Are Leicester really better than us?

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So are they as good as each other or is your keeper miles better??
Make your mind up son
The first part was in relation to this season alone where Pants form has dipped. The 2nd was about them both being at their best. Hardly rocket science.
 


Obviously the league table proves it and results but if you go man for man from the team they put out at the weekend.

Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth fuchs
Mahrez drinkwater ngala Albrighton
Ulloa vardy

Vs

Pantilimon
Yedlin Jos kaboul Jones
Borini cattermole mvila Johnson
Fletcher defoe

No reason why we shouldn't be able to play 442 like Leicester do and kick on...

I'm not saying we should be top end but certainly comfortable away from relegation zone...


Last third of last season and first third of this season, Leicester is 15-7-4 for 52pts equal to a 76pt season. Scored 52, conceded 35. Too big a sample size to be a fluke.

Same period for us - 5-8-15 for 23pts equal to a 34pt season. Scored 23, conceded 43.

Not much difference in defence overall in 26 games (given that we've had five games where we've conceded 4+ goals in that stretch) but clear difference in goals for.

We have had three managers and substantial turnover in personnel, though. Stability goes a long way to building a team and confidence.
 
We are nowhere near Leicester, although I'm sure their stay at the top wont last.

On the upside, I genuinely think if the season started now we would finish above Palace.
 
Obviously the league table proves it and results but if you go man for man from the team they put out at the weekend.

Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth fuchs
Mahrez drinkwater ngala Albrighton
Ulloa vardy

Vs

Pantilimon
Yedlin Jos kaboul Jones
Borini cattermole mvila Johnson
Fletcher defoe

No reason why we shouldn't be able to play 442 like Leicester do and kick on...

I'm not saying we should be top end but certainly comfortable away from relegation zone...
Wow! Just wow!
 
This. Most people on here though Shelvey was shite about this time last year before he got in the England squad.

Getting in the England squad doesn't mean a player isn't shite,however Shelves isn't shite . He is a typical English midfielder ,fit ,athletic ,got a good engine but hardly a super star. Mind you ,he's not alone in that looking at the England set up.
Getting back to topic , Leicester are miles ahead of as a club setup let alone as a team playing with the utmost confidence
 
I think the proof is in the pudding. Since April 4th Leicester have won six more points than anyone in the PL, that's 22 games and at some point you have to accept that this is too big a sample size to be considered a fluke. Whilst it's probably not our level we are probably somewhere in between.

Most people judge other players on perception and your average Sunderland fan will look at Drinkwater and just see a player who was a failed Man Utd academy player rather than judging him with an open mind on his performances.

The secret to Leicester's success is that Mahrez and Vardy are two of the best players in the league. Also Drinkwater and Kante are one of the best central midfield pairing in the country as well. There is a bias to judge your own players better than other players who are just names to you and you wouldn't recognise them if they walked past you in the street. there's a reason why Leicester are your league leaders and you can't keep putting it down to luck when it's been over such a long time period.

I agree with what you are saying about Kante and Drinkwater in particular. They have been exceptionally good almost every time I've seen them this season
 
I’ve been reading this thread with some interest, amusement and incredulity to be honest. I’m a Leicester fan but having lived in East Herrington for a couple of years in the 1980s I always follow Sunderland’s fortunes and partly share your pain. I have happy memories of some games at Roker Park during my time up there. This “on paper” thing is pure nonsense. You don’t really know much about our players and I guess that Leicester fans don’t know much about yours. Let’s have some perspective. When Pearson and Cambiasso moved on in the Summer I was nervous. Was our amazing last 9 game run last season (W 7 D 1 L 1) a flash in the pan or could it continue with the loss of our star player and under new management? Well here we are. W8 D4 L1. Better than I expected? Absolutely. Have we just been lucky? Certainly not. Has it been all about effort and no skill? Certainly not. Will we win the league or end up in the top 4? No way but it’s fun and we are almost safe so that’s the first objective almost met. You never know though, do you – if this run does continue and we pull away at the top (I’m not saying this will be the case) then you really do start to think that the unthinkable could happen. Would we miss Vardy and Mahrez? Yes we would but to be fair Man Utd would have missed Best and Charlton wouldn’t they? Again, I’m not suggesting that Vardy and Mahrez are in their class!! Let’s forget this “players on paper” nonsense and get into a few details. Schmeichel – a good shot stopper but he doesn’t command his area. Not too sure about him but your keeper also has his weaknesses. In defence there’s Huth with his huge experience and Fuchs who is a seasoned international. Morgan can be a worry but is playing well at the moment and we have cover. Simpson is a bits and pieces player and not one for the long term. Midfield – Mahraz. Well if you just take a look at last season the lad was doing the business. What he’s added to his game is some consistency and he’s less wasteful with his final ball. Kante – what a signing. He’s exceptional and for £5m a snip. He also has the most interceptions in the Premier League in 2015/16 with 55 so far. Albrighton was one of the players that turned our season around in the final run in. He’s quick, dangerous and has a great cross on him. Drinkwater was superb in the Championship winning campaign but failed to find his feet last season. Maybe he learned a few things from Cambiasso and he’s not had a bad game all season. It’s like having a new signing, so much so that Inler (Cambiasso’s so called replacement) can’t get a sniff of the first team. Vardy was also instrumental in that 9 game run at the back end of last season. He’s just gone on from there. Ulloa can finish and he’s not even a regular. Okazaki works his socks off and presses like crazy to support Vardy. Kramaric is a £9m enigma – he has yet to step up. Schlupp is superb on the counter attack but has defensive frailties. Bottom line - these are good players! Throw in some hard work, an attacking mentality, a refusal to quit and a boss who seems to be a good bloke to work for and the performances and results will follow. I hope Sunderland survive and flourish but, if I may be so bold, you seem to lack imagination and flair. Your football doesn’t excite. The 4-2 defeat at the King Power flattered you. Would I take any of your players to replace what we currently have at Leicester? No. Can I end up with one thought to unite us – let’s hope that the wally with the brolly and his merry men (God they were shocking when we did them 3 – 0 last week) go down with the Villa. I thank you all and the best of luck to you. Bye!!!!
 
Obviously the league table proves it and results but if you go man for man from the team they put out at the weekend.

Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth fuchs
Mahrez drinkwater ngala Albrighton
Ulloa vardy

Vs

Pantilimon
Yedlin Jos kaboul Jones
Borini cattermole mvila Johnson
Fletcher defoe

No reason why we shouldn't be able to play 442 like Leicester do and kick on...

I'm not saying we should be top end but certainly comfortable away from relegation zone...
Player for player no but as an effective team yes there's a lot between them.
 
I’ve been reading this thread with some interest, amusement and incredulity to be honest. I’m a Leicester fan but having lived in East Herrington for a couple of years in the 1980s I always follow Sunderland’s fortunes and partly share your pain. I have happy memories of some games at Roker Park during my time up there. This “on paper” thing is pure nonsense. You don’t really know much about our players and I guess that Leicester fans don’t know much about yours. Let’s have some perspective. When Pearson and Cambiasso moved on in the Summer I was nervous. Was our amazing last 9 game run last season (W 7 D 1 L 1) a flash in the pan or could it continue with the loss of our star player and under new management? Well here we are. W8 D4 L1. Better than I expected? Absolutely. Have we just been lucky? Certainly not. Has it been all about effort and no skill? Certainly not. Will we win the league or end up in the top 4? No way but it’s fun and we are almost safe so that’s the first objective almost met. You never know though, do you – if this run does continue and we pull away at the top (I’m not saying this will be the case) then you really do start to think that the unthinkable could happen. Would we miss Vardy and Mahrez? Yes we would but to be fair Man Utd would have missed Best and Charlton wouldn’t they? Again, I’m not suggesting that Vardy and Mahrez are in their class!! Let’s forget this “players on paper” nonsense and get into a few details. Schmeichel – a good shot stopper but he doesn’t command his area. Not too sure about him but your keeper also has his weaknesses. In defence there’s Huth with his huge experience and Fuchs who is a seasoned international. Morgan can be a worry but is playing well at the moment and we have cover. Simpson is a bits and pieces player and not one for the long term. Midfield – Mahraz. Well if you just take a look at last season the lad was doing the business. What he’s added to his game is some consistency and he’s less wasteful with his final ball. Kante – what a signing. He’s exceptional and for £5m a snip. He also has the most interceptions in the Premier League in 2015/16 with 55 so far. Albrighton was one of the players that turned our season around in the final run in. He’s quick, dangerous and has a great cross on him. Drinkwater was superb in the Championship winning campaign but failed to find his feet last season. Maybe he learned a few things from Cambiasso and he’s not had a bad game all season. It’s like having a new signing, so much so that Inler (Cambiasso’s so called replacement) can’t get a sniff of the first team. Vardy was also instrumental in that 9 game run at the back end of last season. He’s just gone on from there. Ulloa can finish and he’s not even a regular. Okazaki works his socks off and presses like crazy to support Vardy. Kramaric is a £9m enigma – he has yet to step up. Schlupp is superb on the counter attack but has defensive frailties. Bottom line - these are good players! Throw in some hard work, an attacking mentality, a refusal to quit and a boss who seems to be a good bloke to work for and the performances and results will follow. I hope Sunderland survive and flourish but, if I may be so bold, you seem to lack imagination and flair. Your football doesn’t excite. The 4-2 defeat at the King Power flattered you. Would I take any of your players to replace what we currently have at Leicester? No. Can I end up with one thought to unite us – let’s hope that the wally with the brolly and his merry men (God they were shocking when we did them 3 – 0 last week) go down with the Villa. I thank you all and the best of luck to you. Bye!!!!
Have you heard of paragraphs?!
Decent post but let's see what happens when you pick up a few injuries. I do like Claudio Ranieri though. Seems a genuinely canny bloke.
 
Ha!

Talent? Talent comes out of your old man's dick. Then the work begins.

If talent is all you have, you're in trouble. Thus we are. It means close to nothing.
 
To be fair to the OP I get his point. Quality wise player for player there isn't a huge difference. Shows what confidence and organisation can do. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest though if we get more points than then between now and season end.
 
Our squad has more total games played for Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs etc. so we're better. That's how football works, right?

Not really how it works but you'd expect a hell of alot better considering the clubs they have played for & the money we have shelled out on them!!

I dare bet we've spent a clear 30m plus more on that team than Leicester have!
 
To be fair to the OP I get his point. Quality wise player for player there isn't a huge difference. Shows what confidence and organisation can do. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest though if we get more points than then between now and season end.
Agree with the first bit, though I'm not as convinced that we'll get more points.

Players like Giaccherini, Borini, Toivonen, Defoe, Larsson, M'Vila, Reveillere and O'Shea were all at Euro 2012. If someone had said then that they would all make their way to SAFC over the next three years or so, along with Lens, Kaboul, Alvarez and Rodwell, while Johnson, Catts and Fletcher would still be here, there isn't a single person who would have taken Leicester's squad ahead of them.
 
A very poor side = a load of players you've probably never heard of or seen play.

If you'd watched us much over the last two and a half years, you would know the likes of Vardy, Mahrez, Drinkwater most definitely had the potential. As for the rest Fuchs is the Austrian captain played champs league football for Schalke. Huth has been a Premier League defender most of his like. Alrighton we highly rated as a kid and lost his way at Villa, but always had potential. Kante was very highly rated in France and had the most tackles in Europe last season (this lad is the best DM I have ever seen, he will go to the very top without question). Okazaki scored something like 15/16 goals each season the last two in the Bundesliga. Inler can't get in the team, Nathan Dyer is a season premier league playing and great off the bench. Ditto Schlupp with his pace and power.

There are a few journey men in there obviously like Morgan and Simpson. But we don't ask much of them, sit back, defend and pace the ball to someone with skill.

I'm sure the "wheels will fall off", it's surely impossible to keep going as we are. But we've got enough in the squad to establish ourselves in the league, which at the end of the day is what our goal was.

It's easy to turn this around though. Vardy, Mahrez and Drinkwater are riding the crest of a wave and in the form of their lives, which won't last. Huth is the wrong side of 30, Albirghton is mediocre, Schlupp's not good enough to be a regular first team starter.

For me it's your spirit, organisation, teamwork etc. that has you where you are as much as anything. Player for player your side is an average Premier League team. What Leicester does prove though is that with the right belief, mentality etc. you can make a good fist of it in the league, and not simply wish for survival each season.
 
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