Chants of “This is embarrassing!” and “Sort it out!” just seven competitive matches into a manager’s tenure is both alarming and awkward. At least it usually is.
For anybody who has followed Leicester City fan sentiment over the past couple of months, it is perhaps not as shocking as it should be that this level of disillusionment with Steve Cooper has been reached so soon. As was clear from Saturday’s draw to Everton, the honeymoon period most managers are given has been remarkably short for the new City boss.
And with those in blue making up more than a quarter of the 8,000-strong crowd at the Poundland Bescot Stadium, the chants were audible from Cooper’s position on the touchline. He couldn’t pretend he’d not heard them.
But neither would he want to. Cooper was keen not to shirk questions on the chants, and his response did diffuse the situation somewhat.
He spoke of respecting supporters and being even more determined to be successful for them. He is “desperate”, he said, to prove what he and his team can do, and he knows he has to “earn credit” with the supporters.
This was the right approach. Blindly ignoring the chants or shrugging them off would signal a lack of care. Hiding from them would suggest he’s running scared and in over his head.
But Cooper stood up to them. He is not evading reality. The first step to earning credit with supporters is to be fully aware of their grievances and openly address them. Fans will appreciate that.
However, the ultimate step to winning supporters over will be through the performances on the pitch. In that regard, City are still well short.
Gameplan concerns rise over struggles
In the end, Cooper’s response to the chants proved to be one of the very few positives on the night. Even with City victorious in the shoot-out and with a humiliating exit avoided, the performance across the 90 minutes further dented belief in the Cooper gameplan.
There were 10 changes made and that will lead to a lack of fluidity in parts. But this was still a strong line-up of players worth millions of pounds with vast experience of top-flight football.
Yet, there really was nothing to shout about. This wasn’t a goalless draw where City were thwarted by an amazing goalkeeper or exceptional last-ditch defending. They didn’t have their first shot on target until the 79th minute, and they didn’t create any clear-cut chances. The best opportunities in each half went to Walsall.
The moments of nice football were fleeting and only reached the edge of the penalty area before breaking down. So often, the riskier, first-time passes merely set up counter-attacks for the home side. There were periods, particularly at the start of the second half and during the final 10 minutes, where City were under heavy pressure, unable to escape from their own half.
“There were individual moments where you expect players to produce,” Cooper said, explaining the deficiencies in attack. “When I speak about running the risk with changes, I mean in terms of the connections on the pitch and the fluidity.
“As the game went on, some of the younger players tried too hard and it started to get a bit tense. You can get into all of the good positions in the world, but you’ve got to deliver an end product. That’s where we fell short.”
In terms of the set-up and gameplan, there was very little deviation from what’s been seen in the Premier League matches. But if it’s not good enough to beat a League Two side more than once (they did beat Tranmere 4-0 last month), there’s going to be very little faith in it earning victories in the top flight.
It could be argued that because the style of play is geared towards Premier League opponents, those with better squads than City, it might not be suited to facing teams like Walsall. City use counter-attacks more often now, and they could not play that way on Tuesday night.
But still, much of the problems were in breaking down Walsall’s back-line. Deep-set defences are not unique to lower-league clubs. Premier League teams will form those blocks if they’re defending a lead. But City had no answer to it, despite the talent on the pitch.
They need to get back on the training ground and practise those attack versus defence scenarios. If there’s no improvement, further questions will be asked over whether the gameplan should be ripped up and a fresh approach taken.
Still no satisfaction despite Ricardo appearance
Ricardo Pereira played, but fans are still not satisfied. They’ve been desperate to see the Portuguese in action as his wait for Premier League minutes goes on, but not like this.
Because of the winger selection and set-up, it was Luke Thomas acting as the advanced full-back this time. Ricardo had to hang back.
It did feel like he was being stymied. Ricardo has lots of qualities on the front foot but he wasn’t able to show them because that was not the job he had been given.
But to hand Ricardo the attacking full-back role while keeping the gameplan in place and still rotating the team as planned, Cooper would have had to task Abdul Fatawu with shuffling inside and operating as the second number 10 when City had the ball. Clearly, that’s not his best role. The Ghanaian needs to stay wide where he can be isolated against his full-back.
Ricardo is the more experienced and versatile of the two players, and so for the success of the team, it made more sense to ask him to play outside of his best role rather than Fatawu. For City supporters, that’s still not satisfactory. They want both Ricardo and Fatawu to be able to play in their best positions. The only way that happens is if the system is changed.
The added disappointment is that, with Ricardo held back, he couldn’t prove why he should be in the Premier League line-up. He’s destined for the bench again at Arsenal.
Ward gives a reminder of his former reputation
It’s perhaps too much to describe his three shoot-out saves as redemption, but becoming the hero of the hour was a nice moment for Danny Ward. And a long-awaited one at that.
The relegation campaign has marred his reputation to the extent that it’s often overlooked that these sorts of cup performances were commonplace when he was back-up to Kasper Schmeichel. Ward often came in for early Carabao Cup ties and had excellent matches, either making a ton of saves or providing a decisive contribution in a penalty shoot-out.
Had Jakub Stolarczyk not injured his ankle in the summer, Ward may not have played in either of the cup games. But he’s been given his chance and taken it, getting to hear his name chanted from the stands again. He’s the reason City have made it through to the next round.
Belief dented ahead of Arsenal
To some, a cup run for a side expected to be battling relegation is a distraction. For others, it’s a chance for a morale-boosting win.
But the latter wasn’t really on the table for City at Walsall. Because the Saddlers are three divisions below, no level of victory could have raised City confidence or belief going into Arsenal.
Instead, the mood, at least among the fanbase, is even more downbeat than it was after Everton. There’s now even more concern that the Gunners will run riot against them.
Now would be a brilliant time to get a result. Doing so would certainly earn Cooper some credit with supporters.
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