Well, I guess 3 league defeats in a row is enough of a reason for the harbinger of doom to return for a brief appearance. Sigh.
It's happening again, isn't it? From a position where we were seemingly unassailable with the Best Team In The League ™, we are somehow managing to throw it away. Just like 2013 and 2020-21, we are self-destructing at the worst possible time, and now the vultures are circling, ready to strike.
For the first time, this self-confessed Maresca fanboy is starting to have serious doubts about him. He is clearly a very talented coach with some excellent ideas and a game plan that, when executed to perfection, is practically unbeatable at this level. But when a well-organised team plays against us with a counter plan that they can pull off, Maresca doesn't seem to have the answers. The teams that have beaten us this season - Leeds X2, Boro X2, Coventry, Hull and now QPR - have beaten us by out-thinking Maresca. I am very concerned now that his in-game, tactical management of the team is not going to be at the required level to succeed. The fact that he doesn't have any experienced coaches or a DOF worth their salt to help guide this very inexperienced manager is also a major concern at this point. Is he just a sexy Italian Craig Shakespeare? Well, if we can't get promoted with this squad, I rather feat the question answers itself.
Secondly, whilst Maresca has done some very good things with this squad, it's also clear that this squad is mentally still very weak and this is not something he has fixed. It's a leftover remnant of the Rodgers era of being bottle jobs and it is starting to rear it's ugly head again. When the going gets tough, this group of players can't handle the pressure. I just don't think this group have the mental toughness to ride out bad moments and come back strongly. Unless we are steam rolling weaker opponents, we don't have the capacity to dig deep and grind out a result. Champions come back from 2-0 down and win. We've lost two home games in a row, plus the collapse against Leeds. You can take Rodgers and Madison out of the club but their weak spirit lives on. It is the history of the Leicester.
Finally, whilst our rivals strengthened in January, we didn't. In fact, with the loss of Ndidi to injury and Casadei's loan return, we actually got weaker. We spectacularly screwed up over the Sensi deal, spending 3 weeks negotiating before pulling out altogether when we finally worked out we couldn't get the deal done due to our old friend FFP. Whilst the club hierarchy showed some signs of having learned their lesson with strengthening in the summer and signing players that the manager wanted, sadly the mismanagement of the club since the FA Cup win is still lingering.
There is still a good chance that we can find some form and get over the line, but that is starting to look less and less likely. We are 10th in the form chart this year. Managing to screw up promotion with this squad, when we were so far ahead, will somehow manage to out-Leicester the successive Top 4 chokes. We have to hope that somehow we can turn things around - I still think we can, but from the position we were in, it is looking very ropey now.
One thing is for sure - if we miss out on Top 2, we won't go up through the play offs. It's automatic or bust, and right now it's starting to look like the latter.
Same old Leicester City
posted on 2/3/24
posted on 2/3/24
comment by Foxello - "a miserable Rodgers obsessed weirdo" (U6985)
posted 11 minutes ago
comment by 99 Problems (but Rodgers ain’t one) (U12353)
posted 3 minutes ago
It’s almost like the stuff I’ve been saying for months (even when we were smashing the league) is starting to come true. Funny that….
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Considering that you wrote Maresca off after the 48th minute of the first game of the season, you must be some kind of modern day Nostradamus. Have you considered a career as a futures trader?
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I actually wrote him off before he joined because unlike you I’m not thick enough to thick enough to think that if you bring in a manager with no experience, working for.a DoF that’s utterly hopeless and for a club that has all the long term strategic thinking of a cat, that somehow it’s going to lead to sustainable success.
Must be heartbreaking for you, but welcome to reality Foxello. Namely - if the club at the top is broken, then every decision they make will eventually come undone.
Still, look on the bright side - you’re starting to catch up, so that’s a real positive. Now we just need Mersey to get it
posted on 2/3/24
Boring clueless football,nothing up front,shot shy,not atmosphere in ground,too much mucking about at back,another awful afternoon all round.
Where do we go from here??
Losing patience with manager,and gap is closing from chasing in form teams.
Ref,not one I had heard of, totally out of his depth,looked like he had just turned up from Victoria park and performed at a similar level.
Waste of afternoon,wish not gone.
posted on 2/3/24
Rather than trade insults with you, I am just going to take the opportunity to block you, as I suspect it's in both our interests. It used to be fun engaging and having robust debates with you, but you have morphed into True Blue recently and it's become impossible to have any meaningful conversations with you.
posted on 2/3/24
“unlike you I’m not thick enough to thick enough”
🤠
posted on 2/3/24
Hard to go through a championship season without at least one bad period. I think you'll still finish top.
posted on 2/3/24
I've been concerned about us all season, we could have dropped many more points if it hadn't been for the atrocious level of finishing we've faced; the difference over the last few games is that teams we've been playing have been clinical.
We play a high line and give away chances.
I thought Nelson had a reasonable game today, but what has Coady done for Enzo not to pick him? Having that experience in the back line could have made the difference today.
posted on 3/3/24
Sorry 99, I don’t get it yet 🙃.
I’ve tried to wait long enough to calm down from the game tbefore replying.
It’s a really good OP, and it would be easy to join in with the gloom after 3 straight league defeats. The problems are glaring and pointed out by all. We’re just too blunt up top in this system.
But we’re not done yet, despite what everyone thinks. The one thing I think Maresca has brought is mentality and the willingness to change players. I think that, unlike the fans, he will remain calm and kick a few players up the backside and hopefully this will get us going again. I’m not saying it will, I’m saying hopefully.
I also don’t think that 3 bad results in a so far incredible season. Suddenly makes the ownership and board structure wrong again. Yes we’re struggling with FFP restrictions but other than that, what is the club getting wrong? Communication is low and they can be frustrations some times, but they’ve kept a squad together, brought a manager in that has stopped the slide and got us top.
What we really need now is to get behind the club for the last push to promotion. If we fail then let the inquisition begin. But we haven’t failed yet. Next game is absolutely massive now. We need to get back on track and fast.
posted on 3/3/24
Mersey - here's a response by 99p on another thread as he can't post on this one:-
'Just seen Merseys reply on Foxellos post (which I can’t reply to). It’s staggering. How can a poster be so consistently blind to what is going on at his own club? Even when the facts of why we are starting to fall over stare him in the face his only response is to ‘get behind the club’ because he thinks eventually everything will be fine.
It’s this thinking that saw us sleepwalk into relegation and I actually think Mersey would be better off joining Leicesters boardroom than posting on here. I told you last season Mersey we were going to end up in the championship. I told you our owners were sleepwalked to financial and footballing trouble. I’m telling you now that we have a manager playing a system that isn’t sustainable and has only worked by battering low level sides with a far superior squad.
We have the most expensively assembled side in championship history. We have Harry Winks, Ndidi, Vestergard, Vardy, KDH, Daka, Ricardo, Justin playing in the championship. They’re all PL players. To not be in the top 2 with that level of quality would be unthinkable - but somehow you seem to think Maresca and the club have performed an unfathomable miracle.
I still think we will get promoted. The players are too good. But if you can’t see that we are on the road to long term failure playing this way then I don’t know if it’s even worth debating with you anymore'.
I'm posting this as I mostly agree.
posted on 3/3/24
I also think we’ll struggle immensely next season trying to play this way. But we saw vs Bournemouth it’s not necessarily a given that we will tank. It’s a concern we will, and one I share with 99 that Maresca won’t change things if it’s not working. But I’m willing to give it a chance and to see.
I really hope for now though we get to find out, because 3 defeats in 3 isn’t pretty!