2015/16 English Premier League

[Adar]

I've never thought of Vardy and Suarez as similar players and decided to compare them. Close to the goal they are very similar and act as lightning quick poachers, but it is really cool to see how different they are in other situations. The Vardy compilation below is not the best but I think it is enough to show the difference between a really fast player like Vardy and a quick player like Suarez.

Just look at the videos and compare A) how many times the players touch the ball prior to scoring and B) how many players are located between them and the goal when they score the goal





Suarez very rarely beat players by pace, instead he create space by tricks and dribbles before shooting past the opponent while Vardy rely much more on his teammates to pass into an open space and then beat his opponent to the ball. I think this may be one of the reasons for why certain strikers can torment their opponents while playing for a mediocre teams but struggle when transferred to a top team. In (traditional) top teams the opposition is likely to defend deeper and teammates are also less likely to look for a designated striker and instead prefer safer passes to a winger or attacking midfielder moving into space. In such a situation it is necessary for a striker to create his own movement like Suarez very often does.

Vardy on the other hand present an excellent outlet for his team when defending deep and prevent his opponents from committing too many players forward even when they dominate possession. He is not a traditional target man like for example Carroll or Benteke who hold the ball up by strength and length but he serves in a similar role while also performing his poaching and pressing duties.

I actually dropped Vardy from my fantasy premier league team because I thought that a combination of exhaustion and opponents dropping deeper would prevent him from scoring as he did in the autumn. But right now it really look like he is back on track for an excellent season.

[Halie Satanus]

You posted a video of Mahrez..

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I want to say good result for us today, but we didn't play well and snatched two goals from thin air. The tactics are so predictable it's no wonder we're dropping points against teams who know Wenger's style.

[Gallus]

That's Mahrez not Vardy. Mahrez kind of reminds me of Ronaldinho, especially his little dance moves followed by quick bursts of pace.

[Adar]

I had left the Google auto play function on and apparently copy and pasted the URL of the video next on the playlist. Considering the description of Vardy I doubt anyone would think that it is based on the posted video but your reaction make me a bit uncertain on that.

That's Mahrez not Vardy. Mahrez kind of reminds me of Ronaldinho, especially his little dance moves followed by quick bursts of pace.

Unlike Vardy I believe Mahrez could work well in most teams but I am really happy that he stayed in Leicester as I doubt they can challenge for the title without him.

[Basil II the B.S]

Ranieri was the ''most likely to be fired first'' manager by bookmakers at the beginning of the season.
Can't blame them, he was coming from a horrible experience with Greece.

[Gallus]

And to think Pearson almost got this team relegated. Mahrez and Albrighton were on the bench for a number of months too.

[Erebus Pasha]

Leicester had a terrific run of form under Pearson towards the end of last season that ensured their safety. A lot of people had them down at Christmas during the 2014/15 season.

[Gallus]

That terrific run of form happened after Albrighton became a starter iirc. Leicester had some very bad luck earlier in the season but to escape relegation by 5 points with a squad that is the favorite for the title 8 months later is really embarrasing.

[Erebus Pasha]

Leicester were one of the favourites to go down at the beginning of last season, and nobody really fancied them doing any better at the start of this season either. Ranieri's appointment was seen by many as disrupting what had been achieved under Pearson. Yes, they have shocked everybody this time around, but many in and around the club, including Ranieri iirc, credit Pearson for the job he did last year.

[Adar]

Manuell Pellegrini gets in on the Pearson debate in the Guardian.

Leicester have shown that, but we cannot keep talking about Leicester like it is a miracle. Last year with another manager they won games in a row to stay up, so it started then. They have important, quality players, and a very experienced manager. They are a big team, and that’s exactly how they play.”

Mahrez is great and Albrighton had great potential even when failing to establish himself in Aston Villa. But I think Pearson drilled them defensively in a manner that makes them extremely difficult to stop. In a way Mahrez reminds me of Bale from back when he was still a left midfielder breaking from deep positions. He obviously scored more when given a more offensive position. But that deeper positioning was worth its weight in gold as just the potential of him bursting forward distorted the shape of opposing teams.

[Halie Satanus]

I could see Leicester were obviously scared of losing today. They didn't play with anything like the freedom we've seen from them this season, even last week against City. Wenger started turning the heat on them by declaring them favorites, the media and the bookies followed suit and the pressure was there today.

The ref was poor all game but at least he leaned towards us second half.

Great to see Welbeck come on and make a difference, lets hope he can keep making a difference over the next few games..

[Erebus Pasha]

Considering Simpson was sent off about ten minutes into the second half it wasn't really surprising that they lacked the freedom they've shown in the previous games, and many the pundits pre-match were predicting that Arsenal would boss the game possession wise anyway. Arsenal had to battle hard for that win though. Can't say Leicester were unlucky to lose on the balance of play but to get done at the end like that was harsh.

Don't think it changes much to be honest though. Ranieri won't let them get too down in the dumps and if they beat Norwich in their next game then it will be business as usual.

[Treva ★]

Lo and behold, Manchester Citeh's idiots executives deciding to throw out Pellegrini and embarass him by announcing it six months beforehand does not result in better performances from the manager and his team.

Re: Leicester, Arsenal and Tottenham have to face each other yet (I think) and le Arse have to visit Citeh so it's not all lost.

[Halie Satanus]

We face the Spuds on Mar 5th.. We have got Utd coming up and probably the toughest run in.... They'll be a few twists yet I suspect.

[Ybbon]

Leicester have played Spuds, Arsenal and Citeh twice already, the "hardest" fixture they have left is Chelsea but that depends which Chelsea turns up.

[Halie Satanus]

There might be a Europa league thread but I couldn't see one, so... Let's all laugh at Man U, let's all laugh at Man U la la lala......

We might get absolutely battered by Barca but, it's Barca...

[Dude with the Food]

Well, Midtjylland beat Southampton and they beat us so I guess the warning signs were there. Thinking positive, Memphis isn't actually terrible when given half a chance, and Romero looked sharp. Downsides - Romero being on the pitch in the first place and actually losing to Midtjylland. If we can't knock them out at home then I honestly believe we should just give up for the season.

At least we won't play Barca.

[Gallus]

Southampton lost on purpose. Man Utd fielded the best possible team.

[Ybbon]

You forgot, Southampton fans paid about £20 or so to watch their team lose, Utd fans paid £70+ to watch that rubbish. Ouch.

[Knight_Of_Ne]

Well that was a really hollow victory, City just surrendered the tie. I feel sorry for their fans.