Well, that was my first live viewing of the exciting new formation and it is clearly the work of a mad man.
Dispense with any pretense that it is 3-5-2. It is 5-3-2. We have two defenders playing in wide positions which means that they are out of position when the opposition attack and clueless when we have the ball. We have Wes Morgan, our best marker by far, in a libero sweeper role which enables him to watch the game almost completely without involvement. He occasionally tidies up the cock-ups of others, but aside from this, he effectively becomes a spectator. Then in midfield, we put three very similar players all together in a little huddle specialising in side and back passing. There is no energy, enthusiasm or ingenuity amongst these three amigos. On to our strikers who were cast so far adrift from their colleagues that they had a better chance of a pass from Tom Hanks than a City colleague.
If the object is to bore to death the paying fan and the viewer, NPs tactical genius is complete. Make no mistake, Leeds are awful. They were there for the taking from any side with the guts to make a semblance of effort. In order to attempt to change the status quo in a game, we now have make multiple substitutions. Today's changes just resulted in more players becoming lost and confused. They also only served to feed my dislike of Knockaert for his petulance, arrogance, self-importance and largely piss poor talent, that grows with every moment of viewing him.
As others have said, Moore has grown up and now looks like a very able defender. Vardy looked better than last season, stronger and sharper. Whitbread grew into the game as it progressed aside from his customary lapses. That is as far as positivity will stretch. Several competed for worst player on show but Nugent won for me, narrowly ahead of a pointless King.
There were large areas of the stadium empty that used to not be. This indicates to me that there are many fewer season ticket holders in parts of the West and East Stands than in previous seasons. In the North Stand, there appeared to be additional kids swelling the poor turn out. Almost in totality, there was no atmosphere and no life amongst the lot of us. Even Bernie appeared bored. Were in not for the yawping from the away end, I might have actually nodded off. Those newly absent, probably watching from home or the local pub, were treated to a spectacle that only served to affirm their sense at not bothering any more. If this sort of 'performance' is a sign of things to come, there will be many more absentees.
