Dreading It

[Stevie Synex]

Following the victory over Blackpool and the season defining match that followed at Hull I have managed to predict in the main part the path our season has taken through the month of December. Cllearly things are not where they need to be either on the field or in the dressing room listening to the mangers interview yesterday on Radio Leicester. This post is not about whether Pearson is the right man for the job or whether Sven was given enough time or even about whether Mr Wellens is now past his sell by date.

This article is to highlight my concern for the the footballing public who support Leicester City and their expectations for the remainder of this season and beyond, for me it was apparent in October that our squad of players was not capable of maintaining a realistic challenge for promotion this season. A balanced side does not continually have its numbers reduced to ten men due to indiscipline as demonstrated at Coventry, Forest, Birmingham and Hull. An organised team does not concede goals as we have in our last two home games against Ipswich and Portsmouth - the goal conceded against Ipswich in particular demonstrated the disorganisation of our defence which is most unusual in a Pearson defence.

January will be a defining month for the Club but not for the reasons suggested by most. Our inability to attract the calibre of player our supporters desire is complex but in the main due to the likes of Maynard and Sharp also being sought after by clubs in the lower half of the Premier league who are able to offer a more lucrative wage and contract. Frustration wil continue as the expected clamour for new blood fails to materialise and only one or two new names are added as suggested by the manager during his post match interview yesterday. Mondays match in London will in all probability be a draw at best against an organised Crystal Palace side who have only lost once at home this season and only conceded six goals in front of their home fans. Palace will test us and our defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in five will more than likely concede and who would bet on us being able to reply?

The travelling Leicester faithfull of which there will be around a thousand will leave the ground having been served up another portion of same old same old but in the main will not be too disapointed, for the hard core away support who have only witnessed two league victories all season the expectation will not be so high and the journey back home will be a long but not a despondant one. Unlike the crowd that left Doncaster last month where the atmosphere was much much different. Two and a half thousand Leicester fans who for the main were quiet untill Nugent netted changed completely when Billy Sharps brace turned the game on its head. The usual suspects were turned upon, although Beckfords cameo actually offered a little hope for the future which has sadly since gone away, by people in the crowd who had obviously travelled expecting to see a Leicester win against a very poor Doncaster side rightly in the bottom three of the division.

"And why should they not berate the players for not trying harder" is the question you ask, after all it is we that pay the players wages and Pearsons for that matter as his role in this current debacle came into question as well that afternoon indeed a young man behind me even shouted "Pearson Out" as the game fizzled out to its ultimate conclusion. Which brings me to the main point of the article, next Saturday January 7th 2012, the City Ground Nottingham at 3.00pm. Eight thousand Leicester City fans probably matching the home support man for man in numbers, will fill all of the Bridgeford Stands two tiers and even spill into the enemies beloved Brian Clough Stand and they will anticipate the expected slaughter of their hated local rivals who can't buy a win or a goal for love nor money in the league at the moment. The FA Cup no longer holds the same importance as it once did for clubs and the side put out by the manager may be different to the one the fans would hope for, certainly players like Nugent and Konchesky could do with the rest. How much longer can the opposition go without scoring a goal at home or getting a win they so desparately need and of course this is Leicester City we are talking about who managed to squander their best opportunity to beat Forest back in August in their own back yard for many a year.

I am dreading the reaction of our supporters if we fall a goal behind or even worse two, I remember how they reacted in August or worse still when the ball went under Weale for the 3-2 defeat or the 5-1 hammering the last time Pearson took a Leicester side to the City Ground. The frustration in the fans will turn to anger very quickly and the majority of the expectant supporters will begin to demonstrate their frustration by voicing their opinions of the players and manager in vast numbers, a result of the massive expectation of our fans for our Club. Lets us hope that the players can sense the occassion and the manager apply the correct tactics to avert a potentially toxic situation.

Our Club has been targeted by foreign investors with a view to gain promotion to the Premiership and its riches, if they can keep their nerve and allow the manager the time to produce his formula again on the pitch as he has done during his last two tenures then in a world where the financially strong generally succeed the prime objective will eventually be achieved. I liken our current position similar to that of Middlesborough last season, they were pre-season favourites for promotion and backed their manager with an ill fated purge of new primarily Scottish blood and a side that failed masively. The club changed its manager and the writer witnessed a change in Boro's fortunes during the 3-3 draw up at The Riverside last season, since then the new manager has quietly gone about his job and I suspect Middlesborough may well gain promotion this season through one of the automatic promotion spots.

With investment comes expectation not only from the supporters but also from the financiers, our beloved Club is in another pivotal period of its history and it will be a question of who can hold their nerve. I have no doubt the manager with a proven track record will hold his and those players who can't hold theirs will go but the larger question hangs over the supporters and the owners nerve. As a supporter who watched his first game back in 1970 I know I will hold mine, my love affair with Leicester City has seen many highs and lows but iit s not like a normal love affair because it is not a balanced relationship like the one I have for the Mrs or the dog - Leicester City will ultimately let me down they always have and if I wanted a guarenteed return for my support in a football club I should change my allegiance to a Club in the North West of the country.

Will the majority of the travelling support hold their nerve if things do not go their way on January 7th 2012 - I suspect the level of expectation will be too high and sadly they will not.

[seenitall]

I once shouted 'Adams Out' as a joke after a game, just outside the ground - within a week or so everyone was shouting it - it probably wasn't my fault, but I've always wondered...........

2 wins in a row and Pearson will be God - it will come I'm sure - one win and the board will lighten up considerably

[shade]

excellent post.

[Callabinho]

Good post, for the record I think the city ground visit will be a miserable one....

[RonnieTodger]

Great post and sadly, all true

[Kitchandro]

Maybe everyone should go there in a positive mood and try and enjoy the atmosphere, instead of 'dreading it'.

I like to look at it as a break from league fixtures, which I do dread at the moment.

[Bayfox]

Interesting Post, On NP, in my opinion he never should have been allowed to leave after the 2 seasons he gave us, and therefore should still have been in place and the Sven era would never have exisited.

What we have now, is the downside to having a wealthy owner with no idea about British Football other than seeing the premiership on TV. The thai ladyboys were held up as our knights in shiny suits.

after administration and Relegation to L1 the club was once again upwardly mobile, a Leauge Title, followed by a play-off defeat, then some blokes with loads of cash to throw at getting us over that line turn up and that's it we have a right to be in the top flight, but what happened in the weeks before they took over, when Milan lost the plot or tried to make Leicester more attractive by hiring a man who had a few european medals in his wordrobe and could put up with Lee Hoos, over a man building his reputation as a manager with us put paid to any chance the club could carry on growing in a more natural way.

Instead we end up with Sven spending money left right and centre where as pearson had very little ( MON followed by Peter Taylor anyone???) I would hate to see what our wage bill is now, the same thing that PT did by handing pay rises out left right and centre during his reign, which we all know ended in disaster.

Maybe now we can hope our owners have learnt some lessons and they allow Nigel to get rid of whoever he deems he wants gone, and allows him to go about his business in the right way, we all know we need a quality midfileder to provide some cutting edge and 2 really good wide players and I guess NP knows this as well.

Yes our fans can be impatiant and expect success, but what else did our owners expect when they spent more money on players and wages than most of the division added together.

Ah that's right our owners knew no better, as they have no understanding of the English game. We are just a toy and unless thay learn to show a little patience themselves, then we will never get the visits to Old trafford and anfield that they crave, and they will get bored, L1 beckons but maybe just maybe the manager and the players aren't to blame this time, maybe it starts at the top of the club.

[stockyfox]

An excellent post to which you have given much thought and time.

However, although I cannot but agree with the points you make, I would say (from 62 years of following the City) remember this is Leicester City, of which I have said many a time previously, the only thing that you can predict about Leicester City is that they are totally unpredictable.

[dave the caveman]

If I see another post blaming the fans for incompetent performances from the players and management I think I'm going to set myself on fire. Unless there has been a rule passed which gives clubs points for positive thinking fans then we have no influence

[sphericalfox]

If I see another post blaming the fans for incompetent performances from the players and management I think I'm going to set myself on fire. Unless there has been a rule passed which gives clubs points for positive thinking fans then we have no influence

If you are going to set yourself on fire, could you stand next to a few of the other negatoids?

[Bilbo]

Interesting Post, On NP, in my opinion he never should have been allowed to leave after the 2 seasons he gave us, and therefore should still have been in place and the Sven era would never have exisited.

What we have now, is the downside to having a wealthy owner with no idea about British Football other than seeing the premiership on TV. The thai ladyboys were held up as our knights in shiny suits.

after administration and Relegation to L1 the club was once again upwardly mobile, a Leauge Title, followed by a play-off defeat, then some blokes with loads of cash to throw at getting us over that line turn up and that's it we have a right to be in the top flight, but what happened in the weeks before they took over, when Milan lost the plot or tried to make Leicester more attractive by hiring a man who had a few european medals in his wordrobe and could put up with Lee Hoos, over a man building his reputation as a manager with us put paid to any chance the club could carry on growing in a more natural way.

Instead we end up with Sven spending money left right and centre where as pearson had very little ( MON followed by Peter Taylor anyone???) I would hate to see what our wage bill is now, the same thing that PT did by handing pay rises out left right and centre during his reign, which we all know ended in disaster.

Maybe now we can hope our owners have learnt some lessons and they allow Nigel to get rid of whoever he deems he wants gone, and allows him to go about his business in the right way, we all know we need a quality midfileder to provide some cutting edge and 2 really good wide players and I guess NP knows this as well.

Yes our fans can be impatiant and expect success, but what else did our owners expect when they spent more money on players and wages than most of the division added together.

Ah that's right our owners knew no better, as they have no understanding of the English game. We are just a toy and unless thay learn to show a little patience themselves, then we will never get the visits to Old trafford and anfield that they crave, and they will get bored, L1 beckons but maybe just maybe the manager and the players aren't to blame this time, maybe it starts at the top of the club.

Now this is a good post. Unfortunately our owners have been the problem ever since they took over. They don't realise that by putting a time limit and always going on about getting to the Premier League just puts a huge amount of pressure on the players and the manager.

[Oh tommy wright]

Now this is a good post. Unfortunately our owners have been the problem ever since they took over. They don't realise that by putting a time limit and always going on about getting to the Premier League just puts a huge amount of pressure on the players and the manager.

What a load of old crap. For the first time in our history the club has been invested in. Ah! It must be really tough on the players and manager. Don't be so soft are they men or mice.

[Bilbo]

What a load of old crap. For the first time in our history the club has been invested in. Ah! It must be really tough on the players and manager. Don't be so soft are they men or mice.

Uh here goes..where have you been for the past two seasons? How has all this "investment" helped the club?

You're blind if you think that money equals promotion. It takes years to build a team worthy of getting to one of the best football leagues in the world and our owners think that it should be done in one. These totally unrealistic targets put pressure on the players/manager. I'm not talking about the sort of pressure that you've grabbed onto, i'm not naive enough to think that Mills cries himself to sleep at night. I'm talking about the sort of pressure that if you aren't walking the league two months into the season you are given the boot.

But hey at least we all got to see the mighty Real Madrid play at our ground and that's what really matters.

[Oh tommy wright]

If the management and players are right, yes money does equal promotion.

Are you saying Sven could have done it, given time?

Of course they are going to put a time 'expectation' on it. They will cut and run, if we have not achieved it by next season, may be even before.

Yes it has gone tits up.

And no give me strength it does not take years to build a team to get into the prem. Probably the daftest comment ever on this site. Just look at the teams at txhe top and who have been promoted.

[Bilbo]

If the management and players are right, yes money does equal promotion.

Are you saying Sven could have done it, given time?

Of course they are going to put a time 'expectation' on it. They will cut and run, if we have not achieved it by next season, may be even before.

Yes it has gone tits up.

And no give me strength it does not take years to build a team to get into the prem. Probably the daftest comment ever on this site. Just look at the teams at txhe top and who have been promoted.

You have just invalidated every one of your points yourself. End of discussion.

[Oh tommy wright]

You don't scare me with big words like invalidated

[The Year Of The Fox]

we'll lose on saturday I'm pretty certain of that

[HEGGSY]

we'll lose on saturday I'm pretty certain of that

lets worry about tommorow first

[seenitall]

Both Blackburn and Sunderland (and even Villa) showed drive and commitment and all beat big names- Pearson needs to get that going in the City changing room and on the pitch and he's cracked it, then we can stop listening to all the bollocks about our players - it's down to Pearson to turn it round and if Steve Keane can do it then he should be able to - come on Nige

[Oh tommy wright]

Sorry rather be in the position of Chelsea, man u and man city. No I tell you what if our owners say here is all the money we've got go and get yourself Messi. No nige you just say no I want Howard with his drive and commitment, even though he is shit there is nothing like good old fashion drive and commitment. Rather keep on spending, not my money, spend till we get it right.

[seenitall]

Now that's a WUM

[RedHux]

You won't lose against us. You just won't. We haven't scored for 7 games and we haven't especially looked like scoring either. Despite the fact we've played well we haven't unduly troubled any of the keepers too much. Our only avenue of attack seems to be to cross the ball into the box. Over and over again. if your CB's can head it, you'll be fine.

[deep blue]

Both Blackburn and Sunderland (and even Villa) showed drive and commitment and all beat big names- Pearson needs to get that going in the City changing room and on the pitch and he's cracked it, then we can stop listening to all the bollocks about our players - it's down to Pearson to turn it round and if Steve Keane can do it then he should be able to - come on Nige

Some good comments on here, of which this is one. Our squad has well-known deficiences - unbalanced (not enough wingers) and lacking a dominant CM - but it still has a lot of quality players who are underperforming as a team. Pearson should be able to get far more out of them even if we see no additions at all in the transfer window (except for being undermined by the loss of Fernandes and St Ledger).

In my view the biggest problem we have is that they still seem unable to play as a team, with confidence, commitment and drive. Once Pearson turns that around, and I fully expect him to, then additions to the squad will supply the icing on the cake.

[deep blue]

If I see another post blaming the fans for incompetent performances from the players and management I think I'm going to set myself on fire. Unless there has been a rule passed which gives clubs points for positive thinking fans then we have no influence

I don't think anyone is blaming the fans for incompetent performances, rather the OP is concerned how the fans will react if we get a few more negative results. It has turned nasty before - remember O'Neill and Sheff Wed.

[seenitall]

I don't think anyone is blaming the fans for incompetent performances, rather the OP is concerned how the fans will react if we get a few more negative results. It has turned nasty before - remember O'Neill and Sheff Wed.

Utd