ALC Fox

For a ball winner, he doesn't half get passed around as if he isn't there a lot. He may have been a victim of Cooper's more passive style of play and RVN's distinct lack of any identity at all, so I'm willing to cut him some slack and hopefully we'll see more of his natural game at (a) a level below last season in the Championship and (b) under Cifuentes who emphasises pressing and winning the ball back quickly. It didn't seem much in evidence from Skipp himself last weekend but it's early days and hopefully he can come good as Cifuentes imposes his style on the team.

He's doing God's work is Philippe Auclair. Shout it from the damn rooftops. Integrity used to be a thing in sport. It's high time clubs and individuals were shamed for not having any.

Awesome from Monga there

Hoping it's just a slow start from them but have to agree so far. Might as well be cardboard cut-outs defensively. Some nice stuff from Bilal but particularly Monga early on.

Not really a 'Leicester' thing but I like the idea all the same. It will be interesting to hear what the marketing dept thinks that they're inspired by

I always thought Steve Howard appeared taller than 6' 3". Rob Huth is the same height as well but just seemed absolutely massive.

Saw the reveal video as well. Pretty good effort.

One of the best things Enzo did was sort Ndidi out imo. I know it's a level below where he was at, but he took advantage of Wilf's athleticism by playing him box-to-box and getting those movements where he arrived in the box and was able to chip a cross over the keeper's head. Playing him as a deep defensive midfielder just didn't suit his game anymore but in no way is he an advanced playmaker either. If he stays, hopefully Cifuentes plays to the actual strengths he currently has rather than what he was perceived to be when he was 19/20.

I think Ruud's energy was completely different. He often wandered round with a face like a smacked arse as if he couldn't believe how crap the players were. Cooper tried to give the players autonomy but they didn't want it, they wanted intensity and instructions and the Enzo way. I think Cifuentes could be good in a similar, but not entirely identical, way to Maresca, especially among the young players who are going to be ready to learn and take on detailed instructions.

Looks like a good first session, setting the tone from the moment the players walk through the door. Love seeing Alves part of the squad, really hope he comes out of his shell and thrives under this manager. The potential we have with these young lads is immense. Shame that it seems that Fatawu has had a little set-back. Doesn't seem too serious based on the demeanour of all involved, and recovery from big injuries often results in little breakdowns doesn't it. Hope he's back out on the training pitch soon. Good early signs from a footballing perspective. It'll be interesting to see who he puts his trust in for the remaining friendlies.

Having not watched a single game of this last season, I assume this means that the group games only consist of National League vs U21 teams, meaning that U21s never face another U21 side and, likewise, National League sides never face another National League side - until the knockout stages, of course. With all National League sides playing at home, this also guarantees a four-game group stage even though there are eight teams per group because there are no 'return fixtures'. I think that's right based on how it's described on the website.

Hopefully this means we'll see Harry Winks being good again.

This guy and the young talent he'll be tasked with blooding into the squad could save this club. Top, next thing sack the board, please. Martí's Blue Army

The green and navy/black one does look to be an interesting take on the navy/jade from the 90s including the pattern. Not what I was expecting and the colours look a touch off but could be alright in the flesh. It is completely irrelevant but I like all of the kits from a design point of view. But I must reiterate my loathing of the sponsor and I for sure will not be buying one. I was considering the navy training shirt as that is pretty smart but, even though it has King Power on it I stead of KBet, I doubt I'll get one because they've chosen such a heinous match shirt sponsor. leicester-city-1995-96-away-1.jpg.webp

PSR compliant* Morally bankrupt *situation pending

The navy is surely the training kit that the team has worn the last couple of friendlies. Genuinely don't think the design of the home or the pink are that bad at all. The home could be and has been a lot worse imo. The third kit is going to be navy and jade isn't it? I thought that was the conceived wisdom on here. But, to reiterate, the sponsor can get firmly in the fvcking bin.

I don't mind those shirts from those pics. Absolutely detestable sponsor of course.

I think it's quite difficult to fairly judge a guy who was parachuted into multiple areas of responsibility that he just wasn't prepared for at a time when he should have been grieving the tragic loss of his father, while also knowing that any point he could have lost other members of his family or he could have been in that helicopter on any other day. The squad we had at the time, the one that knew and loved both him and Vichai, will have helped him through this process both personally as people he had close relationships with, but also with their performances on the pitch. It is no secret that Top is/was less level headed than Vichai. The sacking/non-sacking of Pearson is proof of that, and testament to Vichai's steady hand as that situation was smoothed over at the time. To expect Top to be as successful as the man who built his company and juggled multiple interests is quite fanciful. I can see why Top would have wanted to do it, but in hindsight I think perhaps he should have appointed somebody else as the club's chairperson in order for him to fully focus on doing justice to King Power, and for someone else to do the same with Leicester City and someone else with OH Leuven. Expecting Top to emulate a man of Vichai's years in terms of wisdom, business nous and experience is unfair, I think. Now, he put all of this on himself, and ultimately he must bear responsibility for how the club has declined under his stewardship with its failure to adapt to changing Profit & Sustainability Rules and how it abandoned the sell-to-buy model to appease Brendan Rodgers, a coach that the club undoubtedly thought would lead us through a sustained period of success, perhaps winning more than the solitary FA Cup that he did, reaching or even winning a Conference League or Europa League final and tasting Champions League football again. All signs currently point towards Top not being able to arrest the slide, with the following issues proof of that: - Veering from one type of manager to the next with no coherent plan, including being linked to vastly different managers in the same recruitment process - Letting multiple prize assets leave the club for nothing - Two relegations in three seasons - Too much loyalty shown to people in high positions who are not performing - Always operating right on the edge financially, worming our way out of PSR sanctions on technicalities, and risking it all on immediate returns to the Premier League and the chance of staying there There is, quite rightly, a lot of goodwill among our fanbase towards Top for what he was a part of before his father died, how he handled a period of personal heartbreak in the public eye, the way in which he took on responsibility for the club afterwards, and how he continues to support not just the club but the city as well. Also, arguably, we're now really seeing the investment made into Seagrave bear fruit, with multiple young players coming through at the same time who are good enough to play for the first team and possibly help us achieve promotion. And there aren't many better feelings as a fan than watching a young player graduate from the academy and become an important first-team player. These young kids each have the chance to become club legends, or at least engender a lot of goodwill through their big-money sales, giving the club the chance to overcome its current financial woes. I'd be happy for Top to remain the owner of the club. But huge changes are needed whether he sells the club or not. If he stays, we need an overhaul in senior positions. Proper proven performers in a football environment who understand what it takes to build a team and take a club forward. People with their fingers on the pulse and who will rely on proper analysis in the recruitment of managers and players, and who will keep the club on an even keel financially, providing a sense of optimism whatever happens on the pitch. I'd be happy for Top to relinquish his role of chairman, too. I imagine that would be a difficult thing for him to do. But I think he should focus on King Power and come back to the club when he's a bit older, wiser and savvier, and let others take the club to the next level so there is something wonderful for him to come back to in years to come.

Great finish!

That's fair enough. Totally legitimate reasons for falling out of love with the game. I do find myself distracted during games a lot more than I used to be. It isn't the same as peak Barclays for sure.

To be fair I think it's widespread. One of the guys from the Football Ramble has said a few times that there are people who support their team but aren't football fans. They don't have any interest in anything else to do with the game and they're so one-eyed that everything else in the game falls outside of their radar. I think every fanbase has a good number of those types of fan.

Players that get poached by the elite clubs like this, we should be tracking their development and trying to pick them up again if we think they're still good enough but just getting squeezed by that bottle-neck that happens at academy level. Absolutely no need to for sour grapes if he could become good enough. Tyler Dibling went from Southampton to Chelsea and back and could either end up making them a mint, firing them straight back into the Prem, or both.

Multi-club ownerships are sh!t - including ours. They're disrespectful to all clubs involved imo.

So they want the name to reflect the local area's culture and history and yet that local culture and history will then forever be associated with a prison? A bit like Strangeways and Feltham will forever be associated with prisons. Why don't they just name them after decorated members of law enforcement or something?