The Foxes - Fight or Flight

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December proved to be a decent month for us picking up a total of 13 points out 18. We had some massive results against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, but somehow struggled against a Palace side sitting in the relegation zone!

At just over the half way point in the season, we are still hanging on to 3rd place. Although Man Utd are now level on points with us, we have opened up a 7 point gap on Everton in 5th and a top 4 finish is looking like a realistic possibility now. Man City have started to really pull away at the top, whilst Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all continue to struggle. This has also resulted in the sacking of Arsene Wenger!


Player of the Month

Riyad Mahrez

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6 Appearance, 8 Goals, 1 Assist, 8.37 Average Rating

Unsurprisingly Mahrez picked up the BPL Player of the Month for December, whilst Jamie Vardy came 3rd. Mahrez managed to score in every single game this month and was inspirational in the victory over Arsenal, scoring 2 spectacular goals. Unsurprisingly he has attracted a lot of interest from a number of big teams and with the start of the transfer window, there is no guarantee we will be able to hold on to him.


This time Gray managed to win the BPL Young Player of the Month Award, after picking up 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 7.32 Rating. He continues to improve every week and is really challenging Schlupp for the left wing position.

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January is a much quieter month and sees us start our FA Cup Campaign against a Palace side that have had the better of us so far this season. Although I am likely to play a rotated squad, I will be expecting us to finally record a win against them with the home advantage.

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Just 2 changes in total; Okazaki in for Vecino and Simpson replaces Amartey. Stoke are another side which have struggled so far this season, despite having a strong squad. I will be hoping to bounce back from our defeat at Palace and come away with all 3 points today.




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18th​ minute – Kante feeds the ball into Mahrez in the penalty area, who opens up his body and curls it into the top left corner. 0-1

43rd​ minute – Okazaki finds the run of Vardy, who puts it round Butland, but the assistant’s flag goes up, offside.

56th​ minute – Vardy tries a speculative effort from the edge of the area, which appears to catch Butland off-guard, as the ball flies over his head and into the back of the net. 0 -2



It didn't turn out to be a thriller of a match, but we took our chances when they came about and more importantly managed to keep a clean sheet! A solid result to start the new year.


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MOTM: N’Golo Kante – 2 Assists, 8.7 Rating

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The search for a new rightback has been ongoing since the start of the season and fortunately i was alerted to the possibility of signing Kieran Trippier from Spurs. He had become unhappy over a lack of gametime and was transfer listed at just £3.1 million.

I therefore swiftly added him to my shopping list and sent it over to my DoF. Within a couple of days the fee was agreed at £3.1 Million and a 3.5 year deal was signed, worth £36k p/w.

Although he may not be a worldclass fullback, he adds additional depth to the rightback position and will push Simpson for a starting place. At just 25 he still has a few years to improve and could easily get back on the England radar with some decent performances.



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The start of the FA Cup sees a large number of changes to the starting lineup, as only Schmeichel, Huth and Okazaki remain from the game against Stoke. Kieran Trippier, makes his debut at RB 3 days after arriving from Spurs as I instantly give him a chance to prove himself. After drawing and losing to Palace in the league, we will be looking for revenge and progression to the 4th round.



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2nd​ minute – Gray’s freekick gets cleared, but he gets a chance to deliver a second ball in which picks out Dodoo at the far post and manages to volley it home, to score his first ever goal for the club. 1-0

5th​ minute – Gray switches the ball to play Dyer in on the right wing, but cant beat McCarthy with a one-on-one.

20th​ minute – Gray pulls a ball back from the byline for Okazaki to hit first time but McCarthy pulls off a decent save at his near post to deny him.

30th​ minute – Schmeichel manages to save a driving effort from Bolasie, but the ball rebounds staright to Zaha, who taps the ball into the empty net. 1-1

40th minute – Dyer whips a ball across the 6 yard box, and Okazaki manages to gets across Mariappa to head the ball past McCarthy. 2-1

43rd​ minute – Adebayor beats Huth in the air to get on the end of Zaha’s cross and put in the equaliser. 2-2

77th​ minute – Dyer slips a perfectly weighted ball through to Okazaki, who takes it on first time and smashes the ball into the goal. 3-2





Finally we manage to get the better of Palace this season, at the 3rd time of asking. We really should have won the game by a bigger margin after creating 9 clear cut chances, but were lacking a bit of composure in front of goal. It was great to see the rotated squad put in such a pleasing performance and a selection for the next game may be a bit harder than normal.​

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MOTM: Nathan Dyer – 2 Assists, 9 Rating


We have been drawn away to Championship side Derby in the 4th Round of the FA Cup. This will by no means be a straightforward fixture, but will be expecting us to get a result from the game.

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Cost: £525,000

Wage: £100 P/W (£2.6K P/W at end of season)

Contract Length: 3.5 Years (2019)


With very few decent HG players were available for a reasonable price, so I decided to set my sights on securing some decent youth talent. Our scouts had identified Rankin - Costello to have some decent potential and immediately sent his name over to my DoF.

A deal was quickly drawn up with Blackburn for a price of just £525k, which is a pretty good value for a 16 year old with bags of potential. He originally came through the Man Utd set up before moving to Blackburn on a free transfer. Although he has only made one senior start for them, my scout reports have shown him to have some real potential and worth a risk, for the young CM.



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Despite some decent performances in the FA Cup, I decided to resort back to what has essentially been our starting XI all season. Bournemouth have started to fall down the league in recent weeks and we should be looking to breeze past the newly promoted side today.



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1st​ minute – Just 13 seconds into the game Okazaki finds Mahrez at the top of the area who smashes it first time into the top right corner. 1-0

32nd​ minute – Mahrez goes on a mazy run into the area before pulling the ball back to Okazaki whos shot is deflected past the wrong-footed keeper and into the back of the net. 2-0

45th​ minute – Afobe turns Morgan on the edge of the area and manages to get a shot on goal but Schmeichel is equal to it and tips it over the bar for a corner.

48th​ minute – Mahrez again darts into the area off his right wing and manages to bend an effort beyond Federici and into the top left corner. 3-0

53rd​ minute – Fuchs whips a ball into the area, for Vardy who beats McNair to the ball in the air and finds the back of the net. 4-0




We didn't control the game as well as I had hoped but, we were extremely clinical in front of goal and managed to record a very flattering scoreline in the end. Bournemouth played really well to their credit but the quality of our attacking players proved to be the decisive difference.



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MOTM: Riyad Mahrez – 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 9.4 Rating​
 
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Schlupp comes in for Gray on the left wing, and is the only change to the starting line up. Although Southampton have been underperforming this season, they have managed to field a strong lineup and will undoubtably be looking for revenge after we thrashed them 5-0 earlier in the season.



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28th​ minute – Drinkwater receives a red card for a two-footed tackle on Tadic in midfield.

55th​ minute – Fuchs whips in a perfect cross from the left wing, which Vardy beats Bertrand to and smashes the ball into the back of the net on the half volley. 0-1

72nd​ minute – Vardy beats both Ward-Prowse and Maya on his way into the area, before rifling a shot past Forster at his near post. 0-2

81st​ minute – Tadic picks out Maya with a corner, which he manages to head between Fuchs and Schmeichel and into the back of the net. 1-2

82nd​ minute – Tadic manages to convert Cedric’s cross at the backpost to bring the scores level in the space of a minute. 2-2





It looked as though we were going to take a massive win with 10 men, but another late collapse saw us concede 2 goals in the space of a minute! Drinkwater's red card was stupid and a lapse of concentration at the end cost us 2 points today. Overall it was a pleasing performance with 10 men but was frustrating to concede 2 goals so quickly.​
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MOTM: Tadic – 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 9 Rating

Our Best Player: Vardy – 2 Goals, 8.8 Rating
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Cost: £2.2 Million

Wage: £9K P/W

Contract: 2.5 Years (2018)


This was my last opportunity to make use of my foreign U18 transfer and had identified Dani Olmo to be the best option. Although the cost is quite high for a 17 year old he has been a regular starter already at Dinamo Zagreb this season with 19 appearances, 1 goal, 5 assists and an average rating of 7.51!

He is best suited to the AMC role but can be utilised on both wings of in the CM position. Midfield is currently one of our strongest positions so may struggle to get game time this season, but have high hopes for him in the future.

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I decided to heavily rotate the squad yet again for the FA Cup, giving players a chance to prove themselves worthy of a first team place. Derby are a championship side pushing for a playoff place but, even our weakened side should have enough about them to progress us to the 5th Round.



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2nd​ minute – Trippier fires in a cross towards Vecino at the near post, but Shacknell beats him to it and sends the ball into his own goal. 0-1

24th​ minute – Inler catches Trippiers corner on the volley from the edge of the area and drills the ball past Carson. 0-2

25th​ minute – Gray digs a cross out from the byline and sends the ball into the area, where Ulloa manages to out muscle Shacknell and nod the ball past Carson at the near post. 0-3

45th​ minute – Ince floats a freekick into the area and Thorne manages to win the aerial battle with Moore and head the ball in off the woodwork. 1-3

53rd​ minute – Forsyth finds Ince unmarked at the back post and is able to hit the ball back across goal and past Schmeichel. 2-3

86th​ minute – Olmo plays a ball in to Ulloa, who manages to role Mongongu and squeeze the ball through Carson’s legs. 2-4



A good team performance overall sends us through to the 5th Round of the FA Cup. We fully deserved the win, despite a small scare when they clawed their way back to 3-2, but the team played well. New signing Olmo came off the bench to make his debut and provided the assist for the final goal, which was particularly pleasing.

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MOTM: Ulloa – 2 Goals, 8.8 Rating


We have been drawn away against Swansea in the 5th Round of the FA Cup and ww will be looking for revenge after getting annihilated 5-0 in the Capital One Cup earlier this season. It's another pretty good draw for us on the whole and have a great chance of making the Quarter Finals.

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An unbeaten January moves us up to 2nd place in the League, 9 points behind City at the top. We have also managed to progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup where we will be playing Swansea for a place in the Quarter Finals.

We are now well past the half way point in the season and a top 4 finish is really the minimum aim now, as we are currently 10 points above Swansea in 5th. Chelsea have finally started to turn their season around but are still struggling in the bottom half along with Liverpool. The table illustrates what a strange season this has been for all clubs.


Player of the Month

Jamie Vardy


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4 Appearances, 4 Goals, 1 Assist, 8.5 Rating

Jamie Vardy scoops up the BPL Player of the Month Award and has been in lethal form in front of goal, with his tally now sitting at 22 for the season. He has been instrumental in ensuring our unbeaten month and will be hoping he can hit the 30 goal mark come the end of the season.

Mahrez also came 2nd in the BPL Player of the Month Award with 3 goals, 1 assist, 8.47 rating. Him and Vardy have been an unstoppable force this season and my confidence in keeping the pair next season is swiftly dwindling.

Transfer Round Up

There hasn't been a huge amount of transfer activity this season, although Man Utd splashed the cash on landing Laporte at the start of the season.

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We have been fairly active so far this season, signing an additional 4 players - Although both Olmo and Rankin-Costello are more future prospects. I have been happy with the business conducted by my DoF so far, although would of preferred to have signed a better player than Vecino, for my only over 18 foreign transfer. Either way, he did land deals for my other 3 targets and am pleased with the squad as a whole.

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February is full of big games as we have to play 5th, 1st, 4th and 6th in the league, as well as travel to Swansea for an FA Cup 5th round fixture. This looks set to be our most testing month so far!

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Long time no see ^^
The team is doing a terrific campaign so far, good job so far at keeping up with the citizens (3 wins is not a gap as big as some people might think and sooner or later City will make mistakes).
As for the signings, great deals Kieran Trippier has potential to be one of the best rightbacks in the whole Premier and Dani Olmo for the price you signed him... is not a bargain, but a steal (that lad has an impressive future should he develop properly... I'll never understand why Barcelona's academy let him go so easily... and to Croatia to boot! Madness I tell you).

Keep it up, give the citizens one heck of a fight in the top spots ^^
 
Zlatan Lumic said:
Long time no see ^^
The team is doing a terrific campaign so far, good job so far at keeping up with the citizens (3 wins is not a gap as big as some people might think and sooner or later City will make mistakes).
As for the signings, great deals Kieran Trippier has potential to be one of the best rightbacks in the whole Premier and Dani Olmo for the price you signed him... is not a bargain, but a steal (that lad has an impressive future should he develop properly... I'll never understand why Barcelona's academy let him go so easily... and to Croatia to boot! Madness I tell you).

Keep it up, give the citizens one heck of a fight in the top spots ^^
Click to expand...


Thanks mate! The season has gone far better than i had anticipated and have been helped by some struggling "big" sides. We have a massive game to come against City this month, defeat and our title challenge will likely be over, but will still be delighted with a top 4 finish.

Yeah, I have been happy with the transfer dealings so far - My DoF has done a great job in landing my chosen targets for decent prices. Hopefully he wont sell too many of our star players over the summer, but with high interest in both Mahrez and Vardy im not very hopeful.
 
Not so far away from the top but I think your main target is to keep hold on to that second place ! Great job !
 
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I decided to make a total of 6 changes to the side that beat Derby in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Drinkwater's suspension continues as it was extended by a further 2 matches. We have had mixed results against a confident Swansea side who are currently challenging for European football next season.





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59th​ minute – Vecino attacks the ball from deep and manages to get on the end of Schlupp’s floated cross to head the ball past Fabianski, for his first ever Leicester City goal. 1-0

63rd​ minute – Huth beats Williams in the air to meet Fuchs corner and sends a thumping header past Naughton on the post. 2-0

70th​ minute – Sigurdsson roles the ball into Niang, who manages to role Liam Moore and squeeze a weak effort under Schmeichel. 2-1




A narrow victory sees us move 13 points clear of Swansea in 5th and a step closer to securing Champions League Football next season. We should probably have put the game to bed earlier on and a Niang's 70th minute strike, led to a nervy finish. It was also great to see Vecino score his first goal for the club.

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MOTM: Fuchs – 1 Assist, 8.5 Rating

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I have decided to load up a 3 man midfield in an attempt deal with City's potent attack, in a match we cannot afford to lose, if we are to have any chance of challenging for the title. As a result Inler comes in for Okazaki, whilst Vardy leads the line on his own.


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9th​ minute – Mahrez cuts in off his wing gets the ball to Vardy in the area, but he is dispossessed by Kolorov, only for the ball to roll straight into the path of Vecino, who hammers it past Joe Hart. 0-1

13th​ minute – Zabaleta whips a cross in to the near post for Toure, who gets across Huth and flicks the ball past Schmeichel. 1-1

22nd​ minute – Nasri takes the ball past Trippier and flicks the ball in to Aguero who hits it on the volley and into the back of the net. 2-1

40th​ minute – Aguero glides past Morgan and has acres of space to run into before bending the ball past Schmeichel from the edge of the area. 3-1

60th​ minute – Nasri gets across Morgan at the near post to steer Iheanacho’s cross into the back of the net. 4-1

65th​ minute – Mahrez drifts off his wing again, before jinxing his way past Kolorov and Fernandinho before smashing the ball into the top right corner. 4-2




A hammering at the Ethiad has all but ended any potential title challenge. Ultimately, they had too much quality going forward and we couldn't cope at the back. They were clinical with their finishing and despite Mahrez giving us hope late on it was to late to mount any sort of comeback. We will now have to set our sights on finishing 2nd and at the very least top 4!

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MOTM: Nasri – 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 9 Rating

Our Best Player: Mahrez – 1 Goal, 7.4 Rating
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Drinkwater is serving the last game of his suspension, in what is otherwise a full strength starting line up. Following our defeat to City last week, Spurs have jumped above us in the table and a result here is crucial in our bid for 2nd place.​



75th​ minute – Schlupp manages to dig a cross out from the byline, which Wimmer misjudges and missing the ball, allowing Vardy to head home from 4 yards out. 1-0

77th​ minute – Lorris dives to attempt to save Drinkwater’s shot which is instead blocked in front by Mason, but the rebound goes straight to Kante to tap into an empty net. 2-0

78th​ minute – Straight from the kickoff, Eriksen sends a perfectly weighted diagonal through to Kostic who smashes it past Schmeichel at his near post. 2-1




A crazy 4 minutes i what was otherwise a close affair allowed us to sneak the victory. We had arguably been the better team and had dominated the match, so was the least we deserved. It's another massive win for us and was important to bounce back from the defeat to City.

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MOTM: Kante – 1 Goal, 8.1 Rating
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The FA Cup signalled the usual rotation, with the likes of Vardy and Kante being rested. Swansea on the other hand have decided to go with a side, much nearer to a starting XI. Hopefully we can get our cup revenge from the 5-0 thrashing in the Capital One Cup earlier this season.


25th​ minute – Naughton whips a ball in towards the front post, as Paloschi gets across Moore and flicks a header past Schmeichel. 1-0

39th​ minute – Taylor floats a ball into the 6 yard area from the right wing which Paloschi manages to win again and finds the back of the net. 2-0

46th​ minute – Vardy makes an instant impact after coming on at half time, as he gets on the end of Okazaki’s cross to put the ball beyond Fabianski. 2-1

77th​ minute – Simpson finds Vardy at the top of the area from the corner, who catches it on the half volley, sending it rifling into the bottom left corner. 2-2

81st​ minute – Vecino plays a perfectly weighted diagonal through ball to find the run of Vardy, who delicately applies the finish but the assistant’s flag is up, offside.

87th​ minute – Schlupp plays a ball into Okazaki’s feet on the edge of the area, who gets a snap shot off on the turn, which hits the inside of the post and roles in. 2-3

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An incredible second half comeback, sees us progress to the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup. We were sinking without a trace at half time but the introduction of Jamie Vardy and a change in formation, turned the game in our favour. It was great to see the character of the squad to come out fighting in the second half, but a number of questions needed to be asked about our first half display!


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MOTM: Schlupp – 1 Assist, 9 Rating


We have been given a difficult draw for the Quarter Final, against Man Utd who have been looking very good this season. At this stage in the competition I may be forced to play my starting XI, if we are to have any chance of making the Semi's.


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I resorted back to the usual starting XI for the trip to Goodison, as we look to finish the month on a high. Everton have been enjoying a good season and are still in the hunt for a top 4 finish, although are more realistically looking at qualifying for Europa.




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11th​ minute – McCarthy looks to mishit his shot, but the ball ends up rolling straight into the path of Mirallas at the back post who taps the ball into an unguarded net. 1-0

26th​ minute – Baines freekick pinballs around the area, before falling to the feet of Lukaku who smashes the ball home from 6 yards. 2-0

45 + 1 minute – Mirallas fires a deep floated ball to the back post, which Schmeichel misjudges allowing Lukaku to head into an empty net. 3-0

64th​ minute – Vardy draws in both Stones and Jagielka before rolling a through ball through the middle for Kante, who ***** the ball over the onrushing keeper. 3-1

68th​ minute – Deulofeu manages to turn Moore on the edge of the area and smash a shot over the shoulder of Schmeichel. 4-1




Well that wasn't the result i had in mind! Everton were clinical with the ball going forward and really made the most of their opportunities, scoring 4 goals from 7 on target. unfortunately we didn't have the same success and really struggled to create decent opportunities. It is a crushing defeat and we will have to bounce back from it next week.

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MOTM: Lukaku – 2 Goals, 8.8 Rating

Our Best Performance: Kante – 1 Goal, 8.7 Rating
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