To the Wellens doubters....

[Guest Col city fan]

Fooool. The ref was giving every single tap as a free kick and wellens "gamesmanship" won us the game as it then meant 10 v 10 - that's experience for you. he played very very well nd yes fernadez was the MOTM but Richie more than played his part. he slowed teh game down in teh last 10 mins and that is prefessionalism.

Have to agree with this... Surprisingly Marbella Dave is letting himself down at the moment. The reason why Wellens got brought down was because he deliciously slipped the ball through his opponents legs when being crowded down by two players on the touchline. The tackle came in and went straight through Richie.. yes he made a meal of it afterwards (by rolling round) but the crazy crazy ref had made up his mind to give the player the red card way before Wellens did this.

Are people actually watching the game? This was clear as crystal to me...

[Fox92]

Just watched the highlights again. The challenge on Wellens was equally as bad as Vassell's tackle. The man came through the back of Wellens. I would have done the same thing that Wellens did, his experience equalled the game up. It could have been different had Coventry not had a man sent off, and I can't see why any Leicester fan would want to critisize Wellens for what he did in that instance.

[Guest Col city fan]

Just watched the highlights again. The challenge on Wellens was equally as bad as Vassell's tackle. The man came through the back of Wellens. I would have done the same thing that Wellens did, his experience equalled the game up. It could have been different had Coventry not had a man sent off, and I can't see why any Leicester fan would want to critisize Wellens for what he did in that

instance.

Neither can I?

[Filbert_Ross]

that fake throw Wellens did back to the keeper was amazing.

[Guest Col city fan]

that fake throw Wellens did back to the keeper was amazing.

If wellens can do that imagine what dynamo could do!!!

[accessory]

Just watched the highlights again. The challenge on Wellens was equally as bad as Vassell's tackle. The man came through the back of Wellens. I would have done the same thing that Wellens did, his experience equalled the game up. It could have been different had Coventry not had a man sent off, and I can't see why any Leicester fan would want to criticize Wellens for what he did in that instance.

No, he was being streetwise - as promotion-winners from this league have to be.

Credit to Schmeichel, Mills and others too for taking the hint and forcing the ref to make a decision with their strong reaction.

[Guest Col city fan]

No, he was being streetwise - as promotion-winners from this league have to be.

Credit to Schmeichel, Mills and others too for taking the hint and forcing the ref to make a decision with their strong reaction.

Were you there and did you see the tackle? It was right in front of me (block 6).. Yes he made a meal of it but the ref made up his mind instantly.. As he did with vassells. The players reactions were of anger at the challenge IMO...

[artursteppe]

I'm famous for not ( apparently ) liking Wellens. For most of last season I was banging on about our main problem being the fact that we cannot play King and Wellens and Gallagher in the same team with two strikers. Preferably I would only play one. I'm a 'Guru' - sorry, can't help it, but I also suggested in very strong terms that we needed a defensive midfielder with Yuki Abe, to allow unfettered freedom for those in front.

I am so pleased that is what Sven seems to believe as well - not because it proves me right, but because it is right!

Good goalkeeper, plus strong back four, plus Fernandez and Abe keeping things organised will allow the mix of four players in front to do their bit with creativity and goals.

As I have said before, Wellens, King and Gallagher are all OK, but NOT in the team together. ( Of the three yesterday I thought Andy King looked very good, Wellens and Gallagher were OK ).

As for the other forward midfield and attackers, Danns will need more time, Nugent looked great, Johnson will probably be awesome, Vassell could still be good and we need another quality striker - that would give us eight options ( at least ) for the four positions involving creativity and goalscoring - Wellens will be one of those.

[Guest Col city fan]

I'm famous for not ( apparently ) liking Wellens. For most of last season I was banging on about our main problem being the fact that we cannot play King and Wellens and Gallagher in the same team with two strikers. Preferably I would only play one. I'm a 'Guru' - sorry, can't help it, but I also suggested in very strong terms that we needed a defensive midfielder with Yuki Abe, to allow unfettered

freedom for those in front.

I am so pleased that is what Sven seems to believe as well - not because it proves me right, but because it is right!

Good goalkeeper, plus strong back four, plus Fernandez and Abe keeping things organised will allow the mix of four players in front to do their bit with creativity and goals.

As I have said before, Wellens, King and Gallagher are all

OK, but NOT in the team together. ( Of the three yesterday I thought Andy King looked very good, Wellens and Gallagher were OK ).

As for the other forward midfield and attackers, Danns will need more time, Nugent looked great, Johnson will

probably be awesome, Vassell could still be good and we need another quality striker - that would give us eight options ( at least ) for the four positions involving creativity and goalscoring - Wellens will be one of those.

I do wish you would change your bloody tune about wellens.. We've heard it all before... Give him a chance to do something this season and get off his back... If he was shite then you'd have a point, but he's not and could be a crucial player this season.

Say something else about someone else for christs sake

[artursteppe]

I do wish you would change your bloody tune about wellens.. We've heard it all before... Give him a chance to do something this season and get off his back... If he was shite then you'd have a point, but he's not and could be a crucial player this season.

Say something else about someone else for christs sake

Maybe you can't read - I said Wellens is 'alright', not crap, and I do not want to be up his arse the same as you, OK?

[Thracian]

Wellens got Baker sent off and also made our only goal - two vital contributions as it happens.

Other than that I don't think he dwelt on the ball quite as much as usual and was generally quite accurate with his passing.

But no he didn't have a particularly good game overall. Poor Nugent was left totally isolated for much of the time and, although others could be faulted for this as well, Wellens really has to ask if he was really doing enough in that way, any more than was the case against Real Madrid.

For me we still only defend as a team, we certainly don't attack that way and I cannot believe our owners have still not been persuaded to address the idea of getting an attacking coach.

I found it depressing to see Fazakerly. Stowell and Sven in our technical area because they've been here a while now, and we still don't play with any real purpose, tempo or imagination in attack, home or away.

Excuse-makers will point to us having Vassell sent off but that only exposed how short we are of people with pace and the ability to play effectively out wide.

Our limitations are so glaring - we simply don't get enough players forward fast enough when we have the ball. At least twice the ball went low across the edge of their six yard box and no-one was able to take advantage. Fernandez was closest but it's not about one, we should have two or three people driving themselves into he box and yet the problem was just the same last season.

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and, while this season might be dependent on goal difference we've already slipped off the pace in that department.

Yes, everyone will say it's only the first game just as they did when we've failed to take points at the start of seasons past. But, scoring two goals less than our rivals can so easily become more very quickly and it will if we don't include some marksmen and don't start getting men forward.

Wellens never looks partiularly threatening as a support player. He's not got enough pace, doesn't move especially well off the ball and is not a natural finisher.

All those things were apparent against Coventry as they were last season. Yes, Wellens can compliment a dour and dogged 4-5-1 but I don't think we'll quite make promotion on the back of 1-0's and 0-0's. We'll likely need goals potential in lots more positions to be successful. And that includes central midfield.

[Nick]

Wellens got Baker sent off and also made our only goal - two vital contributions as it happens.

Other than that I don't think he dwelt on the ball quite as much as usual and was generally quite accurate with his passing.

But no he didn't have a particularly good game overall. Poor Nugent was left totally isolated for much of the time and, although others could be faulted for this as well, Wellens really has to ask if he was really doing enough in that way, any more than was the case against Real Madrid.

For me we still only defend as a team, we certainly don't attack that way and I cannot believe our owners have still not been persuaded to address the idea of getting an attacking coach.

I found it depressing to see Fazakerly. Stowell and Sven in our technical area because they've been here a while now, and we still don't play with any real purpose, tempo or imagination in attack, home or away.

Excuse-makers will point to us having Vassell sent off but that only exposed how short we are of people with pace and the ability to play effectively out wide.

Our limitations are so glaring - we simply don't get enough players forward fast enough when we have the ball. At least twice the ball went low across the edge of their six yard box and no-one was able to take advantage. Fernandez was closest but it's not about one, we should have two or three people driving themselves into he box and yet the problem was just the same last season.

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and, while this season might be dependent on goal difference we've already slipped off the pace in that department.

Yes, everyone will say it's only the first game just as they did when we've failed to take points at the start of seasons past. But, scoring two goals less than our rivals can so easily become more very quickly and it will if we don't include some marksmen and don't start getting men forward.

Wellens never looks partiularly threatening as a support player. He's not got enough pace, doesn't move especially well off the ball and is not a natural finisher.

All those things were apparent against Coventry as they were last season. Yes, Wellens can compliment a dour and dogged 4-5-1 but I don't think we'll quite make promotion on the back of 1-0's and 0-0's. We'll likely need goals potential in lots more positions to be successful. And that includes central midfield.

Always valued your post match observations Thrac.

Interesting perspective - much of which I agree with especially the point regarding an 'attacking coach' but the bit I have highlighted in bold........

Have a word with yourself !

[Guest Col city fan]

Always valued your post match observations Thrac.

Interesting perspective - much of which I agree with especially the point regarding an 'attacking coach' but the bit I have highlighted in bold........

Have a word with yourself !

Have to agree with you nick ( this is becoming a worrying habit!)... Thracs posts are usually spot on but the highlighted bit is most unlike him! After one game?....

[John Matrix]

Have to agree with you nick ( this is becoming a worrying habit!)... Thracs posts are usually spot on but the highlighted bit is most unlike him! After one game?....

the last 5 posts i've read by him have been utter dogshit

[Babylon]

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and

[Babylon]

thracian post from 2005

Here is a new avatar for you seeing as the other one has been removed.

[Babylon]

the last 5 posts i've read by him have been utter dogshit

So were 26,600 of the others. He had a spell where he didn't go completely and ridiculously over the top, but that seems to have ended pretty quickly.

[Babylon]

Have to agree with you nick ( this is becoming a worrying habit!)... Thracs posts are usually spot on but the highlighted bit is most unlike him! After one game?....

It's actually very much like Thracian sadly. Not long ago he was calling for Rob Kellys head after one game.... a game as it turned out he never even went to.

[foxfan13]

Wellens is too inconsistent for my liking, not saying i think he's rubbish before people slate me, hopefully with the influx of new players and the consistent pressure of 2+ players per position this will cause him to produce the displays we know he can. One of his most frustrating traits in my opinion is when he loses the ball he also loses interest in trying to win it back and looks around for someone to bawl at.

[Corky]

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and, while this season might be dependent on goal difference we've already slipped off the pace in that department.

We're two goals behind Ipswich and one behind Southampton.

You should be far more bothered about points right now, of which we are behind nobody.

[marbelladave]

Have to agree with this... Surprisingly Marbella Dave is letting himself down at the moment. The reason why Wellens got brought down was because he deliciously slipped the ball through his opponents legs when being crowded down by two players on the touchline. The tackle came in and went straight through Richie.. yes he made a meal of it afterwards (by rolling round) but the crazy crazy ref had made up his mind to give the player the red card way before Wellens did this.

Are people actually watching the game? This was clear as crystal to me...

Really? Did I criticise what Wellens did? I just said he went down like a girl and made sure Baker got sent off, that's what happened. Personally I thought it no more than a yellow but I was on the others side of the ground and that is an opinion, still have not seen it on TV so I might be wrong.

The ref was piss poor, with what he had called up to that point I guess he thought it had to be a Red.....

Maybe you can't read - I said Wellens is 'alright', not crap, and I do not want to be up his arse the same as you, OK?

Wellens was Wellens, fiesty and combative, mostly when it didn't much matter, wasslow in possession, and didn't threaten the box, much as usual. He did manage to stay involved and didn't give the ball away as much as usual, so for him it was a pretty decent game.

I'll return to what I said earlier, with Abe and Fernandez doing all the hard graft, Wellens had loads of space to work in and, one set piece apart, did absolutely fook all.

Still there is good news, could be West Ham fans.........

[Brown Fox]

Really? Did I criticise what Wellens did? I just said he went down like a girl and made sure Baker got sent off, that's what happened. Personally I thought it no more than a yellow but I was on the others side of the ground and that is an opinion, still have not seen it on TV so I might be wrong.

The ref was piss poor, with what he had called up to that point I guess he thought it had to be a Red.....

Wellens was Wellens, fiesty and combative, mostly when it didn't much matter, wasslow in possession, and didn't threaten the box, much as usual. He did manage to stay involved and didn't give the ball away as much as usual, so for him it was a pretty decent game.

I'll return to what I said earlier, with Abe and Fernandez doing all the hard graft, Wellens had loads of space to work in and, one set piece apart, did absolutely fook all.

Still there is good news, could be West Ham fans.........

Bit off topic mate but in a lot of your posts I see you worry about not having a proper CDM that breaks up play etc. Do you think Fernandes is the player that you've been wanting? (genuine question this isn't sarcastic! )

[Brown Fox]

Wellens got Baker sent off and also made our only goal - two vital contributions as it happens.

Other than that I don't think he dwelt on the ball quite as much as usual and was generally quite accurate with his passing.

But no he didn't have a particularly good game overall. Poor Nugent was left totally isolated for much of the time and, although others could be faulted for this as well, Wellens really has to ask if he was really doing enough in that way, any more than was the case against Real Madrid.

For me we still only defend as a team, we certainly don't attack that way and I cannot believe our owners have still not been persuaded to address the idea of getting an attacking coach.

I found it depressing to see Fazakerly. Stowell and Sven in our technical area because they've been here a while now, and we still don't play with any real purpose, tempo or imagination in attack, home or away.

Excuse-makers will point to us having Vassell sent off but that only exposed how short we are of people with pace and the ability to play effectively out wide.

Our limitations are so glaring - we simply don't get enough players forward fast enough when we have the ball. At least twice the ball went low across the edge of their six yard box and no-one was able to take advantage. Fernandez was closest but it's not about one, we should have two or three people driving themselves into he box and yet the problem was just the same last season.

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and, while this season might be dependent on goal difference we've already slipped off the pace in that department.

Yes, everyone will say it's only the first game just as they did when we've failed to take points at the start of seasons past. But, scoring two goals less than our rivals can so easily become more very quickly and it will if we don't include some marksmen and don't start getting men forward.

Wellens never looks partiularly threatening as a support player. He's not got enough pace, doesn't move especially well off the ball and is not a natural finisher.

All those things were apparent against Coventry as they were last season. Yes, Wellens can compliment a dour and dogged 4-5-1 but I don't think we'll quite make promotion on the back of 1-0's and 0-0's. We'll likely need goals potential in lots more positions to be successful. And that includes central midfield.

[Salieri]

We might be congratulating ourselves on an acceptable start and three precious away points but we're actually outside the promotion places already and, while this season might be dependent on goal difference we've already slipped off the pace in that department.

:laugh:

If anyone but Thracian had said that I would have presumed it was a joke. For a man of intelligence and clearly a good understanding of the game, that quote really is unbelievable.

[Guest ttfn]

So, you are saying Wellens is inconsistent but King isn't

Why would Wellens be behind Fernandes, King, Johnson (who hasn't played for us yet) and Danns? Wellens is our most agressive midfielder, he has more creativity than the rest (hence he had most assists last season), he doesn't back out of tackles (where as Gallagher and King do for example) while his passing, skill and especially crossing are top quality.

I think we would generally miss him if we didn't have him, and I'd rather have him in our side than any other teams. Don't people study what he does? Some of his passes are beautiful. The only attribute he misses is most probably scoring, but thats not his job.

A little bit of consistancy from Wellens, and he could easily do a decent job in the Premier League, hence why Birmingham were looking at him last season.

You're right about King, he's also inconsistent. But I think I'd rather have King on top form than Wellens on top form. Different drinks for different needs.