City 0 Burnley 1
This Remembrance weekend fixture provided two moments of notable entertainment for the 21,000 crowd at the Walkers. Firstly, the match ball was delivered by a helicopter which landed on the centre circle with some aerial gymnastics, and secondly the half-time interval featured the traditional, and always poignant, march past of ex-armed services personnel. The game of football, provided by two manager-less sides, which also took place provided no such highlights.
City kicked off with their backs to the Kop in the first half. They opened with the 3-5-2 (or is it, perhaps, 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2?) formation which has seemed quite solid in the past few games. McAuley, N’Gotty and Kisnorbo were at the back. Kenton and Clemence were in central midfield, Stearman and Mattock were wing-backs, and Fryatt played just behind Cort and D J Campbell.
Burnley lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with former City boo-boy Adi Akinbiyi on the bench. The brightest spot (literally) of the match was the Burnley ‘keeper, Kiraly’s, clothing. He wore a buttercup-yellow top, baggy white long-legged jogging bottoms, white gloves and gold boots. He appeared to be wearing a sleep-suit; an appropriate choice given the quality of the game that was to follow…..
City created the first chance of the match with a header just wide of the left-hand post. But Burnley were generally quicker and stronger in a first-half which included little quality, rather too many petty fouls given by the referee, and little flow. The highlights of the first 20 minutes were generally provided by Burnley’s right-winger, Elliott, who looked quick and purposeful, and whilst there was not much to choose between the sides, it was no surprise when – after 23 minutes – Elliott provided a simple, but neat, through ball for Andy Gray to beat Fulop with a shot from 10 yards.
The remainder of the first half contained few chances. City oscillated between route-one from Fulop, and bouts of passing the ball across the back three. Little was created through the midfield, with Fryatt trying a little trickery on occasion, but not getting the breaks. The crowd was on Cort’s back. He was not playing particularly well but, aside from the back three and Fulop, no-one was playing particularly well, so the boos seemed harsh.
City managed a spell of pressure in the last five minutes of the half, but there were no worthwhile chances and Clemence’s off-target shots from 30 yards were as good as it got. The team was booed off at half-time.
The same City eleven ran out for the second half, but by the 60th minute, three substitutions had been made: Wesolowski on for Kenton, John for Cort and then Hume for N’Gotty, the latter prompting a switch to 4-4-2, with Hume and John up front. The changes prompted a ten minute spell during which City looked livelier, with Hume his usual bustling self, but it did not last.
It was the 63rd minute before a decent chance was created by either side in the second half – with McAuley’s shot being saved following a free kick by Hume. There were few other chances, and the better ones went to Burnley, with Lafferty’s effort – which was saved by Fulop – being probably the best, when he received the ball totally unmarked in the inside left spot.
In the 78th minute, Akinbiyi came on as a substitute for Lafferty. There were, inevitably, boos and cries of “what a waste of money”. I found this somewhat ironic as my memory of the Peter Taylor period is that, yes it was not great, but it was a better standard of football than was being played in front of my eyes.
Burnley continued to control the match. They were not a great deal better than Leicester, but they were just a bit quicker, just a bit more organised, and just a bit more creative for the whole game. The paucity of City’s ideas can be summed up by the four minutes of added time at the end of the match. 1-0 down at home, four minutes to play, surely an all-out attack is in the script?? No, of those four minutes, less than one was spent in the Burnley half.
How can this be the team which almost beat Chelsea? I really do not know. It is obvious that the managerial turmoil has not helped. Yet rudderless teams often leak goals, so it is a compliment to the side that defensively they again did pretty much all they needed to do. A goals-conceded-per-game figure of 0.78 shows how effective the backs have been all season. But, today, the midfield was almost non-existent. Kenton has been, and still is, a valiant fighter for the Leicester cause, but he is not an obvious central midfielder. Clemence looked today far less classy than usual, seemingly lacking match practice following his injury. Stearman and Mattock were largely innocuous, and the forwards just did not click.
Had City somehow contrived an equaliser, I would probably now be describing much of their play as “patient”, but watching it live, it appeared simply laboured. There was little movement and no width. Burnley were not great, but they deserved the win. They were physical, they wasted time in an annoying but professional manner, and their centre backs dealt with crosses well, which was all they really needed to do. Indeed, if Burnley’s organisation reflects the influence of their just-departed manager, Steve Cotterill, then bring him to Leicester, now.
The match ball is delivered with the pilot’s skills outshining anything produced by the players
Leicester: Fulop, McAuley, N'Gotty (Hume 60), Kisnorbo, Stearman, Kenton (Wesolowski 55), Campbell, Clemence, Mattock, Cort (John 56), Fryatt. Subs Not Used: Henderson, Chambers. Booked: Campbell.
Burnley: Kiraly, Alexander, Carlisle, Jordan (Mahon 42), Harley, Elliott, Spicer (James O'Connor 70), McCann, Lafferty (Akinbiyi 76), Gray, Blake. Subs Not Used: Jensen, Jones. Booked: Spicer, Lafferty, Elliott, Mahon, Alexander. Goals: Gray 23.
Att: 21,334 Ref: Clive Penton (Sussex)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation