CUJimmy

We really should have kick-offs sorted by now, we get enough practice.

This is the crux of the matter for me. In the first half we looked ok, not great, but pretty much in control and 2-0 felt like a comfortable position. Bristol City made a couple of tactical changes, went two up top and shuffled the midfield so all of a sudden our back line was under pressure and our midfield couldn’t get a foot on the ball. Any decent manager has a list of ‘if they do X then we do Y’ or at least has the nous to solve the problem on the fly. This was Enzo was good at, I haven’t got the numbers to hand but it felt like we scored a lot in the 15 mins after half-time. Marti, sadly, doesn’t seem to have a clue. I assume the subs were to protect 2 of our best players for Saturday but if that is really necessary then there is something wrong with the fitness and conditioning.

The problem is the actions the authorities are taking do not support the stated aims. It is ridiculous that Newcastle are potentially the richest club on the planet with zero possibility of going bust but are prevented from spending whereas the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd are able to exploit loopholes and spend whatever they like. If they were about sustainability and preventing clubs going bust the simple solution would be for clubs to place in bond sufficient cash (not assets) to cover the previous 3 year’s losses. The reality of course is that it is all about preserving the position of the ‘big six’ and ensuring that there cannot be another Leicester.

So much depends on scale, budget and how much you are capable of doing yourselves. We had the kitchen refurbed a few years ago. We stripped out the old one ourselves but after that pretty much left the fitter to coordinate the other trades. This year we have refurbed the lounge including installing electric underfloor heating. This time we did more ourselves, would it have been easier to employ a project manager and would the finish have been better using trades throughout? Possibly but the reality is we couldn’t have afforded it. One thing we did find is that for a big job you get lots of interest on check-a-trade but less so if it’s only a day or twos worth of work so is mostly going to be the Sole Traders. My only non-negotiable is that I won’t employ someone who isn’t prepared to come out and see the job so I can talk through exactly what I want, discuss what I can realistically do and get a feel for whether I trust them. I know I am paying for this in the quote but that is a price worth paying.

Very disappointing that you have to register on RAWK now and can’t just go in as a guest to have a laugh at the inevitable bleating after yet another embarrassing loss.

The standard was set after about 2 minutes when we were given a throw in in the LB position which was clearly their ball but after that nothing much seemed to go our way. From our seat we look straight down the touch line and their guy heading the ball back in from a good yard off the pitch was a particular highlight. The challenge on Fatawu in injury time looked bad from where we are, we wondered if the ref’s weak response was the cause of the handbags in our penalty area shortly afterwards. I seem to remember a few years back, just after 15-16, when we stopped getting penalties. The story was that the referees had decided that Vardy was a diver so gave us nothing for ages. I wonder if that is the situation with Daka, yes he does get muscled off the ball too easily but he did get held a lot yesterday.

I have always said he is a Rolls Royce of a player at this level but he hasn’t looked himself over the past few games. One of the problems yesterday was that he was meant to invert going forward but we were losing possession so easily at times that he was caught out of position and isn’t quick enough to get back any more.

Great to see Daka score again - he has the best song.

I am really struggling to get my head round the new structure. Does anyone have a schematic showing core responsibilities, reporting lines and names of current post-holders so we can see how it fits together? It would also be interesting to know how it came about. Was it a team from the wider King Power group or external management consultants? I can’t believe all the work has been done since Susan Whelan left so is there a link there? Had she been told that she needed to move so jumped instead? We have to see it as a positive that Top has recognised the need for structural change but the jury is out for me on whether it will have an impact. I still think the most fundamental change needed is for Top to step aside as Chair and bring in a really big hitter with strong football business experience. Yes it would cost but only the same as a first team squad player or two. The barrier to that is the loss of face which is so important in that level of SE Asian culture (and many others to be fair).

That was right up there with the worst performances I have seen in my 50+ years supporting this club. The 3-0 against Wolves was bad but that was more a one man horror show whereas this was much more of a team effort in being utter shíte. I am struggling to think of a single positive that we can take away to hang on to. Possibly some decent interplay between Abdul and JJ in the first half but that is about it. Perhaps unsurprising but most of the crowd sounded like they were practising for the two minute silence on Tuesday.

Taylor took over a strong, settled team that had won the League Cup in 2000. For the first few months of the season we looked good (briefly being top of the table) then in the New Year we had the debacle against Wycombe and 8 consecutive losses in the league promoting an alarming slide down the table only halted by the end of the season. Relegation the following year was the inevitable result despite sacking Taylor when poor results continued for the first couple of months. Daka, Ayew and Soumare are pretty bad but I would take any of them in a heartbeat over Akinbiyi, Benjamin and Junior Lewis. The difference being Taylor actively scouted those players whereas RVN had to work with what he was given. Make no mistake, last season was shockingly bad but RVN came with no pedigree at this level and was clearly out of his depth. Taylor came with a strong history at club and international level but ripped the guts out of a successful team. Nearly 60 years following this club and for me Peter Taylor was the worst.

Palace were probably trying to run down the clock in the hope of getting him on the cheap last minute because we desperately needed the cash. I can’t see that this is the case now so unless it’s a big offer he stays. Give them Ayew back instead and DCR on a BOGOF deal (in every sense).

Might make me more tempted to try to be honest

Seeing if by any chance there was any public WiFi available yesterday and what did I find 🤔

Agree 100%. What I meant was it was like for like in terms of the overall shape but his ball winning was much better and he moved it on more quickly.

Not our finest hour but 3 points in the bag. Standout observation for me is that play grinds to a halt as soon as Okoli, Skipp, Soumare or to a lesser extent JJ get involved. Vesty and Faes at least both look to get the ball forward. Bringing on Winks allowed Marti to keep the shape and plan the same but with a bit of extra snap. Skipp is meant to provide that but I have never seen it. Flashes of quality from Abdul and BEK but their fullback had the measure of Mavadidi today. Monga showed that he has the ability and confidence to humiliate defenders at this level. Once he gets his first goal and assist I predict the floodgates will open. Ayew was MOTM for me, especially in the second half when everything was going through him and it was great to see him really fighting for the ball. Big shoutout to the Wednesday fans. They turned out in numbers even with the shítshow that is going on there and executed the fan protest almost perfectly. I hope they could hear the support they were getting from our supporters.

There is nothing at all irrational about your dislike of Ashley Young, I am with you 100%

I’ve been alcohol free for nearly 6 years now and even in that time the quality and variety has improved considerably. Guinness 0.0 is probably the nearest to the original but I think that is because it is a touch sweet anyway. Our Golf Club has recently started selling Heineken 0.0 on draft which is much better than the canned or bottled stuff as it actually feels like a proper pint. They are selling loads of it too. My biggest wish is for someone to work out how to make alcohol free wine. Some of the fizzy stuff is just about drinkable if it is well chilled but I haven’t found a red that isn’t stupidly sweet and has no body.

The press release says ‘with immediate effect’

Usually means a lower payout (but probably non-zero) than he is contractually entitled to.

If the reason for not playing Wilf or BEK is that they might be sold why pick Faes? Thinking about it though he is probably worth more broken down for spares.

My understanding is that LCFC is not a subsidiary of King Power, the club is wholly owned by Top and his family who also separately own KP.

As I said, not impossible but personally I think it is highly unlikely. Views on here seem to range from those who think we are favourites for autos to those who think we will be non-league in 5 years. Time will tell I guess.

Cooperate fully, don’t try to find a loophole and take the punishment. Assuming it is a fairly hefty points deduction accept that we aren’t going to be challenging for promotion in the next couple of seasons at least and look to build a team around the very promising youngsters that we currently have while winding down the contracts on any remaining deadwood that we can’t shift. Is there a chance of being relegated again? It’s always possible but I would say highly unlikely given the standard of football in the lower half of the Championship.

In cases like this where it is obviously offside the reason for delaying is see if the attacking team actually gain an advantage and allow the game to flow if possible. If the winger had mishit the cross and it had been intercepted we would have the chance to break with at least two of their players out of position rather than allowing them to reset for the free kick.