Guy

I've lived here for 19 years now (Plymouth) and stil can't believe what a bad place it is to drive in, the infrastructure, etc - horrific! When I first moved down here in 2005 I couldn't believe the amount of speed cameras there were dotted about either - something which hasn't changed! - so "drive carefully" if it's your first time of doing so down here is my advice!

At least it encouraged Pearson to buy Ulloa in the close season who was instrumental, along with his fellow countryman Cambiasso in ensuring the Great Escape 2015! How we could've done with that same Argentinian duo last season!!

As a PS addition then even though it doesn't affect us then I do think the relegation and promotion between the Conference/National League and the fourth tier has to be looked at again and perhaps only promote one in exchange for one demotion from the football league fourth tier. Having a revolving "two up, two down" policy/ruling between the two leagues has since resulted in many clubs since going to the wall once demoted to the non league scene in so far as having to regroup and start again from scratch as a newly formed club ie Newport County, Stockport, Chester, Darlington and so on - while I think Rushden and Diamonds disappeared altogether without trace and never reformed or anything! Then you have once well established ex league clubs like Southend and others who have also been threatened with disapppearing in recent times via liquidation means....

As other older Foxes Talk members may have since said then this is all that happened in "old money" - in the four football leagues pyramid aka pre 1987. It was more fair for sure. A team like potentially us, Leeds or Ipswich could finish in 3rd place and whoever does will probably have finished 15-20 points clear of certainly the 5th and 6th placed finishing team (even if not that many points clear of the team finishing in 4th, most likely Southampton as things stand). After that it's then all square/equal in many regards, barring having to play the first leg away for the 3rd and 4th placed Championship teams - which may or may not be an advantage any longer. Still, love the play offs or loathe them then they are the post 1987 rules that the league/clubs all signed up for years ago and nothing's since really changed a lot! I think the team finishing third bottom in the old first division/top flight took on the highest finishing second tier team outside the automatic promotion places over two legs for the first one, maybe two play off ending/deciding seasons initially but that all changed after 1989-90 I think, between the top two leagues to the format we have now....

I take it today was one of them?!

Blimey, I thought this was a new thread but see it dates back to last October! I think any fan who saw in January or so that we were 15+ points clear of where we have ended up now (3rd!) and who at the time would've been indifferent towards finishing second (without knowing how bad we then became in the time in between to date....), would have your hand off to finish second now. If we go on a successful run again then finishing in either automatic promotion spot will happen but as things stand (not putting away numerous easy chances like at Bristol City and in turn conceding so many late goals when losing such silly games), then I really can't see it - but yes, I'd be over the moon to finish second now obviously!

What's for dinner and still feeling the need to leave the stadium ten minutes early, regardless of the way the game's going!

Although he wasn't sacked then the closest example I can think of was ultimately sticking with and not sacking Pearson in his second spell with us in the 2012-13 season when we went something like 14 or 15 games without a win in the January-March period after being top of the Championship. We then dropped right down to 8th place or so but still ended up in the play offs at the death of course - but I think that was a more determined side than this one, plus results fully went our way on the final day, including our last gasp win at Forest of all places of course. Even so we still didn't go up re Deeney Day no less! That said we stuck with Pearson and went up as Champions the following season of course.

Very true. It would be ironic if they did end up sacking Enzo on April Fool's Day coming next week if we say lost against Norwich- the same day as they did Brendan last season after the 37 shots on target to our one at Crystal Palace in the defeat of course but - I can't see it!

If the board are brave enough to make a change now we might just have a chance of automatic if we get a Steve Cooper type in, if not then I can't see anything than a no success in the play offs outcome, come May time.....

A close run thing but Rodgers for me purely for his tactics throughout last season, the most glaring of them ny playing Ward and Amartey in defence and not Iversen and Soyuncu which most definitely cost us a few points. Had we played the latter duo throughout (instead of when it was too late), that would've kept us up last season - in spite of having his hands tied on the transfer front in the close season.

Many will surely say that if we do end up in the play offs that is has those two 5th place finish seasons under Rodgers written all over it!

Although it's getting to be impossible to call then automatic promotion is most likely going to be between us, Leeds and Ipswich now. Southampton are still outsiders to sneak into automatic contention at the death but I think they've got too much ground to cover now to enable that. One just hopes we don't drop off into the play offs in the final reckoning and then have to face inform opponents - be it WBA, Norwich, Southampton or whoever else. To then not even make Wembley after everything to date this season could be the ultimate price we pay for having let a 14 points gap be eaten up in less than two months! As other posters have said we have all but lost the momentum we had up to the start of the rot last month and while being out of the FA Cup now is at least one distraction less then even so it has gone to having been very much in our hands to getting slightly beyond our control now sadly. Still, better to have our wobble now and then hopefully regain some momentum at the business end of the season (April into May) and maintain it - while maybe still hoping Leeds and Ipswich lose theirs as they have shown signs of doing in the odd games here and there still of course ie Ipswich at Cardiff last weekend. I think we remain the favourites to go uop with Leeds although it is alarming to see us trimmed down to 6/1 to end up in the play offs now! .

Not sure if this has been mentioned recently on here but behind Dean Lewington at MK Dons who's still playing in defence for them, then I believe JV is the second longest serving team member is all four divisions at present, 2012-the present.....amazing! I wonder what will be next season??

The two subs whi came on today should've started (Vardy/Cannon), especially against 'resolute defence' opponents. Baffling. Was/is Iheanacho injured??

I'd actually forgotten all about Ayoze Perez for all of this season until the mention of him by you! A real waste of £30m and a typical Rodgers signing, end of! Now look at Celtic!

Hmmm, hard to know what to read into this fixture other than it being a test : depending on the two sort of teams fielded on the day obviously. Not won there since our last time in the Championship when we won the title ten years ago and only beat them twice in the Prem, both in different seasons in 2019 during Rodgers' early tenure....

Would be refreshing to see him start a run of league games to see how he handles the added pressure but I suppose Mads is perhaps Enzo's pet 'keeper in the league?!

Now there's a question, although to be fair to Smithies then Ian Bennett was brought on in goal after half time in the said 6-1! At least Pearson didn't end up signing him soon after!

I thank him for starring our 6-1 v Huddersfield on NYD, 2013 re Chris Wood brace on his debut! As for why he joined us at all - a late pay day?!

Quite a few Foxes fans are littered about in my old town of Northampton but mostly it's a rugby town these days since the 90s/00s, large support wise when the Saints became successful - with the rest there mostly supporting the Cobblers (NTFC) or any of the 'big six'.

As regards players under Rodgers tenure, then you have to look at present injuries too - re why Barnes and Maddison have been out injured for ages on end now too! Another thing that goes back to the time of Rodgers ridding Rennie from the club it seems!

Hope it's not on a serious scale as it now is with his predecessor Sven.... X

Such a great fellow. such a shame to hear this bad news but I hopes he has longer than expected and lives life where possible to the full up to the day of reckoning. Definitely true that we wouldn't have won the Prem. without his signings of Nugent, Schmeichel and Konchesky.....Pearson spell two then Ranieri did the rest to ensure the miracle!

Yes, Darren Ambrose scored the late winner in 2002 for Ipswich at our place - then a season later in the Prem. he did the exact same scoring against us at home in injury time for Newcastle to grab them a point!