....although we still have that 7th place (which will all but guarantee European football) and aren’t quite in the position of drifting towards the end of the season in mid table, the wind has certainly been taken from in between our sails somewhat.
Eventually, sub-consciously or not, over the forthcoming weeks, certain World-Cup bound players across the leagues are going to gradually start pulling out of that challenge a bit more, less likely to chase down that long ball or make that gut busting run to get back. Couple this with our recent form and you are left wondering if our season could finish similar to those desert-like winds across the equatorial belt.
Stepping back and focusing out from the details of the season, a dramatic recover from a poor start, adding possession to our game and still the potential to gain our second highest finish in the PL and the chance to be the ‘best of the rest’ would still signal progress and suggest contenment as the overriding emotion.
Hey...in the here and now, I’m not even that fussed about the Europa, plenty of teams who looked to be progressing have fallen foul of it in the past and whilst there is absolutely no reason why this should be us, the only real buzz I’d get from it would be if it came via winning the F.A. Cup - perhaps this is because of exploits in Europe on a much grander scale that are still recent memories, perhaps it’s because deep down I’m not sure we’ve really done enough this season to earn the right to play in Europe or perhaps a recent run of form has blinded me a little to the fact that we are actually a decent Premier League side now with room to grow.
In reality, like most things that sit in the greyness of life, it’s probably a little of all three. This morning though, it struck me how important qualification for the Europa League may be for our club. Not because of the actual opportunity to play in it, but more the reason why we qualified.
Ultimately, it would have meant an upturn in our form and for me, this is the key for next season. It is vital that Puel doesn’t underestimate the impact of momentum from one season to the next. Formally, one season ends and another begins, but in reality, this isn’t the case. We have been on the end of backlashes from poor finales and the impact on the start of the ‘new’ season and too, have reaped rewards from fine finishes to a campaign and the continuity that can bring into pre-season and the forthcoming Autumn period.
Irrelevant of Puel’s intentions in terms of tactical and personnel changes (and I do have a slight niggling concern that there is a revolution v evolution battle going on in his head) for the next season , it is vital we keep our heads up, aim for that 7th spot and momentum to take into the new campaign.
It is true that patience must be shown if we are adapting and evolving to a more long-term strategy for PL success, but that must be balanced with motivation and some sort of cohension and consistency in the meantime. This is coupled by the fact that existing strategies/formations/personnel STILL reap success at this level.
I am not saying that he needs to abandon any style or strategy he is looking to implement but between now and the end of the season, irrelevant of who he is looking to purchase, he needs to play our strongest and most cohesive 11 that look most likely to gain as many wins as possible because although he may see this period of drifting as an opportunity to develop/tinker with tactics and formations with the future in mind, it could have a much bigger impact on next season than he realises. For me, that team pretty much picks itself at the moment and I think Puel needs to be thinking the same way - consistency and familiarity.
In addition to the above , there is the owner’s long term plans for Champions League football - most likely through Europa League success, the appeal of European football to players we want to keep and the impact this formation is currently having on one our best players and a striker trying to score goals and get into the England World Cup squad (the impact on Vardy is probably a separate thread altogether). And of course...he must keep in the back of his mind that although they are all smiles, our owners can be quite decisive when it comes to managerial changes.
So whilst we perhaps are currently in the doldrums, Puel needs to remember that upcoming winds are not far off and his current decisions can have a considerable effect on whether they are between our sails or tearing them apart in the near future.
In the doldrums...
posted on 9/3/18
I do wonder though, if we hadn’t of done the impossible and won the League, would we be quite satisfied with our progress from promotion?
Yes, there’s always room for improvement and we all have opinions about what should be done, I just wonder how far off the owners plan we really are?
Of course, we could be heading for oblivion, it’s happened to us before and loads of other teams as will he the case for a few more this Season again, such a fine line between safety and ‘progression’ and total failure.
posted on 9/3/18
Interesting piece KTF1 and very much along the lines of what I’ve been thinking.
My worry is very much that Puel doesn’t turn this poor run of results around and we see reasonable change in the summer. Mahrez and potentially Bardy leave with the old guard shifted from defence for a more dynamic and forward thinking back line. Simpson’s days are clearly numbered as are Fuchs I believe. Wrong type of full back.
But this new formation and style relies on attacking flair, and we mistakenly think Gray is our replacement for Mahrez.
We start the season poorly and our expensive summer signings from europe flop as the fail to adapt. James comes back in and we recall Andy King from his second season loan. They fail to keep us up and the financial burden sees us struggle in the championship.
That’s obviously over pessimistic, but that’s the genuine risk of Puel not finishing the season well. Players will start to lose trust in him, want to leave and his summer job becomes much harder. Instilling a new team with new belief. That’s fine if they click quickly. It’s likely they won’t.
Times are changing. Puel better start winning football matches, because ultimately this is a result business.
Yey football.
posted on 9/3/18
“...wonder though, if we hadn’t of done the impossible and won the League, would we be quite satisfied with our progress from promotion?”
I am happy with our progress, definitely!!! But concerned about our momentum going into next season irrelevant of past seasons, what league we are in and where we finish.
posted on 9/3/18
I’ve been saying for some time that we are still dining off the success of Walsh and Pearson in terms of the players recruited. Where do 80% of our goals come from? Mahrez and Vardy. Albrighton is still key as is Okazaki in terms of how well we perform as a team.
The acid test is what happens when Mahrez goes because that is really the last remaining piece of the title winning jigsaw - with Walsh, Kante, Pearson, Shakey and Ranieri being the other vital parts. Vardy is to an extent but hugely reliant on service, far more so than other strikers
When that day comes then my worry is that the owners, rudkin and macia could become extremely exposed in terms of their footballing decisions. Lineker has already alluded to the poor running of the football club. Peter Schmeichel, once a proud amabassador of how Leicester were run as a club reportedly no longer feels quite the same.
Ambitions of Europe are all well and good but only making the right footballing decisions at the right moment will get you there
posted on 9/3/18
I think my concern is similar, specifically in relation to the changes he is making. I feel Puel is looking to make changes to areas that shouldn’t be a priority. Yes, if he wants to adapt eventually, he may need diffeeent full backs. But our current problems are not arising from that area of the field. Whilst the way our back line is set up may not be his vision, it should not be the first thing he is looking to change, far from it. Short term: get Okazaki in and deal with the lack of link up PPA with Vardy - that is an immediate, objective problem.
Medium term over the summer/next season:
Consider the creativity, both out wide and in terms of a new, regular partner for Ndidi...because if not both our best Striker and midfielder will start to be tempted by other options.
Long term: When that is sorted THEN think about changing how we play at the back...adapting a team defensively is a delicate job anyway and certainly making our full backs more attacking shouldn’t be prioritised when we aren’t attacking enough in front of them!!
And there are other little things to be tweaking and considering as well before any big changes at the back ....set piece delivery...defending of set pieces...where does Silva fit in? Can Nacho progress here? Gray’s inclusion?
I’m hoping that his bizarre decision not to include Simpson on the bench and even more bizarre decision not to bring on Dragovic at RB was a moment of senility and too hope that it is only injury that would have kept Okazaki out of this team....because if it comes to light that at the moment, he doesn’t see Okazaki and Simpson as imperative in our team because of various reasons, then I will start to worry!
posted on 9/3/18
Just to add to concerns Mahrez is almost certain to leave, possible interest in Vardy from Everton but also both Ndidi and Maguire will also most likely be targets this summer.
It could well be a Summer of discontent and if we don’t have a strong end to the Season or there is discontent at the Managers style this will only be exacerbated.
posted on 9/3/18
I'd agree with quite a lot of the OP, except that maybe I'm more enthusiastic about the possibility of European football next season for myself rather than just for the club. I was lucky enough to go to Copenhagen last season and, despite the turgid match and a couple of rattly plane landings into Berlin then Copenhagen itself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The possibility of another European tour, even if just in the Europa league and with fewer points on my season ticket card meaning a likely lower priority, is exciting.
I think you're bang on about building momentum as well, not just into next season but into the summer transfer window, demonstrating that we're serious about progressing, going places and giving the Europa league a serious shot. That could both convince good players to join and stay respectively. I hope that this is impressed upon the players because they do seem to have slowed down and relaxed a lot of late and I don't believe it's all down to trying to adopt a new style from the manager. Time for a refocus among the squad.
posted on 9/3/18
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
" Mahrez and potentially Bardy leave "
I don't think we'd miss Bardy - after all we've managed without Shakespeare!
posted on 10/3/18
I'm unsure about Europe. Hugely enjoyed Copenhagen, Porto (apart from the result and irritating announcer) Seville and Madrid, so more of the same would be good (perhaps less so going to the far reaches of Eastern Europe ), but the Europe League is very disruptive to the season. So, perhaps not the best idea when we may still be struggling to get into our new shape and learn to cope without Riyad?
Agree we need a good end to this season though.
posted on 10/3/18
Europa League