Gillies Apprentice

I don't believe the training ban has anything to do with FIFA , my hunch is that this is the idea of the club lawyers in order to leave us the armaggedon option of litigation against Sporting and refusing to pay the transfer fee. Whether this is correct will very soon become clear and could make the present furore seem like a squabble at a toddlers day nursery .The honourable thing to do is get him training with the lads and organise a series of closed door games to fill the three months until we can sign him properly and he can hit the ground running in January . In the meantime, if we have reasonable grounds for an appeal to the CoS , we can get on with that as well.

If you are correct in your assertion ,Lawrence should have been told ,so he wouldn't now be going public with his surprise at the absence of contact . Whichever way you dress it up , it's a management failing .

I put this entirely down to John Rudkin and is a damning indictment of his effectiveness. The rumour that we hawked Lawrence around during the transfer window then backed off when Newcastle and Burnley wanted him ,after he scored all those worldies ,sounds depressingly true.

John Cross put the boot in on MOTD2 on Sunday and again on Talksport this morning .The genius who predicted we'd get relegated last season ,obviously nurtures a grudge for the year of embarrassment he's suffered ever since , but offered the lamest criticism yet. Asked what he thought had happened ,he mumbled an incoherent response and finished off with 'what has happened doesn't sit well with me ' - with no explanation or justification .It was so weak that Alan Brazil changed the subject immediately and ,even though it was a 'mauled by a dead sheep' moment, it still rankles .

Shakey is no fool and will realise the make or break situation he is in .If ,as expected ,he gets the caretaker role to the end of the season and ,also as expected ,we stay up ,he then has to convince the owners that he has the credentials to get the job permanently . Ironically ,the demise of Claudio and our subsequent revival will make it highly unlikely that a new manager will agree to Shakey staying on as his number two ,so he has gambled his career on getting the top job. The history of successful caretakers getting the job full time is chequered ,to say the least and I ,for one ,doubt that our owners will take the risk, however harsh that would be . Shakey knows therefore ,that he had to not only pull off the mini great escape but in addition ,have a coherent and deliverable strategy to present to the owners that he can restructure the squad and achieve their goal of establishing us as a permanent member of the Premier League. As previous posters have pointed out ,the strategic problems at the club are significant and have played no small part in our largely disappointing season ,none of which are Shakey's doing, but all of which will cloud his future . He is a very good coach and an extremely loyal servant to the club - I hope he gets his just rewards.

http://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/john-giles-jamie-carragher-and-the-chorus-of-nonsense-annoyed-me-claudio-ranieri-is-not-a-good-manager-35494000.html

There seems to be a big split in the fan's attitude between the sentimentalists and the pragmatists and I can foresee trouble tonight between the two. If ever we needed the Birch to get everyone behind the side, it's this game .

On the face of it ,a cleverly written piece , but he omits to recognise the similarities with what happened at both Man City and Chelsea , where both their managers were sacked in virtually identical circumstances. It would have been interesting if he had done some research on what has actually been happening ,so he could also offer a view on how well (or not ) Ranieri had handled it and attribute the culpability for our predicament more rationally.

Just heard Matt Hughes from the Times on Talksport churn out the now familiar 'Leicester are where they should be' line as reason why CR shouldn't have been sacked. More condescending scorn on top of the rest of the shit we've had.

Basic rules for our trip to Seville;- Fines and Forfeits to be levied on defaulters. No mention of the R word No slagging off our players ,Manager or DoF Non Stop Celebration that we are Champions of England ( for the only time ever) Relentless Rejoicing that we are basking in the media attention and sunshine of Seville when Man U,Chelsea and Spurs are all at home. Determination to maximise the enjoyment of our final Champions League excursion. Bring it on....

Len Chalmers - Broke leg in Cup Final when there were no subs and probably cost us the Cup

I thought we outclassed Palace and Burnley in the Prem and played very well in all the Champs League home games, apart from a few periods of opposition pressure when we defended resolutely. The Man City win was pretty inspiring as well .

Brian Williamson - Goalkeeper loaned to us by Forest in 67/68 ,utterly dreadful .

Frank Worthington - Absolute Quality and a Superb Entertainer

Bob Lee