I said that before Sherwood’s appointment, I wasn’t too bothered about this game, but after his appointment, I thought we should go for it and do everything to win the game.
We got the result, but I don’t think we did everything to win the game, particularly in the first half, which was frankly really poor.
In fact it was the same old, where we didn’t have an effort on target.
The only points of note were the penalty shout, where Vlaar could have been pulled for leaning on a Leicester player, but for me, it would have been harsh.
Then, there was a cracking shot from James, which Given did really well to save.
We played way too narrow for my liking, with a tempo that was way too slow and predictable.
A typical Lambert scaredy-cat approach, which is just awful to watch.
Marshall out, in my opinion, if that’s what he has to offer and indeed he had better be brushing up his CV, as I’ve no doubt he’ll be getting the bullet.
So, poor overall and Leicester looked better value in the first half.
Sherwood made his way to the dressing room at half time and his team talk definitely had an effect in my opinion, as we immediately looked better.
I want to mention the pundits and commentators here, as I believe they all had it spot on about where our problems lie.
It probably isn’t rocket science and I’m sure that anyone who watched the game would have seen it, but they demonstrated perfectly why Benteke seems to have been so poor lately.
It’s because he often has no support and no one to give/knock down the ball too, because the mids are too scared to get forward, for fear of not being able to support the defence.
It’s no wonder he has looked uninterested and it’s why I haven’t slated him much.
The midfield quite simply do not support the strikers, a fact backed up by a quote that the midfield has one assist between them in a stupid amount of games.
Anyway, it was obvious that Sherwood saw the problem straight away and called for a change, which resulted in players rushing forward when they had chance.
What a refreshing change from the Lambert tactics, where the mantra was safety first and nothing else.
While of course being too gung ho will see us concede, we will at the same time at least score goals, which is what the game is about.
I’m instantly upbeat over Sherwood’s appointment, just for this alone.
Back to the game then and after actually applying some pressure, we looked the better side.
Balls were going into the box and do you know what the single biggest memory from today’s game will be?
I saw Benteke smiling. Not once, but twice!
I suspect he’ll be relishing Sherwood’s appointment, as he knows he’s going to get chances. This can only bode well.
Bacuna scored a nice goal, which was just as well, as he was about to be hooked.
And then Sinclair got the second, which should have meant that we were comfortable.
Only for Leicester to pull one back via a really good header.
Which actually made it a bit of a nail-biter for the last few minutes.
Summing up then, a load of rubbish in the first half and more like a cup tie, in the second.
MOTM? Without a doubt, Given, who kept us in the game.
Ok, £56k a week for a no 2 goalie is daft.
But when you have his quality to call on, it doesn’t seem quite so bad, does it?
Would Guzan have made that save? I’m not so sure.
Anyway, we’re in the hat for the quarters draw, which can’t be bad.
I’m an extremely happy bunny today.
