Match Report 2002-2003

Tuesday 17 September, 2002, Division One

Leicester City away

The team that don't know how to lose learns

By Roland Harris

Losing isn't hard, found the team that don't know how to do it tonight.

First thing to do, if you want to lose, is to find a better team that you. Leicester City fill that category at the moment. They look like we did when we came down from the Premiership, a step ahead before the grim(sby) reality of the division caved Jim Jefferies heartless side in. For the record I think that these Foxes have enough about them to be champions of this league come May.

Second thing to do in the quest to learn to lose is for your manager to start to forget his players best positions. Look back at struggling City sides over the years and they always has right backs in midfield and forwards on the left wing. Danny Cadamarterti down the left is understandable, as is Peter Atherton and/or Stephen Warnock in midfield but too many out of the hole players in one team is never a good thing.

Dropping your leader, a particularly Jim Jefferies tainted action from Nicky Law, as Paul Evans is punished for a couple of average games by losing his place to Warnock or Atherton. Frankly that is unforgivable. Evans did much to keep City fans going during the pre-season and was a bright light at the start of the season. He was loyal to us when we did not even know his name. Now we drop him cause he puts in a couple of average 90mins? I thought Nicky Law had more about him than to do that.

Of course a good way to lose is to not defend set plays. City didn't twice in a 26th minute to allow Brian Deane and then Matt Elliott to end the game as a contest far too early. Up to that point City had looked the better team, had more chances and passed the ball well but no one ever won a game on technical merit.

Law is having trouble balancing his midfield. He needs the bite of an Atherton/Tom Kearney and he needs some passing as Michael Standing gives him but his passer must also be able to bite which is another mystery as to why Paul Evans was excluded cause pass n' bite would seem to be the perfect description of Evos game.

I have always had a problem with Robert Molenaar and tonight my girlfriend nailed it perfectly, "I don't trust him" she said, as if she had asked him to watch her drink as she went to the loo, she has a point. I don't trust Molenaar either. He seems too happy to pull a man down, too happy to concede a goal if the opposition really want one. Sure enough he lumbered into someone in a mostly Leicester second half and Paul Dickov scored the resulting penalty.

Evans came on. Standing and Juanjo got runs outs as Law ran a few test laps in race trim without any real attempts to get back into the game. James Scowcroft got a forth before the end and that was the Champions. Good luck to them.

And for City and City fans this result comes as a reminder as to which end of the division we are fighting at this year.

Man of the Match

Stephen Warnock

Got in the heart of some good passing moves.

Bradford City Team