Rotherham (H) 3-0 - 23 Dec - Post-Match Thread

[Bordersfox]

15 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Honestly, us supporters need to get a grip. This is NOT directed at you, but does need to be said.

 

Rotherham today had TWO shots on our goal in the entire match. ZERO on target. We had 77% possession and for long periods of that game our centre back Vestergaard was playing 20 yards forwards in the Rotherham half. That was essentially an attack versus defence training session but at close to the elite level of sports. When the opposition has no intent to try and attack or score, it is difficult for the attacking team to score. Earlier in the season it was a problem, but now Enzo has been at Leicester for over 6 months, we see that we can break down anyone parking the bus. But we have to be PATIENT.

 

Enzo himself said in his post match interview that he was happy at half-time. And that's because this game went almost exactly according to his plan. As the game went on, the concentration levels of Rotherham dropped and we scored. From about 50 minutes onwards they were clinging on and there was no world where they would ride out another 40 minutes without conceding. All the tell-tale signs were there, which is why the sensible posters on here weren't worried at all.

 

The team and manager are not immune to criticism, and it should be welcomed. But almost every game we've had against low block teams has gone like this. It might not be fun to watch in the first half, but it's the opposition that are responsible for it being a crap spectacle, not Leicester. Compare this game to the Birmingham one, that was a great game to watch because they had a go.

 

For me, it's been more frustrating against the teams that have really dared to press us, such as Sunderland and Leeds but even to some extent Coventry and Southampton where at times during those games some poor decision-making led to us needlessly inviting pressure onto our back line or not taking advantage of the spaces in behind.

 

Ultimately, there is a reason why we have made the best start of any Championship team after 23 games in history, and it's not just because of our squad. I have a UEFA B coaching certificate and am preparing to do the A in the next 12-18 months. As part of that course you study patterns of play, attacking systems and so on. Enzo Maresca is absolutely top-draw and doing some cutting-edge things. He's someone that has been name-dropped on the course and was a reason why in the game he had such a huge reputation when we appointed him, even though most fans had no idea who he was. His approach is systematic and consistent. His team can grind you down but remain defensively stable. Look at the positions Faes, Ricardo and Vestergaard took up today... you don't get much more attacking than that!

 

Speak to Man City fans and they will tell you a very similar story. Most teams rock up at the Etihad with 11 behind the ball and just try to hit them on the break. Their fans LOVE the games against Liverpool, even if they lose, because Liverpool dare to have a go at them. They were poor against Villa recently, but said it was a breath of fresh air to see a team genuinely have the balls not only to try but actually execute a plan to outplay them. In this division, we have to get used to frustrating games... it's the nature of the unfairness of the resources of the relative teams in this league.

 

Rant over, and not directed at you. I think it would take years for fans to get used to it though!

You do realise all this control and endless winning makes for a very dull match thread though don't you?

 

But seriously, I think most were extremely relaxed as soon as they heard Rotherham were parking the bus.  That is not the way to approach playing us as 99 times out of a 100 we will overwhelm teams eventually, whilst the opposition offers next to no serious threat.  

 

I guess Rotherham did it because they just don't have the players to press but they were absolutely doomed to failure playing that way.  

 

Now we've found some solutions, as old Maresca likes to say, to teams pressing us I do think we are going to continue to absolutely dominate the league, as we should with the resources at our disposal.  And the quality of manager we now seem to have. 

 

I for one feel extremely optimistic about the future.   

Edited 23 December 2023 by Bordersfox

[Fox forever]

1 hour ago, Fox85 said:

Since Daka has been Introduced to the team Leicester have scored 13 goals in 4 games and Daka scoring 4 in 4 games.

 

Obviously shows Enzo made a mistake letting Vardy and Iheanacho lead the line to start off with. Hopefully this is a lesson learnt 

Well done you have had a few bites. 🎣🎣🎣

[Bourbon Fox]

2 minutes ago, Bordersfox said:

You do realise all this control and endless winning makes for a very dull match thread though don't you?

 

But seriously, I think most were extremely relaxed as soon as they heard Rotherham were parking the bus.  That is not the way to approach playing us as 99 times out of a 100 we will overwhelm teams eventually, whilst the opposition offers next to no serious threat.  

 

I guess Rotherham did it because they just don't have the players to press but they were absolutely doomed to failure playing that way.  

 

Now we've found some solutions, as old Maresca likes to say, to teams pressing us I do think we are going to continue to absolutely dominate the league, as we should with the resources at our disposal.  And the quality of manager we now seem to have. 

 

I for one feel extremely optimistic about the future.   

To add to this, we've drawn one game all season. We've only failed to score in 4 matches. 

 

Clearly parking the bus does not work.

[Basildon Fox]

Easy win in the end. Both teams accepted the result after the 3rd went in so energy saved for boxing day.

 

Top at Christmas 🎄🎄🎄🎄

[ARM1968]

Daka played well and is proving to be the striker some of us said he would be. Genuinely pleased for the lad. 
 

I thought Faes was MoM for me. He was incredible. Defensively solid, offensively progressive. Hardly out a foot wrong. 

[Phube]

10 minutes ago, bovril said:

Their gk was motm but not quite sure how he stayed on the pitch

Double jeopardy rule. If he was sent off and gave away a penalty ten RovRum have been punished twice. 
So they get a penalty and a yellow card.

[UniFox21]

Strong performance, finished with no injuries and nice rotation in the midfield. 

 

Interesting how Ricardo was much more available in wider channels today, we almost had them set up to match our central bombardment and then starting a overloading wide areas.

[Chrysalis]

28 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Honestly, us supporters need to get a grip. This is NOT directed at you, but does need to be said.

 

<snip>

We deffo changed our approach second half, the team were more energetic, moved around more and we played more through the centre, something we didnt do at all first half, it may have been the plan all along, but it wasnt a case of we kept doing the same thing and it eventually worked.

Edited 23 December 2023 by Chrysalis

[Lillehamring]

16 minutes ago, Bezzanator89 said:

Opponents don't come much easier than this, especially with an xG of 0.02, and we didn't even need a third gear to win 3-0 today. Win is a win and we move on to Boxing Day.

 

In the meantime, 6 points clear of 2nd, and 13 points clear of 3rd. An outstanding season so far, and dare I say, we are finally starting to click (well, in the second half anyway).

 

Merry Christmas to one and all Foxes fans.

And 24 points ahead of 7th!  That's an entire stoke city ahead of the non-play-off positions.

[ARTY_FOX]

Easiest game you'll ever see.

[AKCJ]

The number 9 that came on for them was probably the worst footballer I've ever seen at the KP.

 

**** me he was shocking. Competition winner stuff.

[Viva]

1 hour ago, Fox85 said:

Since Daka has been Introduced to the team Leicester have scored 13 goals in 4 games and Daka scoring 4 in 4 games.

 

Obviously shows Enzo made a mistake letting Vardy and Iheanacho lead the line to start off with. Hopefully this is a lesson learnt 

Home to Rotherham, Millwall and Plymouth. Let’s not get too carried away yet. We were winning plenty of matches with Vardy and Iheanacho, so doesn’t mean he made a mistake at all. 

[grobyfox1990]

Embarrassingly easy. How good was the patson daka song at the end of the match! 

[Fox85]

Just now, Viva said:

Home to Rotherham, Millwall and Plymouth. Let’s not get too carried away yet. We were winning plenty of matches with Vardy and Iheanacho, so doesn’t mean he made a mistake at all. 

I can guarantee you that if we started Vardy or Ihanacho we would of struggled to get 3 points from Millwall, Plymouth, Rotherham.

 

In fairness those teams are more difficult to score against because they defend with all 10 men.

[Marshall Cockney Fox]

37 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Honestly, us supporters need to get a grip. This is NOT directed at you, but does need to be said.

 

Rotherham today had TWO shots on our goal in the entire match. ZERO on target. We had 77% possession and for long periods of that game our centre back Vestergaard was playing 20 yards forwards in the Rotherham half. That was essentially an attack versus defence training session but at close to the elite level of sports. When the opposition has no intent to try and attack or score, it is difficult for the attacking team to score. Earlier in the season it was a problem, but now Enzo has been at Leicester for over 6 months, we see that we can break down anyone parking the bus. But we have to be PATIENT.

 

Enzo himself said in his post match interview that he was happy at half-time. And that's because this game went almost exactly according to his plan. As the game went on, the concentration levels of Rotherham dropped and we scored. From about 50 minutes onwards they were clinging on and there was no world where they would ride out another 40 minutes without conceding. All the tell-tale signs were there, which is why the sensible posters on here weren't worried at all.

 

The team and manager are not immune to criticism, and it should be welcomed. But almost every game we've had against low block teams has gone like this. It might not be fun to watch in the first half, but it's the opposition that are responsible for it being a crap spectacle, not Leicester. Compare this game to the Birmingham one, that was a great game to watch because they had a go.

 

For me, it's been more frustrating against the teams that have really dared to press us, such as Sunderland and Leeds but even to some extent Coventry and Southampton where at times during those games some poor decision-making led to us needlessly inviting pressure onto our back line or not taking advantage of the spaces in behind.

 

Ultimately, there is a reason why we have made the best start of any Championship team after 23 games in history, and it's not just because of our squad. I have a UEFA B coaching certificate and am preparing to do the A in the next 12-18 months. As part of that course you study patterns of play, attacking systems and so on. Enzo Maresca is absolutely top-draw and doing some cutting-edge things. He's someone that has been name-dropped on the course and was a reason why in the game he had such a huge reputation when we appointed him, even though most fans had no idea who he was. His approach is systematic and consistent. His team can grind you down but remain defensively stable. Look at the positions Faes, Ricardo and Vestergaard took up today... you don't get much more attacking than that!

 

Speak to Man City fans and they will tell you a very similar story. Most teams rock up at the Etihad with 11 behind the ball and just try to hit them on the break. Their fans LOVE the games against Liverpool, even if they lose, because Liverpool dare to have a go at them. They were poor against Villa recently, but said it was a breath of fresh air to see a team genuinely have the balls not only to try but actually execute a plan to outplay them. In this division, we have to get used to frustrating games... it's the nature of the unfairness of the resources of the relative teams in this league.

 

Rant over, and not directed at you. I think it would take years for fans to get used to it though!

Wowsers. Did you write all that, just because the other chap described the first half as "frustrating". Are you a 'patient' fella?

[tylesta]

2 minutes ago, Viva said:

Home to Rotherham, Millwall and Plymouth. Let’s not get too carried away yet. We were winning plenty of matches with Vardy and Iheanacho, so doesn’t mean he made a mistake at all. 

Have a pint, line or go get laid.

[Fox85]

1 hour ago, walkerleeds said:

 

Yeah good point we were really struggling before Daka came into the team.

That's not the point. Not sure if you need me to dumb it down for you or not.

 

Il just leave it 

[theadmans]

Think the main commentator on Foxes Hub must have been on the Xmas sherry at half time...

 

...second half it was Mavididly!

 

Pretty sure Fatuwa was also pronuonced as Fatawoowoo.

 

Shocking unprofessionalism!

Edited 23 December 2023 by theadmans

[Les-TA-Jon]

33 minutes ago, bovril said:

Their gk was motm but not quite sure how he stayed on the pitch

Because it was a pen. Would have been a Red if it was outside of the box. 
 

Red card does not apply to a DOGSO offence inside the box, if it’s an attempt to win the ball 

[gurru991]

2 minutes ago, tylesta said:

Have a pint, line or go get laid.

Do I have to pick one or can I do all three ??

Asking for a friend .

[tylesta]

Just now, gurru991 said:

Do I have to pick one or can I do all three ??

Asking for a friend .

Have all 3 brother

[StriderHiryu]

24 minutes ago, Bordersfox said:

You do realise all this control and endless winning makes for a very dull match thread though don't you?

 

But seriously, I think most were extremely relaxed as soon as they heard Rotherham were parking the bus.  That is not the way to approach playing us as 99 times out of a 100 we will overwhelm teams eventually, whilst the opposition offers next to no serious threat.  

 

I guess Rotherham did it because they just don't have the players to press but they were absolutely doomed to failure playing that way.  

 

Now we've found some solutions, as old Maresca likes to say, to teams pressing us I do think we are going to continue to absolutely dominate the league, as we should with the resources at our disposal.  And the quality of manager we now seem to have. 

 

I for one feel extremely optimistic about the future.   

Yep I would agree! It's first world problems and again, look at the apathy Man City fans sometimes have. We are the Championship version of that.

 

11 minutes ago, Chrysalis said:

We deffo changed our approach second half, the team were more energetic, moved around more and we played more through the centre, something we didnt do at all first half, it may have been the plan all along, but it wasnt a case of we kept doing the same thing and it eventually worked.

I would agree and disagree with you here. I think we were doing the same thing throughout the game, but we put more effort into it in the second half. Did you see the positions that KDH and Ndidi took at the start of the game versus at 60 minutes? Against low block teams, Maresca stars with them on the "wrong side" IE Ndidi is right footed but plays on the left hand side and vice versa. That's because he is trying to get the opposition used to sending our players down their weaker side whilst they are mentally alert. Then at 60 minutes, he swaps them over so that now they are fatigued and lose some concentration, we are at our most dangerous. We scored with our first attack once these two were swapped over.

 

If we can get the lead early, great! But Enzo time and again stresses patience. It's like baking bread, it takes a while for the yeast to kick in and for the bread to rise!

 

Replace this game with the Preston one. Bristol. Watford. It's the same pattern over and over and it's working.

[Raj]

Let's not jiss off too much it was Rotherham after all!!!

They  are 45 points behind us for a reason.

Let's keep it going...

 

[Chrysalis]

4 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

 

 

I would agree and disagree with you here. I think we were doing the same thing throughout the game, but we put more effort into it in the second half. Did you see the positions that KDH and Ndidi took at the start of the game versus at 60 minutes? Against low block teams, Maresca stars with them on the "wrong side" IE Ndidi is right footed but plays on the left hand side and vice versa. That's because he is trying to get the opposition used to sending our players down their weaker side whilst they are mentally alert. Then at 60 minutes, he swaps them over so that now they are fatigued and lose some concentration, we are at our most dangerous. We scored with our first attack once these two were swapped over.

 

If we can get the lead early, great! But Enzo time and again stresses patience. It's like baking bread, it takes a while for the yeast to kick in and for the bread to rise!

 

Replace this game with the Preston one. Bristol. Watford. It's the same pattern over and over and it's working.

We kind of agree, part of the change I feel we made is we went up a gear, hence the extra movement and energy I mentioned.

 

But in the first half we had Ndidi, Daka, and KDH centre outside the Rotherham box and it kept been pinged again and again to our wingers which wasnt working.  The trio I mentioned had too little of the ball.

 

Starting from early in the second half some balls went centrally, 2 of them led to goals.  Once we were comfortably winning we backed of again of course as the job was done.

 

Rotherham were no threat at all, came for draw and seemed to not want to be even playing us.

Edited 23 December 2023 by Chrysalis

[Holly B]

Proud to say I was there when Mavididi  recorded the highest shot ever recorded by an LCFC player …