07 Aug 2024 01:01:39
Early days of course but this high line is going to cause us many problems this season as prem teams love to counter. I’m concerned by our “press”, not enough players working hard enough to win it and we continue to press for long periods which is leaving silly amounts of space all over the pitch.
On the ball I’m starting to see what Enzo wants amd you can see it.
07 Aug 2024 09:29:34
The defence are sitting ducks with this man to man marking he has going on. It's just not going to work.
07 Aug 2024 10:26:14
Agree the high line has never worked for us. Lots to work on before the start of the season.
07 Aug 2024 10:37:59
Maresca said afterwards that the line was 5 yards too high, but I think it is the poor press that is leading to the issues with the defensive line.
It is giving teams time to look up and play the ball vertically in behind - like a blitz defence in rugby, it’s high risk/ high reward, but can be bypassed if you get wide quickly enough or chip through when the defensive line speed falls away.
I’d disagree with RBD a bit: it’s not going to work LIKE THIS. Done properly, it can work well.
07 Aug 2024 11:49:58
This is how viewed the game against RM.
The first half defensively was very poor. Defence to high, getting easily beaten by simple channel balls and constantly outnumbered on the break. Giving the ball away cheaply can always cause a situation that leaves the defence short of numbers but there should also be an element of anticipation from defenders.
The second half was a lot better but throughout the game the defenders seem to lack confidence this lead to occasional panic.
Offensively we were ok but still lacked a clinical edge.
Pre-season is the time to work on the obvious problems and in my opinion the schedule on this “tour” hasn’t helped. As always the manager gets paid the bucks to find solutions. Over to you boss!
07 Aug 2024 13:22:29
Maresca had the audacity to blame Poch for the high line.
Curious because I distinctly remember a large criticism many had of Poch last season was that he was playing Silva which caused our back-line to sit deep.
Meanwhile I believe a hallmark of Leicester was that they had their three CBs on the halfway line in almost every game.
AVB all over again.
07 Aug 2024 13:34:22
Tom, initiating a new style is down to the coach who will no doubt have to fall on his sword if things go wrong. However, the players must also take responsibility and step up. There were only a few players who were consistent performers last season. Generally the defenders were very poor. Not much time left to sort things out.
07 Aug 2024 13:38:49
The few times I watched Leicester games I distinctly remember them playing with two deep ish CHs and with the goalkeeper playing high. They did invert a FB but again the other FB also dropping deeper to make it seem like three CB’s
To say the manager “blamed” Poch isn’t how I heard the comment. I just heard it as an observation and how it now needed to be worked given the amount of goals we conceded last season.
07 Aug 2024 14:10:45
Jimbo, I agree that players have to take a reasonable amount of responsibility.
As I’ve said the manager gets paid the big bucks to get his ideas across to the players as we as other duties. If he is deemed to be a failure the owners have shown that they not afraid to act but that has been the case for the last twenty years.
The defenders last season were generally bang average but the constant changing of partnerships didn’t help. I’m hoping to see a consistent pairing at CH and I think he may well start with Fofana and Colwill with Gusto (James suspended) and Cucarella as our FB’s. That to me seems like a good solid back four.
07 Aug 2024 14:12:45
Our defenders not just undone by highline or poor pressing but own clumsy nervousness playing out from the back or passing around at the back. TC out best defenderstill missing - injury or.? - from lineup and we need him. Plus world class replacement for Silva was needed as was experienced and prolific striker (might still come in) and top class keeper though Petrovic had done pretty well IMHO last season and yet Sanchez returns as no 1 or perhaps FJ.
Pattern emerging that Sporting Directors want own picks picked by manager. Poch eventually ditched some of them and favoured CG TC and Petrovic. We then did better.
Maresca a Sporting Directors pick surely too.
Don't get me wrong I hugely hope the new manager will succeed and we will have a great season. Such very early days still and to be beaten by Real Madrid and City no disgrace even if both missing many of top players plus had lost previous preseason games. But am not feeling v confident for a top 4 finish this coming season and I had been at end of last season.
So if Maresca not only gails to get us this but also to improve on 6th place this will be a big disappointment. Given his cv suggested his appointment a gamble the Sporting Directors wouks have a lot of questions to answer.
But for now I will continue to hope of course.
07 Aug 2024 15:25:13
Any idea that Poch pushed back on our SD’s interference on team selection seems a stretch to me.
I very much doubt the SD’s tried to influence Poch on team selection.
Chalaboa got his chance because of injury to Disasi and he in my opinion took that chance and played well and should not be sold.
I may well be wrong but if we had no injuries in midfield I have my doubts Gallagher would have played anywhere near as many games.
I can’t be sure but Petrovic I think only got his chance because of injury to Sanchez.
I personally don’t see any of the above as personal victories for Poch as a coach.
It’s true both City and RM were missing some good players but so were we. I have my doubts about the manager and he certainly wasn’t my first choice but he has to be given a reasonable amount of time to get this team working as a unit.
We have already had a half hearted call from a poster wanting the manager sacked before the season has even started and I’ve lost count of the amount of criticism towards the owners and SD’s. The season is about to start I’m hoping that all the fans get behind the manager and the players.
COME on MY MIGHTY BLUES.
07 Aug 2024 18:39:03
Tom, we all hope the manager and the team will be successful. However the transfer business has been totally confusing. No doubt, we all hoped for players like, Costa, Olise, Osimhen. Instead we get a Championship midfielder, a 20 year old Spanish striker not good enough for AM and Sanchez likely to start as our keeper. How many of the signings will make any improvement to our squad, I doubt if any of them will We would have better to stick with what we have. Surely, I’m not the only one disappointed with our business so far.
07 Aug 2024 19:59:44
We are going to get ripped apart this season. I don’t mean to be negative, but you can see it already in pre season.
07 Aug 2024 20:56:22
Jimbo, we all have doubts. The owners have invested and supported the SD’s.
Questions will be asked at every level if we fail to impinge last seasons finishing position and that’s the way it should be.
07 Aug 2024 21:29:36
Tom, apparently we have made 9 signings! Other teams who will be fighting for top 4 will probably make 3 signings to strengthen specific areas and the players they buy will probably be starters and improve the team. How many of our signings ( who actually play) will improve the team? . You would have thought that failure to qualify for the CL for two consecutive seasons might have indicated to the hierarchy that stockpiling youngsters is not the way to re-establish a success in the present rather than the future. I used to look forward at the start of the season to see how our new signings perform: not so this season: yawn.
08 Aug 2024 04:54:59
Jimbo, I have concerns about our recruitment policy but I have to think there is a plan. There will be lots of sales and loans in the next few days and then we will have a clearer picture of next seasons squad.
I like the loaning players out but I was always critical of how many players we had out on loan under RA and it now looks as if we will have a lot of players out on loan this season. I’m not sure I understand the plan and my continual commitment is “it’s a business” is one I will have to except.
I’m not going to judge the quality of this widows signings until I’ve seen them play in the Premiership, At the start of last season I wasn’t sure about the likes of Gusto and Palmer but they now look top signings. I think we just have to wait and see but that doesn't take away “todays” concerns.
08 Aug 2024 08:38:37
Tom, I admire you’re optimism but you are not going to see many of the players play in the PL this season- that is my point; the only ones who are likely to get some games are Jorgensen, Tosin and KDH all of which are underwhelming signings and do not make us a top 4 side. The only hope I have is that we keep our best players fit and that the new coach gets the best of them in the new system.
08 Aug 2024 14:25:54
Jimbo, none of us have a clue what our business model is. As I’ve said I’m not a fan of the club investing in such a large number of players.
My guess is they are all seen as potential first team prospects but some may well be sold having had limited playing opportunities at our club.
We won’t be the first team to buy a player for £20m and sell him for £85m. Under our previous owner we we bought and sold players to play but also as a profit and we they also sold numerous academy players.
I’m having to look at our club differently than under Roman but to be fair for the last few years of the Roman era it looked like we were being run to make a profit.