Thought you did well in a difficult opener. Coventry are a good side.
Vardy probably needs to be an impact sub rather than a starter. I guess the future of the alternatives is up in the air though.
Mavididi stepped up in the second half and had a good game.
Dewsbury-Hall and Winks should be a very good midfield for the championship. Arguably both are a level above. Doyle was good on debut as well.
My prediction last week was Southampton and Leicester top 2, and opening weekend has done nothing to change my mind.
I think Ndidi had a shocker. Not good enough even in the championship
I think we learned we need a lot more quality in the wide positions if we want these tactics and formation to work.
Contrary to 99’s views I don’t think Maresca will have learned from that tactically, but he may have done so on a personnel basis. For me Vardy’s isolation was because Nididi is not able to pick his head up and release early passes, and McAteer just didn’t have the mobility or quality to get on the ball and impact the game. Aside from that your had KDH and Winks going backwards and sideways. The amount of 1-2s Winks played back to Vestergaard was killing me when we were 0-1 down.
So I think we’ll see very little change in tactics going forward, but hopefully we’ll see a change in players either as new signings or a bit of rotation. Praet should clearly start over Ndidi and we need to get our wide forwards more in the game and influencing it more.
We won today because we had individuals that were better than Coventry and they lacked any level of composure in front of goal.
It’s going to be a long season I think.
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 12 minutes ago
I think we learned we need a lot more quality in the wide positions if we want these tactics and formation to work.
Contrary to 99’s views I don’t think Maresca will have learned from that tactically, but he may have done so on a personnel basis. For me Vardy’s isolation was because Nididi is not able to pick his head up and release early passes, and McAteer just didn’t have the mobility or quality to get on the ball and impact the game. Aside from that your had KDH and Winks going backwards and sideways. The amount of 1-2s Winks played back to Vestergaard was killing me when we were 0-1 down.
So I think we’ll see very little change in tactics going forward, but hopefully we’ll see a change in players either as new signings or a bit of rotation. Praet should clearly start over Ndidi and we need to get our wide forwards more in the game and influencing it more.
We won today because we had individuals that were better than Coventry and they lacked any level of composure in front of goal.
It’s going to be a long season I think.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah I agree. I don’t expect Maresca to change his tactics - which does concern me because I’m not sure a high line against counterattacking sides when you have slow defenders is a foundation for success.
What he got badly wrong today was his personnel as you say. Not starting with a more attacking minded midfielder was nuts - what on earth did he think Ndidi was going to be able to do in that role? His insistence on starting Vardy and Vestergard is also concerning - he needs to sort that as Vardy is better as an impact sub for me. We surely need to be moving on from relying on him now.
I agree 99, we massively need more creativity in midfield. Winks and KDH is fine bout that means we need Mavididi to settle in the team and then I think we need different players to make that system work.
What I can’t work out if Vardy is part of the problem or suffering from the lack of any element of creativity around him?
Vardy will always finish chances but he hasn’t really got the legs to get into the positions he used to on a regular basis anymore. He can’t really run in behind like he used to, his link up play is average and therefore he can’t stretch the play from a long pass or get in behind
His movement is still good but it’s harder to create chances for him these days - I feel like he plays better with a no.10 or a strike partner rather than an isolated striker
Lucky win ,just really a scrape.
Poor up front,slow at back, conceded from a corner,all we learnt is that it will be a long hard season.
Not impressed with manager decisions,needed ianacho up front far earlier .
Yes good win but really could have lost if Cov had better finishers.
Feel that the result just papered over the cracks.
Next few games will tell us a lot more.
comment by 99 Problems (but Rodgers ain’t one) (U12353)
posted 15 minutes ago
Vardy will always finish chances but he hasn’t really got the legs to get into the positions he used to on a regular basis anymore. He can’t really run in behind like he used to, his link up play is average and therefore he can’t stretch the play from a long pass or get in behind
His movement is still good but it’s harder to create chances for him these days - I feel like he plays better with a no.10 or a strike partner rather than an isolated striker
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well that’s never gonna happen with Maresca so I reckon it’s time for Nacho to get the chance. Maybe he’s one we thought would be on his toes but if he’s not it could be him to start and Vardy an impact sun as you say.
With regards to Thorney - I don’t think a whole new style of play is going to gel instantly so just picking up points at the start of the season is key. How we are playing after 10-15 games will be telling and hopefully we can get enough points on the board during that time to give us a chance this year.
Otherwise it could be a long season as you say.
It’s going to be a very long season if Enzo can’t figure out what a total liability Vestergard is. In his post match interview he also described Ndidi as n attacking midfielder which I thought was interesting!
So what did we learn?!
We need the guy from swansea, quickly
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
comment by Foxy Boy (U20186)
posted 58 minutes ago
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He is not the biggest but a very confident kid, he will be fine.
comment by Foxy Boy (U20186)
posted 32 minutes ago
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Did we watch a different player? I thought he was very Kasper. Great shot stopper but glued to his line and a liability whenever the ball came into the box from wide!
Obviously not passing judgement on one game but there were a few concerning signs that he won’t help our weakness from corners and set pieces.
Don’t you love the first game of a new season?
Being back in a buzzing atmosphere today after the dross fuelled ire we all felt last season, there is nothing like how today felt.
The game itself was interesting for a number of reasons….
1) Vardy as an impact sub is definitely the right way to go, his mind is still sharp and his touch can still give defenders a problem but the body is half a step behind. Hopefully Kelechi gets the nod on Wednesday.
2) Hermansen had his moments but also flapped a bit at crosses, and given our propensity to defend like blind sloths last season let’s hope this improves ASAP.
3) Vestergard did what Enzo wanted but we know he has no pace, that was highlighted today with Coventry’s incisive counter attacks.
4) The sooner we get the quality in midfield and to wide right then we should see more chances created.
5) But saying that I have to applaud the substitutions, also the way we fought back after going behind and contrary to a few comments I feel that the purchase of Winks will be inspired during the season. Composed (apart from one glaring bad pass near the end) and he will be the gel in the middle that we need this season.
Overall a good start to get 3 points on the board but as I think Mersey said, we will all know more after about 10 games when final squads and tweaking of tactics are settled in.
UTF
Hermansen was good overall, a couple of great saves kept us in the game. Cov (Robins presumably) sussed us out by half time and with better finishing they'd have been out of sight. Awful defending for their goal, continuation of what we've been seeing for years.
We were fortunate to get 3 points, also it was not against the Cov side that finished the season well last year - they've had many changes.
On the plus side Winks looked good, I thought Doyle was OK too. KDH outstanding and the reason we ended up with a win.
Not so good - Vestergard makes a sloth look sprightly. Far too much of the old passing backwards/sideways still.
Lacking creativity up front, and I'm going to seriously doubt Maresco's managerial ability if he persists in thinking it's a good idea to play N'didi in an attacking role or leave Ian on the bench.
All in all a reasonable start, much work to do, definitely a work in progress but we've got 3 points on the board.
What did we learn?
- It was a sh*t performance in the second half and we were lucky to get away with the win
- Some of our players are far too good for this division and others probably aren't good enough
- Vestergaard is still a lame donkey who will cost us a lot of points if he plays any significant level of game time
- Maresca isn't the second coming of Jesus Christ, but also isn't some bald fraud either.
- He will need time to properly implement his ideas. Our fans won't give him that time and there will be a meltdown on here and Foxestalk every time we are not winning at half time or we concede first. If the board can't be bothered to give him time, we might as well cut our losses, forget the next 3-4 months of tedium and sack the poor guy now.
- Top still thinks the sun shines out his backside - first game of the season and he's appearing on the front page of the matchday programme instead of the new manager or signings. King Power FC in full sight, folks.
- There's never any point in showing any vague sense of optimism about this football club any more. Matchday threads are where any hope go to die a sad, lonely death. Just stick to the misery and self-pity - it's much easier that way.
A win's a win. We are where we are. Etc.
I think Foxello - while you make some good points - given your posting history over many many years (I include the Nigel Pearson years in there), for you to criticise others for being negative is - if you don’t mind me saying, a bit rich.
You’re famous for being the poster who shows up in spades when things are going bad. Now it’s great you’ve found yourself a little bald hero in Enzo - and I don’t want to spoil your new found optimism. But just as others had to put up with some serious negativity from you on many match threads when things were faltering under Pearson in the championship - you might have to put up with the same from others like myself
I didnt feel there was a meltdown on here yesterday but a venting of frustration over familiar issues (puzzling starting line up, tactics similar to Rodgers causing the same problems etc) and also concerns over the fact that the club just appear to be drifting in the same direction. The reset hasn’t felt like one just yet
None of this means that I think Enzo should be sacked or he won’t come good. I have a feeling we will be pretty good to watch and should get automatic but he has to learn from the mistakes of Rodgers
I should have known that you guys would never forgive me for the Lord Nigel slander all those years ago Though, in my defence, I at least gave him a few weeks before I started being critical of his team selections and tactics rather than, erm, 60 minutes of the first game of the season?
Maresca is a new manager who I think needs some time to get himself acquainted with his new role. Similarly, the players need time to get use to his ideas and philosophy. He won't change those and we're not going to be seeing 4-4-2 under him anytime soon, so we're just going to have to accept that. If he is still making the same errors with regards personnel in a few weeks time, I will be joining you on the worry bus but for now, it's teething pains and we need to accept that.
Anyway, it's not for me to be the optimism police, and I clearly wouldn't be the right person for that role anyway given that you will always revel in exposing my hypocrisy every time I did complain about the short-sighted moaning. All I'll say is that if yesterday is anything to go by, it's going to be a very long, miserable, slog of a season which, coming off the back of last year, I would really like us to avoid. But hey, people can support and follow the club in whichever way they deem fit.
Maybe the club is just so fundamentally broken now that nothing really matters anyway. We've already thrown our glory days down the toilet with our own complacency. Shrugging our shoulders whilst everything burned around us and still not showing any hint of being the least bit aware of that. Nothing we ever achieve now will come close to what we had before, so maybe there's just no point any more? Who knows.
I never held Pearson up to be the messiah others did - I’m just highlighting the hypocrisy of having a pop at others for moaning when you’re renowned for it and generally thought of as one of the most pessimistic posters on here. I don’t revel in that - I just find it a bit rich when you have a problem with others doing the same
Also - you’re missing the point on the concerns with Maresca by using an extreme 4-4-2 example. No one wants a return to Pearson tactics as far as I know. I’d much prefer a possession based high press style of play. The criticism is that he has to get the personnel right - not just the formation:
Given that he was heralded as some kind of genius by some in the media and certain fans - all I’m saying is that he didn’t get off to the best of starts with that line up and needs to learn quickly. The positive - because I know you’re such a happy go lucky kind of guy - is that he fixed it after 60mins and it paid off
I think the club is fundamentally drifting right now and I reserve the right to be skeptical while ever Top remains at the helm. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to be wrong. Nothing I’d love more than to smash this division and turn into Brighton
Interesting game. What did we learn?
Whisper it quietly - but Maresca's tactics are not all that different from Rodgers'. He likes playing out slowly from the back, through the midfield and in a measured approach. He likes players who are comfortable on the ball - including the keeper.
Mavadidi grew into the game after a difficult start and looked decent. Beware - so did Tete on his debut away to Villa!
Kasey McAteer looked a little out of his depth, but it was his league debut (I believe) and he deserves a few games before a proper analysis.
Vestergaard has found favour with Maresca because he is comfortable on the ball which fits the blueprint. Whereas Souter isn't and doesn't.
Winks and Pereira looked good in the middle but if either are injured, not sure who would come in and fill the void to make the system work.
Vardy is past it. Always a legend at LCFC but no longer has the legs or control to demand a place in the first 11.
We definitely need 2 or 3 recruits - to add some creativity in the middle and some quality on the wings.
Maresca is NEVER going to change his philosophy or style of play so we had better get used to it. First half, it worked well and with the aforementioned additional creative and wide players I think we would have blown Cov away. Second half we came out and failed to respond to Robins' changes for 1/2 hour and looked woeful. We would have been 3 down if Cov had their shooting boots on.
The crowd are going to have to be patient - this is a work in progress. I doubt our crowd will be patient - especially if and when we lose a few - and there are going to be some vocal demonstrations of disenchantment for Maresca to deal with in the coming weeks.
Although I agree with most of your sentiments Foxello, I think our new system worked better than Rodgersball in the first half, we were looking to get the ball forward quicker and actually managed a few shots on goal.
Whether it was down to the shock of going behind or whatever, but we reverted to the dreadful backwards/sideways passing of old and lacked urgency. Until Maresco made the changes.
I was wondering why on earth Robins took off their best player - Hamer - so early in the match. Apparently it was down to us having so much possession he was struggling with tight calves; I had been considering if the dramatic late turnaround was in part due to Cov getting tired - it seems this may have been the case.
Mavididi looked like he wasn't going to do much but certainly grew into the game later on. Hopefully that isn't all we'll see of him (a la Teté ). As such I don't want to put the kibosh on him!
We decidedly need more reinforcements up front. Jon - get your *rse into gear!
Overall I was quite pleased, some good progress already and a reasonable start. Cov certainly deserved something out of the match so for us to harvest all 3 points is a worthwhile bonus.
Hopefully we'll continue improving.
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So what did we learn?!
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posted on 6/8/23
Thought you did well in a difficult opener. Coventry are a good side.
Vardy probably needs to be an impact sub rather than a starter. I guess the future of the alternatives is up in the air though.
Mavididi stepped up in the second half and had a good game.
Dewsbury-Hall and Winks should be a very good midfield for the championship. Arguably both are a level above. Doyle was good on debut as well.
My prediction last week was Southampton and Leicester top 2, and opening weekend has done nothing to change my mind.
posted on 6/8/23
I think Ndidi had a shocker. Not good enough even in the championship
posted on 6/8/23
I think we learned we need a lot more quality in the wide positions if we want these tactics and formation to work.
Contrary to 99’s views I don’t think Maresca will have learned from that tactically, but he may have done so on a personnel basis. For me Vardy’s isolation was because Nididi is not able to pick his head up and release early passes, and McAteer just didn’t have the mobility or quality to get on the ball and impact the game. Aside from that your had KDH and Winks going backwards and sideways. The amount of 1-2s Winks played back to Vestergaard was killing me when we were 0-1 down.
So I think we’ll see very little change in tactics going forward, but hopefully we’ll see a change in players either as new signings or a bit of rotation. Praet should clearly start over Ndidi and we need to get our wide forwards more in the game and influencing it more.
We won today because we had individuals that were better than Coventry and they lacked any level of composure in front of goal.
It’s going to be a long season I think.
posted on 6/8/23
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 12 minutes ago
I think we learned we need a lot more quality in the wide positions if we want these tactics and formation to work.
Contrary to 99’s views I don’t think Maresca will have learned from that tactically, but he may have done so on a personnel basis. For me Vardy’s isolation was because Nididi is not able to pick his head up and release early passes, and McAteer just didn’t have the mobility or quality to get on the ball and impact the game. Aside from that your had KDH and Winks going backwards and sideways. The amount of 1-2s Winks played back to Vestergaard was killing me when we were 0-1 down.
So I think we’ll see very little change in tactics going forward, but hopefully we’ll see a change in players either as new signings or a bit of rotation. Praet should clearly start over Ndidi and we need to get our wide forwards more in the game and influencing it more.
We won today because we had individuals that were better than Coventry and they lacked any level of composure in front of goal.
It’s going to be a long season I think.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah I agree. I don’t expect Maresca to change his tactics - which does concern me because I’m not sure a high line against counterattacking sides when you have slow defenders is a foundation for success.
What he got badly wrong today was his personnel as you say. Not starting with a more attacking minded midfielder was nuts - what on earth did he think Ndidi was going to be able to do in that role? His insistence on starting Vardy and Vestergard is also concerning - he needs to sort that as Vardy is better as an impact sub for me. We surely need to be moving on from relying on him now.
posted on 6/8/23
I agree 99, we massively need more creativity in midfield. Winks and KDH is fine bout that means we need Mavididi to settle in the team and then I think we need different players to make that system work.
What I can’t work out if Vardy is part of the problem or suffering from the lack of any element of creativity around him?
posted on 6/8/23
Vardy will always finish chances but he hasn’t really got the legs to get into the positions he used to on a regular basis anymore. He can’t really run in behind like he used to, his link up play is average and therefore he can’t stretch the play from a long pass or get in behind
His movement is still good but it’s harder to create chances for him these days - I feel like he plays better with a no.10 or a strike partner rather than an isolated striker
posted on 6/8/23
Lucky win ,just really a scrape.
Poor up front,slow at back, conceded from a corner,all we learnt is that it will be a long hard season.
Not impressed with manager decisions,needed ianacho up front far earlier .
Yes good win but really could have lost if Cov had better finishers.
Feel that the result just papered over the cracks.
Next few games will tell us a lot more.
posted on 6/8/23
comment by 99 Problems (but Rodgers ain’t one) (U12353)
posted 15 minutes ago
Vardy will always finish chances but he hasn’t really got the legs to get into the positions he used to on a regular basis anymore. He can’t really run in behind like he used to, his link up play is average and therefore he can’t stretch the play from a long pass or get in behind
His movement is still good but it’s harder to create chances for him these days - I feel like he plays better with a no.10 or a strike partner rather than an isolated striker
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well that’s never gonna happen with Maresca so I reckon it’s time for Nacho to get the chance. Maybe he’s one we thought would be on his toes but if he’s not it could be him to start and Vardy an impact sun as you say.
With regards to Thorney - I don’t think a whole new style of play is going to gel instantly so just picking up points at the start of the season is key. How we are playing after 10-15 games will be telling and hopefully we can get enough points on the board during that time to give us a chance this year.
Otherwise it could be a long season as you say.
posted on 6/8/23
It’s going to be a very long season if Enzo can’t figure out what a total liability Vestergard is. In his post match interview he also described Ndidi as n attacking midfielder which I thought was interesting!
posted on 6/8/23
So what did we learn?!
We need the guy from swansea, quickly
posted on 6/8/23
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
posted on 6/8/23
comment by Foxy Boy (U20186)
posted 58 minutes ago
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He is not the biggest but a very confident kid, he will be fine.
posted on 6/8/23
comment by Foxy Boy (U20186)
posted 32 minutes ago
A word on the new goalie though. Very good debut. Comfortable taking crosses, good shot stopper and confident with the ball at his feet.
Was watching on TV today, is he small or was it a trick of the cameras?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Did we watch a different player? I thought he was very Kasper. Great shot stopper but glued to his line and a liability whenever the ball came into the box from wide!
Obviously not passing judgement on one game but there were a few concerning signs that he won’t help our weakness from corners and set pieces.
posted on 6/8/23
Don’t you love the first game of a new season?
Being back in a buzzing atmosphere today after the dross fuelled ire we all felt last season, there is nothing like how today felt.
The game itself was interesting for a number of reasons….
1) Vardy as an impact sub is definitely the right way to go, his mind is still sharp and his touch can still give defenders a problem but the body is half a step behind. Hopefully Kelechi gets the nod on Wednesday.
2) Hermansen had his moments but also flapped a bit at crosses, and given our propensity to defend like blind sloths last season let’s hope this improves ASAP.
3) Vestergard did what Enzo wanted but we know he has no pace, that was highlighted today with Coventry’s incisive counter attacks.
4) The sooner we get the quality in midfield and to wide right then we should see more chances created.
5) But saying that I have to applaud the substitutions, also the way we fought back after going behind and contrary to a few comments I feel that the purchase of Winks will be inspired during the season. Composed (apart from one glaring bad pass near the end) and he will be the gel in the middle that we need this season.
Overall a good start to get 3 points on the board but as I think Mersey said, we will all know more after about 10 games when final squads and tweaking of tactics are settled in.
UTF
posted on 6/8/23
Hermansen was good overall, a couple of great saves kept us in the game. Cov (Robins presumably) sussed us out by half time and with better finishing they'd have been out of sight. Awful defending for their goal, continuation of what we've been seeing for years.
We were fortunate to get 3 points, also it was not against the Cov side that finished the season well last year - they've had many changes.
On the plus side Winks looked good, I thought Doyle was OK too. KDH outstanding and the reason we ended up with a win.
Not so good - Vestergard makes a sloth look sprightly. Far too much of the old passing backwards/sideways still.
Lacking creativity up front, and I'm going to seriously doubt Maresco's managerial ability if he persists in thinking it's a good idea to play N'didi in an attacking role or leave Ian on the bench.
All in all a reasonable start, much work to do, definitely a work in progress but we've got 3 points on the board.
posted on 7/8/23
What did we learn?
- It was a sh*t performance in the second half and we were lucky to get away with the win
- Some of our players are far too good for this division and others probably aren't good enough
- Vestergaard is still a lame donkey who will cost us a lot of points if he plays any significant level of game time
- Maresca isn't the second coming of Jesus Christ, but also isn't some bald fraud either.
- He will need time to properly implement his ideas. Our fans won't give him that time and there will be a meltdown on here and Foxestalk every time we are not winning at half time or we concede first. If the board can't be bothered to give him time, we might as well cut our losses, forget the next 3-4 months of tedium and sack the poor guy now.
- Top still thinks the sun shines out his backside - first game of the season and he's appearing on the front page of the matchday programme instead of the new manager or signings. King Power FC in full sight, folks.
- There's never any point in showing any vague sense of optimism about this football club any more. Matchday threads are where any hope go to die a sad, lonely death. Just stick to the misery and self-pity - it's much easier that way.
A win's a win. We are where we are. Etc.
posted on 7/8/23
I think Foxello - while you make some good points - given your posting history over many many years (I include the Nigel Pearson years in there), for you to criticise others for being negative is - if you don’t mind me saying, a bit rich.
You’re famous for being the poster who shows up in spades when things are going bad. Now it’s great you’ve found yourself a little bald hero in Enzo - and I don’t want to spoil your new found optimism. But just as others had to put up with some serious negativity from you on many match threads when things were faltering under Pearson in the championship - you might have to put up with the same from others like myself
I didnt feel there was a meltdown on here yesterday but a venting of frustration over familiar issues (puzzling starting line up, tactics similar to Rodgers causing the same problems etc) and also concerns over the fact that the club just appear to be drifting in the same direction. The reset hasn’t felt like one just yet
None of this means that I think Enzo should be sacked or he won’t come good. I have a feeling we will be pretty good to watch and should get automatic but he has to learn from the mistakes of Rodgers
posted on 7/8/23
I should have known that you guys would never forgive me for the Lord Nigel slander all those years ago Though, in my defence, I at least gave him a few weeks before I started being critical of his team selections and tactics rather than, erm, 60 minutes of the first game of the season?
Maresca is a new manager who I think needs some time to get himself acquainted with his new role. Similarly, the players need time to get use to his ideas and philosophy. He won't change those and we're not going to be seeing 4-4-2 under him anytime soon, so we're just going to have to accept that. If he is still making the same errors with regards personnel in a few weeks time, I will be joining you on the worry bus but for now, it's teething pains and we need to accept that.
Anyway, it's not for me to be the optimism police, and I clearly wouldn't be the right person for that role anyway given that you will always revel in exposing my hypocrisy every time I did complain about the short-sighted moaning. All I'll say is that if yesterday is anything to go by, it's going to be a very long, miserable, slog of a season which, coming off the back of last year, I would really like us to avoid. But hey, people can support and follow the club in whichever way they deem fit.
Maybe the club is just so fundamentally broken now that nothing really matters anyway. We've already thrown our glory days down the toilet with our own complacency. Shrugging our shoulders whilst everything burned around us and still not showing any hint of being the least bit aware of that. Nothing we ever achieve now will come close to what we had before, so maybe there's just no point any more? Who knows.
posted on 7/8/23
I never held Pearson up to be the messiah others did - I’m just highlighting the hypocrisy of having a pop at others for moaning when you’re renowned for it and generally thought of as one of the most pessimistic posters on here. I don’t revel in that - I just find it a bit rich when you have a problem with others doing the same
Also - you’re missing the point on the concerns with Maresca by using an extreme 4-4-2 example. No one wants a return to Pearson tactics as far as I know. I’d much prefer a possession based high press style of play. The criticism is that he has to get the personnel right - not just the formation:
Given that he was heralded as some kind of genius by some in the media and certain fans - all I’m saying is that he didn’t get off to the best of starts with that line up and needs to learn quickly. The positive - because I know you’re such a happy go lucky kind of guy - is that he fixed it after 60mins and it paid off
I think the club is fundamentally drifting right now and I reserve the right to be skeptical while ever Top remains at the helm. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to be wrong. Nothing I’d love more than to smash this division and turn into Brighton
posted on 7/8/23
Interesting game. What did we learn?
Whisper it quietly - but Maresca's tactics are not all that different from Rodgers'. He likes playing out slowly from the back, through the midfield and in a measured approach. He likes players who are comfortable on the ball - including the keeper.
Mavadidi grew into the game after a difficult start and looked decent. Beware - so did Tete on his debut away to Villa!
Kasey McAteer looked a little out of his depth, but it was his league debut (I believe) and he deserves a few games before a proper analysis.
Vestergaard has found favour with Maresca because he is comfortable on the ball which fits the blueprint. Whereas Souter isn't and doesn't.
Winks and Pereira looked good in the middle but if either are injured, not sure who would come in and fill the void to make the system work.
Vardy is past it. Always a legend at LCFC but no longer has the legs or control to demand a place in the first 11.
We definitely need 2 or 3 recruits - to add some creativity in the middle and some quality on the wings.
Maresca is NEVER going to change his philosophy or style of play so we had better get used to it. First half, it worked well and with the aforementioned additional creative and wide players I think we would have blown Cov away. Second half we came out and failed to respond to Robins' changes for 1/2 hour and looked woeful. We would have been 3 down if Cov had their shooting boots on.
The crowd are going to have to be patient - this is a work in progress. I doubt our crowd will be patient - especially if and when we lose a few - and there are going to be some vocal demonstrations of disenchantment for Maresca to deal with in the coming weeks.
posted on 7/8/23
Although I agree with most of your sentiments Foxello, I think our new system worked better than Rodgersball in the first half, we were looking to get the ball forward quicker and actually managed a few shots on goal.
Whether it was down to the shock of going behind or whatever, but we reverted to the dreadful backwards/sideways passing of old and lacked urgency. Until Maresco made the changes.
I was wondering why on earth Robins took off their best player - Hamer - so early in the match. Apparently it was down to us having so much possession he was struggling with tight calves; I had been considering if the dramatic late turnaround was in part due to Cov getting tired - it seems this may have been the case.
Mavididi looked like he wasn't going to do much but certainly grew into the game later on. Hopefully that isn't all we'll see of him (a la Teté ). As such I don't want to put the kibosh on him!
We decidedly need more reinforcements up front. Jon - get your *rse into gear!
Overall I was quite pleased, some good progress already and a reasonable start. Cov certainly deserved something out of the match so for us to harvest all 3 points is a worthwhile bonus.
Hopefully we'll continue improving.
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