. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitchinFox Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 That could all realistically happen, so I wouldn't. I'm particularly referring to his prediction of us finishing bottom. That is not going to happen. If you really think it will, I'm prepare to bet you a lot of money. Let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lineker's Left Foot Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 God it feels as though everybody hates us. But I just live proving them pricks wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finchy Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 (edited) I'm particularly referring to his prediction of us finishing bottom. That is not going to happen. If you really think it will, I'm prepare to bet you a lot of money. Let me know. I'm not predicting anything, I don't personally think it will happen either, but it could easily happen. I'm simply saying it's brave to have a go at someone for their pre-season prediction 4 games into the season. I doubt any City fans could have expected us to be bottom for the majority of last season after our good start. Edited 5 September 2015 by Finchy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAULCFC Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Us being bottom is bad enough.....but spurs 5th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finchy Posted 5 September 2015 Share Posted 5 September 2015 Us being bottom is bad enough.....but spurs 5th They've finished 4th, 5th or 6th since 2008/2009. Nothing like reading way too much into the first 4 games of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts