Leicester 2 Coventry 1 post match thread

[Livid]

We did alright.
 

They obviously changed things at half time and came out and caught us cold. I think there will be changes if we are going to play that system, unfortunately I don’t think it suits Wilf or Vardy. 
 

Liking Harry Winks, I was a bit sceptical, but he looked decent. I’m expecting a few mad moments from Mads at some point but he looks solid. Mavididi came into the game more the longer it went on. Doyle I didn’t really notice so obviously didn’t do anything wrong. I was surprised by Mc Ateer getting a start but he didn’t look out of place, shame he couldn’t have hit his chance hard and low across the keeper. 
 

We need a little more going forward, hopefully the loan signing from Chelsea goes through. 

[09bballer]

Did I miss it or was Maresca not announced as new manager to the crowd?

[leicesterseddon]

Good win but thought we were pretty lucky to be honest. 
 

I was quite encouraged by the first half but thought we were poor in the 2nd.

 

Couple of observations:

 

1. Why is Doyle (a young loanee) starting ahead of Justin (an England international)? Wasn’t that impressed with him tbh…surprisingly slow too

 

2. Thought Winks was really good in the first half, although he dropped off a bit after the break

 

3. I’m encouraged he left Soumare out of the squad. Hopefully we can sell him, although doubt it 

 

4. The passing out from goal kicks is still a bit of a highwire act. It worked once in the first half but needs working on.

[OntarioFox]

4 hours ago, Sparrowhawk said:

I've always thought Praet should play more. But I'm assuming Ndidi is there to do what he used to do but 50 yards further up the pitch, as much (if not more) to stop them doing a quick transition as to be any good at passing. If it works it's a stroke of genius. With the added bonus that if (when) he does an inexplicably awful pass to the other team, it's in their half and not on the edge of our box.

Thought Choudhury mopped up well in his cameo - definitely prefer him in the more withdrawn role over Wilf, for the reason you just listed - he seemed to lose it less in possession and at least when Wilf did lose it we were in their half and could regroup. It's a weird one though - the sheer lack of quality a lot of sides have means we can probably get away more with not relying on a DM so often.

The Ndidi AM experiment definitely has its merits, didn't come off today but I've liked what I saw of it in preseason. If Enzo persists with it, I'm okay with that, not least because that was supposedly one of the best sides in the division and their midfield was still honking compared to ours quality-wise. Winks alone feels like a cheat code, given he's not up to full speed yet and was still pulling the strings with lovely through and cross-field balls - if Mavididi had shown the positivity he did after Praet's introduction for the first half of the game, we'd have been laughing.

[StanSP]

12 minutes ago, 09bballer said:

Did I miss it or was Maresca not announced as new manager to the crowd?

Think he was just before players were announced. 

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Negatives: the defence is a problem - against strikers who could finish basic chances we’d be 3/4 down. Hopefully Coady can bring some organisation. 
Too slow in the build up at times, not enough urgency when there was 70 mins gone it was being played at pre season pace, hopefully this is fitness. We need ball carriers at number 8 that are better on the ball and can keep it - hopefully the lad from Chelsea is the answer to this. 
 

Positives: 1 nil down last season we would have folded, showed some balls and got back into the game. I like what the manager is trying to do, it will just take time to get our players used to it. Winks is class. 
 

Cpl of quality signings and we will be fine, if Cov are the best of the rest there should be some really crap we come up against…

Maresca explained this post match, nothing to do with fitness, purely tactically, and, wow, it worked.

[fox in the sox]

You can win enough matches in this division without playing that well, so for me this season is all about getting results even it’s not pretty. In the Premier League you need to think more about performances because you will rarely win playing badly.

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, Bert said:

The system is clearly a work in progress and when it clicks it’ll be very good. The blueprint is there. A few more additions and it could be a very exciting season ahead. 
 

You can see how important Winks and Ricardo are going to be this season, both finding lovely pockets of space and breaking forward. Nice intricate passing and some great movement from them today. 
 

The worry is the pace, or lack of it in defence as we look like we might get caught on the counter a few times, but that’s something to work on. 
 

Thought Mavididi grew into the game as the first 60 I thought oh great, we’ve signed another frustrating winger. Plenty more to come from him too. 
 

I think a lot of teams this season will be more concerned on trying to stop us than how they can affect the game, and Cov were guilty of that first half until they had a go first twenty in the second half. Truth be told they could have been comfortably ahead within that period. But we shown great character to comeback from a goal down, and I also think Cov will be pushing top 6 this season. 
 

There’s certainly more to come from us, so I’ll take that for an opening day win. 

Absolutely, and i'd actually go as far as to say the second half could have been much like the first if we hadn't gifted them a soft set piece goal, which lifted them and bothered us.  I know that could happen in any game, but it was our own weaknesses rather than coventry getting the better of us in performance or tactics that changed the game.  And i'm sure we'll improve on set pieces when Mads has had more time with the team.

[Corky]

It was an entertaining game, they looked a good side but we edged it in quality in the end. First half was encouraging, second we lost our way and our style is risky but should bring rewards.

 

We look a right winger and attacking midfielder short and hopefully that will be rectified. Liked what I saw from Winks, Hermansen and Mavididi whilst Praet looked lively. Would rather have Ricardo wide to be honest.

 

Good to win and lots to work on but nice to see an attacking team that looked committed.

[Levi Port]

Big win, especially after how shaky the stadium was after we went 1 down.  Thought we dominated most of the first half after the game settled down. Should have gone 3 down in the second though. 
 

The big issues I see are breaking down a packed defence and stopping counters in our wide areas. Both issues were vastly apparent today. The first can be fixed with incisive new signings and work on the training ground. Ndidi was great in the press but just isn’t a final third player, we need an 8 with attacking quality.
 

How Enzo covers the wings playing like that I do not know. I guess we have to learn to play as a unit much more, we left alot of gaps in transition and should have been punished.
 

Great game though and everyone I spoke to was so positive which is a change from last year. Big things ahead. 

Edited 6 August 2023 by Levi Port

[Pliskin]

2 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Absolutely shit. 

 

 

I swear people were saying how good he is. 

 

No composure whatsoever 

If Everton had started playing him, we would still be in the PL. 

[Pliskin]

30 minutes ago, leicesterseddon said:

Good win but thought we were pretty lucky to be honest. 
 

I was quite encouraged by the first half but thought we were poor in the 2nd.

 

Couple of observations:

 

1. Why is Doyle (a young loanee) starting ahead of Justin (an England international)? Wasn’t that impressed with him tbh…surprisingly slow too

 

2. Thought Winks was really good in the first half, although he dropped off a bit after the break

 

3. I’m encouraged he left Soumare out of the squad. Hopefully we can sell him, although doubt it 

 

4. The passing out from goal kicks is still a bit of a highwire act. It worked once in the first half but needs working on.

I disagree, I thought Doyle was good today. For a young lad he showed real composure and an ability to play. I liked him a lot. 

[Sunbury Fox]

Playing this 3241 system requires fast CBs, otherwise you get very exposed on the counter as we saw in the second half today. Consequently, I'd quite like to see Justin tried as one of the wide CBs at some point. 

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, Col city fan said:

Completely wrong.

VAR destroys the emotion. That’s the point.

It gets so bad that when goals are scored, you DONT celebrate first and foremost, your first thought is will VAR chalk it off.

That can’t be good for any sport, or anyone 

No.  YOU  don't celebrate first and foremost.  I do.  When i've finsihed celebrating then i'll have a look at VAR.  So, no, unless i'm pretty sure that it's going to get changed, an obvious offside for example, my first thought isn't that it will be disallowed, because, statistically speaking, not that many goals are disallowed, in fact, most goals are reviewed without any stoppage at all.

 

My first thought when an opponent scores is - 'please disallow it', but no, VAR doesn't need to be your focus, if it is then, poor you if your cynicism is more powerful than your joy.

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, Hamilton Fox said:

The only good thing VAR was good for was the FA cup final.. I’m so glad we don’t have it now but out of habit I was looking at the linesman after both goals 

Why? The linesmen don't flag with VAR?  Although, ironically, this would have been the natural response pre-VAR. 

[Lillehamring]

.

Edited 6 August 2023 by Lillehamring

[Hammo]

Lucky win but lovely win.

 

Lots to work on for Maresca, who must surely know now that playing Ndidi in an advanced midfield role is a foolhardy tactic that needs to be strangled at birth; likewise starting slowcoach Vestergaard.

 

Winks and Hermansen excellent additions; Mavididi and Doyle also showed promise.

 

Vardy, bless him, is sadly a spent force at 36 - even in the Championship.

 

KDH obviously man of the match for two great goals. Let’s hope he gains some real confidence from those and goes on to have a stellar season. 

[Dan LCFC]

Result far more important than the performance given we're still way behind where we ought to be squad wise, and I think the board can be bloody thankful that they've had their bacon saved today because what I saw today was exactly what I'd feared for 75 minutes.

 

I firmly believe when he gets his squad in place we will absolutely kill some teams. Get Casadei and Rak-Sakyi in from the start today and I think it's not unreasonable to suggest we could be 2 up by 20 minutes. Obviously a bit presumptuous, but I think the system works, we just simply don't have the personnel for it and it's why we're having to resort to naming an XI like that today.

 

We did get away with it and I think you have to admit Coventry had the better chances over the 90 minutes, and I think this game as much as anything highlights the drop in quality when you go down. I think if we served up that defensive effort against even somebody like Bournemouth we'd have been sent packing. We'd have let in 3+. Coventry, luckily, do not have that quality and we do - it's why we are ultimately the favourites, as I expect them to be in the top 6 again, they're a good side for this level with a good manager.

 

Overall, delighted to win, love the manner of it and I'm definitely so far buying into Maresca's system, but I think we're still a way off having the personnel for it to be totally effective, so the club need to pull their finger out. It is hard to not be excited though when we can win in spite of our shortcomings today against a side that are expected to do well - and especially given it's those lot as well. They really cannot hack coming to Leicester come they. This must be how Forest fans feel when we go there.

[David Lowe]

I like that we had wingers who stayed on the wing but do we have the strikers to feed off crosses. It’s definitely not Vardy or Daka’s game.

[Lillehamring]

I feel like the Vestergaard contumely is a bit much - it's feeling like you've all just decided that he's got no ability and is to blame for everything (a new amartey, if you will).

 

But there were other defenders on the pitch who were left equally exposed by coventry's counter attack.

 

Also, I think a lot of you are missing the fact that a lot of the blame for the counter attacks should fall on the front and midfield players, they know we're playing a high line so they need to protect the ball better, and other than winks, didn't seem in that much of a rush to track back.

 

I don't think he's a long term option, but to single him out for the reason why we were so poor is unfair.

[Tielemans63]

If we can keep the majority of the squad, the quality on our bench will get us out of jail a few times this season. Can't be easy for the likes of Cov when you've done a great job of containing us, only to see Praet and Nacho come on, two proven international players.

[Lillehamring]

2 hours ago, ts_1010 said:

Perhaps. But I can only see him being cover for anyone in the team at the moment. He doesn't have the skills to play in midfield if there is no destroyer position. At least at the back he has the pace to protect us against the counter.

 

Ideally though I think Justin could do that better operating where Faes was today.

I think Maresca sees him as an advanced enforce type - as we saw today, Coventry have a very narrow set up and showed (when we allowed them) that they can overrun teams up the middle; ndidi's primary job was to break that up and he did a decent job in the first half.  I don't believe Maresca sees him as a KDH type #8.

 

Justin over Faes is madness - apart from the fact that Faes was excellent for most of the game today, justin has hardly ever played CB and whenever it was he last played, he still had some notable issues with his positioning and judgement.  I'd say justin is a minor squad player and they'd sell him if anyone came in for him for a decent amount.

[filbertway]

3 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

Result far more important than the performance given we're still way behind where we ought to be squad wise, and I think the board can be bloody thankful that they've had their bacon saved today because what I saw today was exactly what I'd feared for 75 minutes.

 

I firmly believe when he gets his squad in place we will absolutely kill some teams. Get Casadei and Rak-Sakyi in from the start today and I think it's not unreasonable to suggest we could be 2 up by 20 minutes. Obviously a bit presumptuous, but I think the system works, we just simply don't have the personnel for it and it's why we're having to resort to naming an XI like that today.

 

We did get away with it and I think you have to admit Coventry had the better chances over the 90 minutes, and I think this game as much as anything highlights the drop in quality when you go down. I think if we served up that defensive effort against even somebody like Bournemouth we'd have been sent packing. We'd have let in 3+. Coventry, luckily, do not have that quality and we do - it's why we are ultimately the favourites, as I expect them to be in the top 6 again, they're a good side for this level with a good manager.

 

Overall, delighted to win, love the manner of it and I'm definitely so far buying into Maresca's system, but I think we're still a way off having the personnel for it to be totally effective, so the club need to pull their finger out. It is hard to not be excited though when we can win in spite of our shortcomings today against a side that are expected to do well - and especially given it's those lot as well. They really cannot hack coming to Leicester come they. This must be how Forest fans feel when we go there.

Until that attack out of nowhere which resulted in KDH's first goal I actually couldn't believe how close it was panning out to how I'd called it haha.

 

We really ought to have been 2 or 3-0 down by that point as well.

 

Like you say, it feels like at least 2 bonus points if not 3 today. There's so much more work that needs doing to the squad and it's really poor we're still nowhere near there.  

 

The system definitely works, the amount of promising positions we found ourselves in high up the pitch was wild. I fully accept that we'll leave the door open at the back as well, this way of playing is so brave and so fun to watch. It'll be even more fun with actual footballers taking up the attacking positions. 

 

Massive credit to Enzo and his staff, still very early but the signs so far look so promising. So glad we didn't try and settle on an average appointment like Parker or Farke. I still don't understand where the Enzo shout came from because it definitely didn't come from within this club

 

[Jacnah]

6 hours ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Great to see us playing on the front foot, at times it looked like we had swapped shirts because we almost had a “back 5” parked on the Coventry 18 yard box. 
 

Started off slowly but grew into the game. 
Mavididi had a good start to his career with us and think he will improve more as new players come in and allow him a bit of freedom. Ndidis role is very odd, I thought he started off well then went quiet and a few mistakes started to creep in but I think he needs some credit here, he’s had a pretty strict role for years and suddenly he’s playing with freedom and being told to get forward so time needed to see if he’s fit for the role. 
 

Faes was quality, in his element today, Vestergaard also very solid and should be good enough for this level. Ricardo suits this role really well, Winks is a cut above this level. Vardy couldn’t really do much, to be honest the way we look like we are set up to play on the front foot, I really don’t think this will play into Vardys hands. I think it might be time to move on especially with the wages he’s on. 
 

Hermandsen did well for his debut, he looks suspect on corners but his distribution and ability on the ball is a breath of fresh air. 
 

Overall more positives than negatives, but we did give Coventry some easy chances that better teams will finish. 
 

We desperately need to bring in another winger and Central attacking player at an absolute minimum. 

just remind me which game you were watching to day

[FOXSE]

2 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

I think Maresca sees him as an advanced enforce type - as we saw today, Coventry have a very narrow set up and showed (when we allowed them) that they can overrun teams up the middle; ndidi's primary job was to break that up and he did a decent job in the first half.  I don't believe Maresca sees him as a KDH type #8.

 

Justin over Faes is madness - apart from the fact that Faes was excellent for most of the game today, justin has hardly ever played CB and whenever it was he last played, he still had some notable issues with his positioning and judgement.  I'd say justin is a minor squad player and they'd sell him if anyone came in for him for a decent amount.

I'm sorry, but when fully recovered from injury, Justin is quality.