Jobyfox

That’s quite a feat!

Who needs a midfield anyway?

No idea who’ll play in midfield. It will probably be Skipp and Hamza, which is reasonably dreadful at this level. There were plenty of reasons why we were relegated that were higher up the list than Ndidi, which I won’t list now as I don’t want to revisit the trauma

Fortunately you’re playing a poor Leicester City side with no fit midfielders. I think you’ll be fine

Yep. So did winning the Premier League title

I agree with this. In some ways I was disappointed that we moved away from our style after winning the league. I realise that we had players who had unique qualities (Vardy, Kante) for the system and that it probably wouldn’t have been as successful with future iterations of players. It’s just that if we all play the same style then the clubs with infinite resources will always do it more effectively. I think a low block, high intensity, game with quick transitions and fast moving forwards is an alternative that would take many teams by surprise. It can also be quite exciting to watch if done well and should be differentiated from long ball, kick and rush, to big forwards that is quite ugly and outdated. If we had this system and recruited into it we’d have our own identity. It’s similar to what Diego Simeone achieved at Atletico Madrid after realising he’d never compete with Real and Barcelona by adopting the same style as them

That’s kind of my point really. Whilst I’m not always as convinced as everyone else seems to be that Rudkin is the devil incarnate it’s a situation of the clubs own making. The absence of any structural change following our relegation means that the finger has been squarely pointed at JR. It’s difficult to comprehend that the consequence of that in house review was to decide that everything was fine off the pitch. The club’s attempt to just brush everything under the carpet, rather than make a visible change, has created a void of culpability. The absence of action means that the fans have stepped into that void and decided themselves who’s at fault

But .... but ..... he's a local lad who came through the academy .... ... which of course is no real substitute for actually being any good

Let's face it he'll move eventually if he carries on this form. He's the right age profile and style (good with his feet) of goalkeeper to attract attention. We probably shouldn't be afraid of this, but hope his departure comes at a good time for us and we maximise the fee. I actually have high hopes for Jakub Stolarczyk who, when fit, looks a great prospect to carry the mantle after Mads. It would be good not to get any bids in the short term, however, when there is still the rising spectre of Danny Ward as our potential number one goalkeeper

I think there is a narrative that's now built up around Rudkin that every bad decision is his and every perceived good decision must be someone elses. It's a bit like when Steve Walsh was here and every good signing was one of his and every bad one was down to the manager. Not sure of the reality of all this, but the truth is that we've been an excellently run club for much of Rudkin's reign. It all seemed to fall apart when Brendan was here and all the support staff started to be replaced with others. Signings became poor alongside inflated contracts that didn't match the quality of the player. The good decisions of previous eras were all undone over a short space of time. Ultimately, if JR is accountable for all this, you'd think that his position would be under review. It may be that DOFs have a shelf life in the same way that manager's do. A "hate figure" is always needed when a team's prospects start to nosedive. Rudkin has become that figure - especially now Steve Cooper has left - and I don't see that changing until or unless we start to have a significant uptick in our fortunes

I must admit I'm inclined to side with you on this one. It's difficult to have sympathy with a team who've probably spent more than any other team in Europe over the past few years and have stockpiled players in their reserve and youth teams

To be honest I think that’s true for most managers. Those that have initial success eventually run out of ideas and the players get complacent. A change is often needed just for a recharge and fresh impetus. Past performance isn’t a guarantee of future success, which pundits often fail to miss. It’s a very rare breed of manager that has longevity and can keep recycling teams with new players. They usually end up at the very top teams. Obvious examples are SAF at Man Utd and Wenger at Arsenal, but it helps when you’re backed by vast resources. Pep is a modern day version, but again it’s easier with the revenue from Arab state ownership

The best result for us is a mass brawl, multiple suspensions, a few minor injuries and points deductions for both sides

Well I think there is definitely something in that. If you’re a winger with pace that is coming on with a remit to run at the opposition in a 15-20 minute burst then it’s easier to excel. Especially as it’s quite often the case that the team is chasing the game at this point so it’s almost no jeopardy. Impacting the game over the full ninety is much harder. I think we’ve been in danger of overrating the abilities of both Mavididi and Fatawu at this level. Both will have impacts at times, but there will also be a lot of frustration. AF is young and has a much higher ceiling. SM we’ll have to be patient with, but ultimately we need better. Kasey, as everyone else can see, is not PL material

McAteer is a player who is symptomatic of our decline. Ordinarily he’d be loaned out to the Championship or Division One, but finds himself starting in the Premier League. He’s a trier and a very willing runner, but (it’s not his fault) he just doesn’t look like he has the ability to succeed at this level We have a paucity of options with Fatawu out long term, but Mavididi, Buonanotte and probably even BDCR should be ahead of him. I’d even have Ricardo ahead of him if he were fit. He may have to be around the match day squad a bit longer though given the numbers and the fact that Ayew shouldn’t be a PL starter either. Ideally we need someone in January to cover Abdul’s absence

The statue is long overdue!

Fall over

If you read their forum 90% seem to think that he’s a bit sh1t and lazy. So not that surprising really

86/87 McAllister, but yes some notable omissions

One obvious omission is Vardy - explained above A couple I was surprised to see there were Alan Paris and Keith Gillespie. We must have been fishing in shallow pools in those seasons, but I suppose we have had eras of just that

When we were chasing Edouard we ended up with Daka instead. There have been a few ups and downs when deciding whether us or Crystal Palace got the better end of the deals. Ironic that now we have both of them it looks like Daka will prove far more useful than OE. It wasn’t until we signed him that I realised that Odsonne isn’t rated at all by CP fans

For the most part of this season I’ve been struggling to find 3 teams with a worse squad than ours. Compounded recently by the long term injuries to Ricardo and Fatawu. I have been waiting for Crystal Palace and Wolves to surge past us and the only team I was expecting to be in the mix with the promoted teams was Everton. The Everton 4 Wolves 0 game has perhaps made me start to reevaluate. Maybe Wolves could be the Leicester of 22/23. You also never know how much extra Dyche can get out of scant resources. He’s become the modern day Allardyce. At least our league position and the appointment of Ruud has helped me to retain some hope, but I still think the season might be defined by what the teams in the relegation mix do in January

I wish I had your optimism. The reality is that for much of that time we were the team troubling the big six and Brighton were the team trying to establish themselves in the Premier League. Now it’s the other way round.

We’re still a poor team and will be missing FB. Brighton are also significantly better than West Ham. Everything points to a Brighton win, but still feel better going into it than I would have done a couple of weeks ago

Ah ok 👍