Leicester City v Derby County

[Ramarena]

 

And that’s my big worry.

 

On the evidence of the signings that McClaren has made to date we are heading for trouble.

 

Dawkins, a two year contract for a player who will not work back or hasn’t the pace to be an effective wide player. Jacobs would have been a better option given time.

 

Wisdon, again no pace for a full back and is repeatedly caught out of position.

 

Keane, totally lost on this, he came with a good reputation but has been an absolute liability. Buxton currently has to play a dual role to cover this clown. He has got to improve surely?

 

The three mentioned were the main culprits in delivering one of the worst displays I have ever had the misfortune to witness last night, and I’ve watched some dire performances.

 

If it weren’t for Grant and the woodwork, they would have notched double figures.

 

I fear that McClaren is slowing breaking up a good side that had excellent potential.

 

 

So Dawkins hasn't got the pace to be an effective wide player. Yet Jacob's, who hasn't got any pace either is the future?

 

I'm confused.

[macisback]

How exactly has he broken up the team?

 

Jacobs a guy who never got a look in under NC or SMc, we sold Brayford in the summer and Freeman and Smith hardly impressed and Wisdom has been a revelation. Dawkins has played a large part in a lot of our goals, Bennent is also getting more game time and Bamford showed some promise.

 

Keane has been decent bar yesterday we are down to our last two fit and eligible centre backs yesterday and the lack of protection from midfield  was an issue and no Hendrick and Bryson do not lack experience, age does not equal experience, Hendrick and 21 is a full international and has played 100+ games at this level.

 

Massive overreaction here, no surprise after all people expect Xavi like performances from Hughes every-game and the team to dominate all 90s mins when we played against Barnsley and Doncaster, game which we won comfortably but both had spells in the game like you expect and the defence has solidified recently.

 

This is the first time we have been outplayed for the majority of the game, if this happens for a next few games yes you can panic but it is still early days for the new management team.

 

 

I certainly wouldn't describe Wisdom as a revelation, under examination defensively he falls apart and his positional acumen is severely lacking, when we are on top he looks fantastic, not so when we are under the cosh. Not a stick on Brayford as a defender.

[Alph]

I think Wisdom has been magnificent.

[Leon the ram 2009]

everyone has an off game, this was maybe wisdoms,but upto that he has been class, pretty sure he'll give himself a kick and make up for it

[Alph]

How exactly has he broken up the team?

Jacobs a guy who never got a look in under NC or SMc, we sold Brayford in the summer and Freeman and Smith hardly impressed and Wisdom has been a revelation. Dawkins has played a large part in a lot of our goals, Bennent is also getting more game time and Bamford showed some promise.

Keane has been decent bar yesterday we are down to our last two fit and eligible centre backs yesterday and the lack of protection from midfield was an issue and no Hendrick and Bryson do not lack experience, age does not equal experience, Hendrick and 21 is a full international and has played 100+ games at this level.

Massive overreaction here, no surprise after all people expect Xavi like performances from Hughes every-game and the team to dominate all 90s mins when we played against Barnsley and Doncaster, game which we won comfortably but both had spells in the game like you expect and the defence has solidified recently.

This is the first time we have been outplayed for the majority of the game, if this happens for a next few games yes you can panic but it is still early days for the new management team.

Agree completely.

It's like everything we've done well for 10 games has been undone by 2 games.

Yet here we are, 4th. Comfortably clear of the play off chasers and still with an impressive goal scoring record.

10 games forgotten in a defeat to top of the league at a ground we've never won at.

[ronnieronalde]

Ive liked Pearson's quote and not because I want to be controversial, still just saying what I see.

 

All we've read for the last few weeks is how everything is sorted since Mac came in. He's sorted out the defense, he's sorted out the shape, he's sorted out the attacking side and he's brought in the players we need to replace the players who weren't good enough.

 

What I watched on Friday just ripped every part of that theory apart. I'm now posting on here with 99% of you questioning whether I've gone mad and don't know what I'm talking about and I'm sitting here wondering wtf is going on. Am I suddenly a football idiot?

 

Our entire defence looked like schoolboys, and whether Wisdom has been magnificent or not, to see that he is capable of a performance like that was a real shock. Dyer destroyed him but anyway he stopped trying. I lost count of the number of times the ball was played through him and he was left for dead, five yards off the attacker.

 

I don't know if Buxton got a knock or just had a poor first half, he looked both knackered and a little bit shell schocked.

 

Keane was awful. I listened to his radio interview before the game where he was talking about his time at Leicester as "we". That's the issue I've got. He's not one of us. He doesn't have the same desire to win for Derby County that one of our own has. This isn't a knee jerk reaction. I wasn't exactly convinced Keane was what we needed even when Clough was here. (it's in the Keane thread)

 

Dawkins was really poor and even though U've seen flashes of very good, every time he got the ball he tried to beat the world. I'm screaming play it every time he has it, but he rarely does. His shooting from outside the box is worse than Wards but no-one's mentioning it.

 

Looking forward to seeing Bamford but don't really want him playing out on the right hand side.

 

The reaction from me isn't about one game, we only lost three points. The reaction isn't cos we lost to Leicester, we always lose to Leicester even when we outplay them.

 

The reaction is cos of the manner of the performance. It was shocking. Worse than I've seen at any point in the last two years.

 

The defence loooked shot, the midfield had no shape and they cut through us at will.

 

It could have been 13-1. We were that bad.

 

We brought on two attacking kids presumably to protect the fullbacks when we hadn't been in the game at any point.

 

If everything was fixed, then where the hell has a performance like that come from?

 

Please just try to keep it to football with the answers. I'm not slating everything and already said it wouldn't matter if we lost to Chelsea, Leicester, Brighton and Blackburn. As long as the performance levels are high and we beat Yeovil it won't matter one jot.

 

The performance v Leicester though, that is something that was worrying and shouldn't be hidden under the run we've just come off.

[McMuffin]

Ive liked Pearson's quote and not because I want to be controversial, still just saying what I see.

All we've read for the last few weeks is how everything is sorted since Mac came in. He's sorted out the defense, he's sorted out the shape, he's sorted out the attacking side and he's brought in the players we need to replace the players who weren't good enough.

What I watched on Friday just ripped every part of that theory apart. I'm now posting on here with 99% of you questioning whether I've gone mad and don't know what I'm talking about and I'm sitting here wondering wtf is going on. Am I suddenly a football idiot?

Our entire defence looked like schoolboys, and whether Wisdom has been magnificent or not, to see that he is capable of a performance like that was a real shock. Dyer destroyed him but anyway he stopped trying. I lost count of the number of times the ball was played through him and he was left for dead, five yards off the attacker.

I don't know if Buxton got a knock or just had a poor first half, he looked both knackered and a little bit shell schocked.

Keane was awful. I listened to his radio interview before the game where he was talking about his time at Leicester as "we". That's the issue I've got. He's not one of us. He doesn't have the same desire to win for Derby County that one of our own has. This isn't a knee jerk reaction. I wasn't exactly convinced Keane was what we needed even when Clough was here. (it's in the Keane thread)

Dawkins was really poor and even though U've seen flashes of very good, every time he got the ball he tried to beat the world. I'm screaming play it every time he has it, but he rarely does. His shooting from outside the box is worse than Wards but no-one's mentioning it.

Looking forward to seeing Bamford but don't really want him playing out on the right hand side.

The reaction from me isn't about one game, we only lost three points. The reaction isn't cos we lost to Leicester, we always lose to Leicester even when we outplay them.

The reaction is cos of the manner of the performance. It was shocking. Worse than I've seen at any point in the last two years.

The defence loooked shot, the midfield had no shape and they cut through us at will.

It could have been 13-1. We were that bad.

We brought on two attacking kids presumably to protect the fullbacks when we hadn't been in the game at any point.

If everything was fixed, then where the hell has a performance like that come from?

Please just try to keep it to football with the answers. I'm not slating everything and already said it wouldn't matter if we lost to Chelsea, Leicester, Brighton and Blackburn. As long as the performance levels are high and we beat Yeovil it won't matter one jot.

The performance v Leicester though, that is something that was worrying and shouldn't be hidden under the run we've just come off.

Let's see if we bounce back. That will show where we are.

Cloughs Derby season would start petering out right about now after that crushing defeat.

Be interesting to see if the mentality has changed.

[Jacko1983]

the defenders look frightened to death of the pace of dyer, vardy and nugent and so they held a very deep line, mainly due to the lack of protection from midfield.

 

If eustace isn't capable of playing every game and cisse is still not 100% then we need to bring someone in before the window that can play in that position.

 

The last time we played without someone in that role was the first half against ipswich when we went down 4-1 at half time.

 

Wisdom had a poor game against Dyer but he isn't a natural full back so lacks pace and Dyer is probably the fastest player in the league.

 

I'm more disappointed with the performance than the result, we just wasn't at the races.

[Duracell]

Ive liked Pearson's quote and not because I want to be controversial, still just saying what I see.

 

All we've read for the last few weeks is how everything is sorted since Mac came in. He's sorted out the defense, he's sorted out the shape, he's sorted out the attacking side and he's brought in the players we need to replace the players who weren't good enough.

 

What I watched on Friday just ripped every part of that theory apart. I'm now posting on here with 99% of you questioning whether I've gone mad and don't know what I'm talking about and I'm sitting here wondering wtf is going on. Am I suddenly a football idiot?

 

Our entire defence looked like schoolboys, and whether Wisdom has been magnificent or not, to see that he is capable of a performance like that was a real shock. Dyer destroyed him but anyway he stopped trying. I lost count of the number of times the ball was played through him and he was left for dead, five yards off the attacker.

 

I don't know if Buxton got a knock or just had a poor first half, he looked both knackered and a little bit shell schocked.

 

Keane was awful. I listened to his radio interview before the game where he was talking about his time at Leicester as "we". That's the issue I've got. He's not one of us. He doesn't have the same desire to win for Derby County that one of our own has. This isn't a knee jerk reaction. I wasn't exactly convinced Keane was what we needed even when Clough was here. (it's in the Keane thread)

 

Dawkins was really poor and even though U've seen flashes of very good, every time he got the ball he tried to beat the world. I'm screaming play it every time he has it, but he rarely does. His shooting from outside the box is worse than Wards but no-one's mentioning it.

 

Looking forward to seeing Bamford but don't really want him playing out on the right hand side.

 

The reaction from me isn't about one game, we only lost three points. The reaction isn't cos we lost to Leicester, we always lose to Leicester even when we outplay them.

 

The reaction is cos of the manner of the performance. It was shocking. Worse than I've seen at any point in the last two years.

 

The defence loooked shot, the midfield had no shape and they cut through us at will.

 

It could have been 13-1. We were that bad.

 

We brought on two attacking kids presumably to protect the fullbacks when we hadn't been in the game at any point.

 

If everything was fixed, then where the hell has a performance like that come from?

 

Please just try to keep it to football with the answers. I'm not slating everything and already said it wouldn't matter if we lost to Chelsea, Leicester, Brighton and Blackburn. As long as the performance levels are high and we beat Yeovil it won't matter one jot.

 

The performance v Leicester though, that is something that was worrying and shouldn't be hidden under the run we've just come off.

I think we were all naive to expect Steve Mac to come in and wave a magic wand and to expect performances like that to suddenly disappear. The first half of the Ipswich game is still etched in my mind - we're still basically the same team since that match.

 

We didn't have enough leaders on the pitch against Leicester, and it's as simple as that for me. Buxton isn't a bad captain but we really needed someone in central midfield to snap the attacking bunch into shape. There were too many young players on the pitch and they were getting away quite lightly considering how off par they were. That's where we miss Keogh as captain - the serial moaner.

 

Hendrick, Hughes and Bryson are lost sheep without someone like Eustace behind them, but we can't play Eustace in every game. That's a serious dilemma there.

 

Bryson is a brilliant player but he's not captain material. He goes missing in games when we play poorly and he needs a stronger personality playing with him. The same applies for Hendrick.

 

The problem with Hendrick and Bryson is neither of them take the game by the scruff of the neck or take on any significant responsibility in performances like that. When Eustace came on against Ipswich, he was a complete revelation - the precise opposite of the flat central combination of Bryson and Hughes, who together make a shambolic pairing in the centre midfield of a 4-4-2 formation. There was no one begging for the ball coming out of defence, no one in the centre with any commanding sense of urgency, and no one playing the leader.

 

As for Hughes, I really think the lad needs a rest. He may not be physically tired but his footballing brain isn't what it was. After Clough rested him he came back as his old self.

 

Can we please, PLEASE have another Eustace?

[Asanovic]

We're punching above our weight in 4th which is great, but it does mean results like Friday will happen.

 

We were useless, no skirting round it, but Keogh is a big miss for us. Didn't think I'd ever say that again after his performances in the first few months, but him and Buxton together are solid. Haven't rated Keane since he got through the door. Lots of mazy runs and bombing forward like David Luiz, but the bread and butter defending is missing. Hopefully (for him) it'll come with age.

 

A fit Keogh and a generally fitter Eustace and that scoreline would have been alot different. It's small margins that result in big wallopings sometimes.

 

I'm not one for over analyzing tactics but thought maybe instead of having Hughes and Bryson roaming and Eustace sitting, we probably should have swapped that triangle round on Friday. Have two men holding/breaking up play, with one man having licence to roam. But hindsight's 20/20, innit.

 

Switching off the TV on Friday I wasn't too concerned. We got found out as a side that probably shouldn't be 4th based on expenditure, ability and size of squad - that's fair enough. It's how we react that's key. Mac looks to have drilled a strong mentality in to the players so I'd expect rather than it being a huge knock, we come out aggressively on Saturday and go for the jugular. The Leicester result feels like a turning point in the season - just not sure which way.

 

Fair dos to Leicester though. Considering some of the Premiership standard teams in this division in recent years (QPR, Newcastle, West Ham spring to mind), that's by far the best performance I've seen at this level. They'd have given anyone a game in that form.

 

A win on Saturday and I'm all smiles again.

[VulcanRam]

Just a very bad day at the office.

 

Thought the manager got just about everything wrong, with his selection, formation and substitutions. First time I have had reason to criticise him, but it was like he'd never seen Leicester play.

 

Once Leicester got on top of us the players looked like they were expecting it and just wilted.

 

As long as everyone learns from it, then we take it on the chin and move one. 

 

Let's see what sort of a reaction we get on Saturday.

[PistoldPete2]

Just a very bad day at the office.

 

Thought the manager got just about everything wrong, with his selection, formation and substitutions. First time I have had reason to criticise him, but it was like he'd never seen Leicester play.

 

Once Leicester got on top of us the players looked like they were expecting it and just wilted.

 

As long as everyone learns from it, then we take it on the chin and move one. 

 

Let's see what sort of a reaction we get on Saturday.

 

 

Truth is we havent really played tht well since Blackpool and even that was a bit fitful

Boro we were poor needed a last minute winner against 10 men. Charlton not great , Donny not great at all , Barnsley hanging on, Huddersfield only a draw. against Wigan we were very poor, and absolutely terrible against fester. We need a top performance soon.

 

[McRamFan]

So finally Leicester prove that after 2 years of expensive signings you can have a team ready for the premiership. 

 

Personnally I think they have invested well and its been a 2/3 year gamble which they have the provision of releasing high value players.  A lot are in their final year and need to be in the shop window for either Leicester, if promoted, or another team.

 

Quite clever

[rsmini]

And most of Leicesters team and manager are at the end of there contracts this season. That was good planning