From the fence

[LydiateLee]

Nobody is accepting 11th.

There's 12 games left of this season and we're six points off 5th.

Six points is a huge gap.

 

[BlueToff]

Six points is a huge gap.

In the space of two games we went from 12th to 8th - closing a gap of 6 points. No, it really isn't.

 

[LydiateLee]

Point is we should be there already. You are saying it like it is common place for us to win consecutive games. We beat the fodder (Stoke and Southampton away aside).

 

[JammyP]

He is a nice guy, too nice. Sometimes the players need to be scared of the mgr. Moyesy had that about him. For a polar opposite, imagine Alex Ferguson with our squad, we'd be top of the league....

Imagine Ranieri with our squad...
What have Leicester been getting right that we cannot do?

 

[willo30]

In the space of two games we went from 12th to 8th - closing a gap of 6 points. No, it really isn't.

And in the space of 3 we went from 12th to 11th.

 

[Woolverhampton_Blue]

Imagine Ranieri with our squad...
What have Leicester been getting right that we cannot do?

Been wondering this too. My guess is that they have had the 'right season' at the 'right time' i.e their manager has got them playing in a way that suits their players and is effective, in a season where the usual contenders have been fairly poor. Plus the fact that the Premier League is more competitive than ever due to the TV money.

Will be interesting to see at the end of the season where 72 points would have placed us if we'd achieved that this season, rather than 2 years ago.

 

[BlueToff]

And in the space of 3 we went from 12th to 11th.

Okay mate whatever. My point was that one win, with how close it is, can go a long way. But cheers for being a smart arse anyway

 

[BlueToff]

Been wondering this too. My guess is that they have had the 'right season' at the 'right time' i.e their manager has got them playing in a way that suits their players and is effective, in a season where the usual contenders have been fairly poor. Plus the fact that the Premier League is more competitive than ever due to the TV money.

Will be interesting to see at the end of the season where 72 points would have placed us if we'd achieved that this season, rather than 2 years ago.

Yep, right team right time right man in that he's not changed too much.

It's ridiculous to say 'what if we had Ranieri', because it's not just him that turned Leicester around. They'd been class from around February last year...

There's no guarantee that Ranieri would have us any higher than RM.

 

[davek]

Point is we should be there already. You are saying it like it is common place for us to win consecutive games. We beat the fodder (Stoke and Southampton away aside).

Should?

Why? There's no God given right we should be. And if you ask those fans of clubs above us like West Ham, Southampton etc they'll tell you that they have their best squads ever too.

We are in a group of clubs that are outside the European places that includes those two plus Liverpool, Stoke.

That's just where we are right now until we can get some outstanding matters sorted out.

 

[oldblue]

I'm an on the fencer so the article definitely strikes a chord. I like Martinez, he seems like a decent bloke and he has us playing good ball going forward. He's also getting the best from players where other managers failed (Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu, Lennon) and seems to be shrewd in the transfer market. His handling of young players, both in signing them and giving them a chance, is also very good.

We're muck at defending though. Whether this is down to coaching or personnel or just the way the team is set up is up for debate but ultimately the responsibility is his.

The whole "living up to potential" thing / best PL squad ever etc. doesn't help although I don't think it's fair measuring performance against supposition and often fantasy. What I mean is I'm not sure the players are certifiably good enough for top 4 / CL level. Also we may have the best PL squad we've ever had but so have a lot of other teams thanks to the influx of cash in relation to other leagues.

Benchmark wise I think we should be getting Europa League and it should be seen as a bad season if we don't. If we could defend consistently we'd probably have a chance in the FA Cup but unless we get really kind draws I don't think we'll do it.

This is definitely very close to how I feel.
But the main thing is that I'm not sure what our expectations should be because it's based on so many outside factors. And I've never been as concerned about where we are supposed to be in relation to other teams as I have about the prospect of watching something special.
If your glass is half empty then having a talented squad adds pressure to succeed, glass half full it makes the journey more bearable.

 

[Skeleton Crew]

Imagine Ranieri with our squad...
What have Leicester been getting right that we cannot do?

Clinical finishing. One touch passing. Most importantly team defense that rarely loses shape and mental acuteness

 

[willo30]

Okay mate whatever. My point was that one win, with how close it is, can go a long way. But cheers for being a smart arse anyway

Sorry mate didn't mean to. My point was 3 games ago people were saying we were only 2 wins off 7th. I argued yes only if everyone else loses and would take us a lot longer than 2 games to claw back 5 points.

It's no good winning 2 then losing to dross like WBA when teams around us are doing the same. We need to do better than the others but we are shooting ourselves in the foot time after time.

 

[Arteta2391]

we are now slowly molding into a mid table team.


Please anyone take us over.

 

[BlueToff]

Sorry mate didn't mean to. My point was 3 games ago people were saying we were only 2 wins off 7th. I argued yes only if everyone else loses and would take us a lot longer than 2 games to claw back 5 points.

It's no good winning 2 then losing to dross like WBA when teams around us are doing the same. We need to do better than the others but we are shooting ourselves in the foot time after time.

Apologies. Long day at work haha it's got to me

I agree it's frustrating and can feel like a step back sometimes, but IMO i've seen enough signs to believe that we're really close to being able to put a run together. It's annoying as that fixture seemed like the ideal one but it wasn't to be, and Pulis does have prior against us in those situations.

It's all about the reaction now for me. The display against West Brom was worthy of a win but we couldn't, for whatever reason(s), get over the line. We need to hopefully get past Bournemouth (which will be tough) and then get off to Qatar and come back ready to face the last 12 league games of the season with a clear target.

In 13/14 we got, I think, 9 wins from our last 12. Granted we had played really well that year, but we'd actually been in a poor run of form through Jan - Feb, and I think some of our play this term has matched the level of performance from that season as well.

Key is to take it game by game.

 

[BlueToff]

we are now slowly molding into a mid table team.


Please anyone take us over.

Be careful what you wish for.

Take over doesn't always equate to success and loads of money.

It's down to the players (and yes, manager) first and foremost. If these players are as good as we all believe them to be, then it can't just be the fault of Martinez that we aren't higher up.