David Cameron Walker

Archive for the ‘Leicester City’ Category

Leicester’s end of season review

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Well. Where do we start?

Writing this after seeing Crystal Palace defeat Brighton to make the play-off final I can’t help but feel slightly jealous of Brighton. A 2 nil defeat with no fuss unlike the drama at Vicarage Road. But the Watford match doesn’t tell half the story of a strange season at the KP.

Last summer the rebuilding process began as Nigel Pearson prepared for his first pre season back and a chance to clear out the players he didn’t fancy and notably reduce the wage bill. Out went fringe players John Pantsil, Steve Howard and Matt Oakley. Along with big names Matt Mills, Sol Bamba, Lee Peltier and Darius Vassell. They were soon to be followed out into the loan market by Jermaine Beckford and Neil Danns In August.

In came Manchester United players, full back Ritchie De Laet and midfielder Matty James. Centre back Zak Whitbread joined as a free agent.  Up front came Fleetwood Town’s Jamie Vardy for £1 million. An interesting name in the way of France under 21 international Anthony Knockaert joined with several Premier league clubs chasing his signature.  Add this to January signings Danny Drinkwater, Ben Marshall and stalwart Wes Morgan this squad was beginning to show a more Nigel Pearson stamp. Many Leicester fans had doubts about the lack of quality in defence. Both full backs had no understudy and our centre backs consisted of Morgan, Whitbread, Sean St.Ledger and youngster Liam Moore.

The season started unevenly with 3 defeats in the first 5 league games all away from home. The pressure built on Nigel Pearson but eased when he went on a run of 6 wins in 7. From November to December there was a stuttering element to the performances with a 6 nil thrashing of Ipswich only ten days before a defeat at Leeds United.  After a flattering display to beat Derby 4-1 a mini slump ensued with defeats against Millwall and Cardiff. By the end of December Man United’s young centre back Michael Keane arrived on loan. Results picked up and on new year’s day a 6-1 thrashing of Huddersfield where new signing Chris Wood (£1.5million from West Brom) made his debut with a couple of goals. At this point the Foxes hadn’t been out of the top 6 since September. January was a fine month with Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Wolves despatched to leave Leicester in 2nd place going into February and finely poised for a push at automatic promotion. We had one of the best defences and home record’s in the league and would surely be able to push on.

What followed in the remaining 3 months can only be described as a collapse. Strikers suddenly stopped scoring and players started making massive errors.  It started with 2 late goals at Peterborough and never seemed to end. Add this to late goals against Charlton, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff, Millwall, Brighton and Birmingham that cost us roughly 13 points. Of Course we had late winners of our own against Bolton and crucially Nottingham Forest (first league win at the City Ground in 41 years) to scrape into the play-offs. In a 3 month spell we had won 4 of 17 games.  But after the drama of final day a wave of optimism sprang through the city and into the stands with an incredible atmosphere and a first leg display against Watford dispelling the previous football lessons Watford had already served us twice this season. We took a slender 1 nil advantage to Vicarage Road. The second leg started promisingly and after a brilliant first half Vydra goal was cancelled out again by David Nugent the second half was set. What followed was a constant bout of Watford possession and pressure. They had few chances but when Vydra gave Watford the lead the inevitable defeat seemed to be looming. We looked leggy and unable to string passes together and barely troubled Almunia in the match. Knockaert found some space and went down admittedly easy to win a penalty. What followed was farcical from inexperienced players. How a penalty novice can be allowed to take a penalty of such importance is surely an oversight by the management team, the players and ultimately the man in question. The penalty save is easier to take than the one yard rebound that was there for the taking. The players allowed the drama to get the better of them and several were caught ball watching rather than marking players as Watford’s classy Anya attacked the channels unchallenged where composure was found in Hogg and Deeney and another team added to the list of late goals against. Pandemonium at one end. Despair at the other. Season over. Ten years outside the Premier League guaranteed.

The Pressure was on Pearson throughout the final 3 months from external forces but it should be noted that the owners left Pearson to get on with his job and allow a Leicester City manager to start and finish a season for only the sixth time in thirteen seasons since you know who. The season from the owners, playing staff and management team’s point of view was a failure. The whole club talked about Premier League all season and in truth we were never really close. We managed only 2 points more than last season but somehow finished in the top six. In terms of achieving promotion we could and should have had a shot at the play-off final but the margins were small and not in our favour this time. It would be wrong not to acknowledge that the better team will be playing at Wembley on May 27th. Gianfranco Zola has had financial backing and used creativity in the loan market but to build a quality team in such a short space of time needs to be noted. Steve Bruce at Hull again had financial backing and a decent squad and in his first full season takes Hull City back to the summit. Ian Holloway only joined Crystal Palace in November and will be having a crack at Wembley for a third time in four seasons.

Nigel Pearson has had to pick up the pieces of Sven Goran Eriksson’s reign which was littered with many silly contracts and certainly not the sort of players he would have sought had he have been left in charge in 2010 after the previous playoff defeat. But when we look at the managers that have achieved more in less time on similar budgets it’s hard to not ask questions of Nigel Pearson.

The squad was and has been too small all season. Not enough rotation was made nor was sought particularly when players were consistently playing badly. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by many Leicester fans how tired the players looked compared to Watford in the play-offs. This is what lead to many late goals and therefore points lost.

Defensively we were strong for large parts of the season but this mainly due to the excellent Kasper Schmeichel (who is surely destined for the Premier League with or without Leicester) with no less than 3 penalty saves (8 in 2 seasons)and Wes Morgan who is one of the best defenders in the Championship. Morgan was outstanding for most of the season but when he went on a dip in form we needed more than a Manchester United youth player to partner him. Michael Keane could well be a fantastic defender in the future and he has by no means been terrible but to ask him to perform to promotion winning levels was ultimately naive and what lead to the dip in form. Is he any better than our own youth product Liam Moore? A defender who we actually produced through the youth system. It’s debatable I know but we cannot be carrying players. It will only have become useful if Keane returns next season stronger and switched on when marking strikers.

Midfield was severely lacking in experience of a calm assured passer of the football. Drinkwater, James and King are all good players but they lack the composure and strength to keep the ball in possession and win it back when not. Also, the lack of goals from this area has become painful adding to unnecessary pressure on strikers. They needed an older more experienced head directing the play. Pearson’s answer in March was to play Ritchie Wellens, it did not work.

Bizarrely Nigel Pearson started with Jermaine Beckford and Jamie Vardy at the start of the season despite Beckford’s mind being elsewhere. It’s not Pearson’s fault that Beckford was uninterested and he was correctly moved on and hopefully for good this summer. What really puzzles me is the signing of Jamie Vardy to spearhead the attack. A jump of three divisions and straight into the team is an incredible amount of faith to put in a player but it ultimately proved too much with only 5 goals all season. Come December Pearson decided to purchase Chris Wood who certainly started with a bang before the goals started to dry up along with David Nugent. If Chris wood was that good why were we not signing him last summer? Also allowing Jeffrey Schlupp to go to Manchester United for an extended training loan is still puzzling and an indication why would have been nice.

Tactically 4-3-3 has been our undoing away from home as we have at times ended up asking David Nugent to play wide in this system when he clearly works best as a central striker. 4-3-3 inevitably becomes 4-5-1 with at least one of these players playing in midfield that doesn’t belong there.  A long ball in this system rarely works either as Chris Wood is expected to hold the ball up surrounded by defenders with team mates usually more than 20 yards away.  And when this doesn’t work where is our plan B? Steve Howard used to ruffle some feathers but his direct replacement Marko Futacs has barely featured. Nor has former fans favourite Martyn Waghorn.

But is it always the manager’s fault?

David Nugent can be solely blamed for 2 missing points after a rash challenge in the Birmingham game. Wes Morgan as well brings down Andy Keogh and gets sent off after 2 minutes against Millwall costing us a potential 3 points. And don’t get me started on missed penalties.

Nigel Pearson has built the nucleus of a side with an emphasis on youth. They will surely only get better and this heartbreaking experience should serve their characters well for another shot at the top 6.

Ritchie De Laet, Matty James, Jeffrey Schlupp and Anthony Knockaert have improved as players throughout the season and seem more and more geared to being forward thinking players. When Knockaert is on form he is virtually unplayable with the 2 goals against Huddersfield at the start of the season being truly spectacular. He will only get better and needs to show his quality more often to allow us to dictate games.

Unfortunately as a Leicester fan I have been made impatient by the owner’s ambition and their attitude. It could well be that they aim for the best every season and may well have a long term plan but it’s difficult to judge on their lack of public appearances. I think whoever is in charge next season everyone needs to shut up about promotion and just try and take pressure off the players and concentrate on winning matches.

So should we get rid of Nigel Pearson?

I’ve asked a lot of the supporters this question and not one of them has said yes. The key word has been ‘stability’. This makes a lot of sense as we all know managers bring new ideas and tend to overhaul the playing squad; with Financial Fair Play about to start it seems a wise move.

But it has to be stressed that not many people are overly impressed with Pearson, merely that he seems to be the best of slim options that are available.

But if we stick by our man we need to see a Nigel Pearson that has learnt from his mistakes and gets the players to learn from theirs. He needs to make sure the squad is ready with more players of better quality.  We need to see he won’t stubbornly stick by players regardless of form. We need more cover in key positions and more experienced quality throughout the spine of the team. Plus a more confident approach away from home. Also the irony of seeing a manager unemotional and very monotone in interviews and on the sidelines must have Sven Goran Eriksson scratching his head at why he was criticised so much. Pearson has got to work harder with the fans or they will turn on him much quicker than he has been allowed

This is all very nice in practice but every day I am scanning Sky Sports News to see if Leicester are again looking for a new manager. The sooner the owners make their mind up the better.

Written by Damon Carter, We Are Going Up’s Leicester City blogger

Damon tweets at @dimski

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The race for the playoffs – the Fox corner

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

How accountable is a manager for player’s individual decisions?

On March 29th with barely two and a half minutes on the clock Wes Morgan hauled down Millwall’s Andy Keogh while through on goal. He rightfully saw red and despite a hard working performance, Millwall eventually went on to deservedly win the game 1-0. Wes Morgan could easily have let Andy Keogh go through on goal.

Had he have scored or not we would have had eleven men on the pitch including our captain and rock in defence. Instead it cost us the game and he would be missing for the following match. Nigel Pearson didn’t do himself any favours by letting Sean St.Ledger go out on loan to Millwall that day, with no option of recalling him, meaning young centre-back Liam Moore was recalled from a loan spell at Brentford.

During the next two and a bit days I checked my phone on an hourly basis to see if the inevitable came for Mr Pearson.

Oakwell, April 1st and with barely four minutes on the clock Scott Wiseman delivers a cross into the box, where Michael Keane, rather than wrapping a weak left foot on a clearance, goes with his right foot facing the goal and gifts Barnsley the lead. That could be forgiven but what could not be was the utter abject and uninspiring display that followed from all in a blue shirt as Leicester were soundly beaten 2-0 by a team fighting relegation. Kasper Schmeichel even saved a penalty and Barnsley had efforts ruled out for offside.

The following night Brighton jumped above us in the table and we were out of the top six for the first time in six months. I tried to search for a ‘manager sacked alert’ app on my phone but to no avail.

Amex stadium, 6th April and the first few minutes rolled by with no real incidents. Nose bleed territory. The performance was far more pleasing this time around but a worrying trend started to set in with key players Andy King and Jeffrey Schlupp wasting clear opportunities. But when in Matty James wriggled through the box and finished neatly in the 73rd minute, hopefully Leicester could put an end to the bad run.

But with a psychotic insistence on giving possession of the ball away it was little surprise when Kazenga Lua Lua collected the ball and fired it into the net to equalise for the hosts. Maybe Richie De Laet could have closed down tighter and maybe Schmeichel would normally have saved it, but my opinion is that winning teams don’t let the opposition have the ball as much as we do.

Back to the King Power on 12th April for another Friday night game on Sky (seriously I think the Sky crew have found a restaurant they liked) and Leicester are heading into injury time 2-1 up and heading back to the playoff places. Despite giving Birmingham possession at every opportunity I couldn’t have imagined David Nugent taking three bad touches and then upending Wes Thomas to concede a penalty. It was inexplicable from a normally consummate professional and I was sat there thinking how harsh it would be to sack Pearson after that. Especially when television replays proved the challenge to be outside the box.

On April 16th Bolton were the visitors to the KP Stadium, on a fantastic run and sitting in sixth place. A defeat was unthinkable as the potential to be five points off the play offs by the end of the evening would be more or less insurmountable.

Back to reality within two minutes when barely a minute has passed and Morgan is adjudged to have fouled Chung Yong Lee. It may have been a penalty but Lee spent an awful amount of time looking at the ref during the game which makes me wonder. The supporters got right behind the team and after Chris Wood’s penalty equaliser came a moment that all Leicester fans needed, a rip roaring strike from Lloyd Dyer that nearly broke the crossbar to make the score 2-1.

The roar from the crowd was one of frustration and relief. Of course there was still plenty of time to let an equaliser in, so all the better when Jeffrey Schlupp unleashed a volley into the bottom corner to send the home fans into raptures. Seven minutes of injury time was mostly agony as Bolton laid siege on the goal, but this time the defending was more resolute and possession wasn’t given away so cheaply.

After that win Leicester sit in sixth place, absurd when you consider that was our first win in 10 games, but results went in our favour. Like all supporters in the league we can draw on ifs, buts and maybes. The facts are as Nigel Pearson has observed “the margins are so thin.” A player getting sent off after two minutes or conceding an own goal or a penalty is really out of a managers control, as is a rip roaring strike in off the crossbar or a left foot volley outside the box.

I have thought long and hard about what this means for the remainder of the season and the truth is like any of the other play off chasers there are arguments for and against nearly all of them – except for Watford who seem destined for the play offs unless Hull spectacularly fail.

Leicester have shown many different personalities this season along with several others. This collective schizophrenia makes the Championship the most entertaining and hard to predict division in world football. As the relegation fight can still take two of any fourteen teams, the play offs could still yet include Millwall in 15th place.

As Cardiff City celebrate their promotion to the Premier League (well done Redbirds), one can’t help but think that the real reason for Craig Bellamy’s tears of joy is that they will not have to endure a fight for promotion through the playoffs. Cardiff never managed to crack the playoffs and now they can celebrate their promotion whilst watching the four teams battle out for one solitary place with amusement and relief.

The playoffs turn what would be a boringly old fashioned (and admittedly fairer) system of the top three winning promotion into a hectic fight for a place at an end of season lottery. It gives everyone a chance at dreaming right up until April. It turns a game like Leicester v Bolton into a humdinger of an affair and there will be plenty more of these before we even get to the playoffs.

The run of games start on Saturday with an away day at Crystal Palace and a certain ex-Foxes manager who once told supporters to calm down and have a sandwich at fears we might be relegated to League One – Ian Holloway. Ignorance and arrogance can be a lethal combination. I wonder if he’ll tell Crystal Palace fans to do the same thing as they start to consider the possibility of them now dropping out of the top six?

Considering Leicester were sat in second place in early February it is a travesty that we are even in this position and Nigel Pearson still faces a fight to keep his job. The win against Bolton was crucial not only for him but for the fans who at the end of the whistle cheered like we’d made the playoffs. It might be a false dawn but there was belief again that the season isn’t quite over – for now.

Written by Damon Carter, We Are Going Up’s Leicester City blogger

Damon tweets at @dimski

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Roll The Dice

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

With the managerial sack race claiming managers every week, it is surprising to see the usually precarious position of Leicester City manager has been untouched since October 2011. Of course this could all be about to change with a massive match at The King Power Stadium at home to Millwall on Good Friday in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Nigel Pearson and the Foxes contingent are currently in one of the worst runs of form of the season with just one win in 9 games that has all but ruined a crack at the top 2 and is now threatening to push them out of the play-off picture.

With an abysmal display against Derby County (again in front of Sky’s cameras) being the last time the Foxes were in action it would not have surprised me to see Nigel Pearson to have been shown the door. An over reliance on a 4-3-3 formation away from home has seen Leicester attain the worst away form out of any of the top 6 teams. Also a panic button seems to have been pressed by Nigel Pearson in turning to stalwart Richie Wellens in a 3-man midfield. Wellens has been a good servant for the football club over the last 4 seasons but with the Derby game being only his 4th appearance of the season it does smack of desperation. Forwards David Nugent and Lloyd Dyer were pushed so far wide in that game that Chris Wood was consistently isolated in the centre. Pearson did at least have the ability to see these problems at half time and switched things around with Jeffrey Schlupp being introduced to great affect. Unfortunately Leicester were already 2-nil down thanks to some atrocious defending and the game was an uphill battle. There were far too many problems in the Derby defeat to fit into one blog but most Leicester fans seem to agree, it was possibly the worst performance since a 3 nil home defeat saw the end of Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester tenure. The team that inflicted it on them. You guessed it. Millwall

It should be said for the record that I don’t want Nigel Pearson to be sacked. But with rich foreign investors who are still yet to get a return on their investment with the golden egg of Premier League football the pressure is absolutely huge on Pearson’s shoulders. This is a manager who has good pedigree at this level. He took Leicester to the play-offs in 2010 and was only a penalty shoot out away from a Wembley appearance. This though is as close as he has come to taking a team up and out of the Championship and this statistic will not go unnoticed by the owners.

It is imperative that Nigel Pearson finishes in the top 6 this season. The investment at the club has been massive. Not all of it by Pearson it has to be said. Big money gambles by Sven last season didn’t work. Matt Mills, Jermaine Beckford and Neil Danns have all been shown the door by Pearson. Whilst they have been succeeded by Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater and Chris Wood. The Leicester squad is now more youthful and no doubt better off wages wise although there are still big earners at the club. But despite the investment and shuffling of players there does seem to be stubbornness to Pearson’s approach. He has whittled the squad down to such a level that injuries invariably force us to play square pegs in round holes. Sean St.Ledger is not a right back and Lloyd Dyer not a Left back but both have had to ply their trade there recently when called upon. We also seem to be stockpiling strikers and giving the ones that do very little several chances (Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane).

Sven has taken a lot of the criticism for the state of the playing squad but Pearson did profit from Sven’s signings as well with David Nugent, Kasper Schmeichel and Paul Konchesky all heavily selected by Pearson. Beckford and Mills clearly had attitude problems and will hardly be missed but it still bugs me to see Neil Danns, an energetic, agile and tough tackling midfielder on loan at Huddersfield when Danny Drinkwater and Andy King seem to be frightened of any player who gets in their face.

It is worth remembering that back in January we were sitting pretty in second and were scoring goals for fun. Chris Wood looked as sharp as ever with 6 goals in his first 3 games. David Nugent was scoring crucial winning goals and Anthony Knockaert was controlling games with a swagger that is usually only found in Premier League wingers. Wes Morgan at times is the best defender I have seen in a Leicester shirt and Kasper Schmeichel has pulled off crucial saves with penalties being his specialty. When we flow, Nigel Pearson has had us playing some outstanding football with The King Power Stadium seeing no fewer than 40 league goals by the boys in blue and having the joint best home goal difference. We seem to play really well for 8-10 games and then not so well for 8-10 games. If that stands up we will turn things around against Millwall and go on a storming run to finish high in the top 6 (in theory at least).

But with eight games to go it can’t be forgotten that our away form just hasn’t been up to scratch and that is a worry with trips to Brighton, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest (our bogey ground) still to come.

So why stick with the manager?

It is simply too late in the season to change the management team. These are their players and only they will know what they expect from them in the run in. At the moment at least Leicester haven’t been outside the top 6 since September which isn’t bad going. There is also the added element of changing manager’s midway through the Championship season and where that most likely leads you. It has been 6 years since a manger has taken charge of a club midway through the season and taken them into the Premier League. Roy Keane was that manager with Sunderland and he still had the reigns from late August of that season. So it isn’t impossible it’s just unlikely.

Of course there will be many supporters of the red persuasion in Nottingham who think Billy Davies may well buck that trend. Forest are currently flying with 6 wins in a row and sit above us and in the top 6 for the first time this season. Now they will be there to be shot at and it will be interesting to see how they do. In a way the pressure is now off Leicester as so many pundits are lazily predicting that Brighton are destined to take the remaining play-off spot. This could work into Nigel Pearson’s hands. But it needs to start on Friday. If Millwall beat us for the fourth time in a row I fear the Thai owners will give Eriksson and Pearson another thing in common.

Happy Easter.

Written by Damon Carter, We Are Going Up’s Leicester City blogger

Damon tweets at @dimski

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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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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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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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