LCFC 3-2 Millwall - FA Cup - Post Match Thread

[Harboro]

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca: 

"We had a very young first XI - we had seven of our 11 players born after 2000”

 

I feel old

 

[DJ Barry Hammond]

There is a problem if as a team you show you’re week at defending set pieces because that’s the easiest way for an opposition to identify and plan a way to score against you.

They are situations that easy to get footage for, to then go through and identify weaknesses and advantageous match ups.

 

Additionally, you can pretty much guarantee at least a handful of opportunities to pull off a set piece move in the game. 
 

If we don’t address this potential weakness - teams WILL target this as an area against us and we will concede more.

 

 

 

[Mike Oxlong]

2 minutes ago, Harboro said:

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca: 

"We had a very young first XI - we had seven of our 11 players born after 2000”

 

I feel old

 

Young Boys of Leicester 

 

Not sure it’s the marketing angle we should utilise 

[Lillehamring]

1 hour ago, coolhandfox said:

And yet Bournemouth stayed up being the worst and Brentford finished 9th being worst then us.

 

Everton were 4th best but finish just above us.

 

The major issue was conceding to many goals, not the type of goal.

 

Can we be better? Yes.

 

Would it help? Yes.

 

But there is bit of an over reaction.

 

 

But it's all relative - the fact that we are by some distance the best defensive team in the league magnifies any problem that we might have in this area.  How can we be conceding 0.4 goals from open play, around half the amount of our nearest rivals, and yet be conceding nearly twice as many goals per match from set pieces.

 

When you are performing at the elite level we are then such anomalies stand out - we've had so little to complain/worry about, it's inevitable that people are going to pick up on such a clear flaw and over dramatize it, especially since it has been an issue during our relegation seasons.  as far as over-reactions go - per foxes talk - this concern seems actually fairly reasonable.

[Lillehamring]

1 hour ago, grobyfox1990 said:

We will have our kegs pulled down in far more ways than set pieces from August onward if the current pattern of play persists. We give up a decent number of chances from open play and are very casual at the back with the ball. It does not get highlighted because the standard in this league is shocking.

We also create huge numbers of chances and do not score enough of them, again not highlighted because we win every week and it does not matter.

I am not Pat Nevin so have not got an armoury of stats to back that up before anyone chimes in. Our xG might well be lower than our actual number of goals. If so, fair enough.

You are concentrating on the issue most blatant on front of your eyes, when there appears to me to be far more pressing issues to resolve.

It's a fair point, but we don't know how we'll approach playing in the PL - we've seen that maresca is adaptable and will change his tactics to suit the game/opposition, so the type of game we play now might be, as you suggest, more high risk because he knows that more often than not we'll get away with it.

Also, by then we'll have another 20 games and a second pre-season under our belts to iron out some of these issues.

[Lillehamring]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Not seen any of the match but three beautiful goals, crosses, forward passes and play of old!

 

I'm not saying this aimed in any way critical of this season  because we've been doing it throughout but its incredible what you can create and do when you play forwards, vertically opposed to sideways and horizontal isn't it. Far more positive!

 

Long ball or long pass?  Whatever terminology you want to use it was great to see.

 

Millwall came at us, so it was more of a balance of possession play and transition play than most games  - but we're showing now, even with our reserves, that we can do both elements well.

[PhillippaT]

11 minutes ago, Harboro said:

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca: 

"We had a very young first XI - we had seven of our 11 players born after 2000”

 

I feel old

 

I'm not very well today, so I missed the game entirely...  Oh well    Still, if anyone wants to feel REALLY old right now, watch this:

 

 

 

[FoyleFox]

I'd like a lower league team in the next round, Prem tests can wait. That would enable us to utilise the squad players more, as we did today and, if the likes of Alves and Braybrooke are back, give them game time too.

[MPH]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Not seen any of the match but three beautiful goals, crosses, forward passes and play of old!

 

I'm not saying this aimed in any way critical of this season  because we've been doing it throughout but its incredible what you can create and do when you play forwards, vertically opposed to sideways and horizontal isn't it. Far more positive!

 

Long ball or long pass?  Whatever terminology you want to use it was great to see.

 

 To be fair Millwall would have been well ahead  if they had anyone who could finish. They played well. We were very clinical however.

[ajthefox]

2nd and 3rd goals very good.

 

Defending on both theirs is shocking, no matter who is playing or what our record at set pieces is.

[adejo92]

Missed the first half of the game so sorry if I've missed something, but Nelson looked quite good. Read the game well and was quick to beat the opposition to a number of balls.

 

Cannon looked promising too. Looks to be growing in confidence. Thought he had taken it too wide for his goal but a great finish.

 

I remember thinking "has Doyle made a successful pass yet" at the second he put Cannon through for the goal. 

 

Considering the number of changes, it's a cracking result even if we did make hard work of it.

[adejo92]

11 minutes ago, MPH said:

 To be fair Millwall would have been well ahead  if they had anyone who could finish. They played well. We were very clinical however.

Story of most our league games thus far.

[FosseSpark]

Leicester had 43 goals (our top 7 scorers) and 22 assists not on the pitch and yet still looked composed and super threatening away from home against a team that is in good form over past 5 games.

[fuchsntf]

4 hours ago, ARM1968 said:

Considering the side put out we got away with that. Good job we were clinical and they weren’t. 

We didn’t get away with anything….

Enzo decided ,to take a look at a couple of players,knew the challenge of some

disjointing matching up had to be balanced.

Last 20 games already proved squad has got it in them,and Enzo everyweek has proved he’s far ahead of any  snidey remarks from within FT.

 

One can play the relative messenger of doom,or stand solid with the facts that

is being played out in front of us everyweek…We see changes and tweaks,

we obviously stumble and stutter around those that are not automatic choice,but

we must be feeling so proud and not miserable,that all individuals in the squad,

working confidently within the system,are finding their balance within games within

Most short periods of gametime….

Enzo & system hands them their reins,they say thank youl,and return teammates,the manager and fans with gratitude of building up their performances each time…

 

If posters are trying to weasel out,pathetic negatives or make poor return performances out of our squads/individual games…They are are really scraping the barrel to build some weird agendas.. Now is time to stand proud of what everyweek we are achieving,by introducing the fringe players into the fold &each game,

Neither we or Enzo have seen a poor performance,weak starts have been answered by all,by growing into the game..or over 2-3 selection periods.

 

[Lillehamring]

I feel like the link up between casadei and yunus for the ricardo goal deserves far more conversation.

 

I think there was a lot of doubt about these two, and some optimism that maybe a run together might be all that's needed - well, that's two games in a row they've started and we've scored 7 goals - the pick of them being ricardo's today - really sublime and quick passing.

 

With any luck we'll hardly notice ndidi's absence, so far at least it's not been a problem.

[fuchsntf]

4 hours ago, Blueman1967 said:

Was hard work, but alot of changes, no excuse for conceding two goals to players unmarked

The excuse is…that’s football,and for this young side another experienced ticked off.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Little bit disappointed we haven’t seen many sides ranked above / around us go out so far.

 

Burnley out and of course one of Arsenal and Liverpool will go, but was hoping for something from Middlesbrough or Preston to get the vibes of a wide open year going.

 

Still chance for something tomorrow however - who knows, maybe Huddersfield or Wigan will shock us all!

[ARM1968]

13 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

We didn’t get away with anything….

Enzo decided ,to take a look at a couple of players,knew the challenge of some

disjointing matching up had to be balanced.

Last 20 games already proved squad has got it in them,and Enzo everyweek has proved he’s far ahead of any  snidey remarks from within FT.

 

One can play the relative messenger of doom,or stand solid with the facts that

is being played out in front of us everyweek…We see changes and tweaks,

we obviously stumble and stutter around those that are not automatic choice,but

we must be feeling so proud and not miserable,that all individuals in the squad,

working confidently within the system,are finding their balance within games within

Most short periods of gametime….

Enzo & system hands them their reins,they say thank youl,and return teammates,the manager and fans with gratitude of building up their performances each time…

 

If posters are trying to weasel out,pathetic negatives or make poor return performances out of our squads/individual games…They are are really scraping the barrel to build some weird agendas.. Now is time to stand proud of what everyweek we are achieving,by introducing the fringe players into the fold &each game,

Neither we or Enzo have seen a poor performance,weak starts have been answered by all,by growing into the game..or over 2-3 selection periods.

 

Your opening paragraph shows we got away with it my friend. Enzo decided to have a look at a few players?  Those not being first team players which weakened the team and hence, we got away with it. We did. Simples. 

[CosbehFox]

Premier League opposition next at home. Test ourselves. 
 

Fifth round is midweek so a pain, so might as well have a challenge now rather than 5th round 

[fuchsntf]

5 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Ben Nelson take a bow. Proper defensive display, useful on the ball too. Got to be pushing 1st team properly now, forget Doyle, Nelson is the bigger talent and ours.

 

Tom Cannon is so impressive too, I've every confidence that barring injuries he is the real deal.

 

Great to see Maswanhise finally make his debut for us 3 seasons after it should have happened.

 

Casadei seemed much more aggressive today, which was positive.

 

An enjoyable game but we gifted them a lot of chances 1st half and 2nd half our set piece defending was revolting. Its a major weakness of ours, 2hich having been subjected to it for 2 seasons under Rodgers before he tried to remedy it, is frustrating. Enzo needs to get to the bottom of it.

 

Right, I want Maidstone Utd at home.

Good all round short synopsis.

One worrying aspect of our play since first game, though better under Rodgers bad days, our defending of corners has no defence-system organisation about it.

We look sloppy,when standing still….Like when the Sundance-kid ,when applying

for the job…asks „Can I move“..

Each player gets squared up and flexable players become stiff,or in awkward body positions…Our coaching on corners and set pieces, really needs to be heavily worked on & studied…Maybe the only one weakness we just can’t seem to learn & work on..

We are missing a simple trick of one player attacking the ball,and having a fixed & recognised organisation within our set piece set up..

 

The rest of our game,shows progress at all levels,even mishaps & errors we learn early from..Each player has found his own trigger,to click into the tact of the game.

I said since November Enzo does what Enzo does,in tactics and selection,so far he’s answered every challenge..

So far this seasons Championship opponents have as of yet no Answers.

The PL will throw up another challenge,but not worth discussing…By August 24,

our Progression & evolving the system will be showing different aspects & ambitions..Playing rescources won’t see massive changes,but even small investments,depending on financial investment scopes,will still see us improving.

Not worth yet discussing or pushing expectations.

Let Leeds do the predicting,we might knock the doors down,but we will slip around

to the side doors,to chat up the pretty show girls…

 

[BoyJones]

3 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

Which kind of negates your opening comment.

They moved the ball quickly and found spaces but they were rotten in the final third and they were horrible defensively.  Comfortably better is an absurd statement.

Fully agree. Millwall huffed and puffed but never had the openings we fashioned. Cannon should have had three, missing a couple of gilt edged chances, Albrighton missed a clear rebound and Casadei could have had three as well if his shooting was as accurate as his heading. 
 

Millwall had no real quality in the final third and scored from two poor defensive efforts by us. Their crowd were pathetic and didn’t support their team much. The much vaunted difficult place to go was not evident today. 

[filbertway]

16 minutes ago, BoyJones said:

Fully agree. Millwall huffed and puffed but never had the openings we fashioned. Cannon should have had three, missing a couple of gilt edged chances, Albrighton missed a clear rebound and Casadei could have had three as well if his shooting was as accurate as his heading. 
 

Millwall had no real quality in the final third and scored from two poor defensive efforts by us. Their crowd were pathetic and didn’t support their team much. The much vaunted difficult place to go was not evident today. 

From the first half at least they had 2 1 on 1s with our keeper, a free header from about 8 yards out and 2 or 3 half chances in our box. That's not even counting the times they've had a player free and clean through and ignored by somebody.

 

Regardless of if the opponent takes those opportunities or not, we really shouldn't be gifting so many.

[NaijaFox]

3 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

The view from one angle made it look very soft - it was a hand to the back more than a shove, maybe cannon's momentum made him stumble. Had it been given against us, i'd have been fuming.

Stonewall penalty! 
 

A push in the back is a foul and a foul in the box should be a PK. It’s fine and dandy to consider it “soft” but that’s because it’s a soft push/foul and not because it would’ve been a soft call. If it had cost us the game (or a game that really meant something much more important to us), I’d have been fuming.

[DerbyshireFox]

Millwall certainly weren’t afraid to try and have a go. Watmore was a tricky customer first half. However it left them open to counters and we exploited it ruthlessly. Two well worked goals first half. 
 

Best I’ve seen Casadei and Yunes play for us. The former needs some work on weight of pass at times, but he seems to be making some progress - not before time with Wilf out long term. Cannon looks like an excellent all round striker, fits perfectly into Enzo’s system. We’ll be spoilt for choice once Daka is back from AFCON.
 

Set piece slackness has crept back in recently, something that needs knocking on the head asap. Overall a good cup tie and pleased to come away with the win and some rested legs. 

[filbertway]

1 minute ago, NaijaFox said:

Stonewall penalty! 
 

A push in the back is a foul and a foul in the box should be a PK. It’s fine and dandy to consider it “soft” but that’s because it’s a soft push/foul and not because it would’ve been a soft call. If it had cost us the game (or a game that really meant something much more important to us), I’d have been fuming.

Man you are very biased arent you

 

Its a contact sport mate, the players are allowed to touch each other