Sol Bamba

[The Doctor]

Deary me, from what I've seen so far this season Bamba & Schmeichel have been the only things between our current results and absolute pastings.

It's not solely down to him that our midfield can't keep the ball, that Mills keeps resorting to the aimless hoof etc. Some people seem to be judging him purely on a few iffy performances at the tail end of last season, all of which I might add came in a spell where he had a different defensive partner each week.

[Guest Col city fan]

Deary me, from what I've seen so far this season Bamba & Schmeichel have been the only things between our current results and absolute pastings.

It's not solely down to him that our midfield can't keep the ball, that Mills keeps resorting to the endless hoof etc. Some people seem to be judging him purely on a few iffy

performances at the tail end of last season, all of which I might add came in a spell where he had a different defensive partner each week.

This post makes lotsa sense

Agree completely

To blame solely Bamba (no pun intended) for the defensive naivety of the team is bollox

[Thracian]

I haven't missed your point, it's just shite

We don't defend well enough collectively... As a team?

Therefore this is not about Bamba, it's about Leicester City not being able to defend very well..

My first point of call would be the defensive coach and the system rather than any individual players

Therefore get off Bambas back and onto Fazackerly's

Is that spectacularly clear enough for you?

That is 100% true. We neither go forward as a team or back. We don't have natural communicating partnerships on the flanks, in the centre of midfield, up front or in the centre of defence. When Beckford and Nugent finally link up that should be a partnership. But where are the others coming from? And when will we see the almost instinctive collective movement that is apparent in all good teams?

Wellens is the fulcrum of our midfield but it should be King. Put him in front of our defence and everyone will have an out ball. I don't like the thought of sacrificing some of his goals but until there's another option, King is the safest, most reliable and most accurate ball retainer we have. He keeps everything quick and simple.

Our number of goals conceded would fall by 20%, perhaps a little more because he'd also add a presence for defensive dead-ball situations but, most important, there would be no easy way into the box. In no way does Wellens fill this role.

Next comes the full-backs. Listening to the Barnsley game on the radio was like listening to Tykes players filling their pools coupons ... cross, cross, cross. Forest got the same licence second half and so too Bristol City from the right. We cannot stand off people and let it happen. We need fast, incisive full-backs who win the ball, then pass it quickly and simply while continuing to move forward.

Defending starts with stopping the ball getting into dangerous areas to begin with. With closing down quickly and cutting out the source of supply if you like. We're far too sloppy at it and that's down to our midfielders as much as our back line although Pantsil really has to get tighter and read the game better and Konchesky/Mills have to stop giving the ball away witth their largely fantasy hit and hope balls.

They do it, of course, to relieve pressure while avoiding any further involvement and it's not good enough..Giving the ball away unnecessarily is a cardinal sin in football. If we played with genuine wingers we could pass our way forward and make progress rapidly. As it is we give the ball away too easily and invite the very pressure which causes mistakes in the end.

[Guest MattP]

I feel sorry for anyone in a defence with Bamba in, can't mark, all over the place, even managed to take out Kasper for the goal today....absolute liability.

Good on the ball? Yes. Any chance of a stable back four with Sol in? No chance in hell

[Master Fox]

The goal yesterday was his fault.

I would like to see Mils & St Ledger together at the back for the next game.

Also Panstil should not have started.

[cc_star]

I feel sorry for anyone in a defence with Bamba in, can't mark, all over the place, even managed to take out Kasper for the goal today....absolute liability.

Good on the ball? Yes. Any chance of a stable back four with Sol in? No chance in hell

Exactly, partnering Bamba means you have to do twice as much work as partnering someone else & you'll still look bad because you cant do it all, meanwhile Bamba looks awesome lolloping along doing turns past opposing players getting the glory of the fans

Of course there are problems are right through the team, for a start we're not very good & secondly the manager makes odd team selection, unworkable formation, clueless coaching so players don't know what they're doing & all the other things that contribute to a team that underperforms

But all these centre halves are being made to look bad, they've all been good or great for other managers or clubs, is it time to look to see if Mills, SSL or Tunch are better placed to form a centre-half partnership

Bamba is not the reason for the poor defence, that blame lies with the management team, but how long are we going to persist with an individual who causes all if his partner's problems?

[Ross 'LCFC' Turner]

I wounder if half the people on this forum even go to games.

Sol Bamba & Kasper Schmeichel have been by far our best players this season.

Mills is the liability in the defence, his positioning is poor, his distribution is poor, he gets bullied by big players (lambert, andy gray). If it wasn't for Bamba clearing up his mess all the time we wouldnt even be in the position were in.

[bettso]

The goal yesterday was his fault.

I would like to see Mils & St Ledger together at the back for the next game.

Also Panstil should not have started.

This.

Whenever I watch a game or listen to a game, whenever the ball is anywhere near Bamba it's completely heart in the mouth stuff. If it's like that to listen to, imagine what it's like playing with him.

He's a liability and the other defenders are shaky around him.

Mills and St Ledger have been amongst the best performing defenders in the championship for the last couple of years. Those two as a pair would be a lot stronger than anything else we have.

[crisp packet]

Do people on here actully go to games ??? I could write this in every thread on here!!!!!

[accessory]

Bamba is a bombscare. I can count on one hand the number of clean sheets we've had since he joined the club.

Sheffield United (1-0) - even that was due to Weale rather than a solid defence.

Derby (2-0) - Derby's attack never showed up. Even Hobbs, Morrison or the nazi would have kept them out.

Scunthorpe (3-0) - wobbled at setpieces, even against a weak team.

Burnley (4-0) - again, inept attack rather than outstanding defence in evidence here.

Coventry (1-0) - rarely troubled by another weak attack.

He spent years in the SPL for a reason, namely that he lacks the discipline required to be part of an effective defensive unit. But while Mills remains so wobbly, Bamba will look good by comparison.

[Father Ted]

Bamba is a bombscare. I can count on one hand the number of clean sheets we've had since he joined the club.

Sheffield United (1-0) - even that was due to Weale rather than a solid defence.

Derby (2-0) - Derby's attack never showed up. Even Hobbs, Morrison or the nazi would have kept them out.

Scunthorpe (3-0) - wobbled at setpieces, even against a weak team.

Burnley (4-0) - again, inept attack rather than outstanding defence in evidence here.

Coventry (1-0) - rarely troubled by another weak attack.

He spent years in the SPL for a reason, namely that he lacks the discipline required to be part of an effective defensive unit. But while Mills remains so wobbly, Bamba will look good by comparison.

As I will say yet again, stats don't lie. Bamba IS the problem.

[Father Ted]

Also, I reckon 90% of the people who are defending Bamba only love him because of his extravagance and ability to dribble the ball around.

Well, guess what, here's a surprise, the point of a defender is to defend, not to fvcking showboat around in your own penalty box.

We should have sold him whilst we had the chance. Now we're stuck with him until January because Sven will never drop him.

[Itsthejoeker]

Also, I reckon 90% of the people who are defending Bamba only love him because of his extravagance and ability to dribble the ball around.

Well, guess what, here's a surprise, the point of a defender is to defend, not to fvcking showboat around in your own penalty box.

We should have sold him whilst we had the chance. Now we're stuck with him until January because Sven will never drop him.

99% of people defending him only love him because his name is fun to say

[Night Air]

Great! Ok! We drop him! Who do we replace him with? St Ledger! Wooooo!

[okie fox]

As I will say yet again, stats don't lie. Bamba IS the problem.

I love your logic. Clearly, lack of clean sheets is Bamba's fault, not the other centre back or the right back who doesn't get tight on his man, or last season's left back, who was often out of position, or last season's goal keeper.

[accessory]

I love your logic. Clearly, lack of clean sheets is Bamba's fault, not the other centre back or the right back who doesn't get tight on his man, or last season's left back, who was often out of position, or last season's goal keeper.

It's no different to the "logic" employed by our £30k/week manager when he scapegoated Jack Hobbs last season.

Incidentally, Hobbs is now at the heart of a Hull defence which has just kept back-to-back clean sheets (something we've not managed since last November), including one against a team which previously boasted the joint-best attack in the division.

[Callabinho]

Bol samba...........

[STEVIE B]

Bamba at £250k was an absolute bargain. On the other hand, having paid £5m for Mills, Reading probably thought Xmas had come early ! I just hope he starts to look like the player that Sven thinks he's worth soon !! As things are at the moment, I would value both Bamba & Mills at the same price.

[Guest MattP]

I wounder if half the people on this forum even go to games.

Sol Bamba & Kasper Schmeichel have been by far our best players this season,

Yes I go. Bamba is dreadful, he pleases the idiots with his runs etc but he actually can't defend. His positional sense is appalling and he can't mark, same thing every game. You will never ever get a solid back line with him in it..

[bettso]

99% of people defending him only love him because his name is fun to say

Because 50% of his game is spectacular, the other 50% that's a comlete liability is easily ignored.

[bettso]

It's no different to the "logic" employed by our £30k/week manager when he scapegoated Jack Hobbs last season.

Incidentally, Hobbs is now at the heart of a Hull defence which has just kept back-to-back clean sheets (something we've not managed since last November), including one against a team which previously boasted the joint-best attack in the division.

Hobbs has been shit at Hull.

I had the misfortune of going to see a couple of their home games as a work colleague is a Hull fan. Hobbs was shit in both games and practically everyone around me was complaining that Pearson played him. Then again, I might have just been sitting in the area where Hull's equivelent of Foxes Talk posters were.

[bettso]

Great! Ok! We drop him! Who do we replace him with? St Ledger! Wooooo!

Errr yeah.

Everyone was banging on last season about us not having any players with proven Championship experience. St Ledger and Mills would be an ideal partnership that have been superb before their time at City. They will definitely improve the defence if played as a pair and would certainly never attempt to dribble past 3 attackers in their own area!!

[bettso]

Yes I go. Bamba is dreadful, he pleases the idiots with his runs etc but he actually can't defend. His positional sense is appalling and he can't mark, same thing every game. You will never ever get a solid back line with him in it..

A strong team is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. Our defence is weaker with Bamba playing due to the style in which he plays. What we need at the minute is for the defence just to get the ****ing ball away. With 4 central midfielders on the pitch, winning the 2nd ball after clearing it shouldnt be too much of an issue.

[Simmo86]

Would like to see Mills and SSL given a crack.

If the state of our defence was a criminal investigation, Sol Bamba would of been locked up a long time ago!

[Callabinho]

Maybe Matt Mills Isn't as bad as his recent games are suggesting. Maybe it is Bamba who makes him nervous and to be brutally honest I feel sorry for SSL because apart from the "fatal error" what did he actually do wrong? I agree that Bamba is a complete liability, although he can defend, he was world class against Real Madrid, but back to the league and he obviously feels that he is too good to just defend properly without putting his team under constant pressure.