Levein Out, Levein Out, ‘ screamed the kop and the message for Leicester’s beleagured boss was piercingly loud and clear…
His managerial days should be ended forthwith on humanitarian grounds to save himself further punishment and to save City fans from seeking collective treatment for manic depression.
This wasn’t just a defeat. It was a tactical humiliation.
Leicester completed December without a single win, collecting two points from a possible 18 and recording their third successive game without an outfield goal.
Today’s official executioner was Norwich striker Paul McVeigh after 71 minutes.
City were still fussing about the referee not booking Huckerby for apparently diving to try and win a penalty and while their concentration lapsed, City lost possession to Dickson Etuhu, Alan Maybury missed a tackle and McVeigh was left clean through one on one against Rab Douglas and he gobbled the chance greedily.
From that point Norwich rolled over Leicester like a mini tsunami.
Douglas made a brilliant edge of the penalty area save at the feet of Darren Huckerby and minutes later a sweeping move involving Etuhu and Huckerby ended with the unmarked Dean Ashton thumping a header onto Leicester’s crossbar and over from just a few yards.
Norwich manager Nigel Worthington played all the tactical aces.
Contain and destroy was the battleplan and it worked to perfection.
Norwich soaked up all Leicester’s first half attacks like a sponge and only when Leicester started losing their motive power and discipline as the game became desperate did they really commit to the counter attack.
And, unlike Leicester, they had the men to make fast and fatal thrusts into City’s increasingly thin backline.
With two of Leicester’s four relegation rivals, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall winning, the City situation became more desperate and it is increasingly difficult to see how Craig Levein will survive the inquest.
You’d have got more tactical ideas from an amoeba and more
ground-based passing and moving from a team full of wooden chessmen.
Levein recently revealed how much time had been spent on shooting and scoring but today’s evidence suggested that only Gudjonssson turned up and that the training goals must have been in the wrong place.
Gudjonsson several times, Mark DeVries occasionally and Ryan Smith all missed by shooting or heading wide right of the goal.
City’s most notable chances came close together midway through the first half.
First a Stearman free-kick was touched down by DeVries and Smith, arriving late, slid in to jab wide from five yards.
Two minutes later Stearman rose to a Smith corner and grazed the crossbar with his header.
City huffed and puffed but became increasingly predictable and it was Norwich who blew their always flimsy house down with McVeigh’s lethal thrust down their centre.
Remembering it was Hume/Hammond who led the way in the increasingly distant home demolition of Sheffield United, Levein’s slightly mystifying tactic of using DeVries and Hume as a little and large strikeforce (I wanted all three!) fell flat.
DeVries won plenty of ball but was always tightly marked, always slow as an oil tanker to turn and Norwich gobbled up the secondary balls like ducks surrounded by kids throwing bread.
Ryan Smith was a secondary route forward but, again, he was well marshalled and forced to hit far too many aimless crosses straight onto the heads of giant Norwich defenders.
Individually, Stearman made one or two vital interceptions and generally had one of his best games to date at right back. His only fault was being lured into making easily defended 45-degree passes onto DeVries’s head.
Dublin steadied central defence immensely and it was only when he moved forward to try and steal a goal that the frailties showed. But he too forever launched his passes into the air which meant they were wasted.
Williams was genuinely impressive in deep midfield because he passed long or short and was able to turn play with equal ease and competence.
Gudjonsson scurried, worried and shot at every opportunity but basically Leicester failed to unlock the Norwich defence in any real way because their final ball was always aerial and we had no aerial players as has been apparent all season.
It was a typical Leicester day where performances were competent but no-one actually did anything.
And despite all Levein’s explanations the evidence was as glaring today as it has been all season.
We conceded something, as almost always, and we had no-one who could snap up a chance.
That, as a recipe, will poison our future and the fans with their demands for ‘Levein Out’ quite clearly want it changed.
Levein might be a six foot plus ex-centre-half. But he might as well have been a bug in a bath on this showing, because tactically once again, he was right out of his depth.
Player Ratings
Douglas 6.5
Nothing much to do but did it competently.
Stearman 7.5
Vital clearances and always involved.
MCarthy 7.0
Did you notice him?
Dublin 6.5
Good in defence. Inconsequential in attack.
Maybury 6
Another bad mistake from a left back helped cost a goal.
Sylla 5
No goals, no assists. Nothing new.
Williams 7.5
Toss up between him and Stearman for MOM
Gudjonssson 6.5
Real genuine caring effort. Shots off target
Smith 7
Cleverly neutered by Norwich but offered hope.
Hume 6
All effort and energy but no outcome.
DeVries 6.5
Big heart, little consequence.
Subs
Hammond, Hughes, Hamill all had no mentionable impact and were not worth a rating.
Norwich
Green, Charlton, Drury, Doherty, Fleming, Colin (Jarvis 85), Etuhu, Safri, McVeigh, Huckerby, Ashton.
