FoxHole

I really don’t know what to think about this afternoon’s match. Clearly it is vital that we win, but is that very likely? On last week’s performance against Hull City the answer is clearly no.

Believe everything you have read or heard about the game last Saturday. We were totally third rate and only worthy of third division football. The players, and it is they who should take most of the blame, simply weren’t bothered. Only Henderson in goal played well (it could have been 0-6 without him); and only Hendrie seemed prepared to put some effort in, and he had a nightmare of a match.

So what of today? Our North Lincolnshire rivals have had some notable players pass through their ranks: Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence are probably the most well-known. But the current squad is made up of players I’ve not even heard of. Is this a good thing I wonder? Current results suggest that the less we know about the opposition, the worse we play. We will know at about 4.50pm.

West Brom 1 Leicester City 4, Saturday 15 March 2008

I was so sure we wouldn’t win this match that on Saturday morning I made some silly joke about how, in my imaginery world, Leicester would win 4 - 0. Never mind though, I’ll settle for 4-1.

I have to say that for the first half an hour or so the commentary on Radio Leicester gave no hint of what was to come. Indeed, when West Brom took the lead it seemed very much like business as usual. We weren’t playing too badly, but nor were we making the most of our chances. Then we mess up in defence. I greeted their goal with the usual bout of swearing and despair, wondering if we’d already lost yet another match.

But how things can change. Clearly the sending-off helped (for a change). As the goals started to go in, the tension in our kitchen increased (no Leicester fan is ever confident of winning while there is still time for the other side to turn it around). And as for Howard, I have been one of those who wondered why he ever made the starting line up. But against one of the top teams in the league, and away from home, he scores a hat-trick. I guess he’ll be playing against Hull then.

So when the game ended at something like 5.00pm, I had that rare but very good”we’ve won” feeling. To top it all, Southampton who beat us last week were thrashed 5 -0!

I was never a Megson fan, and what little respect I had for him vanished when he walked out on Leicester City. But last night he sank to a new low by putting out a reserve team at Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA cup. His actions were an insult to all the other teams in the cup, and above all, to the long suffering Bolton fans whose season is almost as bleak as our own.

Indeed, imagine traveling to Portugal, your side is just one match away from a quarter final place, but on arrival you learn that Megson doesn’t think the competition is important enough. I’d be furious, and judging by comments on Radio 5, many Bolton fans were.

Thank god he’s no longer our manager; and good riddance.

Southampton 1 Leicester City 0, Tuesday 11 March 2008 

What exactly can I say?

Another defeat, another batch of wasted chances. Ironically, we  have shown  that we can dominate (Bristol City on Saturday) and even win games (a great result away at Cardiff), but the real Leicester City side seems incapable of actually scoring (our four disallowed goals against Preston being the exception to the rule).

Relegation is now closer than ever and morale will surely sink lower. Unlike some fans I don’t blame Ollie. Against the league leaders it wasn’t his fault that we missed chance after chance. And as we have just seen, somehow our players just don’t get it right on the night.

Indeed, we should have beaten Southampton but we didn’t. Verdict: Not good enough.

Things have going well for FC Barcelona. Fortunately for me, Sky regularly show the top matches from La Liga. Last Sunday I was able to watch the genius that is Lionel Messi, together with Eto, Ronaldinho, Henry and a team of exceptionally gifted players show just what football is all about. In their five goal victory they demonstrated excellent teamwork, precision passing, imaginative movement and a fair amount of style. We can only dream I suppose…

I realise that I have been neglecting this blog. No postings in fact for almost a month. I’d like to say this is because I’m so busy… that I simply haven’t had time to sit at a computer and comment on our team’s fortunes. But I can’t. I have no excuse. I haven’t moved house (and have no such plans), I haven’t been on holiday, and I haven’t found some new interest to replace football.

No. The sad truth is I simply haven’t felt like writing about Leicester City. I can only assume its something to do with the results rather than any creative blockage on my part.

Let’s look at the facts. We win one, we lose three, or is that four? We play well for almost 90 minutes (Norwich City, home), but we play crap (and sometimes total crap) for 360 minutes (Blackpool away, Plymouth home, Watford away, Coventry away). The trouble is, we are not losing because the other side out-plays us in an almost even contest. We are losing because we simply can’t pass, move or create anything approaching a goal scoring opportunity. It’s almost as if the players aren’t bothered. And yet when we played Norwich, just like Coventry at home last month, we saw what is actually possible.

Not surprisingly, there are some fans calling for Olly to be sacked. That’s bloody stupid. How will more uncertainty help? We must already hold some kind of record for managerial changes, but going through that process again will undermine what little morale our players appear to have. That said, I don’t know how he is going to turn things around in the short term. Perhaps all we can hope for is enough draws and an occasional win to avoid relegation. Hardly the stuff to inspire me to write. But if that’s my excuse, what excuse do the players have?

Leicester City 1 Crystal Palace 0, Tuesday 28 January 2008

I daresay many of Sky’s viewers turned over to watch a drama about another Palace before Leicester scored their winner. This certainly wasn’t a classic. But who cares. We won, and we beat the odious, vile, repulsive, loutish, revolting piece of shit that is Neil Warnock.

Yes, he squirmed on the touchline when it became clear that the ref wasn’t the slightest bit interested in his opinions; and more than once the Leicester fans told him to “sit down shut up”. But despite a fairly tedious match, the final chorus of “Warnock Warnock what’s the score?” was a joy to behold.

Neither side played good football. Palace certainly didn’t look like a team who have been unbeaten in 15 matches, and the flowing passes of Leicester’s performance against Coventry were almost nowhere to be seen. But the team seemed determined, and there were flashes of skill. But as our bones started to freeze, the decision not to stay home and watch the match on TV seemed particularly stupid. But then we scored, and it all seemed worthwhile.

Leicester City 2 Coventry 0, Saturday 12 January 2008

This was a completely new Leicester City, literally. It wasn’t just all the new faces, but the fact that there was movement, and width, and a midfield, and even some skill! Ollie called it a balanced side. How could we disagree.

From the kick-off the difference was there for all to see. Instead of the usual clueless boot the ball up the pitch, there were deliberate passes to the two new Hungarian wingers. The result: we actually created chances (20 apparently). The difference was so notable that when we had our first throw-in, my mate Mike remarked, “My god, they ‘re moving off the ball!”

We left the match in high spirits. What a rare but great feeling.

I’ve not been inclined to blog recently. After the promise of some reasonable results we were all given a reality check with two successive defeats. Normally my low expectations make coping with bad results fairly easy. But whether it was post holiday blues, the cold weather or just the prospect of relegation, I have been feeling a little despondent when it comes to football.

To make matters worse, our FA cup exit was at the hands of Southampton, the team my brother and dad support. I felt the humiliation even if I didn’t have to face it. I certainly couldn’t bring myself to write about the game here.

But enough of being mard. We play Coventry tomorrow and could start with home debuts for six new signings . Ollie has certainly been busy.

Of course only the local media is in the slightest bit interested in the M69 derby. Everyone else is speculating on who will take over at Newcastle. Indeed, Radio 5 even interviewed Milan Mandaric, but to talk about Harry Redknapp and not Leicester City.

So while magpies, pundits and hacks get excited over Sam’s replacement, we will be wondering exactly who is who in that Leicester City shirt. I feel an uplifting Saturday afternoon ahead.

Leicester City 1 Charlton Athletic 1, Saturday 29 December 2007

This was one of those games where you can almost grasp the three points, only to have them fall over the edge into the abyss of a sickening 1-1 draw. After out-playing Charlton in the second half, taking a one goal lead, and thinking that maybe we’ll actually win two matches on the trot, they scramble an equaliser with just two minutes to go.

Suddenly euphoria turns to nausea, and the icy cold wind reminds us that it’s winter. I left the ground with mixed feelings. Extremely disappointed to have just one point. But considering Charlton’s credentials, delighted with the way we dominated them in the second half. If this form can be repeated in the games to come then relegation wont even be on the agenda.