David Cameron Walker

Archive for the ‘Leicester City’ Category

Deja vu at Leicester City

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

The international break was made to feel even more laborious as the decision to appoint Nigel Pearson as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s permanent replacement at Leicester City seemed to take forever. Understandably Hull didn’t want to lose their manager on the cheap, especially to the club he left before joining the Tigers in the summer of 2010. Eventually though, it did happen, and Pearson made a superb start in his new role with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. Two excellent strikes from Paul Gallagher, who Pearson brought to the club in his first spell in charge, made for an ideal start to his second stint in the East Midlands.

The manner of the win is an encouraging one and some of that could be down to the well discussed notion of ‘New Manager Syndrome.’ Although it’s too early to declare Pearson the saviour that will lead the Foxes to The Premier League, his management style is very different to that of Eriksson’s, perhaps part of the reason he was given the job. He builds his teams around a philosophy of keeping things tight at the back and a notable change to a much more rigid 4-4-2 was evident against a Palace side – who play much of their football on the counter attack, especially away from Selhurst Park – and it paid dividends.

Some Leicester fans have voiced their disappointment at a move away from the cavalier style of Sven’s teams, towards a manager who oversaw the club’s promotion from League One by grinding out results in a much less aesthetically pleasing fashion. The point remains that Pearson guided the club back from the third tier at the first attempt. The 48-year-old has a great record in the Championship, only leaving Leicester the first time because he felt his position had become untenable as Paolo Sousa sat in the stands at the play-off semi-final game against Cardiff City.

He may not be the most exciting appointment amid rumours of a return of Martin O’Neill, or a high profile name such as Rafa Benitez or Mark Hughes, but Pearson knows how to manage at this level. Under his management Jack Hobbs became one of the most promising young centre backs around but was marginalised under Sven’s regime and followed Pearson to Hull after several big names were brought in. I for one can’t wait to see how Matt Mills develops under his stewardship; his partnership with Sol Bamba at the centre of defence will be the cornerstone to any potential play-off challenge this season.

The tools are there for Leicester to be in and around the promotion places in May. Pearson has got a more talented squad at his disposal than that of 2008 and after just one win City now sit just two points off sixth place. He will be under no illusions that the brief for the season remains the same, despite a somewhat slow start, particularly after losing three of the last four games before the former manager’s return. But as everyone knows, the Championship is one of the most unpredictable leagues around, if the new man can get the best out of the expensive acquisitions who the club brought in to chase the dream of Premier League football there is no reason that it couldn’t be a reality in a few months’ time. For now though, I’ll settle for watching Paul Gallagher’s goals on repeat….

Written by Jim Knight, We Are Going Up’s Leicester City blogger

Jim tweets at @JimKnight88

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So long Sven….

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Welcome back Martin?

The revolving door of managers at The King Power Stadium keeps on turning, with Sven Goran-Eriksson the latest boss failing to live up to expectations. The decision raised a few eyebrows amongst those in the media, Leicester may be in a rather disappointing 13th position but are still only two points off the play off places and just five off the automatic spots. The decision certainly took me by surprise, I felt although the defeat against Millwall was nothing short of an embarrassment, that Sven would get at least another five or six games to prove he was the man for the job, clearly the powers that be did not share that opinion.

Although my initial reaction was that the decision was wrong, there is a degree of logic making the managerial change so early into the season. Although anything can happen in this division, the longer Sven had to impart his wisdom upon the players, the longer they would be moulded into his style and consequently, the more difficult that would be to change. As I eluded to in my previous blog, the group of players that have been brought in are still fairly new and if a new manager does come in then he will have time to work with them and ensure there is still a good chance of a successful campaign.

There are several big name managers being touted for the job, the parallels between Mark Hughes and replacing Sven at a club with Thai owners are a little eerie but it is a Leicester legend that is the name on many people’s lips. The word legend is overused in football, but Martin O’Neill is held in such high regard by City fans I think it’s warranted when referring to him. I’d love him to make a return, he was in charge when I first started following the Foxes and the memory of him leading the club to Worthington Cup success in 2000 is still the best day of my life to date.

I wholeheartedly believe he would lead the Foxes into the Premier League if he had the chance to work with the talented squad that has already been assembled. That said, there is a pang of doubt that I just can’t shake, it would be such a shame if he was to taint the great memories that the fans have got from his first tenure in charge.

The bookmakers seem convinced, he’s been slashed from 3/1 into 2/5 for the job, but bookies have been wrong before, William Hill stopped taking bets on Roy Keane returning to Forest a few weeks back as they were convinced it was a sure thing. Above all, I just want to see the club in good hands, whether the next foolhardy candidate to step up can provide that, it remains to be seen, one things for sure, life as a Leicester fan is never dull.

Written by Jim Knight, We Are Going Up podcast member and Leicester City blogger

Jim tweets at @JimKnight88

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Posted in Championship, Featured, Leicester City | No Comments »

Too early to dream?

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

On a recent podcast I was asked: “8th position in the league, surely you’re not happy with that?”; While many teams in The Championship would be delighted with this start to the season, it is a sign of the times that the media, fans of other clubs and even certain Leicester fans feel we should be disappointed. The vast number of high profile acquisitions over the summer made it hard to argue against the bookmakers making Leicester favourites for promotion but the squad struggled initially. Not to a Nottingham Forest level but disappointing results against Reading and particularly Bristol City brought out the doubters in the early going. The Birmingham City result on Sunday didn’t help either, but it was one of those days, we weren’t at the races and got put to the sword by a good team.

An important fact to remember at this juncture is that many of the new players had barely any time to play together; it’s not surprising that we lacked cohesion, that defensively we looked a little bit suspect or were caught out from set pieces at the beginning of the season. Things have been looking up in recent weeks though, important wins against high flying teams like Southampton, Brighton and Derby at home have all served to demonstrate the progress that Sven has made over the last couple of months. Defensively we look a lot more solid and before Sunday we had kept four consecutive clean sheets, the quality is there, and over time it should tell.

I spoke with several Leicester fans who thought supporters should be disappointed with 0-0 draws away at Cardiff and Middlesbrough. Why? They are two top teams, both in with a chance of at least a play-off spot and I would take a draw in either of those games away from home. In a league as unpredictable as The Championship is, a little consistency can be the difference between missing out on the play-offs or staving off relegation when others around you are faltering. As much as I’m wasting my breathe (or words in this case) by saying it, it’s way too early to get disheartened with our league position especially when there are promising signs on the horizon.

The fact remains that we’ve beaten several “form teams” when the opportunities have been presented to us. The promise of aesthetically pleasing football is coming through on the pitch and nothing is won until the final ten games of the season, not the first. Having watched a large proportion of the games live this season I’m confident, we may not be battering everyone 5-0 each week but who realistically thought we would?

I’ve come to realise that the doubters will be present at any football club, but the new found wealth at The King Power Stadium has accelerated the rate at which they’ve cast judgement on Leicester City this season. But with a few high profile victories under our belts it’s great to give them a reason to be somewhat muted for a while, even if the murmurs begin after the Birmingham result.

I honestly believe we’ll go up this season; the strength in depth is there to ensure that injuries shouldn’t blight a promotion push enough to de-rail it. After seeing how we play against impressive outfits like Southampton I genuinely think we’ve got what it takes to win the crunch games against those who will be challenging for the automatic and play-off places. The management are doing a fantastic job and we need to let them get on with that, but the point remains, is it too early to dream? Come back to me at Christmas.

Written by Jim Knight - We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Leicester City Blogger

Jim tweets at @JimKnight88

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Posted in Championship, Featured, Leicester City | No Comments »

Sven and the embarrassment of riches

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011


As a Leicester City fan over the last 15 years or so, I’ve been party to some great successes following my club. The last gasp goal by Steve Claridge against Palace, the glory days under Martin O’Neill and particularly The Worthington Cup win against Tranmere in 2000 are all highlights. More recently though, the club has moved in a distinctly different direction. The takeover by Thai based consortium Asian Football Investments in 2010 and the subsequent arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson brought about a tangible sense of hope, almost expectation, amongst fans that I for one, have never previously experienced. Under Martin O’Neill we were plucky underdogs, a relatively small squad assembled on a comparatively tight budget battling resiliently against England’s elite. Now though, the resources available are much more expansive and thus, the pressure is ratcheted up another notch, it’s a situation that I have struggled to come to terms with thus far.

Last season’s acquisitions often fell into two distinct categories; the big names (and wages) of players like Yakubu and Ricardo joined highly rated loanee prospects such as Kyle Naughton, Patrick van Aanholt and Ben Mee to form a squad which always seemed to lack a little cohesion. This time around though, something around the newly christened King Power Stadium appears to have changed. Amid the inevitable paper talk of Owen Hargreaves and Emile Heskey’s imminent arrivals are a crop of players which seemingly hand-picked to forge a promotion challenge and attempt to get out of what is, in reality, a difficult league to escape. The likes of Sean St Ledger, Neil Danns and David Nugent have all been brought in to bolster the Championship experience within the squad and ensure there are no surprises in what to expect from the next 46 games.

The move away from an over reliance on loan players in the run up to this season is somewhat of a double edged sword, on the plus side, you do not have the instability and lack of consistency that is borne from having a back four made up entirely of loan signings. That said, the class of players like Naughton and Miguel Vitor did, at times, delighted the on-looking support even if they knew it was only ever going to be a temporary arrangement. Naughton in particular oozed class and even chipped in with some sublime finishes during a fantastic spell in the Midlands. In hindsight, this tendency to beg and borrow players from big name clubs was a result of Eriksson not having a pre-season with which to shape his squad and the ability to use his extensive contacts at clubs like Manchester City to gain the services of some of their expansive youth set-up. I for one, was concerned that it might continue that way this time around.

On the whole though, this season is shaping up to be a lot different, there is a reluctance to go down the well-trodden route of a big marquee signing, instead opting for a solid group of individuals who have proven records at this level and will be able to cope with the rigours of England’s second tier. The reported initial fee of around £4.5million for Matthew Mills who arrived from Reading in early July did set alarm bells ringing for me personally, as the fee could rise to a new club record, a scary prospect considering we are no longer operating in the top division. In reality though, he is one of the best defenders outside the Premier League and players of his calibre don’t come cheap. I still feel we paid a little over the odds for him but in the days of astronomical transfer fees, a club who others know have the resources to pay such sums must accept that they lose some bargaining power in any potential deals. Sven has also brought in an disproportionate amount of midfielders, even as I have been writing this blog, two more arrivals in the form of Michael Ball and Gelson Fernandes have been added to what is a well packed midfield. Perhaps the Swede thinks he can convince the new owners to turn the King Power Stadium into a giant table football arena.

Pre-season has been encouraging, playing top level opposition such as Bursaspor and Valencia will no doubt have a positive impact upon the squad. Add to that the spectacle of a visit from Real Madrid and there is a real buzz around the club. Without doubt there is an air of expectation, but the reluctance of Eriksson to follow the Harlem Globetrotter route of transfer policy and instead opting for proven records and experience is an encouraging sign. It’s difficult for me as a fan to make an honest assessment of our chances without the rose tinted spectacles playing a part. Of course I think we’ll do well, but then I always do, regardless of circumstance. I just hope that this year the weight of expectation is met with the performances and results to match. One thing is for certain; all the tools are in place for a return to The Premier League to become a reality but are still 23 other teams who will do everything in their power to stop us.

Written by Jim Knight - We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Leicester City Blogger

Jim tweets at @JimKnight88

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Posted in Championship, Featured, Leicester City | 1 Comment »