Didn't tune into webcast but just read the thread. We can't maintain the type of performances we've put in against Leeds and Arsenal week after week. Fair dues to the lads. Leicster were desperate for something from the game and so were always going to make it difficult. It's not the end of the world.

Yes I agree that we should easily beat these teams but the fact is, it just doesn't work out like that...

My only moan about today is that bloody Man U won yet again and no doubt they will win the league after giving everyone a head start as well. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Answers

There are no easy victories in the PL, Lynda - especially away from home. A point away from home and a clean-sheet is certainly not a disaster.

A point gained: let's just move on.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Exactly, a point is pretty good, we kept a clean sheet and only Man Utd have taken any strides forward with everyone else drawing games. Leeds and Arsenal play tomorrow - let's hope for a 22 man brawl with all of them getting 12 match bans.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Exactly! Clean sheet as well - at least the defence can take some credit.

I would like to really stuff someone this season though, you know some kind of 7 - 1 thriller. We haven't done that for ages. How about the SOS? Unlikely I know but wouldn't it be nice.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Bobby on 5 Live right now saying how poor we were in the first half. Probably the worst we've been all season. He does say we were a different team in the second half, but still agrees we need to learn to win when we aren't playing particularly well. 2 points lost.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Pretty much how I feel re points lost. Just goes to show we have a long way to go to really be a contender for the top. Ok, every team has bad days and loses games they should win. The test is how we respond the rest of the season. Back to our old pattern of playing poorly against 'poorer' sides, or do we bounce back and start winning again?

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

BTW, I do think we're in a better position to respond positively now than in past seasons. Just a matter of going out and showing it.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Look we are NOT challenging for top spot are we? The fact some of us are so p*ssed off about a draw away from home to a team desperate for points - well it shows how far we've come. Plus there are loads of games still to play.

I want no more despondency on here!!!!

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

I'm not despondant at all, Man Utd have had some stinking results in the past and are still up there. We have had a few and are also up there, still only 2 points off top remember.

Perhaps 2 points dropped, but look back at Middlesbrough away where we had a big slice of luck to end up taking the lead, Bolton away where our first was offside, Man Utd at home where the winner was deflected (even if we deserved the goal). Luck can't go your way all season, although I still think a team with a few more fringe players looking to impress might ahve done better today against Leicester.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

a Leeds-Arsenal draw tomorrow and we've only lost ground on a team playing at home, and getting a dodgy penalty, while their opponents were the better side.

Confucius he say ..... A win today would have been better, but a defeat worse

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Exactly. I'm certainly not despondent..yet. ;-) Just frustrated. Could have done better. Yes, we have come a long way and still have a long way to go. Just facts.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Disappointing result but we did something that I had long-since given up on us managing - keeping a clean sheet when we are playing badly. It's months since we failed to score in a match and it's great, as far as I'm concerned, that we managed to keep a clean sheet while not managing to score ourselves. We didn't lose any real ground and Liverpool, who are still considered one the main rivals to Man Utd, drew at home to Southampton. The players will hopefully have learned something from today.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Bloody hell Mac, did Confucious really say that? That's dead profound that is ;-) (and the basic message is about right, we've got a history of losing these)

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

(Un?)fortunately I couldn't go to the game and was driving up the A1 while it was being played. I caught the 2nd half on Radio Leicester. They said it wasn't a poor home performance that lost them 2 points but a great defensive one from Newcastle - articulalry Dabs. Made me dead proud, that did :-)

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

And to think I was the only one who was glad it was Distin and Dabs together rather than Distin and O'Brien...

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Having had nearly 24 hours for it to sink in, I'm prompted to ask Bobby the question, 'How is it the same set of players can go to Arsenal and win, go to Leeds and win and yet can't stuff a bottom of the table side like Leicester, even if it was away from home ?'

What happens against sides like this ? I can't help thinking Bobby tried to hedge his bets again, not particularly by putting out a purely defensive formation, but more by the instructions he gives to individual players, such as maybe telling Dyer etc to be a bit more cautious about making runs and leaving gaps, which only has the effect of taking the edge off their penetration. That sort of thing, so that instead of taking a few risks and going for broke, we end up falling between two stools. I can't believe that coping with us is simply a case of crowding out Bellamy, Dyer and, to a certain extent, Robert, which is the impression I got of how Leicester managed to snuff out most of the threats.

Leicester would never have scored if they'd still been playing yet. That crap about it being a brilliant defensive display on our part was just an excuse to pacify the Leicester fans IMO.

The defense did what they had to do, although Elliot had another stinker.

Robert was iffy as well, but not necessarily his fault, I don't think, because on more than one occasion, he was in yards of space out on the wing waiting for balls that never came, because various of his team mates continued fannying around playing a pathetic short passing square ball game among themselves, with the ball eventually being lost, hoofed upfield to take advantage of Bellamy's height, or booted or deflected into touch.

If we don't sort out this reluctance to give Robert the ball, I can see him getting pissed off, if he isn't already. Admittedly, it wasn't one of his better showings, which eventually had the Leicester defense concentrating more on Bellamy and Dyer.

Leicester didn't have a shot on goal that I can remember, and the best I can say for the performance is that we didn't lose, when time was we probably would have, which is progress of a sort, I suppose. Awful to watch, but.

Or am I overcomplicating things, and the fact was simply we had another off day ? The fact it was another, though, is what makes me think it might have something to do with the way we approach games like this.

It wouldn't surprise me though, that anybody who watched the game from higher up than where I was, could see things much differently than I did. Difficult to see things with any clarity from the away area, so my opinions of the game are based more on how things struck me at the time.

We could and should have won it easily, though, which is quite annoying.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

I think Izzett had a shot on goal which was prevented from hitting the back of the net by a great defensive block by............Nick the Greek.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

If we'd been offered a draw against Leeds and a win at Leicester at 5 past 3 last Saturday I bet most of us would have taken it. As it is, we've got the same number of points and got the win against our rivals which is surely the best way to do it.

I think this point was a cunning plan by YBR to keep the supporters' feet on the ground!

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

A typical bliddy woman's point of view! Let's tickle them, give them an expectation of further delight to come then pour cold water on them to cool their ardour.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Screacher - I'll only tickle you if you put a bag over your head!

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Careful - I might take you up on that. BTW - which bag were you talking about (and will she mind??) ;-)

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Janice!

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Sorry, but I do not see this as being a point gained, it's definitely two points lost. We were playing the worst team in the Premier League, a team who their manager has zero confidence in and no respect for and we didn't win. What's worse we didn't score against the second worst defence in the country. There can be no excuses and no silver lining. Arsenal and Leeds drew, Liverpool drew. This was a week end when we HAD to get three points not one. If we expect to finish in the top 4 we have to win games like this not draw.

Last season, when we were in the lower half of the table, we would have been dismayed at the fact we didn't beat the bottom side as it meant we were still struggling for points. What is the difference this season?

4 points from the last 4 games is not enough to challenge for the league. Yes we have played 3 of the top teams in the country BUT we should take 3 points from the worst. Championships/Champions League places and UEFA places are won and lost on results like these.

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

This was a week end when we HAD to get three points not one. If we expect to finish in the top 4 we have to win games like this not draw.

Actually this is nonsense Kegsy. :-) It is simply not true that we HAD to get 3 points, if we expect to finish top 4. The rest of the Premiership won't lie down for us or anybody. Some days the "poorer" teams will play out of their skins and get a result against a top side. Some days a top side will be out of form or the luck will go with the opposition. This is football. These are human beings, mistakes happen. Yes it's 2 points lost but it's NOT a disaster.

I'll bet a substantial sum of money that the top 4 teams at season end will NOT have all taken 6 points off Leicester, thus you don't HAVE to win at Leicester to finish top 4. By the same reasoning, I presume that any top 4 contenders should win at home to Bolton and yet from memory, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal have all failed this "simple" task so far.

Championships/Champions League places and UEFA places are won and lost on results like these.

At the risk of stating the obvious, CL places etc are won and lost on thirty eight results, some of which will have been shock defeats and others outstanding victories and some where the game went according to the formbook. Leicester was a disappointment - we have to minimise the number of results like this but it's not feasible to eliminate them altogether.

Lynda put it most succinctly at the top of the thread :-
Yes I agree that we should easily beat these teams but the fact is, it just doesn't work out like that...

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Jonno, your money is safe as we won't take 6 points off them will we ;-). But Jonno there is a difference between failing to beat a team that are languishing at the foot of the table, that haven't won in the league since November (when they beat Sunderland) and threw away a two goal lead against 9 men than failing to beat a team that's on a roll.

Yes, you are right CL positions etc are won over the course of the season not one sub par performance but, in May, when we look back on the season, this will be one of the results that will stand out as points lost (along with the Charlton game). We needed to keep momentum going after the superb performance last week and we failed. Of course results go against form, that's what makes football so exciting BUT it doesn't mean we can't be dissappointed when they go against us, does it?

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

I would also be les upset if this was not a regular occurrence. Unless you come second in the league by only losing 1 game you cannot point to any game and say those points cost us the league.

However when year in year out you lose points to the Leicesesters and Charltons of the league you have to say why does this always happen to us? I will not start again I had my rant on the match thread.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

If we're talking about the season hanging on a simgle game, and wining matches which on paper should be relatively easy, how about the Spurs match at SJP? We should have won that. This would mean we would now be one point clear at the top of the league. :-)

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

look we're second in the league, only Man U have more points than us, if we feel disappointed at not winning at Leicester imagine how they view their dropped points, home v West Ham and Bolton for God's sake how poor are they ?

22 points at home, 21 points away, brilliant stuff. If we revert to type and start to get 3 at home and one away for the rest of the season then we've got 24 at home and 7 away. 31 more points = 74 = Champions League.The unpredicable wil happen and we'll not get threes at home, but we may win away.

At half way through the season we had 39 points from 19 games, 6 of those from unexpected wins at Leeds and Arsenal. Take those out and we have 33 points from the rest. Lets say we get that 33 from the second half of the season and we end up with 72 = Champions League.

Not winning at Leicester in the second half of the season matches up with losing at West Ham, who were as bad as Leicester at that point of the season. Difference is we got a point !!!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

What is of concern to me is that this was yet another game where we appear to have made a slow start - fortunately, this time we didn't go a goal behind, which we have in gawd knows how many games.

Why are we so slow out of the blocks? My own feeling is that we still rather naive tactically, and take a long time to adjust to the opposition's game plan - often requiring a HT talk by BR to do what is necessary to get our own game going.

We seem to lack an intelligent player either in defence or m/f to effect the necessary organisational tinkering. If I'm right, this probably asks questions about Shearer's tactical nous as captain, which is rather worrying considering he is Manager Designate.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Clarky - you're right about a possible slow start, but on the occasions when we have had a slow start and gone behind, then in the majority we have come back to win. The exceptions I can recall are 'pool and Spurs at home, and possibly Wham away. Perhaps its a shame we didn't go one down at Leicester. Obviously this theory can't be proved for Saturday's game.

Regarding Shearer's technical nouse, I have always maintained that the skipper should be preferably in defence or next best in midfield. This is mainly from a communication point of view. I suppose even a forward has more chance of communicating to his team mates than a manager mind! And also, how much authority does a Shearer have to tinker with YBR's tactics?

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Screach - the ability to come back from falling behind doesn't alter the basis for my concern: in fact in many respects it endorses it.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Fair enough, but if we can always score more than we let in, we'd doo OK. Well, at least according to The Messiah! Sadly, it doesn't always work that way.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

As I seem to recall, we went out all guns blazing against West Ham, Spurs and Liverpool and did well in the first 10 minutes but then we were sussed.

We are better starting slowly and using our pace to beat tired defenders later in the game.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

.....except when it doesn't work!

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Tactically naive.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002