What's the verdict so far on Coops and how we're doing?
It's sensible to wait until 10 games have been played before making an assessment, well here we are at that mark. In terms of the position we find ourselves in I suspect many were anticipating it being much worse, including me.
Of course to a large degree that was due to the astonishing legal verdict meaning no points deduction so far, although we're not entirely out of these particular woods. Still, a huge sigh of relief was breathed on that one.
We've also managed to garner a couple of wins and four draws to give us 10 points and reach the dizzy heights of 15th, no less than 5 points clear of the drop zone. Carry on at that rate and we'd be on 38 points at the end of the season which would probably be sufficient to stay up given how awful several of the strugglers are in the league this year. It might even be enough if we received a modest points deduction for breaching FFP. Goal difference isn't too bad at the moment either.
We've played six of the current top ten, although we have three really tough matches to come yet from this set - Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea. The four we've played against the bottom ten are those below us; at least we haven't lost any of these matches. So results wise it's not bad so far.
We've proved to be competitive in most matches, resilient and scored in every match; Buananotte has proved to be an astute acquisition in particular. Mads has been very good indeed. It is astonishing how Vardy manages to maintain his level given his age. You can tell I'm trying to be positive here.
On the down side we have had Jekyll and Hyde performances, there have been significant periods in matches where we have been terrible, we've occasionally played some really nice stuff but haven't been able to maintain it for a whole match. I don't think I'm being unfair in saying JJ in particular has struggled at times. I can see why Palace were willing to loan out Edouard.
In regard to the manager, his tactics, selections and substitutions can be suspect; I reckon on match day the vast majority of the 29,000 or so Leicester supporters present will be puzzled at the lack of a Ricardo on the team sheet, I certainly am.
His position is being questioned, I've even read a ridiculous assertion that his job security depends on the next two matches - against Man U and Chelsea! I can't see them giving him the boot whilst we are relatively comfortable in the table, although that could easily change with a few bad results.
Thoughts?
10 games in
posted on 8/11/24
Hey Nuneaton.
My thoughts are that we’ve ridden our luck somewhat this season, particularly against Saints and to a lesser extent Bournemouth given the chances they had. We have also been hugely reliant on Mads to get through those games - he’s been incredible for us
It’s a slice of fortune I don’t see lasting and the stats suggest the points we have accumulated so far may not continue at that rate .
We are competitive for periods in games, and we have a very good attack in comparison to our relegation rivals. Mavididi, Fatawu, Vardy all dangerous and Buenonote has been a revelation. So we’re scoring in every game - the trouble is with our defending and a distinct lack of identity on the pitch
I honestly don’t know what Coopers philosophy is - it’s a weird hybrid attempt at Enzo ball at times and then punting it long when that doesn’t work. The lop sided full backs don’t work and the continual selection of Justin and Kristenson are costing us. We look like we have the worst defence in the league right now and that will be our undoing
We were very poor against a terrible Ipswich side and struggled for a point against 10 men. We could have actually lost. The cup tie against United was laughably bad from a defensive perspective and again full backs were completely exposed
I think in a month the picture will look quite different - I’m not convinced by Cooper and think he will be under pressure soon and rightly so. Simply put - the club cannot afford to be relegated again
posted on 8/11/24
I'm not disagreeing with you about most of your thinking, but in the end the only stats that count are the goals for and against - and in these we've scored as many, or more than 10 other teams, and conceded less than 5 of the others; we may indeed be riding our luck, long may it continue hopefully!
Of the teams below us Wolves may be in a slightly false position, they've been unlucky in a number of matches and had a difficult run of fixtures, playing 7 of the top ten so far - if they are still struggling by Christmas then happy days.
Working on the basis that bookies tend not to be mugs they still have us in one of the relegation spots, despite us being in a relatively comfortable position at the moment; this might be due to the issues you've raised, but they may also be factoring in the remaining potential points deduction for breach of FFP rules, or maybe a combination of both. In any event there isn't much between us and Wolves according to them.
We'll get a better view of how we're doing by Christmas once we've played everybody. I'm hoping to continue to be pleasantly surprised by this season but am still bracing myself for a possible slide down the table.