EFL Championship Match 44 - Leicester 5 Southampton 0

 

Show Him Onto His Good Foot and Stand Off

Flat.

Flat is the feeling in the aftermath of the Cardiff game going into this game against Leicester City away from home. We should’ve been bullish and expectant and confident going into this game on the back of a surge that took us from nowhere to the brink of gatecrashing the top two… But we’re not, are we?

The defeat at Cardiff has pissed on our proverbial fireworks and now the fireworks are only potentially going to be set off by the home team tonight because if they win, with games against Blackburn and Preston to come, they are virtually guaranteed to be going up at the first time of asking. It’s just hard to accept that had we not lost to Cardiff youth team, we would still be in with a very good chance ourselves. As it is, the best we’ve got is paraphrasing the message on Colombian drug lord Jhonny Viafara’s T-shirt… we sorry we spoil the party. Jhonny Viafara was of course famous for scoring a couple of goals at Derby in what was our last visit to the playoffs in 2007, so it’s funny that his name should cross my mind today.

So what of Leicester. Leicester of course got relegated with us last year when they had a squad that still had James Madison and Harvey Barnes. Amazingly, under the management of his own biggest fan, Brendan Rodgers, they managed to lose twice to us last year. Any thoughts that we may have an advantage over them this season therefore, were dashed at the start of the season when we produced a shocker and got beat 4-1 at home. The consolation is that this was well before the players got used to the Russell Martin style of football and in that game we showed exactly how not to do it by giving away two kamikaze goals within the first five minutes. We are better than we were back then (usually) of course but are Leicester? The 17-point cushion that they had at the top of the league in December has been gradually eroded since then and at one point they were actually outside of the automatic promotion places as Leeds and Ipswich surged and Leicester died on their arse. In the past few weeks they have been inconsistent, losing to the likes of Plymouth and Millwall but also winning the odd game to just about keep their heads above water.  They had a massive win last week at home to West Brom when in all truth, they should’ve lost but got a bit fortunate. However, they did find a way to win, as opposed to their opponents today, who found a way to do the complete opposite.

Leicester’s season has been overshadowed somewhat by profit and sustainability charges brought against them by the Premier League and backed up by the EFL. Nothing has happened however except the EFL making a statement that they wouldn’t be any points deductions applied this year. It’s obvious that both governing bodies think that Leicester are guilty (The transfer embargo they were under in January suggests that very strongly) which of course covers both last season and this but hey ho, never mind everyone. As has often been the case in the Championship, if you overspend and break the rules but go up, then it was a gamble worth taking. I’m sure that most teams in the Championship would like to be able to afford a midfield three of Ndidi, Winks and Dewsbury-Hall and the relegated teams from last year would’ve liked to have only had to sell two players.

Russell Martin’s pre-match press conference revealed that we are once again going to try to have to find a way to win without Flynn Downes. Apparently, we have won only two of the nine games has been about unavailable for this season. We have additional problems in midfield today of course because Stuart Armstrong won’t be playing so it is going to be three out of Aribo, Smallbone, Rothwell and Charles. I swear that if it’s the first three, I might not bother watching. Ryan Manning is also struggling with injury and I’d be almost certain that Jack Stephens will come into for him to play his hybrid left back midfield role as we did against West Brom and Ipswich… or not.  No Stephens as it turns out but another chance for James Bree – a player who divides opinions.  My opinion is that he’s bang average and I hope he proves me wrong today.  He’ll probably be up against Stephy Mavididi, who tore us apart at St.Marys.

They opening fifteen minutes are a bit nervy to say the least because Leicester look like they’re 100% up for it and we are not brave enough to get on the ball and start passing it about.  Leicester easily pass through us and get the ball out to Fatawu on the right and it cuts inside KWP very, very easily and luckily for us, picks out McCarthy‘s midriff with the shot

Saints implement their defensive tactic of standing off to perfection as Ndidi picks the ball up on the left and has all the time he needs to set one off at the far post and it fortunately drifts just wide.  None of our players was anywhere near him.

We do actually create a bit of an opening as Bobby Madley ignores Wout Faes grabbing hold of Adams and allows us to play on with Aribo finding Adam Armstrong and he plays it across the top of the area to Rothwell who has to hit it first time but of course, he doesn’t, which means the chance goes to shit.

Another unhindered cross comes in from the right wing it’s too deep this time but Mavadidi keeps it alive and McCarthy palms it up in the air and it’s coming down on the goal line and Bednarek has to get up and head over as Vardy clatters into the back of him.

We’re just about keeping them at arm’s length but we’re not getting anywhere when we get the ball.  This is partly down to Leicester’s press and partly down to Boboby Madley being a fat useless twat.  Winks, Vestergaard and Faes should all have been booked by now for cynical pull-backs in midfield, but nothing.  I’m not too worried at this stage because for all the threat, they haven’t got anything on target to test out McCarthy as yet. 

Famous last words.  It all changes with a ball up to the feet of Adams and Faes comes flying in and gets nowhere near the ball as he takes him out but Bobby thinks that’s play on and one pass later, Dewsbury-Hall slides the ball into Fatawu, who has easily lost KWP and he easily passes it past McCarthy. He looks offside as well but no flag so 1-0 down. Cheers Bobby you dickhead. Goal Fatawu, Assist Madley.

Saints try and get something moving through the midfield after the restart and Che is once again hauled to the ground by Winks right in front of the referee and Bobby once again, can’t tell a bookable challenge from a hole in his arse. A quick free kick and the ball goes to Adam Armstrong on the left and I suddenly get flashbacks to several moments in the last two seasons in the Premier League where he has a defender right in front of him and smashes it at him anyway.

Rothwell has started the game like a drain and has had about ten touches in forty minutes.  He’s either not getting involved or he’s getting involved and giving the ball away.  He then limps out of a challenge and has to be substituted which at least means that his day can’t get any worse and Will Smallbone is on in his place and we can now play with a full 11.  We immediately look better and get to half-time with our one goal deficit mercifully intact. 

No changes and the second half starts with Adams nicking the ball off of Leicester and Saints have a bit of pressure around the edge of the penalty area. Brooks finds Smallbone and a good cross into the box picks out Adam Armstrong’s run but he plays an airshot.  Haven’t had one of those for a few weeks.  More pressure as Smallbone wins the ball in midfield and finds Adams who plays a great ball inside the fullback for Brooks but Justin comes steaming across and breathes on Brooks, which is enough to send him crashing to the ground.

We get momentarily excited as Adams turns about 40 yards out and plays a ball through the defensive line to Armstrong who is clean through and goes on and shoots and it’s of course saved by Hermanson. A quick look at the replay shows that Armstrong was a good five yards offside and the flag was up instantly.

Substitution time with Bree and Brooks being replaced with Edozie and Manning. If Bree shook hands with Mavididi on the way off then that’s the first time he got touch tight to him all game.  With KWP switching to the right, we give the ball away and Mavididi, totally unpressured by KWP, is allowed to easily lift the ball into the middle and Ndidi heads down and in. Of course he’s unmarked because we don’t track runners and we don’t stop crosses coming in.  As a defensive system it needs work. Fucking garbage

And then we give up.  Sub Choudhury plays a simple ball out to Fatawu on the left and having been generously invited inside onto his good foot by Ryan Manning, he takes the invitation and curls one into the far corner of the net whilst Manning watches from a safe distance. Well played Ryan. Dickhead.

I want it gets worse as Mavididi turns KWP and Charles inside out and Leicester eventually work the ball out to Fatawu again. This time Manning shows he’s learned and doesn’t show him inside.  This time he watches on from a distance as Fatawu just passes it into the box with his right foot and Jamie Vardy has made a run away from THB to smash it into the net. You could not see more shit defending if you fucking tried

We do actually manage an attack with decent play by Charles to feed it though to Edozie on the left wing.  He goes past the full back and crosses it but Leicester clear and suddenly we have about seven players ahead of the ball. With no defensive midfielder anywhere in sight it is basically a four against two break with our centre halves on their own awaiting Joe Aribo and KWP to get back, hindered as they are by the caravans they are towing. Dewsbury-Hall finds Vardy who knocks it across and Fatawu gives McCarthy no chance at all.  Aribo and KWP have unhitched their caravans but at least they made an effort.  Anyone seen Manning?.

Che Adams and Aribo are given an early exit from the shitshow and are replaced with Wee Man and Jack Stephens and we manage to not concede any more.

Well that was fun. Actually, it wasn’t fun at all, it was complete shite. It was the worst kind of shite as well because we basically gave up. You can always lose to a team that has more ability than you, as Leicester undoubtedly have, but to show no heart and bottle is absolutely inexcusable.

Leicester were everything that we should’ve been but weren’t.  Even in the first half before the game run away from us, they were being horrible bastards in the middle of the park and making sure that we didn’t get into any rhythm.  They were aided and abetted of course by Bobby Madley who was the usual fucking clown that he always is but Leicester did a job. They were horrible to play against, left the foot in, pulled people back all over the place but it got them the foothold in the game and when they have the ball they look to go forward all the time. They have two wingers in Mavididi and Fatawu who looked to attack all the time and they have Jamie Vardy who even at the age of 37 still constantly harasses central defenders. At the back they were horrible to play against as well, with Vestergaard and Faes not giving Adams room to breathe all game.

There was an aggression about them that we just didn’t have, even in the first half. When Leicester went two ahead, which was slightly against the run a play in the second half, it was our cue to basically give up.  After that of course the goals rained in. Alex McCarthy couldn’t really be blamed individually for any goal which kind of tells you how easy we made it for them. The two central defenders Jan Bednarek and THB did their best to stem the tide and surprisingly, given that we conceded five goals, weren’t too bad though THB got done by Vardy for the fourth goal.

We had three full-backs who made an appearance during the game. James Bree was shit. I know there is a narrative these days that he is actually quite a good defender and okay at this level. No he’s not, he is shit.  He is never close to the man he should be marking. He ball-watches when the ball is on the other side and I don’t think he’s ever blocked a cross in his life. If you write a list all the things that were closer to Mavididi than James Bree then it would include Russell Martin on the bench who was over the other side of the pitch, fans in the away end and quite possibly fans watching on TV at home in Southampton.

He was replaced midway through the second half by Ryan Manning who was equally fucking dreadful.  Show him onto his good foot Ryan!  Well, that didn’t work – now give him loads of time to use his other foot! For fucks sake.  And then there was KWP – what the fuck was that?  Very heavily involved in the first two goals and added absolutely nothing going forward, which was something he shared with the other two.  We know the other two are bang average at best though, so Kyle was easily the worst compared to his expected standard.  Horrible passive bollocks from all three of them.

Our midfield was up against a proper Premier League midfield in Ndidi, Winks and Dewsbury-Hall. Even our first-choice midfield which would’ve had Downes, Stuart Armstrong and Smallbone would’ve struggled but the midfield we put was never going to be up to it. This was despite Shea Charles having a good hour and Joe Aribo being okay. Joe Rothwell managed 40 minutes before he got injured.  At least when he went off we knew where he fucking was cos we had no idea when he was on the pitch. How you can be a central midfielder in a possession-based team and touch the ball so little, is a real achievement.  The worrying thing was the lack of cohesion between the midfield and the attack with Stuart Armstrong not there. Russell Martin has two games to find the answer to that particular conundrum and if he thinks playing Joe Rothwell is the answer then he’s not asking himself the right question.

So what is the answer? Is it moving David Brooks into midfield. Yes, he has the creativity and can go past players but he is also one of the lightest lightweight players you’ve ever seen. If not him then you’re looking at someone like Tyler Dibling.  He could possibly do it but the same light weight problem is going to still be there. I would dearly like Russell Martin to start Brooks in Stuart Armstrong’s position against Stoke and maybe bring Tyler on for the last half an hour to see how he gets on.

Brooks didn’t do very much at all on the wing today and nor did Adam Armstrong who I’m afraid gave a perfect example of what happens when he plays against a slightly better team. He was up against Ricardo Pereira today it was of course a Portuguese international and a genuine Premier League player and Adam Armstrong looks like the Adam Armstrong we had a Premier League level for the last two years. Just not good enough when the standard is a little bit higher.

One of the few bright sparks was provided by Che Adams who battled away on his own upfront and had a decent game against Faes and Vestergaard with very, very little protection from Bobby Madley. He was the only one providing any movement and considering he probably only has a few games left for the club before he moves on, he can be applauded for putting in a proper shift.

Don't You Worry About That Cynical Shirt Pull Son

It seems churlish to be complaining about the referee at the end of a 5-0 defeat. Bobby Madley and his two linesman in the first half we are absolutely stunning. As previously mentioned, he let Leicester get away with multiple fouls in the middle of the pitch without producing a yellow card and the first goal was a thing of beauty from his point of view. 99 times out of 100 is a foul but not today and though the offside was close we really could’ve done with a linesman coming up with the correct decision.  The lino on the other side came up with one of the most incredible decisions of the season when a stray pass across his own goal by Leicester player was chased into the corner by Che Adams who was then given offside.

A truly, truly awful performance from a team who gave up and didn’t care. Gutless and lacking in character. Jack Stephens come out and face to media afterwards as the captain and made no excuses and said the right things about us giving up and it being unacceptable.  Russell Martin was pretty honest and promised that heads would roll but he said that before and then done not a lot about it in terms of personnel changes. To be honest, he doesn’t have a lot of choice but I think we can say for certain that Jack Stephens will be coming back into the side for the games to come and after witnessing that today, I can’t argue against it. We will see what sort of reaction we get at home to Stoke on Saturday.

That was a fucking disgrace today. Fancy us in a high-pressure playoff game when it really matters?  Errr…. Let me think about that one for a minute.