Post Match Fleetwood 0 Leicester 0 (FA cup)

[Brown Nose]

The debate about weakened team selections has been going on for years now. Most managers continue to do it and some fans agree and some don't.

If you don't play your best available side, you are taking a risk. However, you have to counter that risk with the potential reward of winning without your best side - i.e. resting key players and giving game time to those that need it.

There is no doubt that we put out a team yesterday that should have been comfortably good enough to beat a very ordinary Fleetwood side. The reason that they didn't is the thing that interests me.

We have a very large squad. We have 28 players that have played for the first team this season so far. And that doesn't include the likes of Huth (due to injury) and Thomas who has been on the bench.

Of those 28-30 players, very few are regulars at U23 level - just 3 of them. The rest are in the first team, on the bench, or in some kind of 'no man's land' of being in neither one squad or the other. For example, it is remarkable that we had the likes of Musa and Ulloa unable to get onto the bench of our back up team yesterday. This shows just how bloated and unbalanced our squad has become.

I think that we have too many players in the first team squad, the U23s and the Academy. The consequence of having so many is that too many don't get enough game time and become de-motivated, lack match fitness and simply stagnate. After weeks of virtually no football, is it really any surprise that when they are called upon many of our players look out of touch?

We need a clear out at all 3 levels of the club. We need to work with a maximum of 50 players at the club and try to gel and improve them. That is surely easier than trying to do it with the current 90+?

I believe in team rotation among a first team group of about 20. We should be able to call upon any of them at anytime and make a couple of unenforced changes every match in order to facilitate this. We don't do this as the there are 7 players in the first team that play no matter what. It's just poor management from the Director of Football through to the individual team managers.

 

[TornadoShaunUK]

Not saying I disagree, I think there is great potential in our bunch but we do have problems. It's hard to be too critical when looking at the table, 8th place, virtually the 'best of the rest' but you look at the abundance of players in our squad who are under performing. Players like Iheanacho, Slimani have bags of talent but they just haven't clicked here. Silva and Iborra have both captained UEFA Cup winning sides. Mahrez wants to leave for a better chance at winning trophies - yet we have a group IMO that should be able to compete with the best of them. We absolutely aren't getting the best out of a number of our players and living up to our true potential. Players like Iheanacho need a boost of enthusiasm or something...

 

[bloo]

I think that's an excellent analysis BN. I for one didn't realise that we had quite so many players on our books (though I suppose I could have done the maths).

(As an aside, it makes me even more incredulous that we might even be thinking of signing this Malian striker from Ajaccio)

I think you're right too about our (virtually nonexistent) rotation policy too. Squad rotation has benefits beyond simply resting players.

 

[camberwell fox]

It’s no wonder our fringe players are unhappy, we have had 3 managers in just over one calendar year and none of the current group were recruited by the current manager.

Allied to that we (last season) stuck with players who weren’t performing when there were alternatives on the bench.

If I were them I’d be pissed off.

 

[City Fan]

There is no doubt that we put out a team yesterday that should have been comfortably good enough to beat a very ordinary Fleetwood side. The reason that they didn't is the thing that interests me.

To say that 11 randoms chucked together to form a team should have been comfortably good enough to beat an actual team who had played together all season and are just two divisions below us, is actually quite disrespectful to Fleetwood in my opinion.

If you look at each of our players on an individual merit, then yes I would agree that each of those individual players should be good enough to be in a team that beats Fleetwood. But collectively as a team considering barely any of them have ever played together before? No way.

 

[bloo]

I don't see how it's disrespectful to Fleetwood. Nobody is doing them a disservice by pointing out the cost of, and number of internationals in, the team we fielded.

That Fleetwood were obviously more motivated and up for it than our heralded lot is more the point. As currently are, I might point out, Shrewsbury Town.

Whether that motivation can be carried over into replays is another matter. Higher league sides often have to weather the inevitable storm against lower league opposition hoping that momentary individual differences in class might win the day. Sadly, we had none of the latter yesterday.

 

[Micky]

Chelsea, West Ham, Leeds and Stoke have proved it isn't just a Leicester City issue...

 

[bloo]

Magic of the cup (TM, patent pending, etc) innit.

 

[Blaarev]

And now Forest have taken the lead against Arsenal

 

[Jeff]

And now Forest have taken the lead against Arsenal

And Arsenal have equalised.

 

[Blaarev]

And Arsenal have equalised.

And forest have taken the lead again

 

[City Fan]

Chelsea, West Ham, Leeds and Stoke have proved it isn't just a Leicester City issue...

They all fielded weakened teams knowing full well that they might not get through.

They all have something to play for this season.

 

[Volpone]

I Don't think we were worse than WHU and AFAIK our fans did not sing "We're fookin shit " at our players like the arsenal fans are doing right now.

 

[Blaarev]

I Don't think we were worse than WHU and AFAIK our fans did not sing "We're fookin shit " at our players like the arsenal fans are doing right now.

No, our fans sang “we’re Leicester City, we’ve come for a draw”.

 

[Brown Nose]

I feel weird as feck. Pleased that Florist beat Arsenal proves either that I'm going soft in my old age or they're so irrelevant to me that I don't wish them ill any more.

 

[City Fan]

I Don't think we were worse than WHU and AFAIK our fans did not sing "We're fookin shit " at our players like the arsenal fans are doing right now.

It might not have been audible on TV, but yes “we” did.

 

[Lako42]

It might not have been audible on TV, but yes “we” did.

It was

 

[popillius]

To say that 11 randoms chucked together to form a team should have been comfortably good enough to beat an actual team who had played together all season and are just two divisions below us, is actually quite disrespectful to Fleetwood in my opinion.

If you look at each of our players on an individual merit, then yes I would agree that each of those individual players should be good enough to be in a team that beats Fleetwood. But collectively as a team considering barely any of them have ever played together before? No way.

Do you think these players are really '11 randoms'? Do you think we picked them out of the stands just before the game? Don't you believe that they ever train together?

Dragovic, King, Amartey, Slimani, Chilwell and James (with Albrighton and Okazaki for the last 30 minutes) aren't strangers to each other at all. Many of these have played together before and probably train together all the time. I understand the sentiment that they haven't had much game time with each other but don't underestimate just how poor some of the individual performances were. If our squad is so unable to adapt then perhaps we do need a clear out.

BN has summed it up much more eloquently than anyone else thus far.

 

[Lako42]

Do you think these players are really '11 randoms'? Do you think we picked them out of the stands just before the game? Don't you believe that they ever train together?

Dragovic, King, Amartey, Slimani, Chilwell and James (with Albrighton and Okazaki for the last 30 minutes) aren't strangers to each other at all. Many of these have played together before and probably train together all the time. I understand the sentiment that they haven't had much game time with each other but don't underestimate just how poor some of the individual performances were. If our squad is so unable to adapt then perhaps we do need a clear out.

BN has summed it up much more eloquently than anyone else thus far.

So the fact most of them have never played with each other in a competitive match had no effect and it was down to 9 completely shit individual performances.

It was too many changes, not enough link up, no familiarity and quite simply not enough giving a flying **** about doing enough to win the game.


Complete shit from the players as a team, the players individually and the manager.

 

[City Fan]

Don't you believe that they ever train together?

Ah yes, that’s totally the same.