Claudio Fannieri

I agree Maresca would have massively moved us forward had he stayed although I disagree on your first point. We got Brian Little from Darlington, Martin O’Neill from Norwich and Nigel Pearson from Southampton and they all came in and massively moved us forward and delivered success.

I think this is what was on the cards at the time we got promoted under Enzo before Chelsea came calling, he always said that there were good people at the club but they needed more help, experience and support, I think Top has probably recognised it’s now or never, he has to change something to win back the support of a proportion of the fanbase and to give the club the best chance of returning to being a sustainable and successful entity. Many have said Jon Rudkin was never going to be sacked and that a move upstairs or sideways was the only war that some change on the football operations side could happen, this offers that opportunity. The recruitment of a new Chief Executive and Commercial Director should also be welcomed, again an opportunity for the club to strengthen this side of the business whilst also bringing in fresh ideas and thinking. People can argue all day long about timing, motive etc etc but the reality is this is what so many have been asking for, of course it’s critical that the club get the appointments right and they are given the structure and environment to be successful, but this is a massive step in the right direction and hopefully the start of our long journey back to where we know we can be as a club.

Paul Mitchell, Steve Walsh, David Weir would be on my list and if Big Nige’s health allowed and he was up for it he would also be in the mix

Is this genuine or a piss take to get people’s hopes up?

It’s definitely a start in the right direction, it’s what many have called for, yes of course the proof will be in the pudding in terms of who we recruit. Yes could have happened sooner but it didn’t and Top has been rightly criticised for this. However he is at least recognising the failings and accepting change needs to happen, like I say it’s a big step in the right direction, he now has to deliver on this and recruit forward thinking, high performing individuals for these roles and if he does then the club can begin the process and journey of becoming a competitive and innovative organisation again.

Jakub is a very good keeper, yes he has flaws and makes the odd mistake but overall he is very good and assured, remember what he has in front of him. Begovic will be brilliant for him, an experienced goalkeeper and consummate professional who will be superb for his development and to offer support and guidance as Jakub progresses his career. There are far bigger issues and problems at the club than Jakub in fact I wouldn’t be shocked to see him as a future captain as I think he comes across as confident and intelligent and seems to love the club.

Exactly my thoughts, I was hoping he would be one to leave in January to help create funds to bring in new players.

This is my take on things as it currently stands, it is now or never for me, either there needs to be significant change to how we operate as a club both on the pitch and commercially or it’s time for new ownership. Top has an opportunity to shake it up by appointing an experienced football operator as CEO to replace Susan Whelan and also accept that it’s time to freshen it up on the football side as well by moving Rudkin into another role within the KP sporting organisation and bring in a new fresh thinking DoF but also accept it’s time to step back and allow these people the authority to do their jobs effectively and restructure the club and playing style to better fit the needs of the modern game and to establish our own LCFC identity. We need to rebuild the scouting, analysis and sports science side of the club, like it was under Pearson as we were head and shoulders above the rest. In regard to the obsession of playing like Man City this has become a millstone around our necks, we are no longer capable of playing this way and in truth it’s outdated, we need to find our LCFC style and identity, football moves forward and you have to continue to be progressive and tweak your style to stay competitive, we haven’t and I truly believe this is because this was Vichai’s vision when he appointed Puel, and Top is reluctant to move away from that style and doubled down on it by asking Maresca to play like Man City. It feels like the club is still working to the blueprint that Vichai had in place and unfortunately football moves quickly and currently we are afraid to move forward and perhaps change from that vision. This is where Top needs to show real leadership and not be afraid to make big decisions that are required to move the club forward again and to protect the legacy of his father. Football is ever changing and very different from even 6/7 years ago however to us whilst players and managers come and go very little has changed in the structure of how we run our club. It is all too familiar and as a result the culture and standards continue to decline, the club needs new impetus, fresh ideas and a cultural reset, that can only come with systemic change including personnel, structure, direction, leadership and behaviour. We cannot continue to drift along operating in the same manner as we did 6,7, 8 years ago, we have to be agile and dynamic. The time has come for Top to make tough decisions and build a new era for the club that shapes us for the future if he cannot make those changes or is unwilling to change then I think it’s time for him to accept that he has taken the club as far as he can and that it’s the right thing to sell to someone who has the energy and vision to take us forward in a different direction.

Great pod and again as you so often do, I thought you summarised the whole Rudkin chants and subsequent statements really well. The truth is the chants were from a very small minority who were probably fuelled by drink and in hindsight realise it wasn’t the best idea. Whilst the words of the song cross a line and were rightly condemned by the various fan groups, it is very unlikely any participant was actually wishing this or planning anything to endanger the safety of Rudkin. As for the club statement again I think you boys nailed it, the club didn’t need to say anything and certainly the tone of the statement in relation to working with integrity has only inflamed the situation further.

Martin George was an excellent chairman and continually got it right when it came to identifying managers. Did an excellent job of rebuilding the club after the Pleat years and laid the foundations of a good few years of relative success for our club at the time, supported by Brian Little, Mark McGhee and Martin O’Neill.

I thought Jordan on the BSLB’s podcast got it pretty much spot on

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Miron Muslic or Wellens for me, I wouldn’t be adverse to Tony Mowbray as a short term option

Challinor and Wellens give me Brian Little and Nigel Pearson vibes, but really cannot see Top and Rudkin going near them. It will be Russell Martin, I wouldn’t be shocked if Liam Manning was also considered as both fit the mould of playing the style that Top has become so fixated with.

I also quoted £4m/£5m in fees against £20m and wages of £50k per week is different to then. I think we have to agree to disagree, an owner and a business with assets costing over £2.5m per year in wages each will have to have pretty deep pockets and be happy to watch those assets rotting away in a stand, which I don’t believe we as a club can afford to do and neither do I think Top has the mentality to do that. We are on our arse financially and as club from a culture and standards perspective so in my opinion the landscape is very different from when Pearson was here, and yes I believe because of the lack of football operational experience we are far more reliant on relationships with agents. This has been alluded to previously by others with a decent appreciation of how we now operate.

It’s the point that the club and the game has moved on and the reliance on maintaining relationships with agents and representatives is so important and financially it is a very different landscape. When Pearson came back he was dealing with players like Matt Mills and Jermaine Beckford who cost £4m - £5m not £20m and the wages whilst high for the time and division were nothing like £50k per week. The landscape is very different, however what is constant in both scenarios is Top

We also had a different DoF at the time, whose network and ability to shift on players was possibly better than the current incumbent.

That was well over 13 years ago the game has moved on a lot since then especially as to how clubs manage out of favour players. Also PSR has also changed with the book value of players playing a big part now.

I also think we have to remember we are not one of the big 6 who have the financial and reputational muscle and therefore can have 3, 4 or 5 players frozen out, clubs like us don’t have their luxury, we have to network and develop good relationships with agents and representatives to help for future transfers in etc. Therefore whilst Marti and the fanbase would be happy not to have to see the likes of Faes, Winks, Soumare, VK and Daka never play for us again, the club can ill afford to freeze the players out and risk souring relationships with agents and it impacting future transfers. There will be lots of side conversations about the club keeping agents clients in the shop window to help grease the wheels of future deals or contract renewals for other players that agent represents.

It’s is probably closer to £60k given the relegation reduction clauses and I do understand what you are saying but there may be low end team(s) in the prem or interest from abroad willing to take a chance in January for a lowish fee of £3m-£4m and cover his current wage.

Personally I don’t agree with not including Nelson, but perhaps the club and Marti do know the plan and therefore this is what’s driving selection. Nelson won’t be on massive wages but the others are and I think trying to get that £10m or so in wages shifted is paramount.

You know best pal

You can if you have the support of the owner and DoF but if you come in and change things and certain players go snivelling and whining to the owner and they don’t double down on the support for the manager then their position is completely undermined.

It’s about both, you do realise there is PSR to navigate? I am just giving up a perspective, it’s about optics, utilising assets and balancing that with trying to secure best possible deals for players who could move on in January. As for teams who could come in for any of our out of contract players. teams in relegation trouble may look at players like Winks, Soumare, Daka as cheap gambles to come in and help stay up. We did it with Coulibaly. It does happen.

Just for the record I ain’t Top and I don’t agree with it but football is more than just results, it’s about finances and PSR etc etc