Matt_B
Well-Known Member
It will also require the fans reining in their ambitious expectations, which sadly I can't see happening, especially after yet more booing at the end yesterday.
Post Match City 1 Peterboro 1
- Thread starter glyn
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It will also require the fans reining in their ambitious expectations, which sadly I can't see happening, especially after yet more booing at the end yesterday.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
Interestingly, Gallagher has now got 4 goals in our last 7 games, compared to Nugent's 2 and Beckford's 1.
Yeah the midfield is largely to blame, but I still think the strikers haven't been up to scratch recently either: I do think we put in some good deliveries in the first half yesterday, but the strikers weren't getting in good enough positions. Beckford also had 2 or 3 opportunities when he should have passed but decided to try and beat 3 players instead and got easily tackled, which seems to be a recurring theme in his play for us so far. Nugent, as well, has been missing chances recently, esp. against Blackpool. It says a lot when we are having to rely on a midfielder as being more of a goal threat than both of our strikers put together atm.
Yeah the midfield is largely to blame, but I still think the strikers haven't been up to scratch recently either: I do think we put in some good deliveries in the first half yesterday, but the strikers weren't getting in good enough positions. Beckford also had 2 or 3 opportunities when he should have passed but decided to try and beat 3 players instead and got easily tackled, which seems to be a recurring theme in his play for us so far. Nugent, as well, has been missing chances recently, esp. against Blackpool. It says a lot when we are having to rely on a midfielder as being more of a goal threat than both of our strikers put together atm.
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Redditch Fox
Well-Known Member
Yes that is a problem because whilst there is a possibility of reaching the pay offs - which there is and is likely to be for at least the next few months - a lot of fans will continue to want to believe that we are better than we are and there isn't much joy in Pearson telling them otherwise.
I think this all goes back to Sven's self-delusion about our strength and the gullible local media - and wanting to sell papers of course. I genuinely feel sorry for the owners - I hope that they've still got access to plenty of money and are not too diillusioned.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
Agree with you, I think anyone who is still saying we have a better squad than 09/10 or that we have one of the best squads in the division is deluding themselves and is only putting unnecessary pressure and expectations on the team. Having one of the biggest squads does not mean one of the best.
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Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
On the plus side, at least now that we've reverted to a 4-4-2 and realised we are no better, people have stopped this "Leicester can't play 4-3-3" and the "4-3-3 is the reason we're losing" crap.
The Old Fox
Well-Known Member
I am not sure that that is fair: the only panic buy seems to have been Beckford. Otherwise, Sven got quite a high percentage of his signings right; Schmeichel, Peltier, Konchesky, Bamba, Mills (?), St Ledger & Nugent all seem to add to the squad quality.
I would also need convincing that, player for player, our squad is miles behind Southampton. They have played together for longer but, how many of their players would you swap for ours? (All of them is a cop out answer!)
David Gwilliam
Well-Known Member
An excellent post.
The Major
Active Member
Agree with every word.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
You really think Mills and SSL were good signings? Costing around ~£6.25mil between them for 2 very average Championship defenders? Yet he sold Hobbs, who is better than either and was probably on smaller wages, for far, far less.
Mills, SSL and Beckford cost ~£9.25mil between them, which was the vast majority of our summer budget in terms of transfer fees. All 3 are very average Championship players and let's face it, one quick look at their record before hand suggests that they shouldn't be worth anything like what we paid for them. That was a hell of a lot of money wasted imo, just as bad as anything Taylor or Allen wasted money on and we could easily have got players of similar level of ability for much, much less. In fact, we probably could have got 7 or 8 very good Championship players for that kind of money with a bit of know how. Not to mention Beckford and Mills are probably both on £20-30k a week to boot.
Danns, Pantsil and Ball, even though free transfers, are probably costing us over a million a year in wages as well between them and have done feck all.
As for Southampton's squad: Lambert, Lallana, Fonte, Guly, Cork and Hammond are all a level above any of our players bar Schmeichel (and it's not like Kelvin Davies isn't an excellent keeper too) and the likes of Fox, Richardson and Schneiderlin are certainly no worse than any of our outfield players.
The Old Fox, if you think our squad isn't much worse than Southampton's, in which positions, do you think we actually have players who are worthy of a top 2 Championship side? I'd say Schmeichel and possibly Konchesky and Peltier and that's it, myself.
IMO our midfield and attack are no better than our side of 09/10 and our defence is much worse. For all the money we have spent it's only in goal that we have improved and overall the quality of the side has gone backwards.
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Blue Maniac
Alzheimers sufferer
May 7, 2011: Leicester 4 Ipswich 2.
August 6, 2011: Coventry 0 Leicester 1.
Mawsley
Well-Known Member
Blue Maniac
Alzheimers sufferer
Cheers Maws, thought I was going mental for a moment. Wellens has been really poor for a while. His only skills are surrendering possession cheaply and firing the ball across the pitch to nobody (ok, so occasionally he accidentally finds a teammate, like he did on one occasion yesterday, but mostly it's to nobody).
Hazzman
New Member
Possibly Sousa's and Sven's that we've failed to improve on them four. We have another four midfielders signed by them pair which are currently no better.
Hazzman
New Member
Mills and St Ledger are looking poor to me. Bamba goes the very good to panicky as soon as a striker has his measure. Konchesky is solid but prone to thirty minutes where he completely loses his head.
If you ask me about Southampton; Lambert over Beckford, Lallana over Dyer, De Riddler/Gally is interchangeable, Cork for Wellens and Schneiderlin for any of back-up in midfield.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
The one in which we had millions to try to improve on that, but didn't.
They were originally brought in on a smaller budget with different expectations when we just been promoted and we put together a decent Championship midfield and it did it job, while our side built round an exceptional defence helped us to the top 6.
That defence has been pulled apart and we've then spent millions in which we can improve on that team and we haven't. The players who've come in aren't any better which is exactly why we've had to revert to that midfield.
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Hazzman
New Member
Now hold on here, all things considered Peterborough did rather well yesterday. They survived a 25 minute storm during the first half which for their goal leaky defence was a cracking achievement. Once going one goal behind and then losing their ball playing lynchpin, they found an effective formation putting George Boyd behind the two strikers which left our two centre backs and two central midfielders rather lacking in the intelligence department. Peterborough were far from shit, it was very good for an away side whose stats say they can't defend.
Plenty of sides have been far more defensive (Watford were truly absymal down here) and far more man behind the ball than P'boro. We got out-done; partly down to the personnel and partly down to the tactics side of the game.
Blue Maniac
Alzheimers sufferer
Do you believe Pearson will attempt to at least replace and/or move on Wellens in January?
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
How could I answer that, BM? I have no idea, no one does. I hope so, if he doesn't then he has made a mistake, but then he may not be able to get any better in January and may have to wait until the summer, who knows?
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