Claudio Fannieri

Reminds me so much of last season, around this same time of year, 3 very winnable and important games vs Palace, followed up by home games to Villa and Bournemouth, we lost the 1st and Rodgers left, only for us to absolute cack our nappy and throw in 2 absolute stinker performances to lose both games. I know Enzo is still here but lose today and Saturday and I genuinely think any hope of automatic promotion will be gone. Massive week especially when considering the potential financial results being released tomorrow.

Really hope we can regroup and come back with a victory that reinvigorates the season, I don’t know why but I have a feeling both Ipswich and Leeds are going to slip up today, just hope we can capatalise. Would be great to get the 3 points on the board and apply pressure to both clubs in advance of their kick offs.

There is a common denominator in all of this, the owner and his sidekicks, I have little or no time for Rodgers, but the more you hear, it is highly likely that both Rodgers and Enzo were not made fully aware of the financial issues and constraints and both appear to have had the rug pulled from beneath them. Communication and trust is critical and yet it would appear that the clubs hierarchy deem that the manager is not worthy of being fully updated on the financial situation. its is all well and good having champagne ambitions and selling the dream to potential managers and head coaches but not if you support them with lemonade senior execs and don’t have the respect to be open and honest in your dialogue with them. It appears to me we have made certain promises and commitments, Rodgers Refresh and I am fairly sure in the discussions with Enzo there was no hint of us breaching PSR, points deductions, embargo’s and fire sales. And yet here we are with a 2nd manager in little over 2 years being left to feel let down and another group of players looking for the exit door. I cannot believe how poorly mismanaged we have become, fans complain about lack of engagement from the clubs hierarchy and yet it appears this extends to the managers of our football club. If I were Enzo I would regroup with the players and literally say 8 games to go, let’s do this for ourselves and give us all a chance of securing decent moves away in the summer. The project has died, there is no project that can be used as motivation. It has to be professional pride, desire to succeed and the opportunity to secure the best move and deal in the summer. What an utterly horrible and horrendous situation we find ourselves in and I have no doubt that come what may, we will start again in June with Rudkin and co still in place and our pool of potential managers and players continuing to diminish with each passing season. Rodgers rightly gets absolute pelters for taking us down, but this is beyond this now and all I see is the common denominators of Top, Rudkin and Whelan, something has to give and change immediately before this club is literally run into the ground. Managers take the fall for performances on the pitch yet why is it when our performance off the pitch is so horrific and is clearly affecting performance on the pitch, the owners are so reluctant to make the necessary changes. if the financial results are as bad as being reported and potentially we are on the verge of announcing the worst breach of PSR reported to date then surely Top cannot just sit back and ignore this and heads have to roll. Massive few days ahead in my opinion.

I absolutely love the pod, I haven’t had the chance to listen to the latest episode as away on holiday and forgot my headphones and not sure my fellow holiday makers would appreciate hearing Ric’s dulcet tones blaring out many a swear word and Norris references 😂 I love the balance that the 4 of you bring, I tend to be in between Ric and Jordan, a wide range I know but in terms of the how the club is run I am definitely aligned with Ric but in terms of on the field I would say I am very much like Jordan, especially this season. I honestly fear a defeat tomorrow and the atmosphere will turn absolutely toxic and I am really not sure it will be reversed. Where we sit now is so reminiscent of where we were this time last year, albeit Brendan had just been sacked, we lacked energy, ideas and generally looked like a team that had thrown in the towel, I pissed on holiday and the team managed to lose back to back home games to Villa and Bournemouth showing little to no fight, I felt then the writing was on the wall. now fast forward 12 months and here I am back on holiday, we have bollocksed the 1st game of 2 critical matches and again the writing looks to be on the wall that we have capitulated and are facing at best a 2nd chance in the play offs. Albeit very different scenarios but the feelings that we have completely shit the bed and like last season we are going to end up feeling so devastated and heading into a summer of negativity and the unknown. What a complete and utter cluster**** the last 2/3 seasons have been, we have literally been written the blue print of how to go from European Semi-Final to blowing what looked an unassailable lead at the top of the championship and guaranteed promotion. We really are some club 😂 ps in amidst of all this inane rambling and ranting, I was meant to be heaping praise on you @BSLBPod boys in what has been an eventful couple of seasons and that is putting it very mildly.

Make no mistake if the size of the losses are anywhere in the region, that @GingerrrFox intimates, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt the validity of what is being said, that is financial mismanagement of a magnitude that could take this club to a level that doesn’t bear thinking about. The owners over he last 10 or so years have delivered arguably our finest days, and quite rightly they received great acclaim, it really was a footballing fairytale, however last 2/3 seasons the cracks appeared and rather than proactively manage these situations, Top and his team of trusted advisors have sat back and allowed the club to implode both on and off the pitch to a level that could lead to a generation of mediocrity and struggle. Now I am not wanting to sound entitled, where we sit now is more akin to our natural habitat but the manner of our plummet from what should have been the foundation and opportunity to build sustained success and being a sustainable established premier league team to a team on the verge of financial meltdown and the impact this will have to put on field ambitions and ability to compete even at 2nd tier level is truly Unbelieveable i really cannot see how Top, Whelan, Rudkin and co can survive and continue as the leaders of our club, either the family have to sell and we start again or Top has to be ruthless and bring in established football experienced operators who can take the embers of what is left and rebuild us both on and off the pitch. What a sad and sorry state we find ourselves in. .

It really does feel like the impending PSR breach and subsequent points deduction has ripped the heart and spirit from the management and squad, at the start of the season there seemed a long term project was in place and everyone seemed to buy into it, however fast forward a few months and it has literally turned to rat shit, highly likely if we do go up we will have a significant points deduction and likely to have to sell some of our better players, hardly conducive to driving a positive culture. All the positivity has been destroyed and looks to be replaced by a group now looking for the exit door after being sold an initial dream that has now turned into an impending nightmare, even if successful at best it’s going to be a long hard season trying to fend off relegation with a severely weakened squad and the likelihood of quite a few morale sapping hanmerings as we will be woefully ill equipped. Soul destroying how the club has managed to shoot itself so badly in the foot. So many look to have mentally checked out now.

I agree from a defensive perspective Coady is so much more solid than Faes, trouble is I think Enzo sees Coady as having limitations when in possession, whilst Faes can have absolute brain farts and at times is an absolute bombscare, however his ability to progress with the ball from deep is definitely a weapon especially when teams set up in a low block as he can manipulate space and that will draw players out of their defensive shape. personally I would like to see Coady in for his stability and leadership but I am not convinced Enzo will go for this due to what we lose when in possession.

Seagrave isn’t the problem in my opinion, having state of the art facilities is an absolute positive and in the long term should be a huge part of attracting new players and more importantly in attracting the very best academy prospects. I still believe our biggest issue over the last 2 years is the number of players who know they are leaving and have mentally checked out of the club, it played a massive part in our relegation last season and I think we are seeing a similar impact now in this second half of the season. I think a fair few had their eye on the January exit door, and when it didn’t happen, motivation levels have most certainly dipped.

If Enzo was to leave before the end of the season, which is highly unlikely, as it would mean a parting of the ways on Monday after the Norwich game, leaving 7 games to go, I really don’t think we would take a gamble like and that and also I ain’t convinced Top and Rudkin would be proactive enough to have somebody like Copper primed and ready to come in on say a 12 month rolling contract. I think regardless what happens this season, Enzo is gone in the summer, I really do feel the true financial position was divulged until January and the trust and relationship is broken. if we don’t get promoted, it’s going to be completely different job and I would like to see us go for a young upcoming hungry manager who sees our club as an honour and privilege to manage our club, I have suggested Richie Wellens in another thread as I feel he not only plays decent football but he has done his apprenticeship at some challenging clubs and had some reasonable success.

I don’t have an issue with having an identity or a defined way of playing but you have to have tactical flexibility and that can be in terms of subs, mixing up formations or subtle tweaks to how we play, all this can be done within a framework that means you are not moving far from your principles and ideology. You have to keep moving forward and evolving, the reason I feel we have hit a brick wall is the fact we have become very rigid in our play, set up and substitutions and as a consequence we look jaded and the confidence at the start and middle of the season that we never looked beaten has evaporated. Enzo has to show some flexibility both tactical and with personnel otherwise we will blow this promotion opportunity and from the position we were in at the turn of the year, regardless of the FFP situation it will be a capitulation of the highest level, and I really can’t see how he survives that.

The drop off has been so alarming, which does make me beg the question have the Manager and players lost their mojo and energy for the club? We were flying just a few weeks back but it does seem to coincide with the financial issues starting to come out, do the players and manager feel they have been sold a massive pup in the summer? For what it’s worth if we don’t go up and we are genuinely looking at a points deduction and a lot of players leaving and a real change in direction and culture, a bit of an off the wall appointment but I would consider Richie Wellens, knows the club, had a good grounding under Pearson and has done a decent job at both Swindon and Orient, his time at Salford was a bit of a blip but predominantly was asked to change the style mid season and get promotion but wasn’t supported. I think he could do a decent job much in the same way as Pearson did. Let’s be straight regardless of whether we go up or not and at the minute it’s looking highly unlikely, this is going to be a tough gig and it needs someone who wants to be here. He has done the hard yards in the lower leagues and I think he could do a very good job.

I actually think the only way we were going to do a deal for Sensi was as a replacement for KDH in the event someone made a late move for him that was acceptable to the club.

If we cast our minds back to when KP first took over, very similar mistakes were made, the hiring of Sousa and then Sven plus the crazy levels of spending for a Championship club, until Pearson returned and has to try and repair the damage, we were a mess, now if I recall correctly Vichai was not as involved or didn’t appear to be at the very beginning, therefore you have to ask the question, does Top have enough acumen and financial control to be the head of a football club, as it seems to me are in a very similar position to where we were and making very similar mistakes, which makes me question if the current ownership and its team are genuinely fit for purpose without Vichai.

One thing that did cross my mind, what did actually happen with the Casadei recall, did Chelsea really terminate the loan based on lack of minutes, just at a time when he was getting game time and was due a decent run in the side because of the injury to Wilf, for him to hardly kick a ball for Chelsea. Or was this a non-footballing decision by the club to start cutting back on some costs and trimming wherever possible and there was a termination option in January which we exploited. if it was a non-football related decision then it may well explain some of the frustrations Enzo may have when the club and certain high ranking executives, I guess it’s highly unlikely we will find out, but I never did quite buy that Chelsea recalled him, or the timing of it.

Daring to question Rudkin and co

A left footed, right winger would be lovely just in case Abdul doesn’t sign 😀

I think they leave unescorted now, usually from 80 minutes onwards

I think the only way Enzo will walk, regardless of whether we go up or not, is if he there has been a significant change in circumstances that wasn’t discussed/shared at the time of him joining. We have all worked in situations where we have been told the truth and no matter how shitty the situation is, you at least have the opportunity to fully understand the situation and can therefore look to navigate a path through the choppy waters, or you can choose to not take the role/move on. If the club decided not to divulge the gravity of the problem and the high risk of a breach, which would severely impact us in the January window and the very imminent and highly likely risk of a significant points sanction at some stage before next season, then it is fair to think that this would now lead to some cracks in the relationship and for their to be a real lack of credibility for the clubs hierarchy. However if the club did divulge that potentially choppy waters lay ahead and without significant sales of unwanted players then there was a real risk of a financial breach and this would severely restrict future spending beyond the last summer transfer window, then I think it’s less likely Enzo will walk away. This isn’t about his arrogance and/or whether he has achieved enough to warrant taking another job, this is purely about whether the relationship between the employer and their manager is one of 100% trust or if one of the parties has been sold a dud. For what it’s worth, if De Zerbi goes in the summer I wouldn’t be shocked to see Brighton target Enzo.

The club has given us 2 of the most amazing memories and achievements that I never ever thought I would witness. To win the league and then win the FA Cup was unbelieveable, and fully demonstrated the ambitions the owners had to disrupt the big 6, however I also feel how we reacted to those successes and our subsequent decision making showed a level of naivety, were giddy on success and on both occasions on the club lost focus and made very poor decisions. Do I want new ownership, I am not sure, as there are so many unscrupulous people out there, but it does need a massive refresh and Top needs experienced football industry leadership alongside him, the club has gone stale and needs new fresh impetus and ideas both in the football and commercial operations. My only concern is does he have the fire in his belly to make those decisions and then to recruit two respected and experienced operators to help rebuild the club.both on and off the pitch.

I couldn’t agree more, when you look at Leeds attacking options especially put wide, they are head and shoulders ahead of us. Yes Enzo has an ideology of how he wants to play and it’s an ideology that the club also want, so in reality they have to provide him the tools to be able to do that. it may well be the, or one of the most expensive squads to be relegated but it doesn’t mean it’s well balanced or packed full of high quality options in each and every position. The truth is the club has been terrible at shifting players on and we are in a situation where we have installed a manager to play a certain style but asking him to use players who are not necessarily fit for purpose. I think there will be a parting of the ways not because Enzo expects the very best players, but because I think he recognises that the club needs a massive refresh and he has high expectations of how the club operates, and too be honest the fall out of the last few weeks does not scream world class, it is rank amateurism. I think the only way Enzo stays beyond the end of the season, will be if Top clears out the deadwood that is holding the club back and that is both on and in particular off the pitch. The inability of the Director of Football to move on unwanted squad players is an area of absolute concern and failure, and has to be addressed if we harbour any serious ambitions of being a competitive premier league club again. However as much as I like Enzo, the other point is, we absolutely need everyone to be 100% committed to the club, if people don’t want to be here then it’s is better for everyone if we shake hands and move on, we have seen first hand the detrimental impact of having players and management who have checked out. Whichever way we look at it I think we are in for a summer of upheaval, Top has to be decisive, straight after the season ends he has to make the decision, either back Enzo and make the necessary changes to support him or back Rudkin and co and accept that we go in yet another direction.

Just to reiterate my stance, I wholeheartedly believe it’s time for Rudkin to go, whether it’s time for King Power to go is debatable. To fail these measures is 100% on the club. However the measure of £105m losses set in 2013 now actually equates to £150.8m and that isn’t taking into account football inflation, in addition the club owner has to underwrite £90m of the permitted £105m so further brings into question is this to protect clubs from unscrupulous owners or just a way of restricting ambition. Surely the better way to administer and protect clubs is to make the owner accountable for 100% of any losses and therefore they can be ambitious and overspend but it is purely at the discretion and out of the pocket of the owner(s)

I agree rules are rules and we have been absolutely masters of our own demise and there is no doubt the club needs a massive overhaul, however that doesn’t mean that the rules are right, the fact is the rules have been introduced to stop clubs being innovative, most teams will have a maximum of 3/4 years before they are pillaged by the big 6 and/or they naturally max out, like we did, hit their glass ceiling and fall away. It is happening to Brentford and I honestly believe it will happen to Brighton, and many more. Any club operating outside of Champions League with a stadium of less than 40,000 capacity is going to struggle with these rules to maintain any level of competitiveness. what I will say is that not agreeing with the rules but still recognising the massive mess the hierarchy have made of the club do not have to be mutually exclusive. I hate what modern football has become but also recognise the absolute pits the club has become in the last 2/3 seasons in our commercial and financial operations.

The club have made undoubted errors over the last couple of years, which has most definitely led to this breach and the subsequent mess we find ourselves in, would this have happened under Vichai, the truth is nobody knows. what we do know is when a club like ourselves who have won the premier league, been champions league quarter finalists, recent FA Cup winners, been challenging the top 4 and been in a European Semi Final, whilst also selling a raft of top talent for good money, to fall foul tells you all need to know about the rules. EPL clubs are not broke, far from it, but they are being dictated to, as to how much they can invest, and regardless of how they are performing or what cash reserves they have, they are being forced to sell their star players and/or enter into a self imposed incoming transfer ban to try and stay compliant with financial rules that are outdated and quite frankly corrupt to hand a competitive advantage to the big 6. When Newcastle who are now potentially one of if not the richest club, are scratching around unable to bring players in until they are forced to sell Bruno and or Isak, to wait for it one of the big 6, then you know the rules are corrupt. So whilst there is no doubt that the club hierarchy have made mistakes, not selling an asset in the summer after the FA Cup win and giving Rodgers too much of a free reign and giving him too long last season, I wholeheartedly support the stance they are taking as these rules are absolutely ridiculous and actively prevent teams from being able to be ambitious, dream or generate any level of sustained success. It is effectively match fixing but in a different way and at a level that effectively tries to exclude any teams except the big 6 from finishing in the top 6 positions. The only reason it isn’t quite panning out as planned is that both Chelsea and Man Utd have made such a cluster**** of being handed such an advantage. As for the proposed new rules, whilst they are different, it still ensures the big 6 are given a competitive advantage, as they generate higher revenues so will have far more wriggle room than the rest. Nothing will change and the % threshold of spend will just make it more difficult for the other 14 to keep their best players who will just get picked off by the big 6 at will as they will be able to offer contracts way in excess of the others. I am glad we are going swinging hard, I am done with this corrupt shit show, this isn’t sport anymore it’s becoming more and more like F1 where there a small number of teams that are genuinely competitive and the rest are there to be nothing more than also rans to make up the numbers. The game is on its arse and soon enough it will be where every week the big 6 will be steamrolling one of the rest by 3,4 or 5 week in week out. That is not what football has been about in this country and I for one hope we do as a club fight for the right to be ambitious, be brave and have a go at disrupting these spoilt little brats who want to control the money and their place at the top of football.

I realised I never said who I think will leave, definitely gone in my opinion would be KDH, Justin, Faes, Daka, whilst I think we would also look to move on fringe players such as Choudhury, Souttar, Kristensen, Soumaré and Ward, to create budget and wage flexibility. I also think all the out of contract players move on with the exception of Vesty and maybe Vards dependent on them accepting heavily reduced terms. Ricardo, Mads and Mavidid I would try to retain however if a suitable offer came in and they wanted to move then I think given reasonably low book values we may be inclined to move on and take the profit. I think the spine of the side would be Mads/Jakub, Coady, Vesty, Winks, possibly Riccy P, Cannon & Vards (if V’s both stay on) with a smattering of free and low value signings who better fit the Maresca profile and style and then a lot of academy players such as Nelson, McAteer, Wanya, Braybrooke and Alves etc who have been schooled in Enzo ball for the last 12 months.

if and its a big if, we fail to go up then i think we would see a lot of academy players promoted to the first team, highly likely players such as Nelson, Braybrooke, Alves, Cover, Wanya, Thomas, Briggs etc would become integral members of the 1st team squad as well as Opoku and Booth coming into contention after loans. Most will have had 12 months of Enzo ball so would be well schooled, whilst it would be far from ideal I am not so sure if we don’t go up this year that we necessarily have to completely rip up the blue print and start again with a new manager.