25 minutes ago, Drogba1 said:

Maresca's Leicester looked a lot better in the first half of the season than in the 2nd half

Arguably much to do with the oppo working out his tactics and countering them. A bit like De Zerbi at Brighton. Plan A without a Plan B can be a problem.

On 05/08/2024 at 12:54, Sconnie Blue said:

Bob trying to tell a Leicester fan more about their club than them. 😂

Leicester fans are genuinely fearing another relegation. So much for "PL squad in the Championship". 

IMHO Bob is speaking alot more sense than this guy who is either a very hyper negative fox or just one of the sad trolls from our forum looking for attention.  No true Fox would diss Albrighton who's been amazing for us. Yes we are fearing the worse in an immediate return downstairs but most Foxes fans I know are upbeat about the coming season. It will be tough but we still have that fighting spirit and togetherness that got us that unbelievable title win, albeit fading into history now.

We still need a few additions and we won't fighting for Europe just yet but we will stay up.

Mixed feelings Maresca, he got the team working well to his system but the lack of flexibility to change things when teams found us out nearly lost us promotion. But, obviously talented as a coach and, with more funds at his disposal at your place he may well shine.

Be an interesting season for both of us.

15 hours ago, Simplymo said:

Yep, +2

Definitely seen this in preseason too. To counter we need a really good defence which we definitely don't have. As someone has said already though...we could pile up the 97,578,396 goalkeepers we have on the books ontop of each other in goal?

 

 

I just can't get that black adder sketch out of my head.

I love how you two are arguing about which team is worse or how BOB is trying to convince a Leicester fan he knows better about "Leicester". Lol

 

 

I've no idea who Bob is but he definitely seems to know more about the Foxes than this pretender who doesn't seem to know that Albrighton was a loyal servant to Leicester for a decade.  

2 hours ago, Visiting Fox said:

IMHO Bob is speaking alot more sense than this guy who is either a very hyper negative fox or just one of the sad trolls from our forum looking for attention.  No true Fox would diss Albrighton who's been amazing for us. Yes we are fearing the worse in an immediate return downstairs but most Foxes fans I know are upbeat about the coming season. It will be tough but we still have that fighting spirit and togetherness that got us that unbelievable title win, albeit fading into history now.

We still need a few additions and we won't fighting for Europe just yet but we will stay up.

Mixed feelings Maresca, he got the team working well to his system but the lack of flexibility to change things when teams found us out nearly lost us promotion. But, obviously talented as a coach and, with more funds at his disposal at your place he may well shine.

Be an interesting season for both of us.

My concern is that with all due respect the forwards in the Championship are just not as clinical as the Premier league so even during that good first half of the season you might not have got punished for mistakes at the back. With some of the defenders we have I can see us not even getting a decent head of steam up.

4 hours ago, dermott said:

Arguably much to do with the oppo working out his tactics and countering them. A bit like De Zerbi at Brighton. Plan A without a Plan B can be a problem.

I'm sure Maresca has learned from last season & will have a plan B this season.

Far from convinced from what we’ve seen. Beyond being pretty dull, we make football look so complicated. Bunch of square pegs in round holes. 

I have very low expectations for this season after seeing our pre-season games so far, I really hope I'm proven wrong and it just has to do with CIty and co just being better teams or more prepared than us for the season.

Also doesnt help that our transfer policy this summer had no rhyme or reason to it

Edited August 7, 20241 yr by Frankie8Lampard

Think we'll be lucky to finish in the top half. Nothing from the pre-season games has impressed me.

Never felt so deflated heading into a new season.

10 hours ago, Drogba1 said:

Maresca's Leicester looked a lot better in the first half of the season than in the 2nd half

This always happen with manager who like heavy circuit. They always do well early

6 hours ago, Visiting Fox said:

I've no idea who Bob is but he definitely seems to know more about the Foxes than this pretender who doesn't seem to know that Albrighton was a loyal servant to Leicester for a decade.  

It is strange that any fox fans can complain about their team. 

What kind of championship team can have

Kdh-winks-ndidi 

As their starting midfield. 

I am actually more curious what happen to your team 2 seasons ago? No way your team should be relegated. 

 

Edited August 7, 20241 yr by Bob stark

Having a great squad and using them to potential are two very different things. Lord knows how many great Chelsea teams have been squandered by poor managers in the last 20 years. Maresca getting his squad to perform as expected was a good sign, turning them into a runaway champion is actually deserving of credit. 

I think people also drastically understimate the quality of the Championship; it isn't the Prem, but apart from a few Champions-League worthy teams it is far better than most top-flight leagues in Europe. 

I'm also not worried about the apparent lack of a Plan B. Ancelotti, Klopp, Arteta, Alonso all don't have a plan B and yet they did pretty well. Guardiola famously has been more successful after ditching his infamous tinkering. Tuchel often had a Plan B and Plan C and ultimately failed, but his real strength was forcing other teams to compromise to our strengths. Potter had a Plan B, C, D, E, F, G and H and still couldn't get a tune. There is a not-so-fine line between tactical genius and tinkerer.

My worry is more that Plan A just isn't very good. Our two best attackers (Nkunku and Palmer) don't have a clear role in the preferred system. Our best attacking fullbacks will not be using that ability. Our best long-passing midfielder is not needed to make those plays because he plays too far forward. Our energetic and progressive DMs are instructed to play deep and backward. Our best ball-playing goalkeeper is still...terrible. 

I can't see a clear recruitment strategy either. The players we have bought weren't bought for Maresca's system and Maresca wasn't brought in for our squad, so when he leaves in 2028 after winning 3 leagues and 2 Champions Leagues we will back to incoherent square one.

 

On 02/08/2024 at 11:43, Bob stark said:

I don't believe guru statement, more importantly imo Leicester talent gap to their rival in championship is much greater compare to us in PL. 

Leicester basically had PL squad in championship and their salary was 50% more than the next team. It was mental. 

 

On 05/08/2024 at 11:50, LCFC Fan in Peace said:

We really didn't. 

we lost 12 players from the squad that was relegated even before a ball was kicked.  this season, we have basically the same squad from the championship, minus KDH.... I think you are all about to see, just how poor that squad is!! lots of us Leicester fans are expecting a Derby County bad kind of season.... 

Tbh, I agree with @Bob stark here. Leicester had players on the bench, who have spent most of their careers in the top flight. Coady could not get in that Leicester team and he used to be Wolves captain not too long ago whilst they were in the PL. Daka, was often on the bench and I don't think most people envisaged him playing in the Championship. Iheanacho, was often a sub and he is defo a PL tier player and recently moved to Sevilla, however he spent last season in and out of the team like Daka who are prem level players, even if they are not necessarily consistent scorers. They defo both are way too good for the Championship. I know Justin had that ACL, but again he was often a sub and can also be considered a PL level player. Praet, I get it has not really hit it off in England but he has spent most of his career in the top flight. He barely got a start but he still was a sub most games and is betetr than most players, you would say in the Championship. 

You mentioned that 12 players from the squad was lost before a ball was kicked but they were adequately replaced. Mavididi replaced Barnes which was a real coup to get him considering you were in the Championship. Fatawu who looks a real talent was brought in on loan too. The one major loss which was hard to replace was Maddison, however KDH did a good job stepping up but even getting in Winks to replace Tielemans was a massive coup. Winks going to the Championship surprised a lot of people. So for me, the players sold were reasonably replaced and there was good options on the bench. For eg, you compare when Burnley was promoted, most of their players on the bench were virtually known and were rookies from what I remember. Burnley would never have been able to afford some of the players Leicester bought whilse they were in the Championship.

1 hour ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Having a great squad and using them to potential are two very different things. Lord knows how many great Chelsea teams have been squandered by poor managers in the last 20 years. Maresca getting his squad to perform as expected was a good sign, turning them into a runaway champion is actually deserving of credit. 

I think people also drastically understimate the quality of the Championship; it isn't the Prem, but apart from a few Champions-League worthy teams it is far better than most top-flight leagues in Europe. 

I'm also not worried about the apparent lack of a Plan B. Ancelotti, Klopp, Arteta, Alonso all don't have a plan B and yet they did pretty well. Guardiola famously has been more successful after ditching his infamous tinkering. Tuchel often had a Plan B and Plan C and ultimately failed, but his real strength was forcing other teams to compromise to our strengths. Potter had a Plan B, C, D, E, F, G and H and still couldn't get a tune. There is a not-so-fine line between tactical genius and tinkerer.

My worry is more that Plan A just isn't very good. Our two best attackers (Nkunku and Palmer) don't have a clear role in the preferred system. Our best attacking fullbacks will not be using that ability. Our best long-passing midfielder is not needed to make those plays because he plays too far forward. Our energetic and progressive DMs are instructed to play deep and backward. Our best ball-playing goalkeeper is still...terrible. 

I can't see a clear recruitment strategy either. The players we have bought weren't bought for Maresca's system and Maresca wasn't brought in for our squad, so when he leaves in 2028 after winning 3 leagues and 2 Champions Leagues we will back to incoherent square one.

 

You had me right till the end. Excellent post hahaha 

So that's the USA Tour finished and what an underwhelming mess that was LOL

Early signs are that this guy is well out of his depth, in commonality with the Directors of Football, the Owners, the Head of Global Goalkeeping and half the squad.

What a time to be alive LOL

Remains to be seen what plan Maresca has to nullify Cole Palmer !

 

 

Watching this preseason made me realize once more that if it wasn't for certain Cole Palmer, we could have easily been relegated last season.

James and Chilwell are the only two players left from the old squad, and the latter may be on the way out, too, so it's been a total overhaul in a matter of two years.

What a mind boggling waste of money.

Maresca said something interesting and a bit scary for me in one of the recent interviews, I think it was part of the prematch interview for this game.

He hasn't been working on tactics at all in the USA. Bits and pieces here and there. But because of the travel times and matches they haven't put the tactics work in since going out there. He said most if not all the tactical work was at Cobham before flying out and again at Cobham when they return.

So fine...he still has a lot of tactical work to do but what scares me is "is there time to do it...?" We have 11 days before matchday 1 and today is wasted anyway as they fly back. Then add days off to be with their families, etc...how much time does he have to get tactics sorted!? Especially as we keep getting reminded that they are complicated and complex tactics.

8 minutes ago, abramovich said:

Watching this preseason made me realize once more that if it wasn't for certain Cole Palmer, we could have easily been relegated last season.

James and Chilwell are the only two players left from the old squad, and the latter may be on the way out, too, so it's been a total overhaul in a matter of two years.

What a mind boggling waste of money.

Unfortunately James isn't helping that argument atm. I don't actually think he's fully fit or has it in him anymore. I really hope I'm wrong and he's just been off in the USA. But not one game, even when he was in midfield dictating play reminded me of our old reece James.

43 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

So that's the USA Tour finished and what an underwhelming mess that was LOL

Early signs are that this guy is well out of his depth, in commonality with the Directors of Football, the Owners, the Head of Global Goalkeeping and half the squad.

What a time to be alive LOL

Remains to be seen what plan Maresca has to nullify Cole Palmer !

 

 

Totally agree I think its going to be a long and challenging season ,I don't see too much light at the end of the tunnel ,our defence is just a clusterf*ck ,come on you Chels

14 minutes ago, Simplymo said:

Maresca said something interesting and a bit scary for me in one of the recent interviews, I think it was part of the prematch interview for this game.

He hasn't been working on tactics at all in the USA. Bits and pieces here and there. But because of the travel times and matches they haven't put the tactics work in since going out there. He said most if not all the tactical work was at Cobham before flying out and again at Cobham when they return.

So fine...he still has a lot of tactical work to do but what scares me is "is there time to do it...?" We have 11 days before matchday 1 and today is wasted anyway as they fly back. Then add days off to be with their families, etc...how much time does he have to get tactics sorted!? Especially as we keep getting reminded that they are complicated and complex tactics.

He already criticized that saying he has mixed feelings over the long travels and 6 games in 17 days. 

We are absolutely not going to be ready for the season optimally. Hopefully that is with City as well. They don't have to learn a new system and have an experienced squad but hope it hits them a bit as well. 

That doesn't mean we can't get a result against City. First game of the season is always a bit difficult for every team.

6 minutes ago, evissy said:

He already criticized that saying he has mixed feelings over the long travels and 6 games in 17 days. 

We are absolutely not going to be ready for the season optimally. Hopefully that is with City as well. They don't have to learn a new system and have an experienced squad but hope it hits them a bit as well. 

That doesn't mean we can't get a result against City. First game of the season is always a bit difficult for every team.

I hope we do bud but like you said city don't have to learn a new system and any new players can be slotted in one by one, with his weaknesses learning the system being covered by the others.

He has said he doesn't want us playing such a high line, and that it was identified as a weakness from last season when he joined the team. The positive signs are we do look like we can create a lot of chances, so I guess his ability to fix these defensive issues will dictate how long he gets before lots and lots of pressure builds. I'm sure we could all accept a City defeat if they work hard for it and we are competitive. Let's hope over the next 10 days this is their focus. 

 

 

14 hours ago, Visiting Fox said:

IMHO Bob is speaking alot more sense than this guy who is either a very hyper negative fox or just one of the sad trolls from our forum looking for attention.  No true Fox would diss Albrighton who's been amazing for us. Yes we are fearing the worse in an immediate return downstairs but most Foxes fans I know are upbeat about the coming season. It will be tough but we still have that fighting spirit and togetherness that got us that unbelievable title win, albeit fading into history now.

We still need a few additions and we won't fighting for Europe just yet but we will stay up.

Mixed feelings Maresca, he got the team working well to his system but the lack of flexibility to change things when teams found us out nearly lost us promotion. But, obviously talented as a coach and, with more funds at his disposal at your place he may well shine.

Be an interesting season for both of us.

44% of people expect us to get relegated.... i'm hyper realistic, not hyper negative. 

Albrighton WAS amazing for us... he wasn't last year....   Vardy is a living legend.... but to go into a PL season with him as your starting striker at 37, is worrying at the very least.  Daka scores one in 5 at best and Cannon is unproven. 

4 hours ago, STATS said:

 

Tbh, I agree with @Bob stark here. Leicester had players on the bench, who have spent most of their careers in the top flight. Coady could not get in that Leicester team and he used to be Wolves captain not too long ago whilst they were in the PL. Daka, was often on the bench and I don't think most people envisaged him playing in the Championship. Iheanacho, was often a sub and he is defo a PL tier player and recently moved to Sevilla, however he spent last season in and out of the team like Daka who are prem level players, even if they are not necessarily consistent scorers. They defo both are way too good for the Championship. I know Justin had that ACL, but again he was often a sub and can also be considered a PL level player. Praet, I get it has not really hit it off in England but he has spent most of his career in the top flight. He barely got a start but he still was a sub most games and is betetr than most players, you would say in the Championship. 

You mentioned that 12 players from the squad was lost before a ball was kicked but they were adequately replaced. Mavididi replaced Barnes which was a real coup to get him considering you were in the Championship. Fatawu who looks a real talent was brought in on loan too. The one major loss which was hard to replace was Maddison, however KDH did a good job stepping up but even getting in Winks to replace Tielemans was a massive coup. Winks going to the Championship surprised a lot of people. So for me, the players sold were reasonably replaced and there was good options on the bench. For eg, you compare when Burnley was promoted, most of their players on the bench were virtually known and were rookies from what I remember. Burnley would never have been able to afford some of the players Leicester bought whilse they were in the Championship.

Daka Scored 7 goals in the championship... Kelechi scored 5.... they both made 20 appearances or more.......   i'm not sure that screams "too good for the championship".... 

anyway... I didn't come on here to talk to you lot about Leicester, so I'll stop derailing the conversation! lol.... 

Edited August 7, 20241 yr by LCFC Fan in Peace

Having slept on our performance last night, the positivity train has returned. 

I'll start by saying that I completly agree with every reason people are giving for being concerned about this season, there are certainly lots of indications that this could be another tough year. Our defenders, in particular, don't look like they are capable of filing the Thiago Silva shaped hole in my heart and we constantly look vulnerable to conceding. 

Maybe my bar is lower than everyone elses, but I think I have seen enough encouragement in these games to suggest that things will, eventually, click into place. I think another week back at cobham, with our full squad and no travel etc will do us a world of good. Maresca has already said that training tactics has been limited on the tour due to the schedule and I wonder if we have overloaded the squad a bit with the frequency and number of games we have played out there. Seems to be a common complaint since the new owners have come in, with a travel heavy pre season hampering preparations. If we take his words at face value, and we have made the progress on the ball that we have with limited sessions, then I am optimistic there is more to come. 

Obviously that is on the ball though and we have looked awful off of it. But I think a lot of our defensive issues get resolved by our on the ball play improving. Not necasarily the player on the ball, but those in space. I still think there are runs being made/movements taking place that won't once we have the system down. But these moves are leaving spaces and vulnerabilities that are being exploited when the ball is given away. I think transitions are going to be hugely important in how we play, and right now I don't think we've got a grasp on how to manage them. 

The way I see it, if Maresca would have come in during the Roman era, or even if we hadn't have had the few years that we have had leading up to his appointment, I don't think the meltdown would be as widespread as it is right now. Its natural, we've come to expect this type of failure from the new owners, and there are indications that Maresca is just going to become another name in the story of how Clearlake have torn us from greatness. But thats not his fault. He deserves at least a bit of patience going into the new season, especially as even the average football fan can see that his new system is going to take time to implement. 

There are excuses that can be made for everything that has happened in pre season, the squad size, the amount of travel, the pitches, the new system, the fact that pre season games dont really matter. So bring on Sunday, bring on getting some real preparations done back home and hopefully we will see some real progress when we walk out against City. At the very least, we'll have some actual clarity on where we stand. 

6 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

I can't see a clear recruitment strategy either. The players we have bought weren't bought for Maresca's system and Maresca wasn't brought in for our squad, so when he leaves in 2028 after winning 3 leagues and 2 Champions Leagues we will back to incoherent square one.

 

This is the key thing isn't it. 

Tuchel was sacked, cech and gravovskaia left, and these new sporting directors came in amidst a lot of excitable talk about alignment and being joined up. 

The benefit of actually doing that is you can build a squad for a general style and you can hire coaches according to that approach. 

Putting aside the ridiculous speculation on young players in and outside of the first team squad, we've signed players like disasi and badiashile who cannot pass the ball out of defence, 3 midfielders for close to £300m who are best playing behind the ball (meaning they'll probably never naturally fit into the same starting 11), a series of average keepers, at least one of which who cannot pass the ball out of defence, players who struggle to press etc etc. 

Each manager we've hired (maybe aside from potter) has had a style entirely contrary to the one they have succeeded. How does any of this make sense?

Remember these guys came in and said of a club that had just won the champions league and the world club Cup "Chelsea were not well run on the football or business side". 

We've hired a coach who may or may not be good, but like lamps, he is a relative novice. What's for sure is that the decisions taken by those above him will make his job harder rather than easier.