Xen

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.

Its spelled Jake, actually...

Ive been the same for the last couple years when I moved to Salford. Usually got the train down in the morning and back up straight after, or like you stopped with parents just outside the city. The 5 minute walk to Old Trafford was convenient for away games Over in Oldham now and still making the same pilgrimage, but it's become more and more of a chore. Bit easier now that I can drive, but whilst it's now more convenient, my enthusiasm has gone the other way

Yeah, I figured as much. Not sure how they could stop it, though: Easy enough to transfer an NFC pass to a diff device, or use an old phone to store the pass as if it was an old physical ST card. Other than ID checks on the turnstiles (and even then we're similar enough to get away with it 😂)

I live in Manchester, been dealing with the trains for the last couple seasons to be able to get to games, completely upending my weekends a lot of the time so I can keep on coming down. Finally got around to passing my driving test at the end of last year so I don't have to bother with that and... I still can't be bothered. Completely apathetic towards the club as it stands. If it was just me I'd be cancelling my ST, but I share with my dad/brothers when I'm not able to make it, so I'll probably end up keeping it for their sake. Although even that is in doubt. If it was easier to get my ST back should the running of the club improve (not as bothered about on-pitch results) then I would've already cancelled. But its a captive audience and given my circumstances, if I gave it up I doubt I'd ever get the points to get it back under the current system. Cant believe how quickly this club has shifted from fans feeling on top of the world to such a low point. Even the Championship win felt like we dragged ourselves over the line in the end. It's pitiful.

Think this'd be a decent signing if the fee is modest. Injury record isnt great, but he's been mostly OK on that front this season so that bodes well. Clearly capable at this level so no more of a risk than Woyo. Can play more advanced, so if we've not been able to find a winger to bring in, it can help bridge the gap and puts less of a reliance on players like Ricardo/JJ picking up the slack. Kristiansen, Lamptey, Ricardo, Coulibaly, JJ is a pretty good crop of fullbacks in the right system. Gives us the option of pulling JJ/Coulibaly over to the left, or even (for JJ) as one of the wide CBs in a 3. I wouldnt be thinking our problems are solved if we brought him in, but I equally wouldn't feel like it was a mistake to do so so long as the terms are reasonable.

I live in Manchester, possibly the easiest away fixture i could possibly go to. But not even going to consider it at those prices. Ridiculous.

Not that bad, if you think about it. Winning a league (or getting promoted in any manner) puts you into a tougher league for the other half of the year. Ipswich and Southampton missing as well, whereas Leeds who were nearly-men got to have another 20 games against Championship opposition. Likewise, dominant PL teams remain dominant. In the lower leagues you tend to see clubs keep a bit more momentum after promotion so the likes of Wrexham are up there, but otherwise it's mostly filled with clubs who had a good run at the end of 23/24 without achieving anything in the end, and maintained consistency/slightly improved this season.