Birmingham 2 City 3
Report by Kate Thompson
I watched City in their pre-season programme for the first time, against the Championship side Birmingham City. It appears I made a good choice as the previous games seem to have been universally underwhelming. As others have said, we can’t make any judgements based on pre-season friendlies, the point being made that the year we romped to the Championship title we played Northampton and were made to look very poor – I remember it well!
There was also some talk about the team selected being the one which would start the first game next week but I would be surprised if Fuchs wasn’t in the team, and much as I was impressed by Ben Chilwell, I can’t see him being thrown into the bearpit of the Premiership just yet.
I would be very surprised if Wasilewski starts against Sunderland, when there are quicker defenders; his foul on a Birmingham player – which would almost certainly have earned him a yellow card in a league game – was unnecessary and unsavoury. However, the quality of the free kick was as unexpected as it was excellent. Up to that point, City had bossed proceedings, and I lost count of the number of corners we won, but it just proves the point that possession is a meaningless statistic.
If that wasn’t bad enough, City were 2-0 down only a couple of minutes later after a screamer from Gray. Schmeichel could do nothing about either goal, which were totally against the run of play.
Despite Leicester’s dominance, there were few shots on goal in the first half, the best being a shot from Vardy which the keeper saved with his feet and some tantalising crosses, mainly from Albrighton but also from Mahrez.
There were three changes for the second half: De Laet for Wasilewski, Liam Moore for Ben Chilwell and Kramaric for Ulloa. Kramaric hit a post soon after he came on but the first goal came in the 58th minute, following a Mahrez corner which eventually reached Huth who scored from close in.
There were two more substitutions in the 72nd minute – Fuchs for Albrighton and Okazaki for Vardy. The equaliser came soon after, in the 76th minute, when Drinkwater was quickest to a clearance from a Mahrez free kick. The comeback was complete in the 83rd minute when Mahrez caused mayhem yet again and Okazaki scored with an excellent diving header.
So a satisfying result but I’m not sure what Ranieri will have gained from it. Time will tell! As far as performances go, there were no really weak links; I was pleased to see Moore have a good game, as I felt sorry for him last year. I hope he is more successful from now on.
Aside from the football, there are a number of points I would like to make. First of all, why did a bridal couple walk onto the pitch ahead of the teams? It was never explained.
And what happened to Huth’s shirt? He was holding it in two pieces shortly after a goalmouth incident and I can only assume that the goalkeeper grabbed it and tore in half; he somehow put it back on but, as my sister said, the shirts are obviously good quality ones!
And finally, what idiot thought it was a good idea to set off a flare? And how did he smuggle it in? My rucksack was searched very thoroughly so I can only assume that other stewards were less careful.
The close season has been dominated by rumours of transfers, one of which has now been confirmed (Kante). I am concerned that players don’t want to come to Leicester as how can they give of their best when they don’t want to play for us?
I am also concerned about stories of us trying to hijack players ready to sign for other clubs and, above all, the suggestion that new players will be on fantastic wages. I strongly agreed with the policy of not paying silly money and of treating all the players the same, and only hope that these stories are untrue.
After all, I am old enough to remember the trouble Allan Clarke caused when he thought he was better than his team-mates and apparently wanted more money for playing in the FA Cup final in 1969. Still, all I can do is grumble about it!
CITY: Schmeichel (c), Wasilewski (De Laet 46), Huth, Chilwell (Moore 46), Albrighton (Fuchs 72), King, Drinkwater, Schlupp, Mahrez, Ulloa (Kramaric 46), Vardy (Okazaki 72). Subs Not Used: Schwarzer, Hammond, Lawrence, Simpson, Nugent
GOALS: Huth 58, Drinkwater 76, Okazaki 83
BIRMINGHAM: Kuszcak, Caddis, Grounds, Spector, Morrison (c), Gray, Gleeson, Donaldson, Shinnie, Cotterill, Kieftenbeld. Subs: Robinson, Legzdins, Edgar, Eardley, Arthur, Thomas, Davis, Novak, Maghoma, Toral, Hancox, Brown
GOALS: Cotterill 23, Gray 24
REFEREE: Graham Scott ATTENDANCE: 7,026 (1,731 away)
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