Player ratings vs. Bournemouth

Well, this match was basically Stoke mk. 2. Sedentary for a good hour or so followed by panic to snatch a draw.

Here are my ratings:

Schmeichel: 6 - His match was mostly characterised by running up to "sort of ref" Probert and pointing things out to him that he ignored. Did fine when called on, which wasn't often.
Amartey: 6 - Was doing fine until he unfortunately pulled up.
Morgan: 6 - Didn't handle the first half formation change well, which frankly nobody did, but as captain one might hope for a bit more. Still generally solid though and got in some tough challenges.
Maguire: 7 - Showed drive and determination to get forward, helped to set the pace later on.
Fuchs: 5 - Looked as uncomfortable as he usually does when put into a back 3. Otherwise had a pretty average day.
Mahrez: 7 - Well marshalled for some time as Bournemouth realised that we didn't have any other threat in the middle of the park. Snatched a point from the jaws of victory though after giving Begovic the eyes. Could do with improving his one on one finishing but one moment of quality makes him marginally my choice for our MOTM.
James: 6 - Does what he does, which is defensive midfield, but shouldn't have been selected in a midfield 3 as Iborra would have been able to cope and offers more. Probably better to be thought of as a backup to Ndidi rather than a partner though, given the lack of creativity in the squad.
Ndidi: 6 - Made a couple of bad mistakes that weren't punished, one by Bournemouth and the other by the ref. Still a dominant presence in defensive midfield however.
Silva: 5 - Started reasonably with a couple of nice touches, went downhill as the first half went on, then was terrible in the second. Perhaps gave an insight into why he's not getting game time as he gave the ball away too often, particularly through unnecessary tricks. Frustrating.
Albrighton: 4 - Much like last week, he struggled in the first half, looked a liability at right back, but kept on trying and going for the whole match. Really struggling for form right now and his crossing remained poor.
Vardy: 5 - It's been mentioned elsewhere but we're not playing to his strengths. He seems to be coming short for the ball a lot and the defenders look comfortable as a result, unlike when he's hovering on the shoulder of the last man. The most obvious example of needing Okazaki back to do the back-to-goal stuff for him and free him up to threaten higher up the pitch.

Chilwell: 6 - Was a confusing sub at the time, and the change confused the whole team for the rest of the first half. Showed enthusiasm and didn't do a great deal wrong, even if he didn't provide much either.
Iheanacho: 6 - Didn't create anything but at least provided a threat and a challenge for Bournemouth, which they had had precious little of up to the point.
Diabate: 6 - Decent outing, again providing some impetus when he came on. Still looks perhaps a little short of belief to try something rather than just pass the ball on.


While I'm a very, very long way from being on the Puel out bus which seems to be powering up and preparing to leave the station, this was in my opinion his worst outing as Leicester manager. The team selection in the first half was a bit limp and defensive (if we're going to play 4-3-3 then go select Iborra and Gray/Diabate instead of James and Albrighton), then the Amartey change confused everything in a game where we were fairly happy. I would have much preferred to see Dragovic on at right back - it's not like he'd offer any less going forward than Amartey or Simpson.

But generally he seems to want us to play like Arsenal without the personnel to be able to do it. Okazaki would probably help, granted. However, I hope he goes away from the match and has a bit of a rethink about exactly what he wants out of this team because it's not working right now.