After a good performance against Brighton, three points in the bag, and good and non experimental decisions by the caretakers, you were really optimistic about what was going to happen at Vicarage Road.
The fact that a new manager was installed and hopefully would have just surfed on the result and the achievements from the last game, made everyone hopeful. Tcf predicted the same line-up and the same system, as it was all early doors.
The way Brendan Rodgers went above us all, up on the sky along with the Puels and other “geniuses” with totally strange decisions made it all endng tragically with gambling and juggling.
Wes Morgan, a 35 year old player who will be out of contract in the summer, and rusty after not being part of the first team in a while, was picked instead of Demarai Gray. Gray played one of his best games and scoring a vital goal against Brighton, totally unbelievable to see him dropped.
The system was changed to a three men back line. without top pace, and then moving Chilwell and Pereira up in the field to play flanks in something that looked like a 3-4-3. Hardly not been drilled much. Hard to understand that three points were “gambled away” with something that hopefully is part of a long term plan.
This was a key in the way Leicester City went about in the first minutes. Letting in a goal and also being heavilly exposed, only saved by Schmeichel who was doing well in keeping it all possible to get something out of this game.
For a while now a central defense combination with Maguire and Evans had been seen as the preferred choice and with Chilwell and Pereira as the back alternatives, why not let this back four get the time to jell and just play them together for the rest of the season.
Wes Morgan could, as Marcin Wasilewski was in his last season, be given a chance to wave goodbye to us all in a proper way at the end of the season. At the age of 35 it was shocking to see him back in the team and seeing young and upcoming Demarai Gray placed on the bench, really shocking.
The game went about and as always when coming under you will get a chance to keep some possession. Watford counter attacked and left everyone on their toes as they defended their lead.
These two teams are a bit equal in strength and it was no surprise to see Leicester City taking more and more command and keeping possession. Leicester City dominated the play outside the boxes and it was hope that Youri Tielemans would be able to find Jamie Vardy at times with clinical passes that we have missed in the past.
James Maddison were playing in a role we didn’t really understand, and he moved a lot in and out to try to be part of the game, and again upsetting the balance of a system that looked a bit “early doors”.
Leicester City were 1-0 behind after first half, and came back with this fantastic Jamie Vardy finish after a well placed pass from Youri Tielemans. Strangely Tielemans was later taken off and replaced with Nampalys Mendy, could have taken off Ndidi instead since Tielemans is lethal and more of a game winner than Ndidi.
The way Watford were given a chance to come back in the game is another real shocker for us watching, with Kasper Scmeichel making a total “clown of himself” passing the ball into a very dangerous area and Gray just said thankyou, scored the winner with this great gift from the Leicester City goalkeeper.
Not the best of starts for the new manager, a really shocking line-up and system change. Disturbingly bringing Wes Morgan back in the team, on behalf of a young and upcoming player. This was just a total negative experience, really upsetting to see Demarai Gray not honored with a starting position which he fully deserved.
- Positives:
- Coming back after being 1-0 down
- Youri Tielemans vital passes and good performance
- Jamie Vardy again scoring, really fantastic
- Brendan Rodgers never wins his opening game at a new club
- Negatives:
- Not building on the positives of the game against Brighton
- Gray out, Morgan in, shocking decission
- Three men in the back, not really having players to play that way
- Morgan in the middle of the three, the weakest link in the team
- Rodgers trying to act as smart, looking the total opposite
- Bad start for a new manager, hopefully he has a plan, this was shocking
- Schmeichel acting as a clown, destroying the belief with a bad clearence
- This was far from what we expected, difficult start and unconvincing
- Don’t like at all the fact that Rodgers will play with three in the back
- Player Ratings: Schmeichel 5. Pereira 5, Chilwell 5, Maguire 5, Evans 5, Morgan 4, Ndidi 6, Tielemans 7, Barnes 5, Vardy 7, Maddison 6, Subs: Mendy, Gray, Iheanacho
Match Stats: H/A
- Possession: 42 / 58
- Corners: 1 / 5
- Shots on target: 4 / 1
- Shots wide: 0 / 6
- Fouls: 15 / 12
- Offsides: 4 / 1
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