ALC Fox

RIP Nev. Such fond memories of listening to his commentary. He really brought the game to life for those of us who couldn't get to the games every week.

Step forward, Sir William of Alves

That article reads as though the company as a whole is being declared bankrupt but the sums involved aren't huge for a company that has supposedly given the club it's most lucrative sponsorship deal. Of course, it looked dodgy from the outset and there is a theory that this was just a way for the owners to pour their own money in via a third party. But if that isn't the case, and the company is bigger than the article suggests, is it actually the company as a whole or just a subsidiary of it that is being made bankrupt? I know companies register themselves in foreign countries for all sorts of purposes so seeing them being made bankrupt by a court in Curaçao isn't particularly surprising, but it's the relatively small amounts of money being quoted that feels off to me.

Interesting one re KDH. Him leaving to satisfy PSR and then barely play for Chelsea, coupled with us resetting the number of games in which we have named academy graduates in the matchday squad, really does stick in the craw. Add those things to Chelsea pinching our manager, who was supposed to represent a major reset in how the club plays football, which was to affect both recruitment of new players and how the academy trains it's up-and-coming stars. At the moment, it feels like last season was a blip and we're acting like any other club scrapping around desperate to stay in the Promised Land. Contrast that to the description of the club during the 2015/16 season. How revolutionary we were at recruiting not just players of the right ability but also the right personality. And how players with drastically different personalities complemented one another, protected each other on and off the pitch, and loved training and playing games together. Then you consider the events that the club used to hold where knowledge was shared between clubs (e.g. on groundskeeping). If you've read Soccernomics, you may be aware of the theory that clubs on the continent are historically more successful because it was just easier, geographically, for ideas to be shared and proliferated widely. With hindsight, these attitudes that were previously prevalent at the club were clearly spearheaded by Pearson, Shakespeare and Walsh. The opportunity to lay down the foundations for success beyond that period has been missed by the club. Puel did an admirable job in reducing the average age of the squad and lifting us away from a position where we'd be consistently fighting relegation. Then Rodgers was the right guy at the right time to take us to the next level - but the wrong guy at trying to sustain that (keeping our better players instead of selling and reinvesting, leading to money not being brought in at a time when purse strings had been tightening because of COVID, and then identifying substandard squad fillers). I think, maybe, that the owners are perhaps too invested in whatever management team they appoint. When it goes right, it looks great. But forward planning in order to mitigate the appointment of a bad coach or one who just doesn't work out is non-existent. Brighton is an example of where that forward planning is going very, very right.

A loan with an option to buy should we stay up would be absolutely sensational for this kid.

An excellent moment for the goal. A key contribution and showed signs that he can produce moments of real quality. But, it's consistency that's key. If he can keep making real contributions when he gets the chance then he'll force his way in and then who knows? But that's still a long way off. One swallow doesn't make a summer. That's where we're at with Soumare, I think. But he should be absolutely buzzing with that moment. If he can use it as motivation to kick on then it would be one hell of a comeback. We definitely have room for a player who can do what he did but on a regular basis.

Don't know how we keep managing to scrape points here and there. It really isn't pretty. The saving grace is that Cooper is getting the results just about. But if there's a better manager willing to take the job I'd still make the switch. We've a tough run coming up so let's see how we get on over the next few. It's turning into a long old season, that's for sure.

Nice to see these guys doing bits after a little indifferent spell for the youth teams. The talent is there.

Talking of roundabouts. The one at Fosse Park near the McDonald's. Every single time, cars going straight on cut into the right-hand lane instead of following their lane around the roundabout. Makes turning right there annoying at best.

A loan move back in January would be great for us.

Amazing how many of them love to say we're not a rival, completely unprompted. Absolutely falling over themselves to say they don't care about us.

When the ball hits his head and it goes to row Z, that's Okoli. When he's on the ball and makes Haaland look small, that's Okoli. When he crunches a tackle like he's gone into battle, that's Okoli. When he fizzes a pass and he runs fvcking fast, I'm in love.

Hope we've got some sort of chant for that absolute scutter

I was in Wigston on Saturday and think I saw a Starlink satellite train overhead. It would've been approx 7.30-7.40 pm when I saw roughly 10 lights evenly spaced out fly overhead and disappear when they reached a certain point. Did anyone else catch a glimpse?

Not sour grapes or anything but it does look a bit crap imo. Just more pointless template rubbish. Adidas have provided some nice stuff for their favourite clubs but not so sure about that lot to be honest.

I remember us being linked to Ebbe Sand and Hasan Sas after the World Cup in 2002. I'm sure those deals felt really close back then, especially the Hasan Sas one.

Three points clear of the relegation zone is a wonderful feeling. I know it's early days but I'm going to enjoy it. They're decent, Bournemouth. If we can take this result into the Forest, Southampton and Ipswich games and pick up 6 or 7 points from those, I'll be absolutely ecstatic.

Doesn't matter if it's international or club football, this one ALWAYS gets in the mood for the footy.

They really need to Czech their records.

So encouraging to see members of last season's U16s team flourishing at both U18 and U21 level. This is what loaning out your good U21 players allows you to do.

Sometimes I think there are self-fulfilling prophecies in football. For example, I don't think Puel was that bad until the mass pile-on. The football was boring but he cleaned out the squad, made some good signings, reduced the average age of the team and had us finishing respectably in the league. Granted, the Rodgers appointment worked out better in terms of league position and a trophy in the cabinet, but he also inflated the squad, refused to sell assets at their peak value and contributed to the problems we're still experiencing today. While the example of Puel is a negative one, I think self-fulfilling prophecies can go the other way too. By now, Will Alves is surely pretty well known by most of the fanbase. He's been talked about for years as a massive talent, and his injury was big news on this forum and beyond. If he starts a Premier League game and makes just one successful take-on early in the match, the crowd is going to go nuts. The feel-good factor is there right away, and that can influence the trajectory of an entire game. From there, he gets more appearances and the team is living off the goodwill that creates in the fans for several games. Fan atmosphere can influence games, and a run of games can influence a season. This is what I mean by a self-fulfilling prophecy. We don't know what Alves is like at PL level, but we won't know unless we play him. The crowd will be on his side from the absolute very beginning and we can essentially will (sorry) good performances from a player and the team. I know the Premier League is a technical beast and mavericks are fewer and further between now. But these things can be coached into players. The excitement of having one of our own - who is also an attacking player, a flair player, the kind of player that fans love and who all fans secretly wish they could be - is enough to give this squad, this team and even Steve ****ing Cooper a boost so big, it could snowball and affect the rest of our season.

It's a completely minor, probably entirely inconsequential thing, but for me the blue border around the pitch at the King Power is a tiny symptom of the sanitisation of football. The ground looks too 'clean' with it. And the stadium feels less organic and raw nowadays compared to, say, the late 00's. I used to like to feel as though the grass was this hallowed area that should never be encroached on, but for some reason when I'm in the stadium it almost feels like I'm watching the game on TV. I don't think I can adequately explain exactly why such a tiny thing feels off to me, but it just does.

The second half against Spurs and the comeback in this game give me hope. But how much of that is Cooper and how much of it is the players themselves? We're routinely second-best for long periods in every single league game. And I think the players are better than that.

Please just let Evans, Monga and King know there's a pathway here. Get them in a first-team squad ASAP.

I spent some time in South Korea 9/10 years ago and some of the taxi drivers had TV shows playing while they were driving. I believe it had only recently been outlawed at the time but was still prevalent. I wonder if they still do it. I also had two of the scariest journeys of my life in that country, and weirdly the drivers weren't watching TV. The first one the taxi driver was having a full-on argument with another driver. Swerving in and out of lanes, leaning out the window, pointing and shouting, leaning over. The second one our taxi driver misheard what I'd send and took us through a tunnel through a mountain. His foot was to the floor. And we streamed right up behind cars before overtaking at the last second. When it was clear we were going the wrong way he turned around and went back through the tunnel doing the exact same thing. I've never been more relieved to get out of a car in my life.