~ Another clean sheet - tick.
~ Vardy breaking the 20 goal mark - tick.
~ The curse of the Manager of the Month Award thwarted - tick.
~ Improbable 10 point lead established, even temporarily - tick.
~ One result away from securing a Top 4 place with games in hand - tick.
~ Opposition fans, in the main, courteous and respectful - tick
Sure, we have some tough games ahead of us (on paper), but you can be certain that the players and fans will enjoy every second. As has been the case all season.
It's been said before, and is about to be said a million times more - this is a wake up call for all the entitled clubs in this division.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea - you can spend your hundreds of millions of pounds but that guarantees you nothing.
Arsenal - you can decide not to spend hundreds of millions of pounds but you can't use it as an excuse for underachievement year on year (by your standards and aspirations)
Other teams, like Liverpool, will go on this summer and spend absurd money all in a bid to keep up with the aforementioned.
Perhaps it's time you established a brave new model - one of bringing in heart, passion, spirit and fun. Leicester have shown just how far that can take a team.
Leicester may not be favourites for the title next year, no City supporter expects them to be. In fact, it'll be substantially more difficult to win it next year, however this season should, with any hope, be the dawn of a new era for English football.
It's time for teams like Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, West Ham and anyone else to believe they belong at the top year on year.
It can be done. It is being done. Embrace it.
So, where are we now....
posted on 10/4/16
Ripley I admire your candid views and thank you.
For others to suggest teams are going to let us win thats crazy.
There maybe 10% effort lacking in their performance or Chelsea may put out their kids. But even the kids will do their best to gain a contract wage rise or promotion to the first team.
posted on 10/4/16
No one is suggesting any team will roll over for us. But when you have something to play for then it makes a huge difference. That's what made today's game probably harder for us than when we play Everton or Chelsea
Sunderland needed a point and we still came through it.
posted on 10/4/16
Five games to go. Five massive massive games.
Anything could happen, but you've got to hope we can get at least 2 wins.
I didn't like the Spurs result today. I feel like that has put a lot of wind in their sails.
I still feel sick.
posted on 10/4/16
Westham are still desperate for top 4 so no way in a million years will they not try against Leicester. Anyone who actually thinks this is deluded and clueless. Westham will go all out for that game because it's last chance saloon for them in the quest for top 4
posted on 10/4/16
Blackstar, to be fair mate Sunderland are atrocious and that showed today. Your real test is the hammers and if you come through that with 3 points then congrats the league is yours. Can see hammers certainly doing their best for the 3 points though
posted on 10/4/16
West Ham have got a big game in mid week which in itself could be an advantage to us. But if they win that and their priorities may change by Sunday
posted on 10/4/16
I disagree Don. A counter attacking team hates playing sides that sit deep and defend. It's why we have had to grind results out and it was no different today. I would take the likes of Everton and West Ham every week over Sunderland and Watford.
It's not the same for Spurs but we rely on teams coming on to us. Sunderland are far better defensively than west ham or Everton who are so open it's untrue. That's great for vardy and mahrez
I'm not saying west ham will be easy but we are more comfortable playing that kind of team than Sunderland who pressed us all over the park and kicked us to death today.
We have beaten West Ham away and if we can defend like we have done recently then I think we will get through it ok
posted on 10/4/16
Don i dont mean west ham wont be going for three points. Of course they will
I just think we have some games coming up better suited to our style than teams set up to defend.
posted on 11/4/16
I agree with BS, West Ham coming to try to beat us will play straight into our hands and is a much better type of game for us. I'd rather being playing West Ham, United, Everton and Chelsea more than Sunderland, Newcastle, WBA and Norwich and even Swansea.
We play counter attacking football which needs teams to come and attack us, we back ourselves defensively and hit at pace on the break. We don't want teams sitting deep playing for draws because that makes it more difficult to utilise our pace.
Our goals yesterday were precisely why we're so dangerous, another glorious ball by Drinky and Vardy doing what he does best and then Vards in a foot race and there's only one winner. This is what we will get from playing teams who try to beat us and we will get loads of space in our upcoming games, so what other fans might see on paper as better teams and more difficult, they're actually better for us.
posted on 11/4/16
comment by arrothefoxinoz (U8567)
posted 7 hours, 20 minutes ago
I agree with BS, West Ham coming to try to beat us will play straight into our hands and is a much better type of game for us. I'd rather being playing West Ham, United, Everton and Chelsea more than Sunderland, Newcastle, WBA and Norwich and even Swansea.
We play counter attacking football which needs teams to come and attack us, we back ourselves defensively and hit at pace on the break. We don't want teams sitting deep playing for draws because that makes it more difficult to utilise our pace.
Our goals yesterday were precisely why we're so dangerous, another glorious ball by Drinky and Vardy doing what he does best and then Vards in a foot race and there's only one winner. This is what we will get from playing teams who try to beat us and we will get loads of space in our upcoming games, so what other fans might see on paper as better teams and more difficult, they're actually better for us.
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I don't disagree with any of that. I am though surprised at Sunderland's lack of tactical discipline yesterday. For a team desperate for points, playing against a team who are ruthless on the counter, to get over-confident when getting some decent possession is unacceptable at this level.
I agree that teams who deploy the style of tactics like WHU, Chelsea and ManUtd are better suited to us - however naturally the trade off is that the risk goes up. One slip up against Sunderland, you might not concede (see Jack Rodwell), vs slipping up to WHU, and say Payet, you will concede.
What we have shown, definitively, is that we collect points and adapt our style to suit every run of games thrown at us.