Post Match Leicester 1 Bournemouth 1

[Volpone]

Asked the people behind me why they were clapping along with lots of others on 40 minutes. They didn't know. Obviously more fun than watching us implode.

 

[Brown Nose]

I'll go out on a limb here but I thought Morgan, Maguire and particularly Fuchs weren't that bad.

I agree.

When we changed formation though, the panic on Morgan's face for the next fifteen minutes was hilarious. He's about as comfortable in a back three as he is turning down a dessert.

 

[big_mac4824]

I agree.

When we changed formation though, the panic on Morgan's face for the next fifteen minutes was hilarious. He's about as comfortable in a back three as he is turning down a dessert.

And has the accuracy of Kryton when heading a football

 

[popillius]

Albrighton is not a full back I have some sympathy for him, Silva has been warming the bench it will take him a few games to get going

What part of him not being a full back makes him forget how to cross a ball or take a corner or make a cross-field pass? Players are failing to get the basics right and this cannot be ignored because the manager makes some odd decisions.

 

[Brown Nose]

What part of him not being a full back makes him forget how to cross a ball or take a corner or make a cross-field pass? Players are failing to get the basics right and this cannot be ignored because the manager makes some odd decisions.

What part of moving someone into six different position in recent matches (right back, right wing back, centre midfield, left midfield, behind central striker and right midfield) enables him to give of his best?

 

[popillius]

We all know that Albrighton is capable of being an excellent crosser of the ball and an excellent team player. He isn't playing well at the moment and is often being moved around the pitch into different positions. I get the impression that his confidence isn't good right now and he's probably not being well managed off the pitch as well as on it. Neither the bench nor his team mates offered him any encouragement or support when he made an error today.

Silva is a technically gifted midfielder. At the start of the game, we was a little rusty but had a clear role and made some postive touches and generally looked good. Then his manager changed the formation and gave him no clue what he was supposed to do when the Bournemouth full backs exposed gaps in our team. He has a brain though so he took it upon himself to trot round the pitch trying to get involved and largely being poor at it because is was completely disjointed from his team mates. His manager then replaces him early again no doubt doing wonders for his confidence and integration. Remember we fecked this guys career up for months and he came in not having kicked a ball in anger in eight months. We then chop and change him in and out and generally give him no chance.

We changed Silva early because he was so appalling it was making it easy for Bournemouth to carve a hole through the middle of the pitch time and time again without meeting a challenge. Taking him off was one of the few decisions Puel got right today. I don't think he started well at all, in fact he started by giving the ball away and it went downhill from there. I keep being told he is this technically gifted player but then I was told that about Gray, Slimani, Kaputska and Mendy as well and we haven't seen it from any of them either. I know I am being harsh on Silva, after all he has had limited time after a long break to get up to speed but let's not pretend he has been anything other than awful every time we have seen him and that is a cause for concern. Unlike Mendy and Gray, I think he probably may come good but I've little evidence other than a gut feeling to back up that hope.

As for Albrighton, whether or not he is capable of being excellent is irrelevant to this match and the two or three before. He has failed to beat the first man time and time again today and against Stoke, his decision making is absolutely unfathomable as shown by that stupid, unnecessary challenge today and he hasn't taken a decent set piece for a long time. It is not logical to suggest that some kind of 'mis-management' of him is stopping him from striking a football properly. These are the basics he should be getting right. I absolutely agree he is lowon confidence but he needs to break this cycle by doing the basics properly and not panicking every time he has to make a challengfe or take a corner. He hasn't been moved around that much, no more so than earlier this season or most of last season but he is constantly failing to deliver. Whatever the cause, he needs a break but we have such limited options that this may not be possible.

I do wholeheartedly agree with you about Puel's approach however.

 

[popillius]

What part of moving someone into six different position in recent matches (right back, right wing back, centre midfield, left midfield, behind central striker and right midfield) enables him to give of his best?

He can't beat the first man with a cross. I mean, he's a footballer. It's his job. Why does his position stop him from being able to take a corner? I am as unconvinced by Puel as you but blaming every single failure of the players on him is unfair at best and ****ing ludicrous at worst.

 

[Brown Nose]

He can't beat the first man with a cross. I mean, he's a footballer. It's his job. Why does his position stop him from being able to take a corner? I am as unconvinced by Puel as you but blaming every single failure of the players on him is unfair at best and ****ing ludicrous at worst.

I'm not blaming Puel for Albrighton delivering shit corners, I'm holding Puel responsible for it. Completely different.

 

[popillius]

I'm not blaming Puel for Albrighton delivering shit corners, I'm holding Puel responsible for it. Completely different.

Playing with the semantics doesn't work when you are doing both by absolving Albrighton and Silva of all responsibility for their own performances.

 

[pork pie fox]

I thought they set up well against us, but then again they’ve done that a few times, over the past couple of years.

I thought Mahrez was the one player showing urgency. He was constantly collecting the ball when it had gone out, in order to speed up them having to take a throw in. This typified his attitude today, which was spot on.

I thought Fuchs did pretty well and I thought that, whilst I can see what people are saying about Silva, at least he’s trying to be creative and play balls forward. He’s one of the few who actually looks like he’s trying to make something happen, even if it doesn’t come off.

I thought James was at least 2 yards behind the play at all times. Quite why he stayed on the pitch, especially when we were chasing the game, is beyond me.

Vardy was so isolated, it was a waste of time him even being there.

Bournemouth missed a big opportunity, as, despite not being that great themselves, they were in control of the game and let us at least build pressure by dropping so deep for the last 20 minutes. If they’d have carried on doing what they did before then, I think they would have seen the game out comfortably.

On the plus side, my 5 year old boy loves going and has no intention of leaving early, so he got to see the goal he wanted

 

[Brown Nose]

Playing with the semantics doesn't work when you are doing both by absolving Albrighton and Silva of all responsibility for their own performances.

I've not absolved them, neither player played well. I've also criticised lots of player performances over recent games. James and Maguire have got consistent criticism from me for example (Maguire was excellent today by the way).

However, at some point, you have to link individual poor performances to poor management. If you give a player a job to do and he doesn't do it, he deserves criticism. When you chop and change positions and formations and give no guidance whatsoever (as exemplified by Maguire pleading with his manager for some today) then criticising individual performances becomes pointless.

Both Silva and Albrighton began today with one role and it was changed irrationally (for Silva once and for Albrighton twice). I understand Puel has admitted he made a mistake changing formation when Amartey got injured.

 

[popillius]

I've not absolved them...

In particular, Albrighton and Silva were both hung out to dry by their manager.

Yes, several players were poor today but none get any blame from me...

You have, you know.

I said you had absolved them of blame. You said they were not to blame. They were as awful as their manager.

 

[LeeCovFox]

As an aside to the dreadful performace - what on earth is going on with Kasper Schmeichel?

I’ll admit to never having been a massive fan. His distribution is crap, he doesn’t command his area and he’s suspect from range. I’ve overlooked these somewhat because he is an excellent shot stopper, has been a big game player for us and also because I don’t think there are better options outside of the big clubs.

But recently he appears to have added fortnightly mental breakdowns to his performances. He’s always been mouthy but in recent weeks he has screamed at the bench for an extended period seemingly for not being allowed to go up for corners, spent numerous periods jumping about and shouting to himself and, today, at least a couple of times running up the pitch to bellow at the referee.

I’ve always thought he comes across as a bit of a knob and in recent weeks he seems to be doing his best to convert others to that view.

 

[popillius]

As an aside to the dreadful performace - what on earth is going on with Kasper Schmeichel?

I’ll admit to never having been a massive fan. His distribution is crap, he doesn’t command his area and he’s suspect from range. I’ve overlooked these somewhat because he is an excellent shot stopper, has been a big game player for us and also because I don’t think there are better options outside of the big clubs.

But recently he appears to have added fortnightly mental breakdowns to his performances. He’s always been mouthy but in recent weeks he has screamed at the bench for an extended period seemingly for not being allowed to go up for corners, spent numerous periods jumping about and shouting to himself and, today, at least a couple of times running up the pitch to bellow at the referee.

I’ve always thought he comes across as a bit of a knob and in recent weeks he seems to be doing his best to convert others to that view.

It's an odd one. I agree with you and after the Manchester City game I wanted him to be benched. He then pulls off a couple of excellent saves the game after and I remember what a brilliant shot stopper he can be. The week after that he will be back to kicking the ball out of play every two minutes and I'll be frustrated again. I go back and forth on my thoughts about him playing almost weekly!

 

[looney]

Boring performance in first half, mirror of the game last week where somehow we kept plugging away and got an equaliser, this time the brilliance of Mahrez saves us a point. Terrible setup and tactics, strange dropping Simpson out of sight for Amartey who hasn’t made the squad for a while, Albrighton awful and confidence gone, Chilwell weak and ponderous, what happened to the January clean sheets with Dragovic and Simpson at the back. James offers little apart from positional sense. If we want to sling loads of crosses in the box for the last 20 minutes, wtf let both Ulloa AND Slim go on loan? Puel has no in game change plan, his tactics are boring and he has sucked the life out of our team. No inspiration. Worse, even though they plugged away til the end again, it seems the strong team spirit that started under Pearson and built on by Ranieri in 2015/6 is lost. I don’t see the players bonded in the same way as before. Such a massive disappointment that we haven’t built on 2015/6 and champions league. 2 wins in 12 is relegation form and puels record is about the same as shakeys now.

 

[Lako42]

So ****ing bored I can barely type.


Has a team ever been so pathetically inept at corners?

 

[SwedeFox]

Has a team ever been so pathetically inept at corners?

Interesting question. Jeff?

I've long held the view that a corner is statistically far less of a goal scoring opportunity than people think due to the common fallacy that proximity to the goal would be linearly correlated with the likelihood of scoring a goal, thus creating needless frustration through exaggerated expectations. This could be complete bollocks though. I tend to avoid challenging my deepest beliefs after an unfortunate incident in my youth where I found I was wrong

 

[Robin127]

...I understand Puel has admitted he made a mistake changing formation when Amartey got injured.

I was surprised Dragovic didn't come on to play at right back.

 

[Klaus Hergersheimer]

Incredibly frustrating game to watch. I felt we deserved the equaliser, but honestly couldn't see where it was going to come from until Mahrez stepped up. Thankfully I resisted my urge to leave and stayed to witness it.

Bournemouth were awful, and a bunch of time wasters to boot. We were too predictable again. Opposition teams have read the book on us and it's just too easy for teams to defend against us at the minute. Only in the last quarter of the game, when we rediscovered the ball over the top of their defense, did Bournemouth look uncomfortable.

Maguire, Ndidi, Mahrez and Diabate when he came on were the pick of our players, although Ndidi was lucky not to give them another penalty. The rest were poor to average. The officials were crap, but what's new there?

In other news, I've just found a prawn cracker that looks like a tri-corn hat. Thought about putting it on my head but decided to eat it instead.

 

[Klaus Hergersheimer]

I was surprised Dragovic didn't come on to play at right back.

Did you not see Watford away?