City Player Ratings v Palace

[LCFC BEAST]

Is it only me that thinks Mills and Beckford are under rated?

Mills had a solid game a with nearly everything won in the air, two vital blocks and his distribution has become a lot better bar one bad pass in the first half. As for Beckford he's a different type of striker than what we play and it will take time for him to fit in. Today he looked more hungry and sharper and made some good runs.

Given time Pearson will get the best out of Beckford and will make him and Nugent lethal together.

Also Konchesky was immense today!

[foxaholic]

Kasper - 10 HOW DID HE KEEP THAT OUT!!

Pelt - 8

Mills - 8

SSL - 6

Konch - 8

Gallagher- :scarf: :scarf:

Wellens - 7.5

Dyer - 8

King - He played?

Beckford 8 - Played with his chin up today

Nugent - 8Were you at the game Beckford 8 King also had a good game

These are very generous, by the way

[Yojoe36]

FFS

Why can't people lay off. Do you want to see my season ticket? Do you want me to describe the entire match? Explain about Scott from SK3 who is going to Thailand? No?

ITS A JOKE DAMN IT

[Kitchandro]

Kasper 9 - Fantastic save to keep it at 1-0.

Peltier 8

Mills 8

St. Ledger 8 - Solid. That is the defender we all knew at Preston.

Konchesky 8

Gallagher 7.5 - Started well, faded. But two good strikes.

Wellens 8 - Man of the match for me. Great ball for Beckford. Moved the ball quick as well.

King 7

Dyer 7 - Faded away. Comes inside too much as well.

Beckford 7.5 - Looked sharper. First touch could be worked on still, but, a good finish.

Nugent 7.5 - Same old Nugent. Works hard and makes great runs.

Good?

I can't be arsed to rate everybody so I'll just comment on the notable ones. Defence was good, St Ledger had a particularly good game I thought. I don't get this suggestion that Bamba is on his way out the door though, he's still our best centre back by quite some distance IMO. Kasper has a great knack of pulling off saves from close range, he makes himself big is why, so many goalkeepers don't do this well enough.

I'm still not sure about Konchesky, I seem to notice him more than any of our other defenders for different reasons. He often looks completely isolated and gets little help from his teammates, both on the ball and when defending. His passing is generally good, though he has a poor right foot which limits him. He defends solidly most of the time but it seems every game he is let down by his lack of pace and he seems to get punished for it a lot, I'd also like him to get in tackles earlier, today for example he had a chance to do so but he hesitated and the next thing you knew he'd been done for pace. Overall I think he's a good player though and once again he had a good game for the most part today, but was skinned 2 or 3 times and it nearly led to Palace goals on a couple of occassions.

I thought in the first half there was a real lack of movement and despite obvious desire from 10 out our 11 players, we seemed more and more deflated as the half went on as there was little for the man in possession to work with. Wellens and King looked desperate for some real passes to become available and it seemed they were expected to dribble past players at pace to create something, and neither of them are that kind of player. I thought they both played well throughout though, King was much improved on the majority of his performances this season and was involved both defensively and going forward. Wellens seemed half a yard more up with the pace than he has been so far this season.

Gallagher was caught in possession a number of times, I still think he can do a lot better in his general play. However you can tell some days that he's got his shooting boots on - in the first half he had a sight of goal and was denied by a good save, and you just thought that Palace would be fools to give him that much space again. They were punished for doing so with his first, which in itself was a contender for goal of the season. His second however was ridiculous, and I dare say would quite probably be in the top 10 Leicester goals of all time, I can only think of one goal struck from further out than that and that was Joey Gudjonsson's. Gallagher can certainly be frustrating, when he's out of form he is an absolute clown, but today summed up what I like about him, how many of our other players would have shot from the position he got his first goal from, let alone the second? Maybe Nugent, King once in a blue moon, but Gally is pretty much the only player who ever seems to shoot from outside the area. Today is the not the first time I can say one of his goals will live long in the memory, and more importantly in the short term, they killed the game off.

Beckford was completely useless apart from his goal, but it was a big goal. My worry with him is this - yes if he gets loads of goals the rest of his game won't be that significant to judge him on, but one thing Leeds fans have all said is 'he misses more than he scores'. Now, I'm sorry but he can't afford to miss more than he scores. There are plenty of cheaper strikers who will do that, Vassell does that, Waggy does that, Fryatt does that. I thought the point of buying a £4m striker was that he would score more than he misses? Anyway, we shall see, yesterday was a step in the right direction in that sense.

[Kitchandro]

Although many people won't agree with you because Bamba seems to be a fans favourite, I really agree with you! I like centre backs to just thump it clear, like they should, not bringing the ball out of defence. What do top defenders like Jamie Carragher do? Clear their lines.

I prefer todays partneship of St. Ledger and Mills, and I am sure as a former defender, Pearson will as well.

If they are in danger yes. But does it make you a bad defender if you bring the ball out and pass to a teammate further up the pitch? I can't ever remember Bamba being punished for dilly-dallying on it. Fair enough he's almsot been punished a couple of times, but all defenders make mistakes, the point is the majority of what he does is good, and defensively he is quality. It's not like he's one of those footballing defenders who's great on the ball, scores goals, but can't defend. He's a very solid defender and (yes I know it was a friendly) he was unbelievable against Real Madrid, stopped a number of certain goals with brilliantly timed tackles.

I agree that he should be advised to play it simpler at times, and he can make the odd clumsy tackle, but I think he's the best defender in the championship myself, and he gives the crowd such a buzz with his flamboyancy. As long as stuff like that doesn't cost us it's great to watch. But I think that is all a side issue and unfairly distracts people from his dominant defensive displays.

[Iwan is a Welshman]

Schmeichel - 10

Peltier - 7

Konchesky - 8

Mills - 7

St Ledger - 8

Gallagher - 9

Wellens - 8

King - 7

Dyer - 7

Nugent - 7

Beckford - 7

[Mack]

Schmeichel 8 Wonderful save, great distribution in general.

Peltier 8 Up and back overlapping with Gallagher.

St Ledger 7 Big improvement, he is much more a Pearson of defender. Bamba maybe in trouble.

Mills 7 Defended bravely, needs to work on his distribution still.

Konchesky 8 All we need at left back. Big asset to the back four.

King 8 Played a more holding role and did it very very well. Some vital defensive work included.

Wellens 9 Pulling the strings from midfield, began threading through balls in the second half that Beckford should thrive from.

Dyer 7 Up and back brilliantly, Did exactly what he was asked to do by Pearson.

Gallagher 9 Has to play. Can conjure up some brilliance and be the difference in tight situations.

Beckford 7 If you are going to play him you must feed his strengths. Giving him ball with back to goal is a waste of time, give him ball to run onto and he will score.

Nugent 6 Worked hard with little reward today. Not at his most effective.

Pearson 9 It is so pleasing to see a Manager have the ability to put right what was a mediocre first half performance and secure the 3 points. Delighted he is back.

A game of two halves. The first half left a lot to be desired going forward however in defence we were solid. Pearson and co worked wonders at half time and we came out with much more potency going forward and got the rewards.

I am so happy that we now have a Manager that has the ability to fine tune and does have a plan B when plan A is not going as it should. It was also delightful to watch Pearson play every ball from the touch line and see his celebration when the first went in.

He is obviously so happy to be back, and I am delighted to see him back. I agree with those that say it has been 18 months wasted overall while he has been away, but it's time to put that behind us all and look forward.

Nigel seems to be a more open, animated character since his last spell and maybe during that time away he has learnt to be a little more open with us all. I like it and yesterday made the three long weeks of wondering what was going on all worth it.

[Fox92]

Well said Bamba is quality.

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

[Guest ttfn]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

1) I haven't seen Mills or St. Ledger filling their boots goals-wise this season.

2) Bamba hasn't cost us any goals this season. Compare and contrast with Mills and St. Ledger

3) He has bailed us out on many, many occasions. His performances against Brighton and Real Madrid were two of the finest centre-back performances I've seen at the King Power.

4) What does it matter if he makes a mistake if his pace makes up for it? The net effect is that he hasn't cost us a goal. St. Ledger made a bad mistake against Bristol City but didn't have the pace to make up for it.

It's a game of opinions, but I'm afraid I just can't see where you're coming from.

[shade]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

huh? do you mean he loosens the ball from the attackers control? maybe you mean the ball gets loose from him in defence? I don't really understand.

bottom line, bombscare Bamba is the main man.

[mackiepas]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

Agree

[Langston]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

Absolute nightmare of a post. I've got many Brighton supporting mates - they rate Bamba as one of the best centre backs in the division after his performance against them. His control and ability to bring the ball down on his chest is unreal, and he's yet to cost us a goal this season. The comment about being able to attack a ball in the air makes little sense considering Mills and SSL have hardly been bagging headers for fun.

I don't really understand your point about being able to cover his arse with his pace if he does make a mistake either - surely that's a good thing? He's a brilliant footballing centre back.

[absolutelegend]

Is it only me that thinks Mills and Beckford are under rated?

Beckford has been awful since joining. I would love to hear reasons why you think we should be rating him more highly

[absolutelegend]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes loose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

this blokes a wind up merchant.

Bamba is our best player by far. 1st name on the team sheet bar kasper.

[Ricey]

Kasper - 8 - Great saves in the 2nd half

Peltier - 8 - Impresses me more and more every time I see him, got forward well

Mills - 8 - Solid and few silly long range passes

St. Ledger - 7 - Didn't put a foot wrong

Konchesky - 7 - Not his best game but good work for the 1st goal

Gallagher - 9 - Sublime goals and thought, especially in the 1st half, he was a lot more involved in build up play

Wellens - 8 - Key, as ever

King - 7 - Tidied, kept possession, usual King.

Dyer - 7 - Most of the play was down the right, but did ok when called upon.

Nugent - 8 - His first touch is top class, the ball sticks to him

Beckford - 7.5 - Good finish but we can't play balls to his feet, he has no control and confuses himself when running at players

[marbelladave]

this blokes a wind up merchant.

Bamba is our best player by far. 1st name on the team sheet bar kasper.

Strongly agree.....

Yesterday, despite the fine win we saw a lot of 'hoof' from our central defenders that conceded a lot of possesion to a very average Palace, if we keep doing that we will get punished.

Now, I am comfortable with NFP keeping it pretty simple after just a couple of games in charge but we really need to blend the direct stuff with some more thoughtful play through midfield. We need to get our central midfield players more involved in our attacking play and Bamba will be instrumental in feeding them the ball and supporting them as they get forward.

All this 'our central defenders are there to win the ball and hoof it clear' nonsense that we get from some on here is something i really do not get. It's practically medieval.....

[nuttytimmy]

this blokes a wind up merchant.

Bamba is our best player by far. 1st name on the team sheet bar kasper.

Agreed.

The Palace fans were raving about him yesterday, saying on Twitter before the game that if he was playing they stood no chance of scoring (they'd clearly not seen that he was suspended).

In my view, the people who don't rate Bamba are more deluded than those who think Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are still England's best choice at centre half.

[Filbert_Ross]

Agreed.

The Palace fans were raving about him yesterday, saying on Twitter before the game that if he was playing they stood no chance of scoring (they'd clearly not seen that he was suspended).

In my view, the people who don't rate Bamba are more deluded than those who think Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are still England's best choice at centre half.

Like Harry Redknapp.

The more i read his views in 'the Sun' the more I dont want him as England boss.

[Fox92]

1) I haven't seen Mills or St. Ledger filling their boots goals-wise this season.

2) Bamba hasn't cost us any goals this season. Compare and contrast with Mills and St. Ledger

3) He has bailed us out on many, many occasions. His performances against Brighton and Real Madrid were two of the finest centre-back performances I've seen at the King Power.

4) What does it matter if he makes a mistake if his pace makes up for it? The net effect is that he hasn't cost us a goal. St. Ledger made a bad mistake against Bristol City but didn't have the pace to make up for it.

It's a game of opinions, but I'm afraid I just can't see where you're coming from.

1) Bamba has scored two/three? goals since he has been here - none of which with his head. Our set pieces are always horrible and give Mills no chance, where as Reading's were direct and hard for him.

2) True of course. Only because Bamba's pace gets him out of his own trouble most of the time. How many goal's as Mills cost us? Is everyone counting Leeds? I know about St Ledger v Bristol City.

3) Ok. His pace gets us out of trouble as I have mentioned. Yes, it is a good thing.

4). True.

It is a game of opinions, you are right. I have mine and everyone else has theirs. It doesn't mean mine is wrong or right though.

this blokes a wind up merchant.

True, and you still reply to me

Yesterday, despite the fine win we saw a lot of 'hoof' from our central defenders that conceded a lot of possesion to a very average Palace, if we keep doing that we will get punished.

Count Kasper with that as well then. He kicks the ball long constantly and it just comes back.

I would like to see the full backs bring it out of defence, but it will not happen under Pearson. He was the 'hoof' type of defender, so he will have our central defenders doing that. And is there anything wrong with that? That is what top defenders do (apart from the very technically gifted defenders from Brazil, such as Lucio, etc)

[Lash23]

20 quality pictures of the win over Palace.

All images are by Soar Photo.

http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk/2011/11/21/picture-special-leicester-city-vs-crystal-palace/

[Fox92]

And just to add. I stand by my decision of not liking Bamba too much.

I was the first to critisize Weale and I used to get slated for that. Now look what has happened to people's views of him.

[The Doctor]

I have to disagree. Bamba is not quality. He cannot win a ball in the air when we attack, its s funny how he heads down and get his neck over the ball instead of heading direct like Mills do/and did for his goals at Reading last season.

Bamba makes a few errors, he does sometimes lose the ball in defence because he tries to bring it out, but his pace ensures he wins the ball back.

I'd still rather see St. Ledger and Mills.

err, yeah, don't know what you were taught when playing football as a kid but I was always told with attacking headers to head it downwards, easier for a keeper to get up to one headed direct than to one down towards the bottom corners.

Bamba has so far this season been our best player by far, arguably the best CB in the division, and yet you'd drop him for St Ledger?

1) Bamba has scored two/three? goals since he has been here - none of which with his head. Our set pieces are always horrible and give Mills no chance, where as Reading's were direct and hard for him.

So we can excuse Mills for that, but despite that Bamba is having to try and make something of the same delivery it's not good enough from him?

[Fox92]

err, yeah, don't know what you were taught when playing football as a kid but I was always told with attacking headers to head it downwards, easier for a keeper to get up to one headed direct than to one down towards the bottom corners.

Bamba has so far this season been our best player by far, arguably the best CB in the division, and yet you'd drop him for St Ledger?

Yes I do know that, for one. But take Mills into consideration last year for Reading. Their corners were flat so he can direct the header flat, but Bamba seems to get his head over the ball too much. That's all I am saying.

And yeah, I prefer St. Ledger.

So we can excuse Mills for that, but despite that Bamba is having to try and make something of the same delivery it's not good enough from him?

No I am not saying that, I think you are getting mixed up. All I am saying is we should direct our set pieces at Matt Mills instead. He is better in the air etc

[LCFC BEAST]

Beckford has been awful since joining. I would love to hear reasons why you think we should be rating him more highly

Beckford is a completely different player to what our style of play suits. Yes he's not been the best but he's showing the hunger and desire of what the fans want. We expect him to be a hold up player but he plays off the last man and to make him as effective as possible we need to start exploiting what he is good at and not have a go at what he's bad at!

[reynard]

.

Bamba is our best player by far. 1st name on the team sheet bar kasper.

It will be interesting to see whether Pearson agrees. It isn't really as simple as this either. It is as much to do with who is the best combination. I've a lot of time for Bamba but I've yet to be convinced by any combination we've had at centre back involving him either this season or last. I've not been very impressed by either mills or SSL so far but yesterday they looked quite good together though Palace were a very ordinary side for most of the match.