Worthington played around with the formation, opting for a 3-4-3, and
the players applied themselves well to collect a fully deserved point
against a very big, physical Leicester side. At the back, Malky and
Fleming were joined by 19 year old Jason Shakell, with Drury and
Russell operating as wing-backs either side of Mulryne and Holt.
Upfront, Jarvis (16) and Henderson (18) played off of Iwan. The three
teenagers gave us a glimpse of the future, but it was a quality
strike from substitute Rivers that finally secured the draw.

The Walkers Crisps Bowl is a fantastic stadium, but next season
they'll have to replace the 30,000 cardboard cut-outs with real fans
that actually sing! This was the quietest crowd I've heard for years -
and there were almost 30,000 of them in the ground! The 2,000 City
supporters took full advantage and showed the locals what support is
supposed to sound like. In between chanting for our team we took
turns to taunt them with songs like:

"Only four of you singing"
"You only look like you're here"
"No Noise from the Leicester boys"
"You should have watched on the telly"
"Stand up if you're still alive"
"Only four of you breathing"

And so on... in fact, we deserved an award for off the cuff song-
writing! The truth is, they just didn't seem bothered - and nor did
their players. They'd won promotion, and probably felt the
Championship was beyond them, so they had already gone off on
holiday - mentally speaking.

City were first to threaten, and Gary Holt almost opened his account
for the season with a drive from the edge of the box in the first
couple of minutes. Dickov then turned sharply and fired across the
face of the goal at the other end. The best effort of the half,
however, was from the 16 year old striker keeping Healy and Nielsen
out of the side. A quick freekick from Mulryne, after Jarvis had been
fouled, gave young Ryan time to line up a fierce shot from 25 yards,
which the keeper did well to tip round the post.

City then fell behind to an offside goal. Summerbee swung a freekick
into the box, which was flicked on to Benjamin at the far post. I can
only assume the linesman missed the flick because there was a full
yard between Fleming and the scorer when the ball was flicked on, and
the TV pictures were very clear. Nevertheless, the Leicester fans
finally cheered and clapped... for a moment or two at least.

Not to be downhearted, it was City who then took control, and Jarvis
almost capitalised on a piece of arrogance from Taggart. The big
defender thought he was good enough to side-step the young striker,
but instead found the ball whipped off his toes. Unfortunately,
Jarvis's attempted chip wasn't strong enough, and Walker saved
comfortably.

Jarvis went close again before half-time, when he was first to react
to a near-post cross. Walker was relieved to pounce on his shot after
Ryan had turned superbly in the six yard box. All in all, a very
impressive display from the 16 year old. His distribution and link up
play was excellent, and his composure and vision were superb. He'll
miss the finale at home to Preston due to International duty with the
England <17s, so it's a shame he couldn't have bagged the goal his
two and a half appearances have warranted.

Perhaps I should also mention that alongside Jarvis we also had 18
year old Ian Henderson, who was very busy and gave the old Leicester
defenders a few scary moments. Marshalling the two teenagers was the
wise head of Iwan Roberts, although it has to be said he had no
direct impact on the match and tended to give the ball away more
often than he found another City player. His experience can only help
the youngsters, but I feel his day has now passed and the kids are
our future!

While I'm talking about the strikers, I don't think Worthington's
constant snipes about needing new strikers really helps those we
have - the extra pressure is more likely to put them off, not inspire
them. Let's give Abbey a full season - he has done enough since he
returned (one goal every two games = >20 per season!) to warrant that
chance, and we also have Henderson and Jarvis coming through.
McVeigh's 15 goals from the left wing gives us extra firepower most
wingers do not offer. Now Rivers seems to have found some form, can
he knock in a few goals too - Sunday aside, he's not impressed me in
front of goal, although he thinks he's a striker.

I also think we need to strengthen at the back... Fleming is not the
consistent rock he was a couple of years ago, Malkay is slowing down
(and was never quick anyway), and Briggs is untested. One can only
assume that Worthington thinks Steeno is better than Briggs, or he
would have been playing instead. If Kenton kept his mind on the game,
90mins every match, then he'd be worth paying Premiership wages to
keep - but he doesn't. Thank God we have Drury! Shackle put in
another solid display, although I think it will be a couple of years
before he has the experience needed to command a regular first team
place - defenders just mature slower than strikers!

Despite criticisms, I think Holt has had a 'good' season - and he's
been carrying an injury for months. The problem is that he has
sometimes looked terrible because he had been so awesome last season.
So one big question is 'can he recapture last year's form, or has he
found a level?' Mulryne, as always, looks superb when he gets the
time to play, but ineffective if he's pushed back towards the centre
backs. Greeno has begun to punch a lot more clearances than he ever
did before, and sometimes it goes wrong, but I still think he will
become one of the best keepers we've ever had - he's still very young
and learning all the time, so I've no concerns about him.

Worthington has started his clear-out, with Llewellyn and
Heckingbottom available on free transfers and Neil Emblen has had his
contract cancelled. Russell and Kenton are still out of contract, so
they may be on their way, and Steeno also looks unlikely to stay.

There remains just one major prize to be decided this season... the
Pride of Anglia. A home victory against a resurgent Preston next
Sunday would be enough to lift us above Ipswich if they fail to beat
George Burley's Derby side at Pride Park. It may not seem like much
to the players, but for the fans it would be seen as a considerable
achievement, and the first time we had done so since our relegation
season in 1994/95. MLS

* * * * * *

Nationwide Division 1 league table
Last game(s) played: Sunday April 27

Team P W D L F A Pts GD
Portsmouth 45 28 11 6 91 45 95 46 Champions
Leicester 45 26 13 6 72 39 91 33 Promoted
====================================
Sheff Utd 44 22 11 11 69 50 77 19 }
Reading 44 24 4 16 58 45 76 13 } Play
Wolves 45 20 15 10 80 43 75 37 } Offs
Forest 45 20 13 12 80 48 73 32 }
------------------------------------
Ipswich 45 18 13 14 76 63 67 13
NORWICH 45 18 12 15 58 49 66 9
Wimbledon 45 17 11 17 74 72 62 2
Preston 45 16 13 16 68 68 61 0

* * * * * *