Obviously there has been lots of suggestions and paper talk about our next manager (they move on from grieving Ranieri quickly!) and discussions about a new regime and way forward.
My view is slightly different from this. Raniei came and added to and tweaked an already solid foundation and one which continued to build momentum from the previous season (I remember being at that first West Ham game and listening to two Hammers fans talk about our form and how impressive we'd been since that previous Spring) and I think it was perhaps this form and accelerated development and progression was what went under the radar in terms of opponents expectations and preparations for us.
By the time we'd been 'worked out', it didn't matter as nobody had a solution - we were playing a 4-4-2 with 2-4-1 in Kante and Okazaki who worked defensively like no other striker in the league. Ultimately our fitness and the fact we had four or five defensively capable players in felt of our back line whilst still playing an attacking style was what made us so difficult to beat (our CBs were not before, not then, not now these absolute astonishing defenders - they had less to do and more time to prepare for duties without the onslaughts we are now seeing in our box this year <see endless previous threads that contain comments about the importance of our defensive ability in midfield and winning the ball high up the field rather than this lazy journalistic opinion that we waited until our defenders can the ball and lumped it up to Vardy who scored .... Have you seen Huth as Morgan pass!?>.
This year our fitness has not only b mean less than last year (I have no doubt in the previous three seasons that we were one of the fittest teams in the league/s) but been lower than MOST teams in the league.
We have stopped pressing.
We have stopped playing four defensively sound players in front of the backline (whether that be 3 of the 4 midfields and Okazaki or four across the middle with Mahrez behind a striker) it simply and categorically hasn't happened.
So for me, we are not left with the need for a huge overall, insightful tactics, we need someone to come in and re-adjust things that were already part of our foundation at the beginning of last year or shone as being imperative through the season.
Fitness, pressing, second defensive line.
Yes Kante and Ranieri's added extra pushed us into the next bracket and beyond, but that is gone and we now need to concentrate on the aspects that should have been there to make us at least stable in terms of position this season.
It wouldn't surprise me therefore if, and a big IF, a workhorse style manager like Pearson (NOT Pearson!) was opted for that we would at least reap some benefit from a return to the pressing and fitness that was fundamental to everything last year.
To save any need to respond to other-club fans.
Yes it's awful Ranieri has gone.
Yes, if suddenly we lived in a fairy tale and we were offered a Premiership title and relegation we would have taken it.
Yes we have been relegated before and know what it's like.
A work horse not a maverick
posted on 25/2/17
KTF1 - good post, one reason we have struggled has been the change to playing a pure 4-4-2 from last year's successful 4-4-1-1 ie not playing Okazaki for the first 60 minutes whilst the opposition are fresh. This has compounded the loss of Kante.
Also frequently playing two defensively weak players in the side (perm any two from Musa/Mahrez/Gray).
I can see your rationale for bringing in a workmanlike manager. I wouldn't object to Pearson coming back although he probably (!) carries too much baggage, but would have the huge advantage over others of knowing the club which others may take time to assess - time we don't have. Probably best to use the old adage of never go back (or in his case never go back twice).
Where I think your reasoning may be slightly flawed is in the fitness side, because if it is down to that (starting with the dreadful preseason antics) then we truly are stuffed because we don't have enough time left to make a difference. With that in mind I really hope that Vardy hasn't been pressing like last year because he's been told not to, and not because he's not fit/lost pace.
For the top four armchair supporters benefit my desire this year was to have decent runs in the cups (achieved already, certainly in Europe) and not get relegated (jury is unfortunately out on that one).
posted on 25/2/17
I think to gain fitness like we've had the last 3 years previous is impossible....not happening. To improve on fitness...hmmm possible. To 'focus' more on fitness improvement, even if slight (I read an interesting article the other day about the stats building side of our game <not sure if anyone has seen moneyball> and the guy I know said there is just a bank of computers for analysis at Leicester and the article said even just 1 percent difference between your opponent and marker can have a difference) I think is a must. This, of course, is to suggest we haven't and I'm not sure whether this is true/partially true or not at all. But a fresh programme of cardio/HIIT certainly won't do any harm and if some players can't keep up that should say something.
I honestly genuinely believe a lot of our issues are based around the facts I mentioned and whilst we can look to improve on these, I'm not sure, as I'm no professional/experienced football coach, how much needed to be pre-emptive in pre-season and on-going as opposed to reactive now.
This is without, of course, any debate about unavoidable burn out after last season (again, pre-empting any external riposte about matches in a season being the same for everyone - I'm talking about continually matches played without rest and more importantly (as I actually believe a consistent team
Playing every week is valuable) playing at the intensity we have played every week - as a slight aside to this - I honestly believe, despite morale issues, last season has affected Vardy in a way that means he will never get that acceleration back again (was worth it, but still a factor)
posted on 25/2/17
Excellent article.
Re the fitness, I believe it is a mix of both, this Seaons's tactics were not to press from the front running ourselves into the ground but to try and play more 'football' so the fitness levels could be dropped slightly.
The issue with that is you then don't have the fitness when you are struggling and really need it, the lack of fitness has been mentioned on here many times this season and like Kante is a massive difference in our struggles.
posted on 25/2/17
PS - I do think the owners will go for a 'name' as the next Manager.