Xen

He's already at the club though, and even if mid-table championship is his level then that's one fewer change we need to make this summer, at least not as a priority. Given how restricted we might well be with transfers, Hamza is at the very least an easy stop-gap solution whilst we focus on other areas

In which case, Ruud is hardly going to pick a side that might earn LCFC more points, more money and thus increases the likelihood he gets sacked.

Quite literally nothing to lose anymore. Where possible, sack off those who won't be here next year and give opportunities to the new crop coming through. Hermansen Ricardo(c) Okoli Coady Thomas Ndidi Skipp Monga BEK Mavididi Evans Godsmark-Ford, Wormleighton, Cartwright, Briggs all to come on at some point. Stolarcyzk will be no1 for us next year, and he's already had first-team action so I'm fine with him staying on the bench for now, and hopefully we can preserve (or even increase) Mads' value a bit before his inevitable transfer. Benching him could just knock £5m off whatever we end up getting, so not worth it at this stage.

Why? He's limited as a PL player, but in the Championship he's more than capable and better than the options we'll be left with after we (hopefully) clear out some of the current crop. Plus he's a local lad, gives full effort and actually seems to care, which is something we've been sorely missing. A bit of steel in the middle of the park is always good to have - we're far too soft and passive otherwise.

"Over the last few years, we've made decisions believed to be in the best interest of the future of the club, but the club's fortunes have clearly not lived up to that expectation. We are committed to getting the club back on an even footing for the fans, starting with an independent review which will categorically be delivered publicly on X date, followed by a long-term plan (with timescales/deadlines) for success in all aspects of the club, both on and off the pitch." No fluff about valuing the fans, or acting like this was unforseeable. Just give us an honest, succinct statement acknowledging the errors and explicitly committing to change that will be seen openly by the fans. It wouldnt be perfect, but it'd be a damn sight better than anything offered to date and I think most fans would feel cautiously optimistic hearing that.

All well and good, but does the FAB believe that as well? Not a dig at you/the trust - more the case that since the FAB came in the club has felt even more disconnected from the fans, not less.

We need a proper reset, thats for sure. Unfortunately, its hard to see it being possible to shift even half of what we need to. As much as I'd want us to bounce straight back up (and we might need to, financially) we'll never make up the ground on the PL sides unless we get our foundations right. Purely in terms of the football and ignoring whats happening off the pitch, I'd rather we have a mid-table season in the EFL with a playoff push whilst we consolidate and set ourselves up properly, then have a proper go of it in 26/27. Get as many of the promising academy players integrated in the squad and let them develop with the club, rather than in spite of it. We'd need a few (cheap) additions to this, obviously, but I think as it is - with the right manager - this has just enough potential for a mid-table season. GK: Stolarcyzk, Young DEF: Nelson, Coady*, Okoli, Souttar, Ricardo, Wormleighton, Coulibaly, Thomas, Justin, Wormleighton MID: Choudhury (C), Alves, Braybrooke, Cartwright, Skipp*, Golding FW: Fatawu, Mavididi, Evans, Monga, Daka, Opoku *Only included because we can't get rid... I'd give Choudhury the captaincy, which might be a controversial one. But he's one of our own, more experienced than most of that squad and - crucially - he actually seems to give full effort consistently. Ricardo would be my VC. Striker looks a concerning position, and midfield is VERY light but one of Soumare/Ndidi/Winks will probably end up sticking around to give us a bit more. Ricardo to go back to his CM-hybrid role? Can't see BEK hanging around - he's clearly better than us. Mads, too, although he may not fetch as much as we want for him. The rest... if they don't want to agree deals elsewhere then stick 'em on gardening leave. It's better than the net negative impact of having them around the playing squad. As for the manager... now that relegation is confirmed get Ruud well away from this squad - gardening leave til the end of the season and then sacked. King can take over as caretaker in the meantime and do a proper recruitment this time around, not just let ourselves get wowed by the first Cooper-like applicant who comes in with a powerpoint.

Pretty miserable weather up here on my side of Manchester - damp, grey and drizzly all morning. Its not lashing it down so if it brightens up it might be alright for some overs, but not too hopeful of enough sustained play for a result sadly. That said, the way it's been going for Lancashire, even a short burst of play might be enough for us to make something of it...

If I lived in Leicester still I'd (begrudgingly) go to most of the games, unless I could find a victim enthusiastic family member to pass my ticket on to. As I'm up in Manchester... nah. Last weekend was a no-go and my ticket went unused. Might offer it around again, but I'm really not fussed about travelling down just to watch us lose, without coming close to even having a goal to ironically celebrate. Imagine i'll come down for one or two of the games if it ties in nicely with other plans, but thats it. Heck, I don't even bother watching it on tv/stream anymore. Can think of far better things to do with my time. Bigger question for me is if I can be bothered to renew and come down to likely watch the exact same thing next season in the Championship, because I can't see much changing.

Is that to replace Ruud, or one of the players? Because I think you'd be right either way.

They need a supporter number, but they dont need a membership. Sign them up, add them to your family group on the website and there should be an option in your profile's ticket section to forward, and it'll just send to their email.

Call ourselves Leicester Four and we might start getting a few points when they record the results incorrectly..

There's always womens/youth goals included in the lineup, to be fair. We normally at least have a choice of goals from the men, though. And usually at least one half-decent one...

If you're not sure how to support the players, thats fine. The alternative isn't to harass them as civilians, though.

If they were squad players, it wouldnt be a problem...

Can we just start playing the u21s instead? At least they might put a bit of effort in.

I'd take a good chunk of that squad over ours even at their current ages, to be fair. Mahrez a no brainer. Huth/Morgan were never quick to begin with and our current CBs arent exactly blessed with pace (or strength, or aerial ability, or brains...).

I'd disagree; he's clearly got the individual skill and he's got the work ethic to go along with it. The lack of output is less of an indictment on Bilal and more on the rest of the squad. You could put prime Mahrez in this side and his numbers wouldn't be anywhere near what they were back in the post-title seasons for us. In a side with a bit more of an identity/structure, he'd excel. Even the other relegation battlers would be a better environment for him individually than we are.

Who wins? Side that played yesterday, a Leicester 'Rejects'* XI, or the under 21s? For the 'rejects', I've tried to pick players who could realistically still play today were this to theoretically happen. There are definitely other players who could be picked for that side. I'm genuinely not sure... Hermansen Coulibaly - Faes - Okoli - Kristiansen Ndidi - Soumare BDCR - BEK - Ayew Vardy or Zieler Hernandez - Dragovic - Benkovic - Elder Adrien Silva - Callum Wright Ghezzal - Akgun - Musa Slimani or French Joseph - Ali - Amartey - Aluko Cartwright - Braybrooke - Briggs Monga - Evans - Page

If we play 5 at the back with wingbacks, the pace of the CBs isnt quite as much of an issue. Playing a high line with those centrebacks would be suicidal, but if we sit more deeply then it could work. Huth/Morgan were slow as any of these three but were brilliant for us because we played to their strengths and supported them adequately. Ndidi covering in the middle and Kristiansen/Woyo supporting out wide should just about be enough. At the end of the day we dont have the options so we have to play at least one of them, and Okoli had a bit of a mare yesterday. Bring him in if you want, but I don't think it makes much difference. Our options are really, really poor; as we dont have the quality we need a tactical/quantity change to plug that gap

Wont happen, but I'd go: Hermansen Woyo - Faes - Coady - Vestergaard - Kristiansen Ndidi - Soumare BEK - Daka - Buonanotte Stolarczyk, Okoli, Wormleighton, Monga, Braybrooke, Ayew, Vardy, Evans More attacking 5-2-3, with Woyo and Kristiansen playing wingbacks as they're both better going forward. BEK and Bounanotte need to start together. Pack the bench with kids - at least they've got something to prove and might make a difference, rather than bringing on bloody Skipp. CBs are a poor selection but we really dont have the options.

Could've been OK if he came in last summer. Could've done OK if he came in this summer after relegation. Instead he's in a bit of a no man's land. (Relatively) inexperienced manager with a failing squad in freefall, and no real backing from the board when it's critical. That being said, persisting with ayew/bdcr/Vardy, somehow still playing Faes, ineffective/stagnant tactics and the lack of any genuine faith in youth are all red flags. Wrong appointment at the wrong time for the wrong club. He needs to go, unfortunately.

What will be more telling isn't the seats available now, but the number of season ticket holders who just don't bother turning up on the day (and haven't listed their ticket on the resale platform). I imagine given our current trajectory and a Friday night kickoff, a lot of fans won't bother. Particularly those travelling from further afield.

Ho(e)down

Our players are so passive that its like playing 1 or 2 men down most weeks anyway. If we had a handful of players who got properly stuck in more when they were on the pitch, and maybe picked up a few reds between them as a result, we'd probably be in a better position than we are now. Or at worst we'd be the same but we'd look like we actually cared about our position.