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charleyfarley 8:57 Mon Jan 17
⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

V

King Power Stadium
Sun 13 Feb 16:30 GMT

VAR Chris Kavanagh

Michael Oliver (15) - 44 1


Schmeichel ©️, Pereira, Söyüncü, Amartey, Justin, Tielemans, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes, Maddison, Daka
Subs: Ward (GK), Albrighton, Iheanacho, Perez, Choudhury, Vestergaard, Mendy, Thomas, Lookman


Fabiański; Coufal, Zouma, Dawson, Cresswell; Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio
Subs: Areola (GK), Diop, Fredericks, Johnson, Kral, Noble, Vlašić, Benrahma, Yarmolenko


Leicester 15/8: Draw 5/2: West Ham 17/5



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BRANDED 1:21 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Pedro.exactly. We have become less good in defence since losing our best two defenders who also add at set pieces. Losing good players is bad. Innit?

Sven Roeder 9:24 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Both Czechs have been going non stop since Sept (Oct for Coufal) 2020. The season ended late May 2021 & then into the Euros & the new season.
The World Cup moving to Nov/Dec probably isnt a bad thing to give them a proper summer break ... physically & mentally.
Didnt help that Coufal got kneed in the BOLLOCKS by Matic and had COVID. Still doesnt look up to speed after that.

Mex Martillo 8:50 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Nice piece Sir Alf, if you can ignore the nearly need a new team conclusion. It's not that black and white though is it? A lot of our players (Cresswell, Coufal, Soucek, Benrahma, Fornals) can and do pass the ball well, it's just the inconsistency that kills us, who will turn up for the game? We get away with it in attacking midfield as we can change it around swap like for like and find the slightly more on form players. But it is a bit painful trying to get that right.

The two Czechs puzzle me a bit. I wonder if they are not happy with West Ham? They have proven themselves and now the cat kicker is on around 3 times more than they are. Soucek said, if his new contract negotiations don't go well he will leave. Not good to have unhappy players. Perhaps a factor?

Texas Iron 8:01 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Haha…

Sir Alf…WHO’s very own Nobel Laureate…

🤠🤠🤠🤠

mallard 1:02 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Ag!

Fortunes Hiding 12:42 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Cheers ED

Eerie Descent 12:38 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

I'll save you time Fortunes.

• He thinks we're shit

Fortunes Hiding 12:35 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Sir Alf

Can you use bullet points?

Sir Alf 12:05 Tue Feb 15
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

The problem down our right side is beginning to really bite. Dawson, Soucek and Coufal all struggled to pass accurately yesterday and gave the ball back to the opposition far too often. We then have Barnes targeting Coufal's relative lack of pace and that causes the whole back four to sit deeper ( fear of his pace ) and in turn leads to us not being able to press them tightly enough in midfield.

We need a few better passers of the ball in the team thats for sure. You can get away with perhaps one of the CBs being more of an old fashioned "spoiler" who is not the greatest with distribution but we have 2, maybe 3 of our 4 CBs that struggle and we now see Coufal struggling too with distribution. Johnson although strong defensively also needs to improve his passing and crossing Yesterday you could see easily who can pass and has good control, technique in our team. Rice, Lanzini & Bowen. Fornals did not have his best game but his passing and technique is decent as is Vlasic's, Vlasics issue is physicality although I see him getting stronger but we need more and for him to start getting on the ball a lot more. It might not ever happen I suppose but I think we need to give him until next season still.

So the problem we have, aside from only 14 or so players that are really up to standard, becomes retaining possession and playing at pace while keeping the ball. We give it away or launch it from the back too much and lose it up front and in midfield far too much as compared with many sides not just the top 3. The worst offender technically is Antonio who couldnt trap a bag of cement and many of his passes and crosses etc. can go anywhere. Dawson, Diop ( although yesterday he was improved ) , Oggy, Coufal, Fredericks, Soucek and Benrahma give it away too cheaply with their passing and at the back we are simply not confident in possession. That means we avoid playing out from the back and go for the safety first "boot it out" and hand over possession.

We were ( still are) getting success though from being a very well drilled team, well organised that counters well.

But to progress and be able to play around and through teams who sit deeper we will need better technical players. Lanzini was peripheral for much of the game yesterday but ironically just before he went off he swapped with Fornals or Soucek ( not sure ) to play more centrally and started to thread balls through the Leicester pressing.

Was a real shame yesterday though. For 30 - 40 mins we looked reasonably solid, self assured and in control. Then Cresswell's "head gone" moment leads to the game getting away from us and almost being lost. Psychological impact of a goal just before half time was massive. 2nd goal was also bad defending. Cresswell gets beaten back post by a bloke who is roughly the same size or perhaps even smaller. Diop, who was good overall, got caught under the ball yet again ( this is a recurring trend ) and one of those that Ogbonna may well have got too as he stretches every sinew to make those headers whereas Diop does not ( go look at the footage and you see it clears Diop by a few centremetres). And finally of course Coufal getting turned inside out by Barnes and not being able to stop it coming in.

Definitely a point gained but also, for me, further evidence, as others point out , of the need for 4 or 5 better players in the first 11 and perhaps as many as 9 or 10 better players for the squad. Will take a few more windows assuming we actually do start addressing some positions that have been a problem for 4 or 5 windows now already?

Tomshardware 10:23 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Bowen's goal yesterday reminded me of Craig Bellamy.

Pedro 8:36 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Last time I looked we were 4th highest scorers in the league.

Goalscoring not the issue.

Crassus 8:32 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Shelvey is their key player, the midfield continuity
Get Tommy to hound him for 90 minutes and ASM will Iive off scraps as their forwards become separated from their defenders
Get Dawson on the big lump at set plays and in attack go wide and break the lines with quick ball to feet
Job done!

Stowie.40 8:08 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Saint Maxmin is an excellent player, think you’d be naive not to worry about the problems he brings. You deal with him you’d probably win, let him run riot you probably won’t.

, 8:00 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

The Newcastle player to fear, scoring in his last two games, is Trippier. He is out for a while with a broken foot.

twoleftfeet 7:29 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Sad really that a number of people on here today are shit scared of one Newcastle player and wetting their knickers about how we handle him.

We are currently 4th in the table, we have more match winners than they do so let them worry about us FFS.

I would be upset if we didn't stick 3 past them.

Stowie.40 7:24 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

I can see the Fredricks thing maybe happening, he done it at Villa last season. Obvious who the most dangerous player on the pitch is Saturday. If moyes plays Coufal against Saint Maximin he needs shooting.

Lee Trundle 6:08 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

THe only OUT THERE stuff Moyes does, is not buying replacement for players he's sold, and making subs when it's too late in the game to do anything.

Other than that, I find him fairly predictable in what he does.
I reckon most of us will be able to predict 90% of the team he puts out at the weekend.

goose 6:07 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

there's some nonsense written on here today!

"play soucek as a false 9" FFS.

"we keep scoring so he wont change it". duh.

of course he wont because we keep scoring. similar to moving Bowen out of position to replace Antonio - he's probably the most in form forward in the PL and you wanna sacrifice that and change whats been working so well for him??

Football Manager has a lot to answer for.

Romfordboy 5:58 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Actually knowing how Moyes likes to do some out there stuff and how Barnes roasted coufal on Sunday

With ASM playing he may play Bowen upfront and fredericks on the right wing as a double up and also some pace and width

Romfordboy 5:54 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

Can’t be worse than playing with someone who is obv all out of steam upfront.

Stowie.40 5:40 Mon Feb 14
Re: ⚽ Leicester v West Ham - Official Match Thread

We then lose all our natural width that comes from Bowen. Shouldn’t have to play our best attacking player out of position.

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