Why has Sven changed his footballing philosophies?

[Libertine Dream]

Before anyone says anything this isn’t a Sven out campaign.

A year ago today we travelled 90 miles up the M1 for Sven’s first away game as boss. 1700 of us travelled up there to witness contextually one of the best away performances from an LCFC side for some time. The usually raucous Elland Road crowd was silenced by our sheer dominance on the night. The way we attacked Leeds that night and retained possession were a joy to behold, a demonstration of how to play away perfectly. Not many teams go to ER and have 60% possession, something noted by the Leeds fans themselves.

The first half was especially good. It appeared every time we got the ball we wanted to attack and attack quickly, using the width of the pitch as well as Andy King’s perfectly timed runs. The opposite of Sunday and all season apart from moments at Forest. I stood there as I watched shot after shot and cross after cross thinking the Man City fans were right, Sven plays quick attacking football. We were undefendable on that night, because we moved the ball quickly intelligently and at all points our play had purpose, highlighted by our 2nd goal. We were slightly shaky at the back but we did what is required in football, score goals. Franck Moussa was a major part of our play that night. People ask for Dyer to be given a chance but always forget this guy. He has shown some brilliance most the time when he has played but this has been too infrequent. When he does play he is put in the middle where he shouldn’t be. Put him on one of the wings like Donny did last year when he often wreaked havoc and won the fans over quickly. He appears a decent young prospect that needs a chance to prove himself. If he plays crap then fair enough. Another instrumental player that night was Kyle Naughton. Peltier is decent but we really do miss this guy. Whenever he was on the pitch, we had a purpose to our play which he provided. He would ignore Wellens’ and King’s invitation to go slow and provide an injection of pace and purpose, something Peltier doesn’t do YET.

Another example of Sven’s philosophy has to be Derby away last year. We all know what happened in that first half. Although the football wasn’t always fast paced we had a purpose to our game whenever we wanted it. We exploited the flanks and utilised the pace of Van Aanholt and Naughton regularly. The whole team was great that night as they made ball retention look easy like Barcelona do. Again Vassell and Gallagher out wide always provided a massive threat which we exploited and the Yak was sublime up front. This was down to the way Sven set us up. Go out there and attack, keep the ball and attack. Again all season we haven’t done this. It has been too slow and boring as our gifted CMs have no outlet ball with our narrow, amble play. I think our full backs don’t help us with this as they did last year but our disregard for width is slanderous.

Return back to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 we played last season, make sure the wide players stay out wide and the full backs support them. And finally have the purpose in our play we had at Leeds, Barnsley, Derby and Preston last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9097641.stm

[Babylon]

Rightly or wrongly I now think the Birmingham result will mean he'll go three up top again. I think that's what he had in mind at the start of the season but it's failure to take off early on lead to the more restrictive diamond.

[Libertine]

We're fearing losing away a bit too much I think. Obviously any points are generally decent away from home, we need to just go for it. Swansea lost FOURTEEN games last year, but they finished 3rd with 80 points.

Just kick it in lads.

[Happy Fox]

We're fearing losing away a bit too much I think. Obviously any points are generally decent away from home, we need to just go for it. Swansea lost FOURTEEN games last year, but they finished 3rd with 80 points.

Just kick it in lads.

No disrespect intended but we are aiming for automatic promotion, so I fail to see the significance of Swansea losing 14 games.

[Trav Le Bleu]

We're fearing losing away a bit too much I think. Obviously any points are generally decent away from home, we need to just go for it. Swansea lost FOURTEEN games last year, but they finished 3rd with 80 points.

Just kick it in lads.

And so apt that it was Libertine that said it too.

[Libertine]

No disrespect intended but we are aiming for automatic promotion, so I fail to see the significance of Swansea losing 14 games.

Well I'd be pretty happy with 3rd. The point is we're setting out not to lose away rather than to win.

Though there is also the point that if Swansea had been more negative away they may have had more draws and pipped Norwich to 2nd.

I'm so confused.

[Happy Fox]

Well I'd be pretty happy with 3rd. The point is we're setting out not to lose away rather than to win.

Though there is also the point that if Swansea had been more negative away they may have had more draws and pipped Norwich to 2nd.

I'm so confused.

Fair enough

[The Doctor]

No disrespect intended but we are aiming for automatic promotion, so I fail to see the significance of Swansea losing 14 games.

We're aiming for promotion by any means.

Personally I'd rather play-offs and a trip to Wembley than automatic.

[Happy Fox]

We're aiming for promotion by any means.

Personally I'd rather play-offs and a trip to Wembley than automatic.

I wouldn't be so sure mate, I doubt the owners want the risk of the playoffs, it is a lottery imo, I much prefer going up automatically

[The Doctor]

I wouldn't be so sure mate, I doubt the owners want the risk of the playoffs, it is a lottery imo, I much prefer going up automatically

the target is promotion. I'm sure the owners would prefer automatic but would take it which ever way it comes.

Personally I'd rather not go up, this league is more interesting & I don't fancy having to pay upwards of £50 if I want to watch my team play against some mid-table side, but if we were to go up, I'd rather do it via a trip to Wembley.

[Libertine]

the target is promotion. I'm sure the owners would prefer automatic but would take it which ever way it comes.

Personally I'd rather not go up, this league is more interesting & I don't fancy having to pay upwards of £50 if I want to watch my team play against some mid-table side, but if we were to go up, I'd rather do it via a trip to Wembley.

I know what you mean. I think I like the idea of being the best in this league more than what comes as a result.

[General Smuts]

I'm only posting as everyone else with a Libertine based name has done so.

[TrentFox]

Rightly or wrongly I now think the Birmingham result will mean he'll go three up top again. I think that's what he had in mind at the start of the season but it's failure to take off early on lead to the more restrictive diamond.

Interesting. I work in a psychology arena and, many years ago, after England had battered Germany, Channel 4 (??) realeased a documentary called The England Patient. Basically, it was about Sven's use of a psychologist called Dr. Willy Raillo, hence it caught my interest. The major thrust of Raillo's comments were that they were predominantly attempting to shift the biggest obstacle Sven perceived to English success ...... the fear of losing !!!! If anyone can find it, it's a great programme and quite relevant to how we are playing in large patches atm !!

[TrentFox]

Rightly or wrongly I now think the Birmingham result will mean he'll go three up top again. I think that's what he had in mind at the start of the season but it's failure to take off early on lead to the more restrictive diamond.

I also agree re likely 3 central mids and 1 up top with 2 wide. think at the start, the team was still fragile as it bedded down and perhaps now that the defence looks significantly more solid, this is worth exploring to provide some width. just hope we stop playing the deep midfielder to protect the back 4 - it left us doing too much defending. We've got players for a flat central 3 and a defence that should be able to hold its own without a bodyguard ! We'll see, perhaps ??

[AdamN]

Perhaps it's something to do with the poor defensive record we had last season. We played with a more free-flowing attacking style, but we were also vulnerable at the back. Now that Sven has addressed those problems, it's lead to a more cautious and solid approach, which has eliminated a lot of our defensive frailties, but has also stifled the attack somewhat. The trick now is just to find a good balance.

[Fox92]

We're fearing losing away a bit too much I think. Obviously any points are generally decent away from home, we need to just go for it. Swansea lost FOURTEEN games last year, but they finished 3rd with 80 points.

Just kick it in lads.

I agree with this.

Just one thing, does the "we need to just go for it" bit though mean just go for a win? This is the thing that annoys me with Sven, he is to defensive. Its not just him though, it is generally all foriegn football managers. They like sit back or be defensive, especially away from home. Look at Mancini and the way he approached Arsenal and Manchester United away last season. And, when we played Birmingham on Saturday we were defensive.

[Corky]

I agree with this.

Just one thing, does the "we need to just go for it" bit though mean just go for a win? This is the thing that annoys me with Sven, he is to defensive. Its not just him though, it is generally all foriegn football managers. They like sit back or be defensive, especially away from home. Look at Mancini and the way he approached Arsenal and Manchester United away last season. And, when we played Birmingham on Saturday we were defensive.

And virtually all Leicester managers in the past 10 years.

Being negative away from home isn't a new style brought by Sven.

[The Doctor]

I agree with this.

Just one thing, does the "we need to just go for it" bit though mean just go for a win? This is the thing that annoys me with Sven, he is to defensive. Its not just him though, it is generally all foriegn football managers. They like sit back or be defensive, especially away from home. Look at Mancini and the way he approached Arsenal and Manchester United away last season. And, when we played Birmingham on Saturday we were defensive.

Gary Megson - undercover foreigner.

[Thracian]

Before anyone says anything this isnt a Sven out campaign.

A year ago today we travelled 90 miles up the M1 for Svens first away game as boss. 1700 of us travelled up there to witness contextually one of the best away performances from an LCFC side for some time. The usually raucous Elland Road crowd was silenced by our sheer dominance on the night. The way we attacked Leeds that night and retained possession were a joy to behold, a demonstration of how to play away perfectly. Not many teams go to ER and have 60% possession, something noted by the Leeds fans themselves.

The first half was especially good. It appeared every time we got the ball we wanted to attack and attack quickly, using the width of the pitch as well as Andy Kings perfectly timed runs. The opposite of Sunday and all season apart from moments at Forest. I stood there as I watched shot after shot and cross after cross thinking the Man City fans were right, Sven plays quick attacking football. We were undefendable on that night, because we moved the ball quickly intelligently and at all points our play had purpose, highlighted by our 2nd goal. We were slightly shaky at the back but we did what is required in football, score goals. Franck Moussa was a major part of our play that night. People ask for Dyer to be given a chance but always forget this guy. He has shown some brilliance most the time when he has played but this has been too infrequent. When he does play he is put in the middle where he shouldnt be. Put him on one of the wings like Donny did last year when he often wreaked havoc and won the fans over quickly. He appears a decent young prospect that needs a chance to prove himself. If he plays crap then fair enough. Another instrumental player that night was Kyle Naughton. Peltier is decent but we really do miss this guy. Whenever he was on the pitch, we had a purpose to our play which he provided. He would ignore Wellens and Kings invitation to go slow and provide an injection of pace and purpose, something Peltier doesnt do YET.

Another example of Svens philosophy has to be Derby away last year. We all know what happened in that first half. Although the football wasnt always fast paced we had a purpose to our game whenever we wanted it. We exploited the flanks and utilised the pace of Van Aanholt and Naughton regularly. The whole team was great that night as they made ball retention look easy like Barcelona do. Again Vassell and Gallagher out wide always provided a massive threat which we exploited and the Yak was sublime up front. This was down to the way Sven set us up. Go out there and attack, keep the ball and attack. Again all season we havent done this. It has been too slow and boring as our gifted CMs have no outlet ball with our narrow, amble play. I think our full backs dont help us with this as they did last year but our disregard for width is slanderous.

Return back to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 we played last season, make sure the wide players stay out wide and the full backs support them. And finally have the purpose in our play we had at Leeds, Barnsley, Derby and Preston last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9097641.stm

[accessory]

Before anyone says anything this isn’t a Sven out campaign.

A year ago today we travelled 90 miles up the M1 for Sven’s first away game as boss. 1700 of us travelled up there to witness contextually one of the best away performances from an LCFC side for some time. The usually raucous Elland Road crowd was silenced by our sheer dominance on the night. The way we attacked Leeds that night and retained possession were a joy to behold, a demonstration of how to play away perfectly. Not many teams go to ER and have 60% possession, something noted by the Leeds fans themselves.

The first half was especially good. It appeared every time we got the ball we wanted to attack and attack quickly, using the width of the pitch as well as Andy King’s perfectly timed runs. The opposite of Sunday and all season apart from moments at Forest. I stood there as I watched shot after shot and cross after cross thinking the Man City fans were right, Sven plays quick attacking football. We were undefendable on that night, because we moved the ball quickly intelligently and at all points our play had purpose, highlighted by our 2nd goal. We were slightly shaky at the back but we did what is required in football, score goals. Franck Moussa was a major part of our play that night. People ask for Dyer to be given a chance but always forget this guy. He has shown some brilliance most the time when he has played but this has been too infrequent. When he does play he is put in the middle where he shouldn’t be. Put him on one of the wings like Donny did last year when he often wreaked havoc and won the fans over quickly. He appears a decent young prospect that needs a chance to prove himself. If he plays crap then fair enough. Another instrumental player that night was Kyle Naughton. Peltier is decent but we really do miss this guy. Whenever he was on the pitch, we had a purpose to our play which he provided. He would ignore Wellens’ and King’s invitation to go slow and provide an injection of pace and purpose, something Peltier doesn’t do YET.

Another example of Sven’s philosophy has to be Derby away last year. We all know what happened in that first half. Although the football wasn’t always fast paced we had a purpose to our game whenever we wanted it. We exploited the flanks and utilised the pace of Van Aanholt and Naughton regularly. The whole team was great that night as they made ball retention look easy like Barcelona do. Again Vassell and Gallagher out wide always provided a massive threat which we exploited and the Yak was sublime up front. This was down to the way Sven set us up. Go out there and attack, keep the ball and attack. Again all season we haven’t done this. It has been too slow and boring as our gifted CMs have no outlet ball with our narrow, amble play. I think our full backs don’t help us with this as they did last year but our disregard for width is slanderous.

Return back to the 4-5-1/4-3-3 we played last season, make sure the wide players stay out wide and the full backs support them. And finally have the purpose in our play we had at Leeds, Barnsley, Derby and Preston last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9097641.stm

Let's look at the team Sven started out with that night:

Weale (enough said)

Naughton (now at Norwich)

Davies (now at Birmingham)

Hobbs (now at Hull)

Berner (unlikely to play for us again)

Oakley (on loan at Exeter)

Wellens (on bench in last game)

King (in and out of side this season)

Moussa (another player frozen out by Sven)

Waghorn (now at Hull and unlikely to come back)

Gallagher (currently injured)

Apart from the second half at Barnsley and the first half at Derby (and even those occasions were notable for how weak the home teams were), no team of Sven's - whatever the personnel -has produced the quality of performance that was on display that night.

Which raises the question of exactly how much progress he has been able to make during his year in charge. Probably not as much as should be expected for the salary he's been paid during that time.

[Guest MattP]

On that night we got rid of most of the shit Sousa left with and reverted back to Pearsons team with Naughton and Davies added in.

That was a play off side with 2 excellent additions.

A team with tremendous mental strength as well built up over two hard years.

[Libertine Dream]

Proved my point again today. Nobody gets out this division unless they play flowing, quick, attacking football and utilise the counter attack away from home. If sven changes back we have a chance but he wont because he signed the wrong players.

[Corky]

I've no idea, and this is my main issue.

If I could see us playing the football we've played before then, although results haven't been great, you could see we were trying to play good football.

But we aren't.