Official Leicester City FC Thread

[Shaazzam]

heh, should be some goals in that match
im thinking at least 4

with our defence you can score 5, with our attack we can get at least 3.

i will definitely take a 5-3 united win

[HIF]

heh, should be some goals in that match
im thinking at least 4

with our defence you can score 5, with our attack we can get at least 3.

i will definitely take a 5-3 united win

And I would definitely cry.

[HIF]

Leicester 4 Manchester Utd 2

At last, Jonny came back and we were awesome. Thoroughly deserving our win which could've been more except for a good game by De Gea. We dominated early before Greenwood scored and unstoppable from outside the area. We hit back with a sublime goal from Tielemans who bossed the midfield. after half time we were even more dominant and took the lead through Soyuncu only for Rashford to come on and score a lovely goal. then from the kickoff we cut through Manchester and Vardy scored his 7th of the season. Could Manchester come back? No. Daka came on and scored a goal after some wonderful pressing play, he's going to be a mega star in a couple of years. Pogba eventually got a yellow card after 6 fouls that would have earned most players cards and somehow Matic never got a card. typical reffing.

Kasper 6.5, had no hope with the first and little with the second.
Castagne 7.5 looked good especially going forward
Soyuncu 7.5 Jonny makes him great
Evans 8.5 So good to have him back
Amartey 7 played well for the no.5 CB
Ricardo 6.5 great going forward, okay in defence
Soumaré 8 Part of a midfield that bossed Pogba and Fernandes
Tielemans 9 awesome in the first half, great in the second
Maddison 7 some nice passes forward, defensively a weak link, shooting not cool but by far the best he's played this season.
Iheanacho 8.5 How can this guy not be playing?
Vardy 8 just keeps popping them in

Perez 8 replaced Madders and actually did very well
Vestergaard 6 didn't have to do much
Daka 8 pressed well and scored, I'm so looking forward to his progression over the next couple of seasons.

[Cactus Jack]

Leicester look like a top 4 side.

[Shaazzam]

blarg, fair play
what i was worried about happening, happened

[HIF]

Spartak Moscow 3 Leicester 4

Back to the Europa league sitting at the bottom of the table after 2 games and just the 1 point this was a must win game. With N'Didi, Fofana and JJ all out Brendan decided to make very few changes from the Manchester win resting Vardy and replacing Castagne, injured in the warm up, with Thomas. This surprised me as Barnes and Lookman hadn't played, I expected at least one if not both to start. daka coming in for Vardy was no surprise as after scoring his first goal his confidence is on a high and Vardy needs to be protected. The bigger surprise was Jonny being risked for his second start in 4 days which showed how important Brendan viewed the match. We started the game well passing forwards and applying pressure but against the run of play we were behind thanks to a massive deflection within 15 minutes. In negative temperatures and light snow, we kept attacking only to concede a second goal a couple of minutes before half time. It looked as though our European dreams were over without even starting. However quick passing and good link play between Iheanacho and Daka who kept himself onside magnificently led to an almost instant reply and a HT deficit of 2-1. we came out on fire in the second half and within minutes great movement from Daka and another intelligent pass from Iheanacho saw Daka's second and the scores level. Rampantly Leicester pushed for the lead and got it within 10 minutes this time from a great Youri Teilemans ball to the ever vigilant and quick Daka. He slotted away his hat-trick just as cooly as he'd taken the first 2. The match looked ours but then we went ack into our shell for 20 minutes and allowed Moscow some belief.This was snuffed out with 10 minutes to play when Maddison played a simple but clever ball behind the Moscow defence and Daka pounced putting it again past the keeper for his and our 4th goal of the game. In typical Leicester fashion we allowed Moscow a third goal and that could have made the final few minutes and 5 minutes injury time nervy but thankfully it wasn't too bad and Leicester got their European adventure on track with a 3-4 away win.

Kasper - 5.5 - not a lot to do but picked the ball out of his own net 3 times.
Ricardo - 6 - great going forward but a worry defensively
Amartey - 7 - a really solid performance, possibly his best of the year so far
Jonny - 7.5 - our rock at the back
Soyuncu - 5 - some good, some bad.
Thomas - 6 - decent defensively but missing in attack
Soumaré - 7.5 - an excellent second half continually snuffing out Moscow attacks and moving the ball forwards
Tielemans - 7 - cool as ever but substituted with a slight injury concern.
Maddison - 7.5 - best he's played in a long time.
Iheanacho - 8.5 - setting up Daka and holding onto the ball well.
Daka - 10 - 4 goals, great movement, wonderful precision, great work rate.

Vestergaard - 4 - wasn't on for long but didn't look good
Choudhury - 5 - a little off his game
Albrighton - 6 - worked hard.

[HIF]

I told you this kid looked like a natural goalscorer - Vardy's heir:

[url]

Read on Twitter

[/url]

[HIF]

Brentford 1 Leicester 2

Back from Moscow and straight into a tough Away league match. N'Didi, Fofana and JJ still out, albrighton out for a free weeks after that horrendous Moscow tackle. Patson replaced by Vardy who picked up a pre-match injury played until HT and was replaced by Daka. Brentford were the better team in the first half but our defence stood up well and a screamer from YT put us 1 up at the break. Brentford continued to play well in the second half and equalised but Leicester were the better team in the second half and scored the winner from quick thinking from Kasper, good passing and incredible unselfishness from Daka setting up Maddison for the winner. If you accept that Brighton match was a cheat by VAR we should be sitting on 17 points and joint 4th. That's nice to hear.

Kasper 7.5 - not much to do defensively but was alive to threats, good distribution.
Ricardo 7 - good going forwards as always, defending was a little better
Amartey 7.5 - starting to look quite good in a back 3. No mistakes.
Jonny 7.5 - our leader at the back.
Cags 4.5 - had a bit of a disaster and was replaced by Vestergaard
Castagne 7 - quieter than usual but great nevertheless
Soumaré 5.5 - absent in the first half but much better in the second
Tielemans - 7.5 what a goal! midfield general.
Maddison - 7.5 getting back to his best, looking good on the ball and working hard off of it
Iheanacho 7 - good without hitting his usual heights
Vardy 6 - clearly injured and replaced at HT

Daka 7.5 - awesome again, worried the attack, could've scored but set up the winner on a plate for Madders. His unselfishness is another reason he'll be a star.
Vestergaard 7 - came on and handled the high balls into the box, best game in a while.
Perez 7 - looking better and better, at last I see why Brendan likes him.

[HIF]

League Cup: Leicester 2 Brighton 2 Leicester win on penalties.

Leicester made 10 changes and brought in the kids for this match N'didi, Tielemans, Evans and Vardy not even on the bench.

Leicester played well though obviously not at the level their first team would. Should have been 3 up early on and probably a draw was a fair result after 90 minutes. Penalties were well played especially Daka who put it into the top right hand corner.

Ward 7 - good match, easily a high level prem starter. Not sure why he's happy to stay as a number 2.
Vontae- Campbell 6 - started really well but had a poor second half before being subbed
Soyuncu - 7.5 - best of the defence, covering for the others
Vestergaard - 6.5 - getting unfair criticism, was fine.
Bertrand - 6 - part of a back 3, okay.
Thomas - 6 - fine but nothing special
Choudhury - 6 - captain, but rather negative with his passing.
KDH - 6 - missed a sitter early on and it hurt his confidence. played defensively instead of his usual game
Barnes - 8 - outstanding attacking, stealing the ball, scored a great goal lost his way defensively in the second half.
Lookman - 7 - scored a nice goal but not at the standard we saw when he was playing regularly
Daka - 8 - this man is awesome.

Mendy 6
Maddison 6
Soumaré 2
Ricardo 6.5
Ihenacho 6.5

[HIF]

Leicester 0 Arsenal 2

Leicester decided that they wouldn't start the game until 1pm even though it was a 12:30 kickoff. First goal was good but should never have existed as a foul up the pitch wasn't called. Second was a little lucky but Arsenal deserved a lead after 30 minutes. Leicester Midfield was so slow and lazy and the left was terrible. The rest of the match Leicester played pretty well against an average Arsenal who pressed very well but were saved by Ramsdale on the day. Overall Leicester had the wrong starting lineup and played too slowly with a lazy midfield. Should've been 5th will be 11th or 12th.

Kasper 6 - didn't have much to do.
Castagne 6 not much in the first half good going forward in the second
Amartey 5 Not his best game
Evans 6.5
Soyuncu 6.5
Thomas 3.5 terrible first half, decent link with Barnes in second
Soumaré 3 terribly slow and lazy.
Tielemans 6 okay throughout but needs to be better than that
Maddison 6 poor first half better end
Iheanacho 5 too much passing backwards
Vardy 5.5 didn't score

Barnes 7 best player on the day
Lookman 6
Daka 6 not enough time.

[HIF]

Leicester 1 Spartak Moscow 1

Another disappointing result but at least most of the play was much better. In fact we were totally dominant only to allow Spartak to take the lead of one of very few times they actually had the ball in our half. at the other end we were unfortunate whilst missing the cutting edge and Vards missed a penalty. Unlikely to progress in the tournament now although it is still in our hands. We sit 3rd in the group 1 point behind Legia and 2 behind Napoli (1 ahead of Moscow) but with in effect wins needed in both matches as we play Warsaw next and then Napoli away in Italy for the final match.

Kasper - 5.5 didn't have anything to do except save the shot they scored from, he didn't.
Castagne - 8 - he flew down the wing beating players and getting crosses in,
Amartey - 8 - Another good performance from Dan rounding out by the goal.
Jonny - 7.5, passed well from the back and untroubled defensively
Cags - 7.5 one of his best performances and drove the team forward with some good movement
Bertrand - 4 - a poor game subbed early
Soumaré - 6.5 - imperious first half looked total class and then came out lazy in the second half, didn't track his player, who scored.
Tielemans - 7 - some wonderful passes and bossed the midfield but failed to find the through ball too many times.
Perez - 5 - a poor first half but he did get the assist just before being subbed.
Iheanacho - 5.5 - a poor first half but he came to life just before the end of it and showed some flashes in the second but his touch was just out yesterday
Daka - 5.5 - worked hard played well but unable to perform any heroics.

N'Didi - 5.5 - nice to see him back but not yet up to pace
Lookman - 5 - played without confidence passing backwards far too much
Vardy - 4.5 - missed the penalty
KDH - 6.5 - made a difference for the few minutes he was on.

[HIF]

Leeds 1 Leicester 1

Leeds supporters make the atmosphere fantastic at football matches and their manager helps to make the games exciting with their non-stop play. This game was like that and surprisingly only had 2 goals. Leeds played the more attacking and dangerous football Leicester had the better chances including a penalty not given and a goal rule offside. Brendan faced fir with fire by going 4 at the back and playing wingers. The defence did well. The plastic Leicester supporters will be complaining.

Kasper 6 - not too much to do, messed up his positioning for the free kick but made some good plays, kicking was a little erratic.
Castagne 7 - attacked well and mostly held his own against the outstanding Raphina
Evans 7.5 - solid
Cags 7.5 - solid
Ricardo 6 - good going forward but not as good defensively
N'didi 8 - great to have him back
Soumaré - 6 still learning
Tielemans - 7 better defensively than on attack today, picked up a knock and was subbed - hopefully doesn't play for Belgium
Lookman 5 - very histant in the first half, should've scored in the first minute, scored the offside goal and played well in the second half
Barnes 8 - Electric, incredible goal, injured and subbed.
Vardy 6.5 - marked out of the game but still set up the offside goal and the first minute miss.

Amartey 6.5
Maddison - 7 some nice moves
KDH - 7 gaining confidence again

[The_Brecht]

Tielemans is out

[HIF]

Tielemans is out

I saw the action and tbh I hoped that it would be enough to make him miss the international games but be back for our next match. I think I read he's out 2 to 3 weeks which is worse than I thought at the time. He could do with a short break though he's been playing during every break for a few years.

[HIF]

Leicester 0 Chelsea 3

Wrong formation from the start. Best team won

Kasper 4.5 - instils no confidence at corners, perhaps it's time for a change.
Albrighton 7 - never gave up
Amartey 6.5 - another decent performance
Evans 6
Soyuncu 6.5 - probably drove forward more than the entire midfield
Castagne 6.5 - good second half
N'Didi 6 - needed help
Soumaré 1 - terrible game
Barnes 3 - invisible
Lookman - 5 lacking confidence but played himself into it
Vardy 6.5 worked hard but never got a pass.

Maddison 6.5
Iheanacho 6
KDH 6

Now we need to start winning!

[HIF]

Leicester 3 Legia Warsaw 1

A victory and easy enough even if the supporters were still holding their breaths at every corner even when 2 up. Top of the table and European football continuance secured into the knockouts (conference at the worst). Would be nice to beat Napoli but now we concentrate on getting a win against Watford and moving up the league table.

Kasper 6.5, saved the penalty but probably off the line, panicked at every set piece but did leave his line a couple of times.
Castagne 6.5 worked hard and tired badly at the end of the match,
Amartey 7 last minute replacement for Jonny and did a good job, getting better and better each week.
Cags 7 played well without Jonny, maybe things are getting back to where they were for him
Thomas 7.5 Had a great match down the left, links so well with Barnes and worked hard in attack and defence.
N'Didi 7.5 class player and certainly better when he doesn't have to play YT's position.
Soumaré 5 was okay but he just doesn't have the motor that we need and isn't pressing or covering quickly enough.
Maddison 8 had a great match, scored and had an assist
Barnes 9 potm, terrorised the Legia defence
Lookman 7 getting back to the level he played in the first couple of games
Daka 8 the man is a natural goal scorer and he works hard.

KDH 7.5 came on and did what was needed
Perez 7.5 looked good in the 10 position
Albrighton 7 should have come on a little earlier
Iheanacho 7 as above (Daka was tired).

[HIF]

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Leicester 4 Watford 2

The weather outside was frightful, maddison's play was so delightful, Vardy knew where to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Claudio Ranieri returned to Leicester and was serenaded before, during and after the match. Leicester started strongly then Watford took control, Madders scored, Vardy scored, Watford got a penalty, Vardy scored again, the snow started and became a blizzard, the pitch had to be cleared, Watford got a second, lookman wrapped it up and Leicester fans went home happily even if we are still terrified at every set piece. Brendan has set Leicester up to be great going forward but weak in defence with a back 2, WBs and 2 wingers. It means goals, but nothing is sure.

Kasper 4 A great save or 2 but fighting with his defenders, inability to control his box and poor kicking as Kasper hits his customary poor patch
Castagne 7 great as always but playing higher and higher up the pitch leaves the CBs unprotected.
Jonny 7.5 Did what he could in the formation and conditions
Cags 7.5 looking solid again
Thomas 7.5 made to attack with Barnes
N'Didi 7 the help the back 2 desperately need
Soumaré 4.5 still too casual, puts effort into going forward but not covering back
Maddison 8.5 best he's been in so long, 1 goal, 2 assists
Lookman 7 finally got his goal and grew into the match as his confidence grew
Barnes 7 got better as the game progressed, terrifies defenders
Vardy 8.5 the man is a living legend. Never quits - a true fox

Albrighton 7 came on and did what was necessary when it was necessary
KDH 5.5

[HIF]

Southampton 2 Leicester 2

Another terribly disappointing first half followed by a decent second half which should have been enough to get the 3 away points required, but we didn't. Our Defence has no confidence especially at corners and set pieces, and this match saw us equal the Prem record for number of consecutive games where we've both scored and conceded. Recently we seem to concede 2 every game including the first goal of the match which is putting us under severe pressure to score a lot. I'm not putting this down to the individual players because despite injuries we have good players out there and not the formation as we've changed that with the same result, I think it's the policy and tactics that Brendan is using. The Zonal marking is a disaster for us especially when we have a goalkeeper who is unwilling/unable to come off his line and take control of his 6 yard box, let alone his area. Kasper is an elite shot stopper but I'm afraid to repeat, as I do every year, that he is poor in his area, average at best with his kicking and sadly not a captain with his leadership. We need to change our defensive philosophy or change our goalie or both.

Kasper 3: Couple of decent saves but read above for the deficiencies
Castagne 6: quieter than usual but okay
Jonny 7 : got into a shouting match with Kasper, needs to be made the captain
Cags 7: returned to solid dependable play with the added effort of going forward too
Thomas 7.5 another good showing from the young man
N'Didi 5 some good play but also some reckless challenges and loss of concentration - the pressure of no YT and partnering Soumaré starting to show
Soumaré 2 he just doesn't have a defensive mind and he lacks defensive effort. ,notable improvement after being substituted.
Maddison 8.5 another great game, is he back? possible injury near end of match.
Lookman 6.5 worked hard but things didn't quite work for him
Barnes 6.5 invisible first half, very good second half
Vardy 7 great work but missed a sitter than should've won us the match. should only play once a week.

KDH 7.5 replaced Soumaré, changed the dynamic and the game. needs to start on sunday
Perez 5.5 okay but fluffed an easy one.
Daka 5.5 Shouldhave been on earlier.

[HIF]

Aston Villa 2 Leicester 1

Are the good days over?

Is it back to the inconsistent Leicester of the rest of my life?

Yesterday we looked incredible going forward (especially in the first half) but frightening when any ball was put into our box. We ARE disappointing and depressing.

The match started well with Daka making his first start for the rested Vardy and KDH coming in for Soumaré. Both of these moves worked and we looked great going forwards. we even scored first which should have meant victory but that doesn't take account of our utter crisis in confidence whenever there is a corner or set piece or ball into the box. The players as well as the fans know that the ball is likely to end up in the net and so it happened again twice in this match. With the opposition only getting a lot better over the next month it is scary for Leicester fans at the moment. We can only fear that Liverpool (Man city and the rest) will put double figures past us. I can't remember the last time we didn't concede 2 goals and we also have the record now for consecutive away games where both teams score.

What should we do? Fire the defensive set piece coach immediately and get a new one is the first move to be made. Brendan must also consider changing his philosophy and mix mark to man marking with zonal marking to put more responsibility onto the players out there. What about a change of personnel? With JJ back in training it'd be nice to see him in the team but after all the time he's missed that'll surely be January at the earliest, Ricardo is injured too , but I'm not sure he improves us defensively, Fofana is on his feet but I can't see him making an appearance until at least mid February. We have Vestergaard and Bertrand (two of our summer signings) on the bench but to be honest they aren't better than what we have out there. The players are very good players but if it isn't focus and concentration then the problem is surely the system. Against a big team like Newcastle maybe I'd bring Vestergaard in to help with set pieces (but then we have to be careful about the speed merchants) and Bertrand could return but tbh Thomas has been putting in good performances at LWB. What I would do is rest Kasper for a few games. He is a great shot stopper but his inability to leave his line is killing us as is his lack of captaincy ability. Where is Wes Morgan when you need him? Damn I'd be calling Robert Huth out of retirement I'd play Wardy for a couple of games just to break the malaise if nothing else and I'm certainly looking at a more commanding goalkeeper for next season. Maybe Iversen can step up.

So back to last night

Kasper 3 - a couple of decent saves but he is the crumbling sand at the heart of our foundation.
Castagne 5 - probably low but we're conceding 2 every match
Jonny 5 - as above
Cags 5 - as above
Thomas 6.5 linked up so brilliantly with Barnes down the left
N'didi 6 has to be more of a superhero to protect our back line
KDH 6.5 lovely first half in his debut but tailed off in the second
Maddison 5.5 good first half but invisible in the second
Lookman 6 - got a lot of **** from the supporters but was trying hard and did some good things
Barnes 8 - mercurial in the first half especially, beautiful goal which could have been more, great header in a more anonymous second half
Daka 7.5 - wonderful first half where he really looked like an imminent heir for Vards, not so much in the second when he was put out wide.

Perez 5 didn't change the game at all when he came on
Vardy 5 I'm not sure he even touched the ball in the 30 minutes he was on for
Nacho 5.5 - brought on far too late. Not sure what Brendan is doing with him (but it's wrong).

Must win (or at least not lose) match against Napoli coming up in midweek.

[HIF]

Napoli 3 Leicester 2

The end of a dream and the start of another.

A goal down after 4 minutes, 2 down within 25 minutes our season looked to be crumbling away. The defence and confidence was atrocious the attack fun but not enough. We fought back well to go in level at HT but after conceding a 3rd at the start of the second half, we failed to put away numerous chances to get the draw needed. The pain of going from the top of the group to the conference league was compounded when Legia losing 1-0 had a penalty in the 98th minute of their game against Spartak (after our match had finished). If they scored we stay in the Europa and play Barcelona in the next round but the penalty was poor and easily saved by the Moscow keeper.

Kasper 3
Castagne 5
Evans 6
Cags 5
Bertrand 1
Tielemans 2
Ndidi 4
KDH 7
Maddison 5
Barnes 5
Vardy 4

Daka 5
Soumaré 5
Albrighton 5