Stunning. After the WBA game I was nervous but what a performance. An hour late for work this morning to watch it but what a great decision.
A night when everything came together. I just hope we can sort out Fatawus transfer. One last push and hopefully a party at the King Power against Blackburn.
Had a listen to the post match podcast this morning, and quite disappointed to hear Enzo say he was not happy that we only had 30 odd percent possession. He didn't think that was in keeping with his belief that possession is the most important part of the game. If our missing 30% is taken up by Vestergaard and Hermansen with the ball at their feet waiting for an opponent to make a move, or needless passing sideways and backwards and getting ourselves nearer and nearer our own goal and eventually having to hoof the ball forward anyway or risk giving possession away, then quite frankly I don't see it as any great miss. All that faffing about just gives the opposition time to regroup and reset their defence. In fact it was Southampton who resorted to that approach and they shipped 5 goals. Football isn't boxing. You can't win a game on points by keeping the ball away from your opponent. You have to score goals. Stats from a few years ago showed that the fewer touches you took before getting the ball into your opponents' penalty area the more likely you were to score. Last night's high press and quicker movement of the ball got the crowd on their feet ..... it was exciting. Isn't that what football is all about? It's a fans game. They're the ones who pay the money, so give them something to cheer about. The players enjoyed it too. Seems like everyone was a winner except Enzo. Time to ditch the dogmatic, purist approach and look at what works.
I understand the philosophy is having control of the game if you have control of the ball. I didn't feel we weren't in control on Tuesday despite having less of the ball. I was genuinely shocked when I saw the post match stats on possession. It's pointless, literally, having a boatload of possession if you don't actually score goals. See QPR, Bristol, Millwall and Plymouth. I know those teams just set up to block and you've got less space but hours of Hermanson, Vesty and Faes doing the chuckle brothers 'me to you' is as thrilling as watch paint dry. We knew Southampton would be more open and we exploited it perfectly. Hopefully, QPR manage to exploit Leeds on Friday.
I agree with the philosophy of not giving possession away. But that is not the same as keeping it at all costs. The trouble with these philosophies is that Enzo works on a blackboard and invents situations that his methods can solve. Out on the pitch it's different. Players are dealing with real-life situations. They are faced with 11 unpredictable human opponents who most likely will not kindly conform to Enzo's predictions. That's why players have to be able to think for themselves and react to an ever-changing scenario before them. If Mavididi, Fatawu or Vardy are in acres of space why not make one 50 yard pass while they are free rather than take 32 aimless passes because the manager has told you that that the 50 yard pass is against his philosophy. I wonder if Enzo suffers too much from Pep emulation syndrome. When you have worked with someone like Pep who has turned a very ordinary Manchester City team into a world class outfit, it must be very easy to think that his way is the only way. But even Pep had to adapt his initial rigid approach after the first couple of years. To be honest, if I'd been a Man City fan I'm not sure I could have bothered paying to watch the dull, soulless and predictable stuff they churned out in that time. Fast forward to now and things have changed, but at a cost that Leicester City can only dream about. We don't have the same financial luxury, but we do have a team with some very talented and capable players. We have a team that is very close-knit, and that is very much down to the manager and the success he has brought after last season's debacle. These players need nurturing and encouragement as well as guidance to get them to the next level. What they don't need is over-management and a feeling of being stifled. Hopefully we see 2 more games this season with the team approaching them in the same way as the Southampton game, and the manager being pleased with what he sees.
What a difference 12 months makes. Hopefully whatever transfer business we are able to do is smart and the points deduction isnt too large should we be found guilty. Looking forward to it already.
Straight back up, Straight back up Leicester City Absolutely seamless, nothing to worry about, never in doubt* *not all of those statements are true. What is true, is that WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE AGAIN
Just popped over to offer my Congratulations on promotion. I hope that we will have joined you come Tuesday night
Me too. You are the hardest team to beat in the Championship. Brilliant teamwork. Get those tractors revving one more time.
Glad we're back up, like a dodgy builder, it took a bit longer than expected to finish the job. Special thanks to QPR and Hull for giving us the opportunity for the (C) next to our name at Preston.
Fosse (sorry I don't want to moan), but please let us enjoy the moment and don’t spoil it by talking about next season’s struggles! Live for now and a great team performance and JV passing 20 goals for a season at his age (goat). ⚽⚽ Plenty of time after to think about next season's struggles.
Abdul Fatawu - absolute game changer. Worked his socks off as always and totally unplayable last night. Deserved a goal for that performance.
Huddersfield will have to pull out all the stops in this match. They need to win by 15 goals and hope that Plymouth lose. Seems like a tall order, but you never know.
