I lost the faith

[RichMC24]

So annoying!!!

After sticking up for Pearson through a very difficult season, I am ashamed to say that I lost the faith on 14th March 2015 after the 0-0 draw with Hull.

My feeling at that time had changed whereby I thought that even if we were relegated, Pearson would still be the best man for the job and deserved a crack at the Championship again, to a point where I thought he should go immediately as the club was in a rut that would surely last well into next season and hamper any chance of promotion.

I was wrong on so many levels.

I still don't quite understand how we started and ended a season playing such blistering football and spending 6 months in between looking like scared schoolboys. I'm not entirely sure Pearson himself has a grasp on what the hell went wrong/right.
However, hats off to the manager, the team and all at the club. Nearly hats off to me as I was only 2 weeks short of keeping the faith all the way through, but I am sad to say I failed.

I still consider myself up on Brown Nose, who gave up on this manager 2 years ago, but I am happy to be well & truly exposed as Wrong !!

Well done Nigel ... Love ya x x

 

[Blaarev]

We didn't play like scared schoolboys for those 6 months. We just didn't have the margins on our side. That changed.

 

[RichMC24]

We got 8 points in the first 5 games, 19 points in the last 8 games.
10 points from the 24 games between.
That is not luck or margins. I accept the 'scared schoolboys' thing was not quite right, but the point still stands.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Anyone who saw us completely outplay the likes of Spurs and Liverpool only to lose points to a freak free-kick and 2 ridiculous penalty decisions would not say we played like scared schoolboys. We competed for most of the season, it just wasn't falling for us at the time.

 

[Micky]

I lost the faith, I'll admit it. I was wrong. I think Pearson knows what went wrong but he is not going to offer a full autopsy to the media or the fans - he will keep that in house.

For what its worth, I think we started to play too conservatively mid season. We had little attacking threat and we were trying to grind results out. This was also a point when we were shipping silly goals - prior to the arrival of the magnificent Huth! Eventually it came to a point that we had to start winning games and we had to be positive. Cue the introduction of attacking full-backs / wing backs. Cue the introduction of two strikers. As a result we have ended the season brimming with energy, pace and confidence. If we are in this position again next season we need to remember that taking the game to the opposition is the best approach.

Anyhow, what an incredible run. I will most certainly be purchasing the end of season DVD. And I will watch it over and over again (the last part).

 

[RichMC24]

Anyone who saw us completely outplay the likes of Spurs and Liverpool only to lose points to a freak free-kick and 2 ridiculous penalty decisions would not say we played like scared schoolboys. We competed for most of the season, it just wasn't falling for us at the time.

Anyone who saw us at Swansea, Palace, Stoke, Newcastle, Southampton would agree that we did not have the quality, verve, spirit and determination that we have shown in the first and last few weeks of the season. Whatever has changed, it isn't luck.

 

[RichMC24]

I lost the faith, I'll admit it. I was wrong. I think Pearson knows what went wrong but he is not going to offer a full autopsy to the media or the fans - he will keep that in house.

For what its worth, I think we started to play too conservatively mid season. We had little attacking threat and we were trying to grind results out. This was also a point when we were shipping silly goals - prior to the arrival of the magnificent Huth! Eventually it came to a point that we had to start winning games and we had to be positive. Cue the introduction of attacking full-backs / wing backs. Cue the introduction of two strikers. As a result we have ended the season brimming with energy, pace and confidence. If we are in this position again next season we need to remember that taking the game to the opposition is the best approach.

Anyhow, what an incredible run. I will most certainly be purchasing the end of season DVD. And I will watch it over and over again (the last part).

It has been awesome. We always new the run-in gave us a chance, but I doubt there were many who had us staying up at the start of April. Good Times

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Anyone who saw us at Swansea, Palace, Stoke, Newcastle, Southampton would agree that we did not have the quality, verve, spirit and determination that we have shown in the first and last few weeks of the season. Whatever has changed, it isn't luck.

Well, Southampton away was one of the few games I managed to get to living in Portsmouth and I completely disagree. It was a pretty even game up until 70 minutes and we were actually starting to get on top at that point, but as soon as their first goal went in we folded, you might be right about determination by the way they folded, but they matched a side who were then in the top 4 for much of the game and I don't think quality or spirit was particularly in question at that game. My friend who is a Southampton season ticket holder said straight after the game we'll be fine as we had much more quality than some other teams down there and he'd seen far worse sides at St. Mary's beforehand. That game could easily have been so much different.

 

[Blaarev]

Luck and margins aren't the same.

 

[Miles Away]

Anyone who saw us at Swansea, Palace, Stoke, Newcastle, Southampton would agree that we did not have the quality, verve, spirit and determination that we have shown in the first and last few weeks of the season. Whatever has changed, it isn't luck.

Spot on. We were dreadful in more than our fair share during that spell. For a while there I was sure I was watching the same game over and over again.

 

[RichMC24]

Well, Southampton away was one of the few games I managed to get to living in Portsmouth and I completely disagree. It was a pretty even game up until 70 minutes and we were actually starting to get on top at that point, but as soon as their first goal went in we folded, you might be right about determination by the way they folded, but they matched a side who were then in the top 4 for much of the game and I don't think quality or spirit was particularly in question at that game. My friend who is a Southampton season ticket holder said straight after the game we'll be fine as we had much more quality than some other teams down there and he'd seen far worse sides at St. Mary's beforehand. That game could easily have been so much different.

I didn't post so I could argue with people, this post has taken a strange turn from what I intended, however as I am slightly drunk and in the mood for a bit of verbal sparring, I decided to check the stats for that game and I notice that Southampton had 64% of possession, had 18 shots to Leicester's 5, 6 on target Vs 0 for city and 13 corners to 4 advantage too. Now, I do remember that game and the approach that was taken was defensive and cautious and a stark contrast to how we approached ManU, Arsenal & Everton. We went for a 0-0, hoping for a sneaky win as we had done at Stoke.

I'm sure we can pick out games where we might have done better or maybe we were unlucky, but 10 points from 24 games represents a problem in my view greater than luck or margins. It suggests we were lacking in a number of areas although this is entirely contradicted by the early and late season form.

My original point was that after Hull 0-0, I concluded that the early season form should be written off as newly-promoted team bluster and that the team overall was just not good enough and that Pearson had under-estimated the changes he needed to make and had no answers with the team he had placed his faith in. All sentiments which have now proven to be wrong.

I didn't post these comments and could quite happily have posted some sanctimonious bollox about how right I was, but I am happy to hold my hands up and admit my failings

 

[Blaarev]

Sorry

 

[Macky]

Come on lads, let's all just hug it up and share the love. Who wants a snuggle?

 

[Orifice]

Thank you Leicester City FC.

A couple of months ago I was becoming disillusioned with football. City playing reasonable but getting absolutely nothing. No decisions, results, luck or so it seemed. I was beginning to lose interest. Even when we were relegated to the third tier I was comfortable that soon all would be Ok again but now I felt worse.

It was strange - I've kept up-to-date with every match as it happened for the last 40 years (gulp!) but was on the verge of turning my back on it. I couldn't do that though. Even as I was feeling down and getting cheesed off I was still checking all the match updates etc. As soon as the good run started I began feeling better and better - what a tonic! People at work started to pass on positive thoughts and comment that Leicester might soon be safe and things have just flowed. Anyone that knows I support City was keen to talk to me about what was happening.

I feel so much better in life than I did 10 games ago. It's crazy that the game of football can affect people this way but I know I'm not the only one here feeling good now.

Thank you to the club for keeping strong and positive - it seems Leicester have had one of the best team morales in the league even when not winning. I'm very pleased for all involved.

Crazy.

 

[LeeCovFox]

We were not bottom because of 'luck' or 'margins'. We were bottom because we deserved to be at that time and were playing horrible negative football which gave us no chance of scoring, let alone winning. There were long stretches during which we weren't creating anything like a meaningful goalscoring opportunity. For all that we were unlucky against Spurs or Liverpool there was West Brom, Sunderland, Hull, Palace, Burnley and Stoke at home in which we failed to gain points simply because we set up too negatively. It was not a case of simply waiting for our luck to turn.

I applaud Nigel Pearson and his team for recognising the trouble their negativity had put is in and it is no coincidence that we are now winning games when setting up more positively. Nigel has earned at least another season in charge and can now fairly be recognised as our best manager since Martin O'Neill was at the helm. But the truth is that his own approach is what put us in such a mess in the first place. I always thought that we had a good enough squad to survive and still maintain that we should have done so more comfortably than we have.

 

[Cate Fox]

Come on lads, let's all just hug it up and share the love. Who wants a snuggle?

Me please

 

[Macky]

Me please

*MMMWWAAHH* Big love

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

I have always been a massive Pearson fan but have to say I too lost the faith around February / March time and felt the time was right to make a change as I thought he had reached a glass ceiling, however I am so glad he has proved me wrong. IMO we have a very very good Manager and i a, genuinely excited as to how far this club can now go.

As for what went wrong as others have said we will probably never know, but it was a relatively inexperienced team and management staff at this level and whilst to the outside world they tried to show a bullish and confident mentality, I do wonder if there was a crisis of confidence from late October onwards and the negative tactics were there to protect an already fragile morale and belief from a real battering.

The players and management have shown they deserve to be at this level and have learnt how to compete and win games of football in the premier league, and I think next season with some astute additions we have every opportunity of emulating the likes of Stoke and Swansea.

 

[Rock Fox]

The players and management have shown they deserve to be at this level and have learnt how to compete and win games of football in the premier league, and I think next season with some astute additions we have every opportunity of emulating the likes of Stoke and Swansea.

I agree - at the beginning of the season one of the questions was how many of the City players could step up to play at premiership level. It is one thing to be a championship player ( even a good Championship player) that gets a team into the top flight - it is another to stay there, as Burnley and QPR can testify. The players and manager, along with the experience and talent of new boys Cambiassso and Huth, have come through a very difficult patch and turned it around in the last couple of months - the team have shown themselves worthy of playing in the premier league - a fantastic achievement.

 

[Hazzman]

They were three Leicester City this season.

The underdog which gave the top teams a run for their money.
The end of season agressive beast.
And the very odd, defensive team what would go into their shell playing some rank average sides.