Saturday 2 October 2010

Conclusions from Scunthorpe United

Leicester
2-1
Scunthorpe United
(HT 1-0)
Waghorn 10
Dyer 54
Moussa 90+1

O'Connor 61



  • We need more experience at the back. Even with one of the most professional and experienced players in Bruno Berner plying his now occasional trade at left-back, Hobbs, Morrison, Vitor, et al. need someone of the Wayne Brown ilk (without the racism) to steady the ship and control the back line. Perhaps this issue is resolved if Weale is fit to play in goal, but without him our defence looks very young and therefore quite flimsy.
  • Is Sven the answer to all our nightmares? He has experience in management at the highest level. He has a black book, a list of top footballing contacts, of which most Premier League managers can only dream of. He moulds young talent well. These things are all positive things for fans and yet they are at the same time very wary of him. Is he in it for the money? Will he be able to work well at Championship level? What about his style of play - have the players suffered enough trying to adapt to Sousa without another change? Only time, and results, will tell.



Winners
Chris Powell and Mike Stowell
To take charge of a team the day before a game and then win it with a team out of form and without results is a credit to the two coaches. Giving Waghorn freedom as an out-and-out striker is something the fans have been clamouring for and it worked wonders. Players in their favoured positions, a tried-and-tested strategy... Let's hope they both remain in the backroom staff after the Viking's invasion.

Franck Moussa
He was bought on late in the second half and scored his first goal in royal blue to seal three points. Job done.

Milan Mandaric or Foxes Fans
The fact that 20,000 turned-up to watch a very mediocre Leicester side take on the least glamorous team in the league is testament to either Milan's business acumen in offering thousands of discounted tickets, or the sheer bloody-mindedness of the Foxes faithful who, to be fair to them, have turned out through thick and thin and even today came out in force.

Scunthorpe United
Long has this fixture been viewed as a nailed-on three points by Leicester fans, but today we were made to work for it. On another day Scunthorpe could perhaps have won this game, and today they played it well. Good on them.

Alan Young
He commentated on a game we won! Maybe our fortunes really have changed. On a serious note, however, his insight and reasoning is top notch and he is the perfect foil to Stringer's sometimes ditzy, overtly enthusiastic commentary - even if he himself occasionally gets somewhat over-excited.



Losers
Paulo Sousa
His lack of any sort of solid fitness regime was clearly displayed this afternoon as it seemed Leicester's players struggled to make it to ninety minutes. Of course, you have to credit their resilience and determination but their fitness issues today were shown up more than ever before this season. A trip to Thailand during next week's international break is the last thing this team needs at a time where they are struggling to complete ninety minutes, let alone get a result.

Sven-Goran Eriksson
The man was second best England manager of all time (after Sir Alf Ramsey), losing just five games in his five years in charge. He won the Italian Cup with Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio (twice); he won virtually everything at Benfica, including the league three times. The man has a 52% career win record! And yet the Foxes fans are very reluctant to give him any support, mainly on the grounds that he's old and he's Swedish. Let's give him the benefit of whatever doubt there is before we judge.

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