Can Leicester win the league ?
Discussion
vonuber said:
Isn't this how football used to be before the advent of the premier league?
Not really. There have been 24 full Premier League seasons now. Counting back the Same time in the last 24 seasons of the old Division One there were 7 title winning clubs. Liverpool dominate with 11 wins, three clubs with 3 titles each (Leeds, Everton, Arsenal), Derby with 2 and Forest &Villa with 1 each. The PL has seen 5 clubs win the title. Manchester United dominate with 14, then Chelsea with 4, Arsenal with 3, Manchester City with 2 and Blackburn with 1.
There isn't a huge amount of difference when you look at the numbers without rose tinted glasses.
twitter said:
William Hill @sharpeangle 5 mins5 minutes ago
WH client from Worcester's £10 each way bet on Leicester to win Prem at 5000/1 will be worth £66,666.67 if new 7/4favs can do it. #LCFC
WH client from Worcester's £10 each way bet on Leicester to win Prem at 5000/1 will be worth £66,666.67 if new 7/4favs can do it. #LCFC
twitter said:
William Hill @sharpeangle 2 mins2 minutes ago
If Leicester win Prem,another W H customer, with £75 ew at 1500/1, collects £140,775. 7/4 Leicester; 5/2 Arsenal; 11/4 Man C; 9/2 Spurs.
1 retweet 0 likes
If Leicester win Prem,another W H customer, with £75 ew at 1500/1, collects £140,775. 7/4 Leicester; 5/2 Arsenal; 11/4 Man C; 9/2 Spurs.
1 retweet 0 likes
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'm not so sure.I don't believe in there being a "best" way to play the game in terms of formations etc. The key thing is that every player knows his job and does it.
Leicester are doing that, and I think they could beat anyone when firing on all cylinders.
Ranieri deserves huge credit for this...as does Pearson IMO.
The challenge for them will come when they get a few key injuries. Hopefully they'll avoid them until the end of the season as they have to date, because I'd really love to see them win the title.
They let teams come onto them and then hit on the counter. I'm not sure what sort of football you're used to watching, but it's hardly revolutionary. It's like a protracted version of Chelsea's Champ League charge. But I am glad they are executing it so perfectly, I genuinely hope they win the league.
What Leicester have done so far is the stuff of dreams, if they go all the way there'll be books & movies! Extraordinary stuff. Some of the play has been mesmeric; remember that multi touch move against Liverpool that *could* have been a penalty - like a copy of Barcelona. Awesome. Vardy's confidence and finishing is amazing, Mahrez may be the best player in the league. But lets not forget the unsung heros in Drinkwater, Albrighton, Huth, Morgan etc... players thought not up to scratch elsewhere proving that a team playing *as a team* with total commitment to each other can achieve extraordinary things.
If they can get past Arsenal without losing, then on current form it's hard to see them doing anything but take a huge haul of points until they meet Man U end of April, after which they'll only have two games left to play. Christ, it could be wrapped up by then; just look at the run in of the opposition:
Foxes: Arsenal, Utd & Chelsea stand out, Southampton & Everton could be tricky. No distractions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/leiceste...
Spurs: City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Utd & Chelsea all potential to drop three points, West Ham & Southampton in there too
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenha...
City: Spurs, Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal all to play plus multiple cup distractions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchest...
Arsenal: Leicester(!), Utd, Spurs, City, along with cup competition and Arsenal being Arsenal, they'll probably lose to West Ham & Villa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/...
In summary, I can see the chasing pack taking points off each other whilst Leicester cruise through the post-Arsenal games. It really could be wrapped up before April is out, surely only serious injury to key players in a small squad, or adverse reaction to the mental pressure of a run in could ruin things? Ranieri is no mug, I'm sure he'll keep them calm and focused. What I love about this too, is that it shows to other teams that you can do this a different way. A tightly knit team of well drilled, skillful players who know exactly what they need to do really can take it to the big boys and win. All on the price of 0.5 Raheem Sterlings.
If they can get past Arsenal without losing, then on current form it's hard to see them doing anything but take a huge haul of points until they meet Man U end of April, after which they'll only have two games left to play. Christ, it could be wrapped up by then; just look at the run in of the opposition:
Foxes: Arsenal, Utd & Chelsea stand out, Southampton & Everton could be tricky. No distractions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/leiceste...
Spurs: City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Utd & Chelsea all potential to drop three points, West Ham & Southampton in there too
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenha...
City: Spurs, Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal all to play plus multiple cup distractions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchest...
Arsenal: Leicester(!), Utd, Spurs, City, along with cup competition and Arsenal being Arsenal, they'll probably lose to West Ham & Villa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/...
In summary, I can see the chasing pack taking points off each other whilst Leicester cruise through the post-Arsenal games. It really could be wrapped up before April is out, surely only serious injury to key players in a small squad, or adverse reaction to the mental pressure of a run in could ruin things? Ranieri is no mug, I'm sure he'll keep them calm and focused. What I love about this too, is that it shows to other teams that you can do this a different way. A tightly knit team of well drilled, skillful players who know exactly what they need to do really can take it to the big boys and win. All on the price of 0.5 Raheem Sterlings.
Just to append to my post above... the other reason is of course their amazing defensive record, best in the league. Only 2 games lost (2-5 Arsenal & 1-0 Liverpool) and both times they've bounced straight back with confidence and verve. Combine that with the 1st & 6th highest goalscorers in the league.... well, it speaks for itself.
trackdemon said:
Just to append to my post above... the other reason is of course their amazing defensive record, best in the league. Only 2 games lost (2-5 Arsenal & 1-0 Liverpool) and both times they've bounced straight back with confidence and verve. Combine that with the 1st & 6th highest goalscorers in the league.... well, it speaks for itself.
Agree with that. They can let teams come onto them because they are so well drilled defensively. BrabusMog said:
They let teams come onto them and then hit on the counter. I'm not sure what sort of football you're used to watching, but it's hardly revolutionary. It's like a protracted version of Chelsea's Champ League charge. But I am glad they are executing it so perfectly, I genuinely hope they win the league.
They didn't do that in the first 20 mins of yesterday's mauling of Citeh. They totally outplayed them and seemed to dominated possession. TwigtheWonderkid said:
BrabusMog said:
They let teams come onto them and then hit on the counter. I'm not sure what sort of football you're used to watching, but it's hardly revolutionary. It's like a protracted version of Chelsea's Champ League charge. But I am glad they are executing it so perfectly, I genuinely hope they win the league.
They didn't do that in the first 20 mins of yesterday's mauling of Citeh. They totally outplayed them and seemed to dominated possession. Well like most I'm cheering Leicester on, as much for the style they play as well as the substance. Really fantastic to watch yesterday.
Two things mean I still think they will come up short:
1) Squad size. Sure they don't have the number of games the others do but they are very susceptible to injuries, particularly to Mahrez or Vardy. The backups just aren't anywhere near as good and results would suffer.
2) Been there, done that. Ranieri's main achievement is getting them to play each game as it comes with no expectations. That will change as soon as they allow themselves to think they can win it...and I think that watershed came with yesterday's magnificent performance. All of a sudden the pundits are realising it is possible (also this thread) and the pressure has just gone up several notches. Shearer for once was insightful on MOTD talking about Blackburn who had been brilliant all season but struggled over the last 6 games and eventually stumbled over the line (saved by ManU not winning on the final day).
Ironically it was that invincibility that Ferguson built into the ManU psyche that saw them come good at the end of the season so often. Leicester do not have that.
It's the same in all sports:
Unknown goes 2 sets up on Djokovic, Sh*t I might win this, loses 3-2.
Unknown Golfer (e.g Jean Van Der Velde) has 3 shot lead playing brilliantly, sh*t I'm going to win this, dumps it in the water loses.
So it will be fascinating to see if Ranieri can keep them playing to this level. The fixture list may help them though, as after the Arsenal game they have easyish games, many at home, until the tricky final 3. If they can keep their nerve they could have it wrapped up before then. Also in their favour of course is that none of the other teams look like winning every game.
Hmm, writing that I think I'm changing my mind. Leicester to win it!
Two things mean I still think they will come up short:
1) Squad size. Sure they don't have the number of games the others do but they are very susceptible to injuries, particularly to Mahrez or Vardy. The backups just aren't anywhere near as good and results would suffer.
2) Been there, done that. Ranieri's main achievement is getting them to play each game as it comes with no expectations. That will change as soon as they allow themselves to think they can win it...and I think that watershed came with yesterday's magnificent performance. All of a sudden the pundits are realising it is possible (also this thread) and the pressure has just gone up several notches. Shearer for once was insightful on MOTD talking about Blackburn who had been brilliant all season but struggled over the last 6 games and eventually stumbled over the line (saved by ManU not winning on the final day).
Ironically it was that invincibility that Ferguson built into the ManU psyche that saw them come good at the end of the season so often. Leicester do not have that.
It's the same in all sports:
Unknown goes 2 sets up on Djokovic, Sh*t I might win this, loses 3-2.
Unknown Golfer (e.g Jean Van Der Velde) has 3 shot lead playing brilliantly, sh*t I'm going to win this, dumps it in the water loses.
So it will be fascinating to see if Ranieri can keep them playing to this level. The fixture list may help them though, as after the Arsenal game they have easyish games, many at home, until the tricky final 3. If they can keep their nerve they could have it wrapped up before then. Also in their favour of course is that none of the other teams look like winning every game.
Hmm, writing that I think I'm changing my mind. Leicester to win it!
I think one of the heartening things to come out of all this is Claudio Ranieri himself.
Derided as the "Tinkerman" while at Chelsea, he has come back in with a roar this season. I say "a roar" but that is so not him, he's the quietly spoken Italian with the friendly face. I assume he must be different in the dressing room but his whole media demeanour is brilliant. Polite, well-mannered, rarely moans about officials and exceedingly humble, he seems to be everyone's favourite manager. Quite a departure from Nigel Pearson who sometimes seemed to thrive on confrontation but who nonetheless deserves a fair whack of credit for keeping Leicester up against all odds last season.
As a complete Premier League neutral, I desperately want to see Leicester win the title, if for nothing else than the "WTF?" factor. I don't care a lot for many of the BPL managers but Ranieri is a good guy. Hope he wins it.
Derided as the "Tinkerman" while at Chelsea, he has come back in with a roar this season. I say "a roar" but that is so not him, he's the quietly spoken Italian with the friendly face. I assume he must be different in the dressing room but his whole media demeanour is brilliant. Polite, well-mannered, rarely moans about officials and exceedingly humble, he seems to be everyone's favourite manager. Quite a departure from Nigel Pearson who sometimes seemed to thrive on confrontation but who nonetheless deserves a fair whack of credit for keeping Leicester up against all odds last season.
As a complete Premier League neutral, I desperately want to see Leicester win the title, if for nothing else than the "WTF?" factor. I don't care a lot for many of the BPL managers but Ranieri is a good guy. Hope he wins it.
I live jet outside Leicester. Despite the result yesterday and the growing evidence to suggest they are favourites to win the title the fans still refuse to get carried away. It's for that reason I think they'll do t, they've got the right attitude. The city is buzzing at the moment.
Having been silently hoping Leicester will do it for most of the season, i was a little dissapointed when they came to Spurs. No complaints about the result, to me not beating the likes of Stoke and Newcastle was more worrying. BUT the one thing that surprised and rather disappointed me about Leicester at WHL, and the officials were just as culpable, was the amount of shirt pulling and general niggling that was going at corners. Not the thing i like to see from any side, esp one who i hoped would do one to the so called big four, if Spurs couldnt. ust stop that and the main culprit that night was Ozakazi. Huth is just Huth. Did his apprenticeship alongside Terry, maste of the cynical fould, and got his proffesorship under Pulis at Stoke. not a player i like to see. a 50's 3rd division throwback centrehalf. Hopefully ( Spurs hat on) the buble will burst, if not i have no sour grapes.
silverfoxcc said:
Having been silently hoping Leicester will do it for most of the season, i was a little dissapointed when they came to Spurs. No complaints about the result, to me not beating the likes of Stoke and Newcastle was more worrying. BUT the one thing that surprised and rather disappointed me about Leicester at WHL, and the officials were just as culpable, was the amount of shirt pulling and general niggling that was going at corners. Not the thing i like to see from any side, esp one who i hoped would do one to the so called big four, if Spurs couldnt. ust stop that and the main culprit that night was Ozakazi. Huth is just Huth. Did his apprenticeship alongside Terry, maste of the cynical fould, and got his proffesorship under Pulis at Stoke. not a player i like to see. a 50's 3rd division throwback centrehalf. Hopefully ( Spurs hat on) the buble will burst, if not i have no sour grapes.
Funny how you criticise Huth but you seem to have forgotten you've got Vertongen (sp) who's a cynical centre half if ever there was one. Gassing Station | Football | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff