Leicester City

Kate Blakemore
Fan writer

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Leicester weathered the storm on Saturday (literally!) and the performance, particularly the first half, was a damp squib.

The season's first 'six pointer' had fans fired up, eagerly anticipating the first win, against the Toffees who were in a sticky spot. However, the first half was lacklustre and littered with errors, with many fans questioning Steve Cooper's future.

We're used to a distinct identity under Enzo Maresca’s philosophy - although that didn't escape fan criticism either. It was arguably much easier for Maresca to instil his philosophy in the Championship; a much more forgiving league away from the spotlight. Cooper's philosophy is opaque, he's unsure of his best 11 and, while we've seen glimpses, we're still waiting for things to click into place.

I think fans justifying Cooper’s sacking is largely based on his time at Forest; a completely different structure, team and set up. This can't be the stick to beat him with – he needs time.

Of the five league games, three were while the transfer window was still open/closing (and included Spurs and Villa); the squad wasn't finalised. Therefore, this squad have had just two games together and of the 14 players used on Saturday, six have little or no Premier League experience.

It’ll be a tough season; everyone said that as we lifted the Championship trophy. Now that's being borne out and the task is upon us, it's clear how tough it is for a promoted team, regardless of manager. We’ve competed and scored in every game and are 15th in the table; I’d take that after 38 games! The players have their part to play - Vardy's one-on-one miss against Spurs and Coady's error last week being examples. Rome wasn’t built in a day. In the words of the great Dolly Parton, 'if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain'.

Find more from Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

Antalyaspor and former Premier League midfielder Andros Townsend speaking about the Premier League's promoted clubs on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "I don't think at the moment (they should be concerned) because especially watching the Ipswich and Southampton game, both teams have got a clear identity of how they want to play and I think if you go back to Luton last season, we didn't get that until maybe the end of October, early November so I think they're already ahead of where we were.

"For Southampton, obviously it's just cutting out the silly mistakes. They're playing out from the back and they're losing it and conceding goals but I don't think they should just throw everything out that they learnt from the Championship. I think they should continue doing it and improving those players and players will improve.

"With Ipswich, the majority of that group have come up from League One into the Championship then into the Premier League so there's always going to be a bit of adaptation and I can see they're improving every game. I think it's still too early to see which teams are going to be in big trouble this season."

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Leicester manager Steve Cooper says he will pick an "experienced and strong" team to face League Two side Walsall in the Carabao Cup third round (Tuesday, 20:00 BST).

"It's a game we want to win, it's a game where the team we put out will be an experienced and strong one," said Cooper, whose side are yet to win in the Premier League this season.

"Whether we decide to make changes or go with players who play in the league, it will be an experienced team and a game we want to win."

Among those who could be involved is Ricardo Pereira, who was a mainstay in the team that won the Championship title last season but has made only one appearance for the Foxes this season - in the second-round victory over Tranmere.

Cooper said: "Ricky is an excellent pro, a very important player in the dressing room and the culture, he leads by example.

"He'll want to play games and he knows he's in a competition like every other player is and sometimes you have the shirt and other times you haven't.

"We are in a strong position at right-back."

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Five games into the Premier League season, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton - the three clubs promoted from the Championship - are yet to win a league match.

They have taken a combined seven points from those games, which is the joint-second lowest tally from a set of promoted teams since the Premier League began in 1992-93.

Only last season's promoted trio - Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United - have collected fewer points from their first five league matches of a campaign.

The good news - for Leicester and Ipswich, at least - is their three points apiece are enough to keep them out of the relegation zone at the moment.

Statistics collated by BBC Sport statistician Chris Collinson

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester City and Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Andy: I feel like our squad is reasonably strong and some of our players are playing well but I just can't understand Steve Cooper's tactics. I'm not sure what he is trying to achieve. Watching Jordan Ayew trying to beat full-backs is painful. Starting a 33-year-old winger ahead of Abdul Fatawu and Kasey McAteer is baffling, especially when he's up against Ashley Young.

John: Could do better, so the saying goes. Playing too passively and not pressing teams early on - it's as if they are playing away at home games. This emanates from the manager, as does the questionable team selections and tactics. Urgent improvement needed or the worst will happen.

Dino: Pretty poor for most of the game. I don’t think we have an identity. Whether you liked Enzo Maresca's style or not, at least you knew what we were about. We seem to be stuck between styles. Stephy Mavididi was our best player but did get taken off!

James: Once again, it's a combination of too little, too late, and coming out of the starting blocks too slowly. Leicester were very poor in the first half and deserved to be behind. Tactics and substitutions were once again questionable, but still somehow salvaged a point. The Foxes once again showed they can compete, just too inconsistently to survive.

Everton fans

Carl: I just knew Leicester would score. We had chances to put the game to bed but we crumble in the last 20 minutes of games and Sean Dyche's subs are a joke. Too negative of a manager

Tony: We're scoring goals. We're making opportunities - that's progress on last season. We've got a manager with a sense of realism and players that care about the outcome. It's hard for fans who want more - the problem is without having money to buy the club or the ability to play there's not a lot of influence you can bring to bear. I have faith.

Ian: Two points lost. Why take Jesper Lindstrom off for Jack Harrison? That was a defensive move, when we should have been looking for a second. Then, to take Iliman Ndiaye off totally lost our attacking front. At least we got a point. Onwards and upwards.

Chris: We need to start defending better. It's great going in front, but this is the Premier League. If you don't take the other chances when they fall your way and you don't defend properly for 90-plus minutes you are going to get punished. There were one or two positives today, but we need to do much better if we are going to climb up the table.

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been looking for the positives after Steve Cooper's side managed to rescue a draw against "bang average" Everton at King Power Stadium.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast straight after the game, Piper praised "really good" left-winger Stephy Mavididi: "He got his full-back [James Garner] on a booking and was beating him every time he got the ball in the second half. He was taking Garner on with ease and creating chances down that left-hand side.

"But then the manager brought him off - and left Jordan Ayew on down that right-hand side! Ayew does work hard and he put a bit of a shift in, but there was not too much end product and he looked like he was tiring towards the end of the game.

"As soon as you see Abdul Fatawu warming up, you think he is 100% coming on for Ayew but then Steve Cooper took Mavididi off. He was our best player in that second half - so I don't quite understand that."

While pleased by Mavididi's display, Piper was unimpressed generally with the level of performance from Cooper's side.

"Often, if you play like Leicester did in the first half and second half, then you will lose Premier League matches," he said.

"It was only because they came up against another bang-average and often poor side that has had a poor start to the season - I think that was the only reason we got anything from that game.

"I thought that it was a desperately poor football match really. The weather was shocking. The game was poor. It wasn't a great Saturday."

Listen to the full post-match podcast on BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Former Leicester winger Matt Piper gives his review of the Foxes' draw with Everton and hear manager Steve Cooper's immediate reaction to the result.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Leicester City haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 16 home games in the Premier League and only once in their history have the Foxes had a longer run of top-flight home games without one (22 in February 1955).

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Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after the draw: "We were nowhere near the level first half, I won't hide away from that. We were deservedly losing the game and we were second best in the fundamentals.

"It was accepted by the players that things had to change at half-time. We had to be better, that was a must for the second half. The boys stuck to the task, got themselves together and didn't go under. Sometimes you can go under and get beaten comfortably in those situations.

"We took the game to Everton in the second half. Yes, they had some counter-attacks because that is what they do, but we got ourselves level with the set piece. We pushed on to get the winner and it didn't quite happen.

"The game could have been better, but it could have been worse. We have to accept that the point is all we deserved today."

On the conditions: "I have never seen anything like it. It was the same for everyone on the pitch and it was probably difficult for the officials as well. There were times where we couldn't see to the far side of the pitch.

"Half-time came at the right time. We had to delay the restart for safety reasons, but the second half was just rain in the end. The first half will take some beating."

On still waiting for their first Premier League win of the season: "Today we got what we deserved, but there are other games where we feel like we should have picked up more points than what we did.

"In general, we feel like there is a lot of good going on in our approach to games, and in our preparation and training, but we have to just try and put it all together.

"This is the first game where we got what we deserved. Every game up to now, we were disappointed that we didn't get more. We have to keep going."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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What did you make of Everton’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

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Eight matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

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BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace v Manchester United

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album Common People is out now.

Leicester host Everton in a 15:00 BST kick-off on Saturday..

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

This is a huge game for both teams and it is probably safe to say that neither of them will want to go 2-0 up after what happened when they both did it last week - Leicester held by Crystal Palace and Everton losing at Aston Villa.

The Foxes' collapse was not quite as extreme as Everton's against Bournemouth and Villa, but it was still pretty bad.

So, who do I back here? Everton are still without a point and also went out of the Carabao Cup on penalties against Southampton in midweek, but I just have a feeling that this might be the day where their manager Sean Dyche catches a break.

He needs one, that's for sure. Dyche should not be at risk of getting sacked - and I want to make that absolutely clear - but you sense that a fair few of the Everton fans have turned against him now and don't have faith in him anymore.

Another defeat, especially against another side from down the bottom of the table, would not go down well.

Smith's prediction: 1-1

Everton have been absolutely awful but maybe they will play it a bit safer because of what happened to them against Bournemouth and Villa when they were 2-0 up but lost each time.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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We asked for your views on the one thing - good or bad - related to Leicester that nobody else is talking about but should be.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Sam: With the signings of Abdul Fatawu, Bilal El Khannouss and Facundo Buonanotte taking centre stage this summer, the signing of Caleb Okoli went a little under the radar. But, after two great performances against Aston Villa and particularly against Crystal Palace, he may well be the most astute signing - other than Fatawu - that the club made this summer.

Wayne: Why isn't Ricky P playing? Why wasn't Will Alves loaned out? I think Steve Cooper is building a good fighting team, but those high-quality omissions are concerning.

Tim: In some ways, Leicester have made a solid start to their campaign to stay in the Premier League. However, there has been a lack of goals and a tendency to not hold on to winning positions. Do they have the right manager to produce the steely performances necessary to survive this season?

Basil: The squad has lacked resilience and leaders since Christian Fuchs and Wes Morgan left. We got away with it last season but it could cost us again in the Premier League.

James: Since the successful PSR appeal, talk regarding the financial incompetence of the board has all but dissipated. I find this utterly astounding, with the club's hierarchy all but thinking they are off the hook. Their spending on ridiculous contracts and wage bills are one of the key reasons we are in this mess. They must still be held accountable.

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Former Leicester defender Michael Morrison says Foxes boss Steve Cooper's "clever use of the media" can create a "siege mentality", starting with Saturday's home match against Everton.

Cooper said the club have met with the Premier League to discuss "an awful human error" which gave Crystal Palace a goal in last weekend's 2-2 draw.

The Leicester manager added: "We have seen images that show he [Jean-Phillipe Mateta] clearly was offside, but they froze it at the wrong time - everything seen has been a false image."

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Morrison said he feels Cooper is being shrewd with his comments.

"He [Cooper] is trying to tell everybody: 'We met with them, we've shown them, we got the evidence in front of them' and so ask why they are hiding it as such," he said.

"With some of the financial stuff that's going on at the football club with the Premier League as well, some people can feel there is a bit of a witch hunt.

"So, I think he has every right saying those words and I think it will be interesting to see what happens with that. You often see managers get punished but I think he is well within his rights to say it because it is truthful and honest."

Leicester are yet to win since returning to the Premier League but Morrison feels Cooper's words could be helpful in bringing fans and players together.

"It's a really good opportunity to create that siege mentality," he said. "I'm sure he's trying to put that into the players but if you get fans aligned as well then it goes a long way.

"Certainly at home it can make a big difference. It's a clever use of the media."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Owynn Palmer-Atkin
BBC Radio Leicester reporter

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While Leicester City have only taken two points from a possible 12, the alarm bells should not be sounding yet.

The level of progression from game to game under Steve Cooper has been tangible. The first-half performance against Crystal Palace was the best of the season so far, and it was certainly a far cry from the levels shown in the final pre-season game against Lens, where real concern started to kick in.

Leicester are looking more like a team with an identity every time they play.

However, progression without the return on points can only be accepted for so long. The Foxes are growing more desperately in need of three points to create a foundation in their challenge to survive in the Premier League – and you have to wonder how big a psychological effect conceding so late against Palace would have had.

But this weekend presents the best chance at points so far. A home match against struggling Everton, who are grasping for a win themselves.

Even at this stage so early in the season though, it feels like a high pressure moment that could help to steer the course of the season.

Download and subscribe to When You’re Smiling: A Leicester City Podcast for the best access to the heart of King Power Stadium

And listen to every Foxes match, home and away, on BBC Radio Leicester

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For only a fourth time, Leicester City have failed to win any of their first four Premier League games in a season. On the three previous occasions - in 1994-95, 2003-04 and 2022-23 - they were relegated.

Everton have lost their opening four league matches in a season for just the third time, also doing so in 1926-27 (first five) and 1958-59 (first six).

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The issue around the footballing calendar and the demands being placed on players right now is a difficult one.

First, we need to take into consideration the really high demands on the body that go on all-year round with few breaks, especially for international footballers and those in teams competing on multiple fronts.

I know the men's and the women's games are different, but we got exposed to these issues when we went from amateur to professional. There was a lot of loading, a lot of games and the result of that was a higher risk of injury and we have seen a lot of anterior cruciate ligament injuries now in the women's game.

From the fans' side, their point is often that players get paid a lot of money but I think that is irrelevant. That is just the industry players are in and, if you take out the money, they are still human beings.

The governing bodies need to look at who they consult with about changes in the calendar such as World Cups being held in winter and summers where there is just a couple of weeks off before going straight back into it. The changes and fixtures that are put in are there to generate more money, which makes it difficult. As a business, it is about money.

We talk about mental health a lot and you wonder, where is the time to switch off and have that time away from playing? To have that family time which is a deep human need? At some point mentally, if not physically, it will take its toll.

None of us want to see players striking, but players need to be listened to. What do they need to do to make change happen?

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin, former Leicester defender Michael Morrison and Foxes fan Tom discuss Steve Cooper's comments on VAR and the 'massive error' against Crystal Palace, plus they look ahead to Saturday's huge game against Everton.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds