Watford 2 City 1
Report by Kate Thompson
The match against Watford last season was one of the nervy 1-0 wins but at the moment I would take a similar result, as we seem unable to find the answers to the poor performances of so many players, at least in the Premier League. The contrast with the Champions League is stark and if we secure our entry to the knock-out stages on Tuesday, we can only hope that the team begin to address their poor start to the PL season.
The present from the owners at Saturday’s match was a blue and white hat, left on every seat in the away end. As someone who looks ridiculous in a hat and only wears one on the coldest days, it was a kind thought but…!
There were three changes from the last game, Armartey, Albrighton and Vardy coming in for King, Musa and Slimani. Slimani wasn’t on the bench and it transpired later that he had a minor groin strain. I was particularly pleased to see Albrighton start as he had done little wrong but appeared to be out of favour.
And we all hoped that Vardy’s goal for England would kick-start his season and that he would start scoring again for City. Thankfully, Drinkwater was fit enough to play after his bruised ribs ruled him out of the England squad, but it has since been reported that he may face an FA charge for elbowing Behrami.
The match couldn’t have started more badly, as the usually impeccable Drinkwater lost the ball in midfield and Watford swept up the pitch and scored before a minute had elapsed. This was a sucker punch and it got worse in the 12th minute when Pereyra scored a sublime goal from the edge of the box.
However, it was only four minutes later that a trademark Vardy surge forward resulted in him being upended and a penalty was awarded. We couldn’t look as Mahrez was the penalty taker, remembering how many he missed last season, but this time he scored despite his worrying run-up.
Unfortunately our hopes that this would spark a revival were to be dashed; City for once had more of the play and in the second half in particular, when they were playing towards the end where the City fans were, there was wave after wave of attacks, but with no big target man the huge Watford defenders just cleared the ball time after time.
So we have now lost twice as many games as the whole of last season and I read some even more worrying statistics: we have had only ten shots on target in the last six games; and last season we conceded 36 goals and allowed our opponents 142 shots on target – we are already at 56% and 44% of those totals.
There is no lack of effort, but if anything the players are trying too hard. Of course other clubs have now sussed us out, but surely that can’t tell the whole story. At the moment, most of the fans are still supporting Ranieri and the team but if this poor form continues, many will turn against them. What really hurts is the gleeful comments of so many that we will never be a big team and just need putting in our place.
For the record, Fuchs was replaced by Schlupp in the 68th minute, almost certainly to stop him getting a second yellow card, and Okazaki by Gray at the same time; Musa came on for Albrighton ten minutes later. Somewhat surprisingly, Schlupp was the best of the subs and was the player we remember. But we are disappointed yet again and keep waiting for the slump to end.
Watford: Gomes, Prodl, Kaboul, Britos, Janmaat, Behrami, Capoue, Zuniga, Amrabat (Guedioura 87), Deeney (Okaka 90), Pereyra. Subs not used: Mariappa, Sinclair, Watson, Ighalo, Pantilimon
Leicester: Zieler, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs (Schlupp 68), Mahrez, Drinkwater, Amartey, Albrighton (Musa 78), Okazaki (Gray 68), Vardy. Subs not used: Hernandez, King, Hamer, Wasilewski
Attendance: 20,640 Referee: Neil Swarbrick
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