Last night: It's now shit or bust

[SteelCity Blade]

Part of me wonders how the f*** we managed to lose last night after dominating much of the game. The other part of me realises that possession and pressure counts for nothing, you need to have the quality to put the ball in the back of the net. Leicester managed to do that, but with one of the most poxy goals I’ve ever seen (the defence should have cleared properly and Simonsen should have easily caught it).

We saw another performance high on endeavour and spirit but with no quality (particularly in midfield) and no end product. My biggest praise goes to Ched Evans whom I thought was outstanding last night. His work rate, movement and quality on the ball was something we haven’t seen from him before and had he not been constantly dragged out wide due to our lack of quality on the flanks, he would have probably got on the score sheet. As frustrating as it was to watch, our weaknesses were all too obvious and certain players continue to let us down with poor performances.

I often defend him against criticism but Monty was woeful and based on current form alone he should not be in the starting line-up. At times I feel sorry for Simonsen but I’ve seen far too many poxy efforts like the one last night just simply fly past him when he should be plucking them out of the air. He might not have the best defence in front of him but he’s let some very speculative (and even poor) efforts go beyond him far too often and he doesn’t command the box enough for me. Cresswell is not a left sided midfielder and should not be playing there under any circumstances. I can only think Micky plays him there for the physical presence in midfield. His contribution once again was nil.

Our biggest problem is still in midfield as far as I’m concerned and particularly in the wide positions. Micky insists that he likes his sides to get the ball out wide and put quality into the box. If that is the case he should have been given a proper transfer budget to bring in some decent wide men. Yes I know, we’re not flush with money I’m realistic about that. But we’re going to lose a lot more revenue if we slip into League One; and that is a frighteningly real possibility at the moment! I can’t fault the effort and commitment of the players but I have my doubts as to whether that will be enough. When you’re dominating games like that and still can’t even manage a goal it only spells one word.....! I’m not even going to mention the officiating. That sort of language is best saved for the pub.

We have half a dozen games coming up now and four of them are against the sides around us. This really is, as the title suggests.....shit or bust time! There is simply no excuse now for not getting points on the board. This is the last chance saloon. It might look like there is still a long way to go but trust me, the weeks will pass quickly and we’ll find ourselves at the end of April in no time at all. We MUST start winning NOW if we are to stand any chance of survival. Anything less than 10 points from this period could leave us lagging behind in the relegation zone with a lot of difficult games in the final two months. February will be critical and will shape our destiny, no two ways about it!

The worst two sides in the bottom four (on current form) are United and Scunthorpe at this present moment and that is a real worry. It is difficult to see where the inspiration is going to come from to turn it around.....it’s ok battering the opposition and going close but going close doesn’t get you points. If we get relegated at the end of the season no one will remember the Williamson free kick off the post and the header cleared off the line or incidents in the other games. They will simply see us in the bottom three because we weren’t good enough. The time for feeling sorry for ourselves and making excuses is up.....time to start winning some games of football. It needs to start from Saturday!

UTB

 

[broomhillblade]

Part of me wonders how the f*** we managed to lose last night after dominating much of the game. The other part of me realises that possession and pressure counts for nothing, you need to have the quality to put the ball in the back of the net.

I wasn't at the match last night but I heard the commentary on BBC Radio Leicester. They couldn't understand how we didn't score. Forget the glaring misses by Bent and Lowry. According to the commentary, their keeper made two world class saves when the ball seemed certain to go in, a shot was cleared off the goal line with their keeper beaten, a free-kick hit the woodwork, the ref missed two glaring handballs in the penalty area. This all sounds like a huge slice of luck in Leicester's favour, not lack of quality. On another night we could have won by three or four goals.

Less of the doom and gloom please everyone - it doesn't help. Our luck has got to turn.

 

[Guesty]

"On another night". As I put in another thread, when? We keep saying we should have won by three or four, or someone is going to get a hammering, but it Never. Bloody. Happens.

 

[Grecian2000]

At times I feel sorry for Simonsen but I’ve seen far too many poxy efforts like the one last night just simply fly past him when he should be plucking them out of the air.

Can't argue with much about that post Steely.

However, I think you could use words like "drift" or "float" rather than fly in the sentence above. Fly seems a bit strong for some of the stuff that's ended in the net.

 

[SteelCity Blade]

Our luck has got to turn.

How many times can we say that though broomhill? It gets to a point where we have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and calling it bad luck, poor officiating etc etc. At the end of the day we have to be better. Yes the keeper pulled off two or three worldies but that will happen.....it cant be used as an excuse for not getting the job done time and time again. Yes sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say "the oppo were lucky today" or "the keeper was superb" but its every fucking week we give a reason for defeat, whether it be the ref, bad luck or great goalkeeping.

The common denominator is that we're losing every week. Its not all down to bad luck, it is largely down to a lack of ability to get the job done. I dont want to be all doom and gloom because I can see the players and Micky are working hard, but it is worrying me that it doesnt seem to be enough. Its the fact that I believe this group of players are doing as much as they possibly can and its still not bringing results. There is no point burying our heads in the sand and saying "keeping doing what you're doing lads, your luck will change" because it wont!!!! We have to do something different because we are fast running out of time (poor Micky has been left a mammoth task) and the luck and decisions will continue to go the other way I can assure you.

We need to make our own luck, not wait for it to turn for us.

 

[Yossarian]

Last night: It's now shit or bust

Well we've been shit all season, so why change?