LCCFox96

We don't have £60mil. And if we did, we sure as f**k wouldn't be spending it on Anthony Gordon. Next.

Don't think you can understate how much good winning from behind and 3 points would have done for morale. Infuriating to get pulled back to a draw so late on.

Perez was a decent player who had his moments for us and I never saw him down tools or fail to put the effort in. That’s about all you can say for him. Wish him well and we move on. Whilst Perez is easily upgradable and getting some/all of his wages off the books 6 months early with a small loan fee to boot is appealing, I do seriously hope we’ve got RW signing lined up to tap in after this or we’ll be extremely light there for a few weeks.

I’d have no problem signing a promising young left winger with room to grow like Jaidon Anthony providing it didn’t impact our ability to do a deal for RW. We need depth at LW and Barnes / Anthony is a lot better than Barnes / having to change formation which is what we currently have. Throw into that the fact Anthony has 6months left on his deal and will likely be cheaper wage wise than Boga and others we’ve been linked with it could be a smart and relatively cheap addition. I’m not sure I believe we’d be interested (seems a very random source) but either way, if we were and did something like move on Perez and do a deal here over a RW I think I’d cry.

Their owners are very wealthy yes, but as a club they been stung a few times from encounters with FFP. This article was from March, but gives a flavour of their recent financial crisis since getting relegated. I imagine it's better now and slowly improving, but they'll still be feeling the effects of it all and a huge fee for 1x player makes a lot of sense. Stoke City finally emerging from Financial Fair Play dog fight - Stoke-on-Trent Live (stokesentinel.co.uk) My point was that Souttar is the one player they have right now who could be sold for a sizeable enough fee to make positive inroads into their financial situation and have enough leftover to build the squad up. Hopefully ~£15mil does the trick and he's in City blue by the end of the window.

Can't see this not happening. He's the one big asset Stoke have got and they've got financial concerns of their own. It sounds like he's our priority target and I'm sure we'll find an agreement. Felipe to Wolves, and Soyuncu subsequently moving to Atletico in January will see this happen quite quickly I think, as we'll be in need of an extra player and have a little extra cash to drive the deal.

I mean simply put, our squad was significantly better with Lookman in it, than not. Being unable to make his loan move permanent, coupled with Schmeichel and Fofana's exits meant we finished the summer window weaker than when we started it. It's a shame, as think we'd got him playing to a level where it was plausible he'd have kicked on like he has done this season. Flashes of brilliance and there was lots to like about his all round game. I wish we'd been able to keep him. In a ideal world last summer, we'd have had something like Barnes / Lookman as LW options and a new starting RW / Albrighton on the right side with Perez being moved on to help fund the additions and Maddison operating between the starting wingers. Alas, it's all a moot point now.

This is the potential source of a violent series of mood swings for me over the next few days. Please god get this done. After 18 days of utter silence, several honking defeats, and loaning out George Hirst, to see a hot Tete thread, a hot Souttar thread and links with Lafont is the stuff of wild, wild dreams. Inject it into my veins.

Best case scenario based on our current form/trajectory is probably 15th or so at this stage. Worst case scenario is relegation. Ergo survival is now a success and 40-points is the only target we should have as a squad. We simply have to make it over the line and get to the summer where serious questions need to be asked and a long overdue refresh needs to start. It doesn't look like Rodgers will be going anytime soon, and it looks like we might get a few additions to aid the fight in the January window. That'll be our lot and we have to make it work.

I'm really excited by this one. He's got glowing reviews from Copenhagen fans on his performances and personal qualities (leadership, plays beyond his years, fighter etc) and he looks like he has the physical attributes and street wise mentality that Thomas is lacking. He's also got a good record with attacking contributions in terms of his assist numbers and about 80 senior appearances under his belt at 20-years old. Everything feels pretty positive on this one. This feels much more like a Leicester of old signing and I'm quietly confident he'll make a bigger impact that people are expecting. As a fanbase, I don't think we should be writing Thomas off at this stage, but he's getting diced up every week at the moment. Kristiansen coming in feels like it will instantly improve our backline and allow us to give Thomas the space he needs to be taken out of the firing line. He should stay with us until the summer though due to injuries. If we survive this year and if (and please God for once allow it) we can have Ricardo, Castagne, Justin and Kristiansen all fit at the same time, then we can maybe loan out Thomas next season. Bertrand can gtf as soon as possible.

I've put our entire winter transfer window fund on it. £1 returns £83 - not bad.

Remember just holding my head in my hands after that. We had no right to get anything from that game, we were awful and they were bang up for it after the cup final defeat. Iheanacho forced an error and we get one golden chance. Genuinely Perez would have been near the bottom of the list of people I'd have wanted that chance to fall for. Also, I miss prime Ricardo.

Looks a great profile of player - good pedigree from a strong youth academy and solid international set-up and lots of games under his belt at a young age. When I hear words like "fighter", "leader", "playing beyond his age", and "very highly rated talent" I'm all for it. This one looks to have more upside than down. Like with the Faes transfer in the summer, my concern isn't the type of deals we've done this season. Both Faes and this lad look like smart additions and are old-style Leicester targets which is positive. My concern is that we get the volume of business done to freshen up the squad - we need at least 3x more good additions and a handful of exits. This would be a good first step though, hopefully it goes through.

In the summer we were told rebuild which amounted to finishing the window with a weaker squad than we started it with. In January we were told money available to strengthen the 3x positions that Rodgers outlined with our chosen targets. It's early days but if the January window also amounts to little and we spend the next month scaling back expectations with limited positive movement then it's absolutely farcical. A repeat of the media narrative of 'poor Leicester, can't strengthen, weak squad', Rodgers bleating in every press conference, and the general mood that the summer window created in the fanbase is the absolute last thing we need right now. I'm prepared to be patient in January and see what happens as with Glover's arrival there will surely be a cash injection into the squad. However, if we continue to negatively reset expectations then you have to question wtf is going on. In this window we've already gone from 'a different story to the summer with money to spend' to 'hopefully we can strengthen' and 'not a lot of money'. I don't know if that's Rodgers running his mouth or the club being more and more conservative but it's mind-blowingly frustrating. It feels like we're sat waiting and holding our breath and hoping for the best yet as fans we're jumping up and down screaming for something to happen as we can all see where this path leads.

I wanted an improved performance from the Newcastle game and some hunger and desire. We got that tonight. We set up well, battled hard and got in front. But by **** did we piss that up the wall. Faes has been largely brilliant since he came in but those mistakes cannot happen at PL level. Ballsed up a great team performance.

I don’t think you can say the majority have been tap-in’s. That’s extremely harsh. He’s scored 3 this season - the springing of the offside trap at Brighton for 2-2, the cheeky flick vs Forest and the turn and shot at Bournemouth. Not a great return for his minutes but all certainly accomplished finishes. In my book, all of the movement and finishing ability well above League 1 level as you suggest. Last season he demonstrated a variety of finishes too. A lot of what you’re labelling as tap-in’s I’m labelling as good reactive movement and sharp finishes (E.g. Spurs and Brighton home games last year). His finishing ability isn’t really the concern here. It’s more how he fits into a wider team system to get the best out of him (I think that’s in a two). I’m not advocating he should be the focal point of the side but where we have key absentees from the starting XI (Maddison, Vardy, Barnes, Tielemans) - like on Boxing Day - and Rodgers chooses to start Daka then we have to find a way to create more for him. He’ll score goals if we do that. Alas, I expect Vardy will start tonight so we’ll see something different.

I agree with you. Maddison and Barnes are more effective and accomplished players at PL level so should be prioritised And yes, the current set-up does do that. However, my point was in relation to Daka’s Boxing Day performance. Maddison wasn’t available leaving Daka the second most prolific goal threat behind Barnes. Plus we knew we were going to have to soak up a lot of pressure at times which would leave space for the counter and runs in behind. So in my opinion we should have adapted the set-up to that if he was the main striker. Otherwise we should have gone with Vardy. Clearly my post was not advocating that we set up with Daka as the focal point of the team every match. He isn’t ready for that. I spent the rest of what I said explaining that he’s better off in a 2 to take the pressure off him. He needs a strike partner or a different system. Boxing Day was a different circumstance to your average game with everyone available because our most influential player was out. I daresay until Rodgers starts Iheanacho to fill Maddison’s creative void we’ll have similar occurrences until Maddison is back.

Haha! If 10th place Stockport took us to pens, it's a realistic issue

Daka's performance on Boxing Day shouldn't be surprise to anyone. We simply didn't set up to his strengths. With the exception of Barnes, he was the only major goal threat in the starting 11 and we never created a single opportunity for him and didn't play to his strengths. That's mental, we left him up there between Schar and Botman and barely got people up to help him. The set-up and physicality from Newcastle suited Vardy more, so we looked marginally better when he came on. Daka's best performances have come when he's playing in a front two and has more obvious supply lines into him - Maddison, Iheancho etc. Other than that, the majority of his goals have been his predatory instincts in the box. Bournemouth away was a perfect example, before anyone else had even reacted he'd swivelled and cranked a brilliant finish into the bottom corner. I've no concerns about Daka scoring goals for us if we set up to give him a chance to do that.

Selling Vestergaard on a permanent deal for a reasonable fee was realistic in the summer. As proved by the rumoured £8-12mil offers supposedly received from Fulham, Brentford, and maybe even Galatasaray. All 3 of those clubs would have sucked up all or the majority of his wages for the remainder of his contract too. It was dreamland stuff and would probably have enabled another summer signing in addition to Faes and Smithies. However, I don't think a permanent deal is so realistic in this window. Firstly as Vestergaard has played about 100 minutes of football since the end of pre-season, all against League 2 opposition. Secondly as his international stock - which was a big positive factor for us as sellers - has fallen in missing out on the World Cup squad (which he deserved and was largely self-inflicted imo). So he's not match fit, on big wages, and out of favour on all fronts. Screams loan with an option to buy to me, and then we'll be scrambling to get a couple of million for him in the summer. Absolutely horrific piece of business.

Ben Nelson appears to have finally broken into the Rochdale XI. Started next to their captain Ethan Ebanks-Landell in lieu of Sam Graham for the last two games. Not sure if that's due to suspension, injury, or poor form on Graham's part mind. Had a quick scan at results, and Rochdale have lost 6 of their last 7 games including the two that Nelson has started. Sounds like a turbulent environment for him, but if he's starting regularly it will be an environment that challenges him mentally and physically so could be a good foundational move for his career if he retains his place and keeps playing. Now up to 10 apps in all comps so hopefully he gets a lot of pitch time in the new year. One I had really high hopes for. As an aside, Rochdale have slumped into 23rd and into the League 2 relegation zone. The only side below them are our next FA Cup opponents Gillingham.

We might as well shuffle the pack a bit and try something different here after the fisting received from Newcastle. I'd like to a see a back 3 and wing backs here and a similar set-up to what we started against Man City. Despite the narrow defeat to a piece of De Bruyne brilliance, that was our best defensive performance of the season. Try to tighten up at the back and build from there. I'd go with the following: Ward Amartey Faes Soyuncu Albrighton Ndidi Tielemans Castagne Iheanacho Barnes Vardy I doubt it will happen though as I can't see Rodgers bringing Soyuncu in from the cold to the starting 11. Likewise Iheanacho and Albrighton haven't had a lot of football recently. Don't expect to get anything tonight points wise, but expect to see a response in performance levels.

I’d rather he said we were shit than tried to flower things up. Because we were shit and I’m sure he includes himself in that assessment. He’s called a spade a spade. No problems there. Hopefully he plays a big part in a response at Liverpool on Friday. The talk only becomes cheap if it’s repeated week in week out.

I like Luke Thomas, think he’s a solid squad player and I want him to ultimately succeed here. However yesterday jumped LB to priority number 1 in the January window for me. Yes, Almiron and Trippier are an in-form and good quality opposing pair. Yes, Newcastle are a big, physical and energetic side. And yes, Barnes wasn’t great in front of him whilst nobody around him exactly shone. But he looked frighteningly out of his depth. He got bullied first whistle to last. He’s not ready to play week in week out at this level. I’d be happy to keep him as a number 2 left back and I’m not writing him off just yet but he needs more to time develop. I sympathise with him too. With Justin out he’s been left exposed and under a lot of pressure to perform to consistently high standards he’s never done before in his first team career with us. He’s shown he can do it (Liverpool (H) last season, the FA cup final etc etc) but never in regular spurts. Ryan Bertrand is an absolute disgrace. The bloke has been MIA for over a year now, was shocking before his injury, and it’s at a time we desperately a steady, senior pro to come in and support. In an ideal world we hook Thomas at HT yesterday for that type of option and take him out the firing line. But we can’t. The sooner Bertrand is gone from our club the better. £75k per week my arse. He is one of the signings that’s crippled our ability to invest in the squad. What I’d give to be able to call on Christian Fuchs to support in situations like this!

Still feeling unwell after yesterday’s shit show so doing a thought dump here in the hope it makes me feel slightly merrier and because I believe we are entering a bit of a shit or bust period for our squad. Our immediate priority is to get the January window right. And by f**k do we need to do just that. We have an opportunity to use the window to steady those type of erratic, self-destructive performances that we saw yesterday, at Bournemouth, at Arsenal etc etc. A new CB, new LB and quality RW are a must. We needed another CB addition to replace Soyuncu anyway especially as it’s clear Vestergaard won’t be called upon if it can be avoided. That leaves our current starting pair and a crocked Evans which isn’t deep enough. Young Luke Thomas badly needs some support at LB whilst Justin is out and Bertrand is riding his deal out on the treatment table. And - of course - we still need that same quality RW replacement that we’ve needed since Mahrez left. We need at least 2 of those 3 signings to have Faes style impacts. It’s a big ask but if we can do it we’ll tuck in in midtable relatively comfortably. Any of the fringe/out of favour players we can move on to support that January activity and streamline costs for the next 6months is a bonus and leaves us bettered prepped for a strong summer window. To me it feels like the club have hit pause on any serious development and investment and we’re holding our breathe, I presume and hope for a big summer. It would be risky to not change that approach in January (Rodgers comments sound promising here) but it would be suicidal to not invest seriously in the summer. For me, summer priorities are: - a new first choice GK - another CB depending on Evans’ progress, Amartey’s contract, and Vestergaard’s hopeful exit - a young, hungry CDM to back up Wilf - almost certainly a Tielemans replacement - hopefully not a Maddison replacement - another exciting CM/CAM option - another RW / LW I can see wholesale exits in the next 3months. I think the following will go for nominal or reduced fees in this window or leave on a free in the summer: - Soyuncu, Bertrand, Perez, Mendy, Tielemans. Then we also have Amartey with his contract running down who continues to divide opinion. I think we’ll actively pursue or listen to offers for the following either in January or the summer: - Ward, Iheanacho, Vestergaard, Praet, Soumare, Choudhury (hopefully Watford take their option to buy) On top of all of that we have question marks about Maddison’s future, the longevity of of Evans, Vardy and Ricardo, and concerns around whether Ndidi and Justin will ever hit their peak heights again. Whilst I’d instantly feel more relaxed with a couple of strong January additions and a new deal for Maddison (I’m resigned to Tielemans going), the make-up of our current squad is a ticking time bomb. There are far too few sellable assets left in the squad and a lot of our best players have minimal time left on their deals or are the wrong side of 30. We’ve also had a foul record with injuries in recent years too which has hampered the progress of some of our players and our ability to name a first choice 11 regularly. The massive fee for Fofana and Faes being largely outstanding has bought us some time and resources to do something but we HAVE to get this right. If we have another couple of poor windows and the squad continues to deteriorate then we could be in huge trouble by the time the 23/24 season ends. I really think things are that delicately balanced now. And then, of course, surrounding it all we have the Rodgers debate. Yesterday was shambolic - a poor set up coupled with basic mistakes from the players and we got slapped by a well organised, well drilled, energetic side who are bang in form. However, unless we nose dive horrifically again Rodgers appears to be here to stay. I’ve seen very little in Rodgers’ tenure to suggest he’ll suddenly become a maestro in the market. Enter Martyn Glover. Please be good Martyn!