ALC Fox

Yes! Totally forgot about him!

Wouldn't be Leicester in League One without keeper issues. Last time Henderson and David Martin battled it out until Henderson was injured in November, then Martin in February. Mark Bunn was signed on loan on Feb but was recalled by Blackburn in March, then we loaned in David Stockdale.

Yeah that's fair, I was more thinking over the course of the season, what would we most want to see

What's our ideal back line now then? Joseph, O'Hora, Kangasniemi, McFarlane Presume in reality Souttar still starts most games but Okoli and Faes miss out. Hopefully Okoli and Faes find a Saudi, Dutch, Turkish, Portuguese or other club who's transfer window is still open.

It's going to be a long, bruising season. So far Page and Braybrooke are coming through it really well and are among our better players. But having a grown-ass hard case like this guy in there will look after them a bit when we're playing weekend, midweek, weekend over the winter. One of our weaknesses for a number of years has been that we're really easy to play through sometimes. A bit of bite in the middle of the park from a better player than Choudhury and Skipp will be very welcome.

Anyone else's Sky Sports+ weirdly skipped back to 30-odd minutes into the first half?

What on God's green earth are we playing at? Why be so dogmatic about passing out?.surely the players can see that you shouldn't pass it three yards in your own area when both of your potential receiving players are penned in and pressed with no space whatsoever?

Bit of an unnecessary challenge that but wasn't overly physical. Really, really unfortunate for Stolarczyk. I guess this is why we brought Ravizzoli in. McCarthy then him then Bausor I guess?

Hopefully this signing spurs Bristric on. Less pressure on him but a bit of added incentive to put up some numbers

He plays all season, will be a big reason why we're promoted if that does happen and will commanda much higher fee next season if we can persuade him to sign a new contract. The spot is his. Hopefully we're able to tempt him to stay.

McCarron's sent Rudkin out to get some tartan paint, a chocolate teapot and a long weight

I hired a car last year. Brand new Peugeot 5008. Driving through the Cairngorms and as I'm going around a bend there's a small layby on my side of the road with a car in it. I'm going a good speed for the road but there is someone behind me. The car in the layby reverses and as I'm rounding the bend it's directly in front of me, but obviously not on the road. Absolutely no danger, the car is waiting and I'm rounding the corner nicely. All of a sudden the dashboard screams at me, coming up with a red warning telling me to brake now. I get a mini surge of adrenaline despite the fact I know everything is fine. I round the bend and - obviously - all is good. Now, say we're a few years in the future and I'm driving an autonomous vehicle. If the car is telling me to brake in that situation when I didn't need to, a self-driving car is actually going to brake and most likely send the car behind me into my rear end. So, I 100% agree with not always relying on the tech. Also lane assist is annoying af.

I think this guy and a gamble on Matt Rush from Boreham Wood (25 years old and with 26 goals in 46 games last season and 9 goals in 5 games so far this season) would be a decent deadline day. Evans, Otchere, Hutchinson and King the long-term competition from the academy.

I must admit that he didn't impress me when we played them last season. In the division below, who knows. I don't know whether Bristol City were set up to suit him or not. At 6'3" you'd hope he'd be able to get on the end of these crosses that our wide men have been putting in. My worry is that he should be at his peak and there are definite question marks over him. If this was a Pearson side I think we'd sign at least two CFs alongside Bristric for that rotation and competition. I'd be hoping to give someone like Matt Rush at Boreham Wood a chance. 26 goals in 46 games last season, has scored today making it 9 goals in 5 games while the game is still going on. No idea what his style of play is but those stats would excite me, even in the National League.

Ready to go, knows the manager, should be at his peak, low fee, would be a season or two's worth of value to the squad. There's the positives for O'Hora. The negatives: another Russell Martin signing when we know managers are on a hiding to nothing here. A long contract may mean we're trying to offload in a couple of seasons - if we achieve what we want to achieve (promotion then mid-table to top half Championship, then in the promotion mix again) - but he could have multiple years left on his contract still. Then again, McCarron has shown we can do lots of deals quite quickly, so perhaps offloading signings we're making this season in a season or two isn't beyond them and whatever system is put in place by, hopefully, a new set of owners.

Sheffield United are absolutely determined to buy one of our rotten apples aren't they

Trying to sum up how I feel as concisely as possible. The team and manager are here and we need them to do well. We've seen a great deal of churn and the fans need to help foster a positive atmosphere to help the players who now wear the shirt. At the same time, we're in the lowest league position in our history and have had many years of disgraceful mismanagement at board level. Support the lads, protest against Top, Rudkin and KP.

Clearly there's quality in this team. The build-up play was often nice. We had some nice touches in and around the box. But, as has often been our problem in recent years, we desperately need some cutting edge. I think Alves, Watson, Howell and Braybrooke can develop it. Burns needs to rediscover it. I think Chaplin will be OK if he can ever get fit. But we can't rely on Bristric, Cullen and BDCR. Reid and Cullen aren't regular goalscorers and Bristric clearly needs time to get acclimatised to the league. We need a plug and play goalscorer before Tuesday and I think then things might slot into place. Of course we do also need other players in other areas to better fit the system and replace players that might leave, like Faes, Okoli and/or Souttar. But a goalscorer is our glaring weakness right now, for me.

So Faes was signed in September 2022 for £15m on a five-year contract which hasn't been extended, so his contract runs out next year and his remaining value is around £3m. Last season's loan to Monaco included a €7.5m option to buy. At the end of May, Monaco were supposedly keen to make the move permanent but wanted to renegotiate the fee because they failed to qualify for the Champions League and TV revenues have dropped for Ligue 1 across the board. I imagine we're trying to hold out for as much as we can get and I suspect if Monaco, or anyone else, approach us for anything around that £3m mark, we'll sell on deadline day.

Just part of the PSR fiddle wasn't it. KDH went to Chelsea for £30m on a six-year contract but by then the maximum amortisation period had been capped at five years, so was costing them £6m a year. We buy Golding for approx £4m to £5m and because incoming fees aren't spread over multiple years in the accounts, that first year cost Chelsea £1m to £2m before they move KDH on to Everton for £29m when his remaining value for the accountants was £24m.

This guy has needed a move like this for some time. I can't see him ever forcing his way into our first team but I hope this earns him a move where we get some sort of fee for him.

Straight in the side on Saturday, I hope

His first touch on the turn was superb. It consistently bought him that extra yard and put us on the offensive. His passing, especially first-time passes, were often excellent. That through-ball to McFarlane in the first half was a prime example of his awareness and ability. He also showed presence and strength in the centre of midfield that belied his tender years. This kid is going far. I hope he stays because he'll be a difference maker for us this season.

Lots to be hopeful about tonight. Also lots to be worried about. Being caught in possession often is the kind of thing that can happen at any level if a team runs and presses with intensity. But we've also escaped the press a number of times and played some nice stuff. We desperately need to create more quality chances though. Better decision making in the final third. Bristric needs to move more and attack the space more, I think.

It's going to be funny when it becomes obvious that Aluko is the best player we've had at CB so far this season