Leicester away – Squeaky bum time
This topic contains 232 replies, has 22 voices, and was last updated by Alfie07 3 years, 8 months ago.
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July 22, 2020 at 10:47 pm #1860347
So do we play it safe and stick, or go for it?
July 22, 2020 at 11:24 pm #1860371Last couple of games have been a dire to watch but we have to give the team some credit, we were 16 or 14 points behind Leicester and now we are in 3rd spot one point ahead of them, what has happened is obvious to see, fatigue and lack of quality in the bench, also this is Ole’s first full season so we can say he’s “still learning on the job” he’ll make mistakes but at least we seem to be heading forward, we need recruitments and if we beat Leicester and finish 3rd then that will be an excellent season for Ole and we should trust him with more funds next season
July 22, 2020 at 11:39 pm #1860378We need to spend 455 million this summer.
July 22, 2020 at 11:51 pm #1860380Where did you get the extra 55m?😏
July 23, 2020 at 8:16 am #1860408@moral – He forgot about the expected fee we’ll get when we sell the jigsaw!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
July 23, 2020 at 8:49 am #1860417I don’t see us winning this game at all. I expect him to revert to the 3-5-2 and shoehorn several square pegs into round holes and hope for the best.
It will be excruciating to watch. Leicester will take the lead…
I’ll be delighted if we nik a draw.
(Another massively important game where our opponents have crucial extra recovery time over us!)July 23, 2020 at 9:37 am #1860439Chelsea have to better our result as well. They’re playing Wolves. If we both lose, Chelsea finish 5th.
Leicester have to win to guarantee a top 4 place, however due to goal difference, if Chelsea lose, a draw is enough for both sides. Wolves have also had more recovery time than Chelsea.
I don’t think Leicester will take too many chances early on as the draw might be enough. Leicester are a counter attacking side, we need to deny Vardy the space to run in behind us, not make any stupid mistakes and I think we’ll be ok.
July 23, 2020 at 9:46 am #1860445If we beat Southampton and West Ham. We could have thrown the Leucester game so Chelsea finished 5th.
July 23, 2020 at 10:46 am #1860463I’ve said it before but my only hope for this season was to rediscover the excitement of watching United and tbh, the team has managed to deliver a few times on that front after the arrival of Bruno Fernandes. In that sense, we’re definitely better off than a year ago – especially as we have a bigger chance of attracting quality players when they see what we’re capable off.
Just because we’re capable off putting in great performances – that are, by the way, mostly down to individual brilliance – doesn’t mean we’re ready to challenge. Securing CL football will make it easier to sign players but missing out now, when Chelsea and Leicester are both doing their absolute best to muck it up for themselves, would be a real kick in the teeth. We’ve been dire since the Bournemouth game and even then, the cracks were definitely starting to show. Too many players are in desperate need of a rest but while Ole could have either rested players against Chelsea or gone all out to win, he tried to do both and ended up doing neither.
As a result, I don’t feel optimistic at all going into this final showdown against Leicester. Ole, for all his charm and positivity, is yet to show he can come out on top, tactically in tight games such as this so it’s all down to hope, again, I guess. Bruno? Martial? Greenwood? It will have to be one of them as Rashford and Pogba are completely out of sorts. Or do we have to hope for a Jonny Evans own goal for old times sake?
July 23, 2020 at 11:06 am #1860467I know it’ll be a tough game but remember it’s Leicester not the 82 Brazil team. We’re having a dip but they’ve only got 7 points from the last possible 18. They’ve recently been hit for 4 by Spurs and a relegation fighting Bournemouth, so they do leak goals. They do have injuries but their dip started in December way before the injuries. Look at their results for December and January.
July 23, 2020 at 11:29 am #1860481roygbiv – Ole has done well against the top sides this season, we have beaten City and Chelsea on numerous occasions, and Leicester at OT. That said I have little confidence the players will beat Leicester. They will keep things simple, draw us in and hit us on the counter and we will be naive enough to let them. We will overplay and over elaborate, commit silly challenges which the ref will give every time and we look dead on our feet.
July 23, 2020 at 11:53 am #1860485Agree that we’ll struggle on Sunday. Can easily see us losing. We’ve gone that far off a cliff that we have made fairly poor teams like Palace and West Ham look good of late. Not sure that can be turned around regardless of an extra days rest. If Leicester score first then we’re fucked. If we try and open up they’ll hit us on the counter all afternoon.
All banter about Dan James aside, i cannot see what 11 he puts out that will get us a result. The last few seasons have been a right pain in the bollix. There always seems to be a run or a player signing that gives hope only for the wheels to come completely off again.
Even if we do manage to stumble over the line and get CL football next year, the nature of this recent drop off just raises even more questions for next season. And there is no way it can all be rectified in one summer transfer window. Also, for me, there’ll always be lingering doubts about Ole’s ability to do the job longer term. His team selections and set ups of late have been strange to say the least.
July 23, 2020 at 12:03 pm #1860497Ok, ok – I’m back on the beers in this ridiculous heat, so things are becoming a little clearer!
This Leicester team is even lower on confidence than we are at the moment, despite our run in the league. I’m not sure I can see us being beaten to be honest, but Ole really needs to make some big calls and get players with fresh legs (and quality) into the team – which is no easy task. I expect to see an almost redundant Bruno starting in a position he doesn’t currently have the energy for. But I’ve got a feeling Pogba will he dropped for Fred, he works harder after all!
Hopefully the same back line but with AWB instead of TFM – although it’s unbelievable how much we miss Luke Shaw on that left side. If he is fit then brilliant! The rest pick themselves.
It will be interesting to see how this team copes with really serious pressure. We have a truly fucking awful record this season when Chelsea or Leicester are there for the taken. (I don’t think we’ve won a single game when Chelsea have lost before us!!!)If we cant beat Leicester in this one off “final” we will just be embarrassed in the CL next season.
July 23, 2020 at 12:08 pm #1860498I agree that there will be doubts next season, but I think we aren’t that far off having a team which can challenge on all fronts (top three PL, Qtr finals CL). I think 3 signings will do that for us. The following year we will need to build again to progress more.
For all the progress we have made this season we still lack leaders on the pitch. We still lack ‘clever’ players who can spot what’s going wrong and make a change on the pitch.
We had no pattern to our attacking play and that can’t continue.
Wan-Bissaka is great defensively, but poor attacking wise. Hard work should address that. But full backs who can cross are a must these days. Good thing about him is that he still gets forward and is happy to have the ball despite his obvious deficiencies when he gets it. There is something there for good coaches to work with.
July 23, 2020 at 12:10 pm #1860499Agree on Shaw HH. Despite the stick he got from some, he offered us a lot more than he got credit for.
July 23, 2020 at 12:17 pm #1860500alfie, he has, I know but I’m talking about tight games with a lot riding on them. It’s not all about Ole because the team lacks characters to rely on when the going gets tough. Ole has done well in getting rid of some of the deadwood and it seems he wants to shift many more who have hardly gotten a sniff after the lockdown. He has to shoulder blame for the Chelsea fiasco and failing to heed the warning signs against Southampton and West Ham. He can’t simply keep hoping for 1-2 of the front 4 to pull something out of the hat because as soon as the opposition applies any sort of pressure we look completely lost and devoid of ideas and confidence.
July 23, 2020 at 12:29 pm #1860506Anyone think Wan-Bissaka could be a CB?
July 23, 2020 at 12:41 pm #1860514mufc, in a back 3 yes but probably not in back 4 – at least not in the foreseeable future.
July 23, 2020 at 1:14 pm #1860530roygbiv – I agree the team lacks characters and we rely too much on individual skills. Certainly rely more on individual skills now Shaw isn’t there to help build play from the left.
We need to stretch teams, pull them out of position and get Pogba and Bruno on the ball in and around the box. Just cannot see us doing that at Leicester although I really hope I am wrong.
July 23, 2020 at 1:26 pm #1860533@Happy-Take Blacky’s advise and get on the green Mahou’s mate. I think Leicester will fancy this on Sunday. Some of that squad have won a PL. Way more than most of our lot have ever done
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