Written by kirsikka
Kluivert in for Dango the only change from Monday night and like the reverse choice, seemed a fair enough one.
You know when shortly into a match you get a sinking feeling? A ‘Oh no, it’s going to be one of THOSE days’? Me. Today. When Senesi conspired to head the ball somehow wide from a well-worked early free kick. Replays show it wouldn’t have counted because of offside but that didn’t change my trepidation.
I don’t know what to say apart from we were all over them for fifteen minutes and then some careless play with Tavs and Kerkez trying to face up the same man, allowed Buenonotte to sprint into space. He faced up to Senesi in the area and left him flat-footed, rifling home leaving Kepa no chance.
I’ll deal with the Leicester threat first since there wasn’t much of it but when it came, all afternoon it was almost always from that same channel between Senesi and Kerkez. It isn’t the first match where that has been exploited and we should expect other teams to target it more and more.
An against the run of play goal was exactly what they needed, for their own confidence and to get a restless crowd onside. We needlessly breathed and life and spirit into their season.
They came into the game more until half time but AI did an absolute number on Cooper with his tactical tweaks from 45 onwards as there was only one team in it. And it wasn’t a case of them comfortably shutting up shop, it was constant last-ditch stuff for them or chances carelessly thrown away by us.
You could see how desperate they were by the way, right from the outset, they repeatedly threw themselves to the ground in forlorn attempts to con the ref, who for once didn’t fall for it. This wasn’t one player, it was across the board and so must have been an instruction from Cooper. It was poor to watch and justice was nearly served when one time they rightfully should have been given an attacking free kick the ref, clearly tired of their antics, played on. We broke and won the free kick from which we scored. Or didn’t, as it turned out. Karma didn’t play it’s part.
On the ref and VAR… that’s the first time this season we’ve got a VAR decision in our favour with the non-penalty for the potential Zabarnyi handball. There’s no chance that wouldn’t have been given to certain other teams so that confirms Leicester’s status back with us, proles.
Look. Here are a few notes I took during the match and I think they tell the story:
…clever corner by us but Tavs fluffed his shot… Semenyo trying to do too much… Zabarnyi was unlucky to hit the post from a Cook free kick… pinning them back… Dango misses a header from a corner that he should have scored… Cook’s goal disallowed for offside Evanilson distracting the keeper… Dango hits the bar when he should have scored… Unal flicked it over the bar with the goal gaping….
Given all that, now ask yourself how many saves did their keeper make? He didn’t have a single thing to do that a rotund hungover Sunday League goalie would have been comfortable with, and that’s just not good enough from our forward players. Especially considering the way we were in charge of that match for so long.
One note on the disallowed goal. On a bad afternoon for him, that was really poor from Evanilson. I get strikers need to play on the edge but he wasn’t even close to being onside even with his late step back.
So yeah, the hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach that came on early was right. It’s one of those days. But when it’s been one of those days for the third or fourth time this season and we’ve only played seven matches then it does start to make me wonder a little bit. ‘One of those days’ are meant to happen once of twice a season, not fortnightly.
I’m sure AI feels the same and is tearing his hair out a little. I’d do the same but, sadly, lack the requisite hirsuteness.
Man of the match against LeicesterSemenyo
Cook
Zabarnyi
Christie
Senesi
Sinisterra
Scott
Someone else
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Selected Player Watch
— Christie —-
My fear was after his efforts on Monday he might struggle to have the same energy as usual. I’d say that came true to an extent. I can’t remember the last time I saw him lose a 50-50 but he did out there. He wasn’t bad but was maybe 90% himself. And that isn’t his fault. We still won the midfield battle but I think with a 100% Christie we’d have won the game as well.
— Senesi —
Felt like he was targeted with Vardy often dropping into his channel. He’s got a lot of great qualities but if I was an opposing scout this looks to be our weakness, alongside Kerkez.
— Cook —
Imperious at times. Truly becoming the player around which the whole team revolves. I genuinely don’t see Adams replacing him, so I hope Tyler can play further forward in the midfield.
— Evanilson —
He should watch that match back and compare and contrast his game and movement with that of Vardy. Yes, I know they are different types of striker, but still, despite fluffing his chances and living off scraps, the venerable Vardy looked far more dangerous. Maybe we didn’t create a lot for him, but Evanilson also didn’t do a lot to change that, and sometimes you have to make your own luck. Fortunate to have stayed on as long as he did as I’d have hooked him at half time. Very, very poor today. Which is a shame as he’s looked decent up until now.
AI and Tactics Watch
He threw everything including the kitchen sink at them. The finishing line up was crazy in its attacking intent and you can’t say he really did anything wrong since we absolutely battered them. It was more an issue of those on the pitch not sticking the ball away, with multiple guilty parties.
The only thing I wonder is if a genuine goal-scoring midfielder like Billing would have been a better option on the bench than Brooks. That final Klaxon to charge forward would have suited Philip’s game, and he has the knack of scoring that we seem to lack a little so far this season. And yes, I know we’ve scored a bunch but on the balance of our play, we should have scored more and collected more points.
That should have been six days with two wins from two matches that were close to but not quite Derby. Instead, we let today’s opponent off the hook and the opportunity slipped away.
The theme continues of playing better than the opposition but wasting our chances and dropping points. There’s a battle starting to shape up for the ambition of our season.
Pick your poison from:
- Form doesn’t last forever and we will have tougher patches. If we keep turning down points we’ve earned and leaving those games with one or none, then we could get dragged into things near the bottom
- Keep this going and the results will come. The bad luck and spurning chances can only continue for so long, and pretty soon we’re going to hit a run of something like thirteen points in five games.
I don’t know which it will turn out to be, but at the moment, we’re like a Bake Off showstopper that’s perfectly baked and looks very good… apart from those ragged and rushed final finishing touches. No chance of Star Baker for us. Yet.
When does it stop being bad luck and start being poor play? I’m not sure but we absolutely tore Leicester apart today and yet their keeper didn’t make a save all match.
I hate to say it, but if we’d been playing Solanke instead of Evanilson, we’d have scored at least four today as he would have given a poor-quality opposition a torrid time. Leicester were terrible and looked nailed on relegation fodder, but somehow we gifted them the points.
Into (yet another…) international break and time to take stock and try to fix things. We’re on the cusp of being a side that could have our best-ever season but also one that could find itself on the fringes of the battle at the bottom. Choose Your Own Adventure…
Have a nervous season with one eye over our shoulders? Go to 33. Start taking our chances and putting teams we’ve dominated to bed? Go to 58.
I hope AI can make the right choice.
Your say…
Neil Dawson
Brilliant synopsis.
We’ve collected a lot of very expensive players that aren’t effective enough for the money we spent on them prior to this season and Iraola hasn’t the greatest canvas to work with as a result.
Dango, Unal, Traore, Faivre, Scott, Kluvert there’s 120m that could have been better spent. Thankfully that recruitment team have moved on but there’s a lot of non-scoring deadwood to clear before we can bring anyone else in.
We will improve as we learn to feed Eva. So many chances today and some of the misses were criminal but you are either a scorer of you aren’t. Semenyo, Sinisterra and Billing are the only reliable scorers we have at present so when you start with one on the pitch you are asking for trouble.
rikki39 replied to Neil Dawson
So Kluivert was 3rd top scorer last season but as he hasn’t scored this season yet you have added him back to your list of wasted money but add billing as a reliable scorer even though he doesn’t fit into AI system so won’t get a chance to score much.
I agree with Faivre as a poor signing but as others have claimed we would have got fees for each loan which would have evened out his fee on yearly books
Dango has been used a lot by GON and AI if they thought he was that bad others would play in his place
Traore played every game he could under GON but didn’t suit the current system but for the manager, he was signed for he worked
Scott clearly has potential but he just hasn’t found a space where he fits in the team but will keep his value
Unal was signed as a backup for a low cost
the 120mill you quote, by most reports it’s not even that in euros (transfermarkt seems to be a good place for stats)
AFCB_Liam added…
I normally enjoy your analysis and posts Neil, and used to love your match reports.
But honestly, the twisting of events every single week whatever happens to suit your single obsession with Richard Hughes narrative is becoming quite bizarre and so tiresome.
Now Kluivert is on the list following a poor half, after being one of our best players. Scott and Unal are now written off. Yet the new regime can do no wrong despite spending 40m on a striker who’s scored 1 goal so far (imagine if Hughes did that?!) and no credit to Hughes given for signing Zabs, Senenyo, Kerkez, Senesi, Christie etc.
It’s just blinkered beyond belief and detracts from the rest of your insight as you seem so desperate to shape whatever happens to that single theme.
Our issue today was a lack of killer instinct and very little else. It was the new regime that sold Dom and signed Eva (not writing Eva off, just pointing out the inconsistency in the argument).
Yes, Traore was a poor signing and Faivre probably too, the rest in your little list are either too soon to tell (Unal, Scott) or contributed significantly (Kluivert, Dango).
I do not doubt if Hughes had signed Araujo you’d also be slagging off the fact he’s not starting ahead of Smithy. At least add some balance to the argument instead of now adding Kluivert to your list, which is frankly an embarrassment. – To join the conversation, click here.