Leicester - What A Team This Year

[Pool Q]

 Extensive coverage and congratulation is justified, never denied that. Hype isn't. Grey area where one becomes the other, but the coverage has clearly moved well beyond that middle ground into clear hype territory. It isn't just a celebration of Leicester, it has become an excuse to promote how great the EPL is. We have become conditioned to hype from huge marketing machines in this country re EPL football in the Sky era, but it doesn't make it right.

[dan cake]

On 12/04/2016 at 6:43 PM, allyc said:

I don't.I hate Leicester City and would gladly see them blow it in the run in.how long to we see the first Leicester City tops being worn in Scotland??

sold out, everywhere 

[thistle do nicely]

Surely the hype is to cover the fact that this has probably been the weakest league since the premier league started despite the extra money?

Sky don't want to highlight that people are paying 40 quid a month to watch Man U draw and arsenal struggle in every away game.

Man U, Man C, Arsenal and Chelsea have been stinking, its a 4 horse race where the four favourites have fell.  Leicester winning just shows how samey all the other teams are.

Maybe an element of the rangers and celtic model where the top teams have bought the best players from everyone else so the teams that should have been mid table and should be capitalising on a weak top 4, like southampton weren't good enough to step up.

[DaveyDenoon]

What an incredible performance by Bocelli at the King Power. Enthralling.

How these guys can sing like that is a complete mystery to me. What a talent.

Shame he'll no be able to watch the match though...

[Rossy]

On 07/05/2016 at 0:14 PM, thistle do nicely said:

Surely the hype is to cover the fact that this has probably been the weakest league since the premier league started despite the extra money?

Sky don't want to highlight that people are paying 40 quid a month to watch Man U draw and arsenal struggle in every away game.

Man U, Man C, Arsenal and Chelsea have been stinking, its a 4 horse race where the four favourites have fell.  Leicester winning just shows how samey all the other teams are.

 

Or maybe Leicester were just better than anyone else ?

Their performance on Saturday was superb. Probably one of the best performances of any team this season, and it epitomised everything good about Leicester this season.

Football isn't all about which 100 million£ player can carry a side. Leicester were the complete team this season, they completely deserve to be where they are.

[thistle do nicely]

5 hours ago, Rossy said:

Or maybe Leicester were just better than anyone else ?

Their performance on Saturday was superb. Probably one of the best performances of any team this season, and it epitomised everything good about Leicester this season.

Football isn't all about which 100 million£ player can carry a side. Leicester were the complete team this season, they completely deserve to be where they are.

I'm not saying they aren't the best.  I was discussing the hype, it's just been more about fairy tales than who eventually was the least shit.

Journalists paid to discuss football (especially sky's) are more likely to say "Best and most exciting thing in the premier leagues history" than "Leicester kings of the the dung heap".  

[Toepoke]

Watched this at the weekend and quite enjoyed it, good account of the story from a fans' perspective...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07c5j8b/50001-how-leicester-city-beat-the-odds

Glossed over the reasons for Nigel Pearson's dismissal though!

[dan cake]

 

 

22 hours ago, thistle do nicely said:

I'm not saying they aren't the best.  I was discussing the hype, it's just been more about fairy tales than who eventually was the least shit.

Journalists paid to discuss football (especially sky's) are more likely to say "Best and most exciting thing in the premier leagues history" than "Leicester kings of the the dung heap". 

leicester could win the title by the second largest margin ever for englands top league 

[thistle do nicely]

I like the underdog as much as the next man, but I cant see it as being that much of a good thing.

I can see the Leicester/Athletico Madrid model catching on where hard work and cheap (relatively) players are the new target.

Real (and now PSG) have shown the galactico tactic doesnt work, so chairmen will see it as being more prudent to buy solid defenders and midfielders that can close a game down instead of billion dollar attackers that look great occasionally but dont always win.  Barcelona and Bayern seem to be the only teams that have a nice blend of attacking mentality but good team structure.

If Bayern were playing Barcelona on one channel would you watch leicester v athletico on the other side?

[Dalgety Bay TA]

2 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

I like the underdog as much as the next man, but I cant see it as being that much of a good thing.

I can see the Leicester/Athletico Madrid model catching on where hard work and cheap (relatively) players are the new target.

Real (and now PSG) have shown the galactico tactic doesnt work, so chairmen will see it as being more prudent to buy solid defenders and midfielders that can close a game down instead of billion dollar attackers that look great occasionally but dont always win.  Barcelona and Bayern seem to be the only teams that have a nice blend of attacking mentality but good team structure.

If Bayern were playing Barcelona on one channel would you watch leicester v athletico on the other side?

Yep, PSG's "galactico" throw money at big names tactic isn't working at all.......

[thistle do nicely]

2 minutes ago, Dalgety Bay TA said:

Yep, PSG's "galactico" throw money at big names tactic isn't working at all.......

losing to the worst man city side in years...

 

[Dalgety Bay TA]

1 hour ago, thistle do nicely said:

losing to the worst man city side in years...

 

Won the league 4 years in a row, currently 27 points clear in this years one. Their ploy of buying "billion dollar attackers" isn't great either, he just has 35 goals in 29 games this season and averages about a goal a game in the league. And is their all time top scorer. Maybe they should spend it on solid defenders instead. Ohh wait, they have one of the the best centre backs in Europe in their side. Yep, definitely galactico failure.

[thistle do nicely]

If you think being top of the powerful and respected French league is a success then woo hoo, great season.

They scraped past Chelsea (9th in the premier league) and lost to Man City who will be thankful if they qualify for next years champions league.

Outside of the Central belt of Scotland, success isn't measured in a weak home league.  

 

[Parklife]

11 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

If you think being top of the powerful and respected French league is a success then woo hoo, great season.

They scraped past Chelsea (9th in the premier league) and lost to Man City who will be thankful if they qualify for next years champions league.

Outside of the Central belt of Scotland, success isn't measured in a weak home league.  

 

You seem to be saying that only winning the Champions League can be classed as success. 

[thistle do nicely]

If you were a monopoly money chairman passing out blank cheques would you accept winning the French League, and being bumped early doors in Europe every year?

Celtic fans don't even accept failure in Europe, a billionaire chairman playing real life champ man isn't going to accept it.

[Parklife]

19 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

If you were a monopoly money chairman passing out blank cheques would you accept winning the French League, and being bumped early doors in Europe every year?

Celtic fans don't even accept failure in Europe, a billionaire chairman playing real life champ man isn't going to accept it.

They were in the last 8 of the Champions League. for 4 seasons on the spin, that's not "early doors". 

You could (legitimately, IMO) argue that they should be doing better. They're not getting pumped out early in the competition though. 

[thistle do nicely]

21 minutes ago, Parklife said:

They were in the last 8 of the Champions League. for 4 seasons on the spin, that's not "early doors". 

You could (legitimately, IMO) argue that they should be doing better. They're not getting pumped out early in the competition though. 

If they want to be classed as a "big" team the group stage should be a formality, it looks like they are the team that players are seeing as the big cash team and will be buying players that other big teams would have previously bought.  Winning one playoff match isnt really good enough.

Its all relative, I wouldnt kick the champions league quarter final out the bed, but a chairman that is used to getting what he wants might not be so impressed.

[irnbruman]

Id have to say that Leicester won the league on their own merit as opposed to being lucky that other teams weren't quite as good as previous years. They hardly lost a game all season - took on all the so-called big boys with relative success and hardly ever let up whenever playing the lower teams. Great team spirit - and cant fault the defence which was excellent  - Vardy is showing himself to be a very difficult player to play against running defenders all over the place and leaving room for others like Mahrez.

If they retain the bulk of that squad - still cant see any other team to match them next season.

 

[thistle do nicely]

They will have all the extra European games on top though, it will be a shame if they don't strengthen their squad.

[Dalgety Bay TA]

14 hours ago, thistle do nicely said:

If they want to be classed as a "big" team the group stage should be a formality, it looks like they are the team that players are seeing as the big cash team and will be buying players that other big teams would have previously bought.  Winning one playoff match isnt really good enough.

Its all relative, I wouldnt kick the champions league quarter final out the bed, but a chairman that is used to getting what he wants might not be so impressed.

Do you want to move the goalposts any further or are you happy with them where they are now?

You praised Leicester (league winners) and suggested they would be the model for future chairmen with their cheap players and hard work. You then suggested the galactico model (Real Madrid and PSG were your examples) wasn't working. I then pointed out that PSG have also won the league, 4 years in a row, and are also cleaning up domestically. But apparently that's not good enough, they should be cleaning up in Europe instead of getting "bumped early doors". Except, as Parklife pointed out, they aren't getting bumped early doors, they are reaching the same stage year on year, a stage which certainly isn't "early doors". Apparently that is also a failure.

You also praised Bayern as one of the few teams who have it right, yet they have won the "powerful and respected" German league 4 years on the trot and dominate to the same level as PSG do in France, winning it by wide points margins. Ohh and they won a Champions League in 2013. Yet the Real Madrid failed galactico model has won a Champions League since then (2014) and and are in another final this season. So you regard Bayern as a success but a team who has won and been in another CL final since Bayern last featured as a failure. Yep, that makes sense. Let's be honest here, your opening post was just a mish mash of contradictions wasn't it?!

[thistle do nicely]

The French League is piss poor, winning it is irrelevant.  Their record in Europe is on par at best with the third and fourth place teams in England.  Stop defending them, they're big fish in a wee pond and haven't made an impact.

Yes Real have been a success in Europe, but their galactico days are really over, Ronaldo is their star man and the days where they bought everyone in the panini sticker album are gone. Strangely since then they are doing better, what a coincidence.

Ask the numerous managers that have been sacked from big teams in the last 6 years if getting to the quarter finals was seen by their chairman as acceptable.

Athletico are in their 2nd champions league final in three years and have spent less than most of the exciting teams.  Chairmen want success and sack managers that don't bring it.  Athletico have shown it can be done on the cheap so why shouldn't others copy it.  It will make football dull but a success is a success.

So long story short, I'm right and PSG are crap, yeah!

[Parklife]

5 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

 

Yes Real have been a success in Europe, but their galactico days are really over, Ronaldo is their star man and the days where they bought everyone in the panini sticker album are gone. Strangely since then they are doing better, what a coincidence.

 

You must have missed the signings of Bale, Isco & James... 

[Dalgety Bay TA]

10 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

The French League is piss poor, winning it is irrelevant.  Their record in Europe is on par at best with the third and fourth place teams in England.  

Arsenal are your average 3rd/4th best team in England. They haven't made it past the 2nd round in about 5 years or more. PSG have, for the last 4 years, therefore their record is better.

 

10 minutes ago, thistle do nicely said:

Yes Real have been a success in Europe, but their galactico days are really over, Ronaldo is their star man and the days where they bought everyone in the panini sticker album are gone. Strangely since then they are doing better, what a coincidence.

 

Yep, Real Madrid's galactico days are over. It was only the £71m on James Rodriguez last season and £85m on Bale the previous season. Yep, definitely over, no more big money signings for those boys. FFS.

[Glasgowmancity]

5 minutes ago, Parklife said:

You must have missed the signings of Bale, Isco & James... 

and the fact that 3rd & 4th in England went out in the group stage and last 16 of the CL while PSG got to the 1/4 finals

 

[Dalgety Bay TA]

6 minutes ago, Parklife said:

You must have missed the signings of Bale, Isco & James... 

Beat me to it! Real Madrid, the galacticos that are no longer galacticos' cos the experiment failed with just a couple of CL final appearances in the last 3 seasons and breaking the world transfer record.