It's a mark of how far we've come that I left that match feeling underwhelmed. We'd just won our seventh league match in a row by two goals to nil and yet it was a little disappointing. Honestly, it's the kind of entitlement that needs snapping out of quickly. But I can't imagine it was a great game for the neutral.
Here are my ratings:
Schmeichel: 6 - Mostly a spectator. He along with the rest of the team never quite worked out how to deal with the Watford press on goal kicks, and that may be something that has to be worked out in training.
Ricardo: 7 - A lively influence who provided as much excitement as anyone else in attacking areas. Marginally my choice for our MOTM, although it was hard to pinpoint anyone today.
Evans: 7 - Demonstrated how to deal with Deeney, albeit a Deeney on his first match back from injury.
Soyuncu: 7 - Some fine individual defending, but just needs to ensure that the mistakes don't start creeping back into his game.
Fuchs: 7 - Showed some proper, experienced defending, although we also saw how Chilwell's dynamism and energy can be missed.
Perez: 4 - I know the flag went up both times, but those misses in the first five minutes were atrocious. He never fully settled into the game, his best moment being the control and pass into Vardy for the penalty that wasn't. Didn't do well today and needs to step it up at the weekend.
Ndidi: 7 - Did his job quietly and well, patrolling in front of the back 4 and competing physically with the Watford midfield.
Tielemans: 5 - Quiet game that he struggled to influence. Hasn't been at his best recently, although we did miss him a bit in latter stages when someone more decisive and ruthless could have cut Watford apart with regularity.
Maddison: 7 - Working observably hard this season and generally looking fitter than Tielemans. Worth noting how much he's come on on that front as compared to the start of last season when he was struggling to last 90 minutes. Was the man to take control later on and was rewarded with an injury time goal.
Barnes: 6 - Some really nice runs and moments, but the lad can't finish his breakfast at present. Should have scored in the second half, and tired later on as usual. Another who needs to work on his stamina.
Vardy: 7 - Forced to come short and help with build-up play at times, such was the nature of the game. Delivered when needed, although it was an odd-looking penalty routine on both sides.
Praet: 6 - Didn't quite look as on-it as he has done in the past and his touch wasn't perfect today, but he contributed well enough to the midfield battle.
Justin: 7 - A surprise appearance but got the chance to show a sample of what the club had bought to the home fans. Looked confident, undaunted and willing to try things that often came off for him, although generally looked uncertain of what to do at the end of his runs. A taster of game time that will likely do him good.
Choudhury: 6 - Came on to fill a gap and do a job in clogging things up and largely did it, the odd air-kick aside. Didn't really know how to properly take charge when receiving the ball on the break and was generally better advised to leave it to Maddison.
Today's match was the most like a Championship match in style that I've seen us play in a long time. This is mostly down to Watford's style, which was turgid. Long balls, niggling fouls, athleticism and set pieces were the order of the day, and we fell into it somewhat - not helped by one of the worst referees on the circuit. At the end of the season this will be a match long since forgotten, but one where at least the 3 points went up on the board and we moved onward.
Player ratings vs. Watford
posted on 5/12/19
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 47 minutes ago
Hey Arro - I think the same as I did in the Everton game. There is no point playing lovely one touch passing of the end product means you never look like scoring.
Perez, Barnes and Tielemans need to find a way of linking the play more effectively in the final 3rd against tightly pack defences.
I’m not saying that’s easy and I’m not criticising anyone as such, just saying that really it was a night of midfield against defence, and we didn’t really create many chances.
My view has always been the same. I care not about how we pass the ball around in the first 70-100 yards. It’s the last 20 that count. Goals win games, not passes.
That said, again to point out I’m not criticising. We got the 3 points. I just thought the way in which Watford set up made it a dull game.
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It's simply a case of some players having to improve their finishing and final ball, pretty much the only player not guilty of this is Vardy, at least on a regular basis.
I still enjoy watching the little intricate one twos and flicks that get us in behind though and into goal scoring positions, even if we don't score. It's far more entertaining than just lumping the ball into the box. Also if we keep creating these openings we will ultimately score goals, it would be lovely if we finished them off every time but that's not necessarily realistic.
posted on 5/12/19
Today's match was the most like a Championship match in style that I've seen us play in a long time. This is mostly down to Watford's style, which was turgid. Long balls, niggling fouls, athleticism and set pieces were the order of the day, and we fell into it somewhat - not helped by one of the worst referees on the circuit. At the end of the season this will be a match long since forgotten, but one where at least the 3 points went up on the board and we moved onward.”
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Apart from a subjective half a point here or there I largely agree with DMs ratings. I also had RP as marginally MoTM. Most of all I agree with the final paragraph (above) as it really does sum up the game.
I actually came away thinking that it was the poorest game I’ve seen this season. That’s ones I’ve seen all the way through either live or on telly - so doesn’t include MU or Liverpool away, which are the 2 games we’ve lost. Maybe the Wolves game beats it for lack of creativity rather than lack of quality. I’ve seen many who think it was ok so maybe I’m wrong but, for me, we never got to grips with this game and if we’d conceded a scrappy, or lucky, goal it could have been very tricky.
Watford’s approach was strange. A draw wasn’t really what they needed as they need to start winning games. There entire strategy, however, seemed to be to stop us breaking quickly and trying to make the game as messy as possible. This is where the referee really didn’t help. I was amazed that the first half finished with 2 bookings for Leicester players and zero for Watford players when their approach was so cynical.
For the first time I might be tempted to tinker with the starting eleven if I was BR. I now find myself wanting and hoping that Perez with make a contribution rather than expecting him to. There are also others who may need the opportunity of a short spell in the team. Praet is an obvious option as is Fuchs, but Gray and Iheanacho have now made significant contributions from the bench. Also Choudhury and Justin need to be ready if called upon. My biggest worry here is disrupting the balance of the team and halting the momentum we’ve built along this winning run. I’m glad it’s a quandary for the manager to solve and not me.
Meanwhile it’s another very good and hard earned, 3 points. We move on and I’ve forgotten this game already. I hope the players have.
posted on 5/12/19
comment by ArroinLestah (U22188)
posted 2 hours, 21 minutes ago
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 47 minutes ago
Hey Arro - I think the same as I did in the Everton game. There is no point playing lovely one touch passing of the end product means you never look like scoring.
Perez, Barnes and Tielemans need to find a way of linking the play more effectively in the final 3rd against tightly pack defences.
I’m not saying that’s easy and I’m not criticising anyone as such, just saying that really it was a night of midfield against defence, and we didn’t really create many chances.
My view has always been the same. I care not about how we pass the ball around in the first 70-100 yards. It’s the last 20 that count. Goals win games, not passes.
That said, again to point out I’m not criticising. We got the 3 points. I just thought the way in which Watford set up made it a dull game.
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It's simply a case of some players having to improve their finishing and final ball, pretty much the only player not guilty of this is Vardy, at least on a regular basis.
I still enjoy watching the little intricate one twos and flicks that get us in behind though and into goal scoring positions, even if we don't score. It's far more entertaining than just lumping the ball into the box. Also if we keep creating these openings we will ultimately score goals, it would be lovely if we finished them off every time but that's not necessarily realistic.
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Understand and agree with that Arro 👍
posted on 5/12/19
I've noticed that, over the last few matches, our xG has gone up quite significantly. It was pointed out in some quarters a month or so ago that we had highly out-performed it and that we were essentially relying on clinical finishing to get us the points we had - mostly from Vardy. It was often then followed with the statement that this sort of trend doesn't last, that it's unsustainable.
So it's potentially quite positive that the change has been to see a less clinical team that's creating more because this particular stat has looked more balanced over recent matches. i.e. The theory goes that what we've been seeing recently is more sustainable in terms of long term points accumulation.
*albeit all of the above is with the massive caveat that you have any kind of faith in the xG stat.
posted on 5/12/19
comment by The_Dungeon_Master (U4830)
posted 14 minutes ago
I've noticed that, over the last few matches, our xG has gone up quite significantly. It was pointed out in some quarters a month or so ago that we had highly out-performed it and that we were essentially relying on clinical finishing to get us the points we had - mostly from Vardy. It was often then followed with the statement that this sort of trend doesn't last, that it's unsustainable.
So it's potentially quite positive that the change has been to see a less clinical team that's creating more because this particular stat has looked more balanced over recent matches. i.e. The theory goes that what we've been seeing recently is more sustainable in terms of long term points accumulation.
*albeit all of the above is with the massive caveat that you have any kind of faith in the xG stat.
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I quite enjoy the XG stat. It’s the one I look for on MoTD as it’s probably more representative than things like possession in terms of who really deserves to win a game. I never really worried about ours as it didn’t reflect the way we were playing now, but more the way we were playing in those first few games. Our points haul was quite good for saying we played Puel-ball up until about game six.
Like all stats, however, you have to take them with a pinch of salt or, at least, with a deeper level of understanding and reasoning. Recognising we have a very clinical striker in Vardy would suggest that we play in a certain way to create chances for him in a certain position. An XG from a threaded through pass might be more effective than an XG from a ball crossed into the box. If Andy Carroll were our main striker that might be the other way around. Similarly it wouldn’t matter how high our XG was if, for example, I was the main striker.
posted on 5/12/19
I love how far we’ve come that the biggest thing we can moan about is that the win that cemented our second place in the league was a bit boring.
Arro is right in that there’s never been a better tune to watch leicester for the quality of play.
posted on 5/12/19
Scoring a tad harsh on Perez, Tielemans and Barnes in my view, otherwise reasonable assessment.
What a great place to be in, it's early December and we're only 5 points from safety. Is that sufficient to bring back your cautious optimism and balance your dislike of the way we won last night? Also remember that 7th victory equals the top flight run of consecutive wins.
posted on 5/12/19
I think it’s dead easy to jump on the bandwagon and call everything rubbish when we’re losing, just as it’s easy to call everything great when we’re winning.
There were many calling Puel out when we were doing well. Ultimately they were proved right as I don’t think he’d ever have got to us to the level we’ve been at this season.
In that context I thought we were pretty poor in this game and never had any control. We allowed Watford to disrupt us and drag us down to their level. The young players will, hopefully, learn to control games like this.
Despite that we restricted Watford to one shot at goal in injury time. We won the game whilst not playing well and are 2nd in the league. There is no feeling of lack of progression like there was under Puel. I can’t think of a single player who’s not improved under BRodgers compared to their level under Puel. Maybe only Ricardo and Evans fall into that category as their level was pretty high already.
But we shouldn’t hide from the fact that the last two games haven’t reached the level we’ve got to in some of the earlier ones. I hope it’s a temporary blip but, if we keep on winning, it doesn’t really matter anyway.
posted on 5/12/19
I think people are being a bit harsh on Leicester. Not our best performance, but Watford came with a very organised set up and an awkward game plan. They were very physical, broke up play with niggly fouls and defended in 2 banks of 4 - very hard to break through. It’s a great sign that we are able to beat teams that set up like that, teams that have been such an issue for us in the past.
It wasn’t perfect, but given its 3 days since we last played an equally resilient Everton, it’s not a bad showing
posted on 5/12/19
comment by Black Starr (U12353)
posted 46 minutes ago
I think people are being a bit harsh on Leicester. Not our best performance, but Watford came with a very organised set up and an awkward game plan. They were very physical, broke up play with niggly fouls and defended in 2 banks of 4 - very hard to break through. It’s a great sign that we are able to beat teams that set up like that, teams that have been such an issue for us in the past.
It wasn’t perfect, but given its 3 days since we last played an equally resilient Everton, it’s not a bad showing
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I'm not being harsh on us, we've just equalled our best run of games - ever. Given the absolute dross we were playing less than a year ago with virtually the same team the transformation is quite incredible. Still early days though but I'm genuinely enjoying the ride this time - no pressure (not yet anyway)!
Agree on the above btw. We looked a bit tired in parts, maybe giving Praet a start might be a good idea? One bonus is we look like we may have a decent backup at fullback.