Match Review: Stockport County

3 games, 3 goals, 3 clean sheets, 3rd place, how efficient. Post-match Pearson talked up the positives and City can certainly have a right to be pleased with their start.

Here are some numbers to mull over...

1 – The number of times Matty Fryatt has scored in consecutive starts for Leicester, today was his 90th appearance in a Leicester shirt. Steve Howard has yet to score in consecutive matches for the club. Perhaps in hindsight the goalless draw at 17/2 would have been a good bet.

2 – The number of games involving Stockport that finished 0-0 last season. Leicester were involved in seven scoreless encounters in 2008/09. They failed to score in 19 league games, that’s 41.3% of their matches.

4 – The number of teams in the Football League who have yet to concede a goal. Leicester are joined in this list by Reading, Watford and Shrewsbury. The Foxes already have the best defence in League One.

17 – The number of clean sheets Leicester managed in 2007/08. With two already in the bag it looks as if reaching the 20+ mark would not be an unreasonable target for City.

Statistic of the day goes to BBC Radio Leicester’s Ian Stringer: Leicester have never won on the 16th August. Remarkable.

Match Preview: Stockport County

Quirks in the fixture calendar like this aren’t enough to force an urge to find out when the last occurrence like it involving City took place. It’s doubtful anything will top Arsenal and Liverpool facing each other three times in a week anyway. The Foxes are looking for back-to-back league wins and their third win on the spin. Lets look at the numbers...

Past Meetings
City’s last trip to Edgeley Park was back in 1924 when, for what it’s worth, Leicester took the points in a 2-0 win. Stockport’s last victory over Leicester at home came earlier in the same year; it was a 3-1 victory in the old Division Two.

City only looked comfortable after Stockport were reduced to 10 men on Tuesday night, but further changes are expected to the line-up so it would be unwise to read too much into the game.

Reasons To Be Confident
In modern times this is something of a roll for Leicester, two wins coupled with two clean sheets. Pearson will be hoping to build on last weeks win and keep City’s 100% record. As previously noted, City need at least seven points from their opening four fixtures to get over 50% of points available. Click here to find out why that’s so important.

Leicester’s away form was nowhere near as bad as their home record last season. City’s haul of 24 points away from the Walkers last year was the 13th best record in the Championship. By comparison the Foxes had the 23rd best (or perhaps more accurately, 2nd worst) home record last term.

Steve Howard and Matty Fryatt scored in the same week and the world didn’t end. Perhaps anything is possible in League One.

Reasons To Be Worried
Nobody beat Stockport 1-0 last season. In fact, Stockport only failed to score on four occasions. They may have lost their three top scorers from 2007/08, but County under Jim Gannon clearly feel attack is the best form of defence. City’s back line will need to be on guard.

The last time Leicester won three consecutive games was in February 2007. City won 2-0 at Ipswich, 3-0 at home to Coventry and 1-0 at Burnley to give Rob Kelly some breathing space at the beginning of the Mandarić era. It was part of a sequence that saw Leicester go six games unbeaten - dizzy heights indeed.

The bookmakers have Leicester down as favourites for the game. This is uncharted territory. Leicester were not favourites for a single away game last season. Their record as favourites was hardly stellar in 2007/08. City won 6, drew 7 and lost 8 when the bookies had them down for a victory. A wise man would keep that loose fiver in thier back pocket this weekend, but if you must have a flutter...

Selected Odds
Stockport – 21/10 (Bet365)
Draw – 23/10 (Bet365)
Leicester – 13/10 (Bet365)

Match Review: Stockport County (League Cup First Round)

A phrase City fans haven’t been able to utter for 15 months can now banded about without the necessity of touching wood, crossing fingers or any other number of jinx averting techniques, “consecutive wins”. Well done lads, it only took 15 months!

Here’s some numbers from last night’s game.

150 – The number of days since Steve Howard’s last competitive goal in a Leicester shirt. Howard’s barren spell began after his hat-trick at West Brom. Howard got as many yellow cards as goals last season.

66% - City’s record against 10 men last season. The Foxes managed to beat West Brom and Norwich after players were dismissed but failed to make their numerical advatage count against Watford at Vicarage Road. City were reduced to 10 on four occasions last season, taking just 1 point from those games in a goalless draw at Scunthorpe.

7,386 – Last night’s attendance may seem small, but it’s actually more than City got for some other early League Cup fixtures at the Walkers. Just 6,751 saw City dumped out in the 2nd Round 3-2 after extra-time against Preston in 2004/05. Coincidentally, last night’s turnout is exactly the same as the attendance for the 2nd Round tie against Blackpool in 2005/06. A brace for Mark de Vries was enough for Leicester that night as City won 2-1.

Match Preview: Stockport County (League Cup First Round)

The indignity of playing in the League Cup First Round no longer seems quite as tragic now that City will be competing in the Johnston’s Paint Trophy this season. Pearson has promised changes to the side but surely it’s a bit too early to “concentrate on the League”. The crowd at the Walkers tonight, however small, will expect the team to progress.

Past Meetings
We have to go back to 1925 to find the last competitive fixture between these two sides. The meeting came in an Old Division Two fixture at Filbert Street and City finished 4-0 victors. Stockport recorded their last win over City at Filbert Street back in February 1920. A 2-0 win was the reward for the visitors that day.

For what it's worth, the head-to-head totals are 15 wins for the Foxes, 13 wins for County and 8 draws. On two occasions Leicester have beaten Stockport by a 5-4 margin. You’ll probably get a very decent price at the bookies if you believe history might repeat itself.

Like Leicester, some of Stockport’s finest hours have been in the League Cup. In the 1996/97 campaign they knocked out Blackburn Rovers, Southampton and West Ham before finally succumbing to Middlesbrough in the semi-final. We all know the rest.

Reasons To Be Confident
Leicester have reached the Third Round of the League Cup in each of the last three seasons. The haven’t failed to progress to the Second Round since 1979 when Rotherham United were the undoing of the Foxes.

Stockport’s leading scorer from last season, Liam Dickinson, is now safely out of sight at Derby County. The Hatters second top scorer Anthony Elding signed for Leeds in the summer. County’s third top scorer last season, Adam Proudlock, has moved on to bigger and better things at Darlington. There really are big question marks over where Stockport’s goals will come from this season. The above trio were responsible for 46 last term.

Since their epic run in 1996/97, Stockport haven’t made it past the Second Round in this competition.

Reasons To Be Worried
As with MK Dons, Stockport took more points away from home than at Edgely Park last season. They took a very impressive 44 points on the road in League Two, losing just 5 times.

Stockport are very useful at converting draws into wins. 13 victories in 2007/08 came after the scores were level at half-time.

Leicester have failed to win two games in a row since April 2007.

Selected Odds
Leicester – 13/19 (Canbet.com)
Draw – 11/4 (SkyBet)
Stockport – 9/2 (Betdirect)

Match Review: MK Dons

A match with many positives; two goals for Fryatt, good starts from no less than five debutants and a clean sheet (something City didn’t manage in all of pre-season).

Here are some numbers to consider...

2 - Before Saturday Matty Fryatt had never scored a brace for Leicester. The Fryastarter (as he shall henceforth be known) had netted just 7 times in the last two seasons. The last time he scored twice in a match was in 2005 in Walsall’s 3-1 victory over Rotherham.

6 - The number of years since City had last won an opening day fixture. In the last 4 times City have won on the opening day they’ve been promoted on 3 occasions. The exception, an opening day win against Aston Villa in 97/98.

19.5 – The average age of the Foxes defence at the end of the game. There were tense moments before Fryatt sealed the game, but the fact they held firm deserves credit.

1 – The number of shots Steve Howard attempted. It was off-target.

I was on Foxpodder (an excellent Leicester City podcast now in its 3rd season) this weekend talking about the game and this blog. Follow the subscription link on the right to have a listen.

Match Preview: MK Dons

The waiting is almost over. Excited yet? Here are some facts and figures to consider for Saturday.

Past Meetings
Leicester have yet to play MK Dons under their new name. In their last meeting the Dons were still known as Wimbledon and crashed to a 4-0 defeat at the Walkers thanks to goals from Trevor Benjamin and a hat-trick from, you guessed it, Paul Dickov. (Funny how these things work out isn’t it?)

The last time City were beaten at home by the MK Dons/Wimbledon came on a dank November evening in front of the Sky TV cameras. Marcus Gayle’s solitary strike meant the Dons took all three points in what might well have been the worst game of professional football in 1997. Later that season Wimbledon completed the double over the Foxes with a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park – it was their last victory over City.

Saturday’s meeting will be only the 17th between the two sides. City have won seven, the Dons six and there have been three draws (including 2 which took City to Wembley in the Coca-Cola Cup).

Reasons To Be Confident
This may by Nigel Pearson’s first game as manager at Leicester City, but Roberto Di Matteo has never managed a competitive match before. There’s no doubt both clubs have taken gambles on their bosses, but you’d have to say the MK Don’s have taken the bigger risk.

Paul Dickov is back. If Dickov is in the starting line-up Leicester will be imminently more dangerous. Dickov had the best goals/game ratio of his career at Leicester and there’s still life in his legs. Dickov’s short spell at Blackpool last season (six goals in seven starts) is more than enough evidence he still knows where the net is.

Lloyd Dyer was 3rd top scorer at MK Dons last season, just two off top spot with 11 goals. Now he’ll be aiming for his former club.

Reasons To Be Worried
Leicester haven’t won on the opening day of the season since 2002/03 when they beat Watford 2-0. Amazingly, MK Dons haven’t started the season away from home since the 1999/00 season. They began that campaign with a 3-2 win at…Watford.

MK Dons took 17 more points away from home than at stadium:mk last season. They lost just twice on their travels in League Two.

The MK Dons scored first in 76% on their matches last season. Leicester won just 8 points from losing positions in all of 2007/08.

Selected Odds
Leicester – 10/11 (Totesport)
Draw – 12/5 (Boylesports)
MK Dons – 7/2 (VC Bet)

Pre-season Review

It’s difficult to be enthused by pre-season. Practising tactics and testing team sheets for the new season isn’t really for the fans. In general, pre-season can be seen in much the same manner as film trailers, we’re presented with brief glimpses of the stars but all too quickly they’re removed. Pre-season is something of a tease that, just like a film trailer, can prove entirely misleading.

Pre-season results mean little to nothing so comparing with previous seasons is redundant. Instead, this review shows who played, for how long, in what matches and what this could mean for Nigel Pearson’s first starting XI against MK Dons.

NB: The games against Quorn and Ilkeston Town have been excluded from this analysis as neither game was managed by Pearson. These outings were essentially youth/reserve games.

Nine players appeared in at least some part in each of City’s six pre-season fixtures. They were; Morrison, Oakley, Gilbert, Howard, Gradel, Fryatt, Campbell, Wesolowski and Kishishev. Morrison, Oakley and Gilbert were the players hardest at work this summer, each playing over 400 minutes during pre-season. Morrison was on the field of play longer than any other player, clocking up an impressive 450 minutes from a possible 540. The former Cambridge Utd man is very likely to find himself starting next week.

Of the remaining defenders, it appears Gilbert (405 mins) and Tunchev (232 mins) will be battling through training next week to partner Morrison. Tunchev’s work permit issues meant he got less time on the pitch than he might otherwise have done. Jack Hobbs (157 mins), on loan from Liverpool, is also in contention.

Of the full-backs, Mattock (310 mins) can be confident of his role at left-back and James Chambers (225 mins) seems to be the most logical fit to the right-back position. However after Ian Holloway asked the squad what positions aside from their own they were comfortable playing in Ollie quipped he’d rename the team “Right-back United” such were the results. Of City’s back four, right-back is the position with most question marks over it.

Moving into midfield and we find Matt Oakley (434 mins) secured in central midfield. Who will join him is more of a mystery. It isn’t apparent if Pearson has even made this decision himself having wrestled with different pairing throughout pre-season. The two leading contenders are Wesolowski (274 mins) and Kishishev (244 mins) though they could be forced to sit on the sidelines if Pearson favours the more creative option of Nicky Adams (188 mins). One thing we can be sure of is the central midfield will not contain both Wesolowski and Kishishev, the pair replaced each other 3 times during pre-season.

The flanks are more easily deciphered. Dyer (326 mins) and Gradel (307 mins) seem like solid choices for the left and right wing respectively.

Pearson’s most vital decision could well be picking City’s strikers. The front-runners are Howard (308 mins), Fryatt (303 mins) and Campbell (295 mins). Of these three only Fryatt has played a full 90 minutes which shows just how much tinkering has gone on with the Foxes’ attack. Fryatt leads the others with four goals to Campbell’s two and Howard’s solitary strike against Hinkley Utd. With no new signings, Pearson must place his faith in two men from three who failed to deliver last season. A little’n’large partnership is likely and ultimately Howard and Fryatt may well get the nod for the opening day.

At the other end of the scale there are clearly some players who will be disappointed with their preparations this pre-season. Barry Hales played just 64 minutes whilst Bruno N’Gotty managed only 45. Some young players who might have hoped to build on their first-team appearances last season haven’t really got much playing time either, in particular Andy King, who managed only 128 minutes. Meanwhile summer signing Harry Worley appeared for just 151 minutes, perhaps he’s failed to impress the new boss.

So, in theory at least, the starting XI against MK Dons should look something like this;

1. Paul Henderson
2. James Chambers
15. Michael Morrison
5. Alexsandar Tunchev
23. Joe Mattock
22. Max Gradel
8. Matt Oakley
7. Radostin Kishishev
11. Lloyd Dyer
9. Steve Howard
12. Matt Fryatt

Saturday can’t come quickly enough.

Update: 04/08/08

Following James Chamber's move to Doncaster Rovers today, expect Kerrea Gilbert to fill in at right back on Saturday.