Qwerty

It’ll be just typical if we’re relegated on Tuesday, then play brilliantly and win the last 2 irrelevant games

JJ is the one that I find most surprising. Who cares if he’s only just back from injury. He’s still our best player, and we don’t need to bother about protecting him, because we’ve only got 4 games left and then he’s leaving. Are we protecting him so he’s fit for his next club?!!

I doubt it. There wasn’t when we were relegated in 2023.

I'm told by the man I sit next to at games that it's really nice coffee!

That's exactly what Wrexham have done

Exactly. That's the bottom line. We can spend whatever we want really, as long as he bankrolls it himself. The 60% limit is no issue, because we can easily find things other than players to spend 40% on. All we can hope is that his pride forces him to pump money in, rather than shuffle away like a total failure!

My understanding of finance in League 1 is that only 60% of revenue can be spent on wages, players etc, but that "revenue" doesn't necessarily have to be generated by the club. It can be put into the club by the owner, which is how then likes of Wrexham have done so well recently. So essentially, a club can generate very little income on ticket sales etc, but if it has a rich owner, it can spend plenty of money. As you say, it'll all depend on how much Top is prepared to put in himself. From his point of view, it's a gamble. Does he put money in, in the hope of having a decent season and getting promoted, but risking losing his money if we do badly. Or does he not put money in, but then risk administration/bankruptcy, and risk walking away with nothing. Or does he try and sell straight away....

This thread will pretty quickly fill with people saying the club will go straight into administration, and will cease to exist within a couple of years. Personally I think Seagrave will be sold. Regarding League 1 financial rules, I’m not entirely sure what they are, but I don’t think PSR exists, so we should be OK. I have no idea what the plan will be, but I think communication will be poor. I reckon attendance will be about 20,000. I think away games will be well attended though, just for the variety of days out.

Obviously the financial mess plays a large part, but I think Maresca leaving had quite an impact. I wasn't a huge fan of his style of play, but it's clear that he was an excellent man-manager. The players loved him, he was able to attract good players, and they worked hard for him. I clearly remember the atmosphere at the pre-season friendly at Northampton, before our season in the championship in 2023. We sold out our entire allocation, which was essentially the whole stadium. The players seemed motivated, everyone was optimistic, and we went on to have a great season. I don't think anyone expected Chelsea to swoop in, and Maresca to jump ship at the first opportunity. Then we had Cooper, who the players clearly didn't like. And RVN, who was even worse. And Marti, who seemed nice but managed to fall out with players too. It seems to me that the players all checked out once Maresca went. They're obviously a bunch of over-paid spoilt kids, but the lack of signings and dodgy managers have brought out the worst in them.

I honestly don’t know how change can be made to happen. I was brought up by hippies, so I’ve had a lifetime of campaigns, and I was taken on CND marches when I was barely walking! But campaigning against massive corporates is a whole different thing. Maybe stopping attending would help, but I just don’t believe it, and it would kind of defeat the object, because then we wouldn’t be able to watch our team play anyway. People who’ve been STHs for many decades may feel ready to do something else on Saturdays, so the protest feels like a good idea to them. But plenty of young people aren’t at that point, and they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for it. I’ll happily join a march, sign a letter, email the club, boo the players, chant against the board - but I’m not going to boycott games while me and my family still want to watch football. And I’ve spend more hours than I can count watching my kids play youth and senior grassroots football, so the likes of Harborough Town and Coalville hold no appeal for me!!

That’s your choice. Whether it works or not, it’s your choice. What I object to is the tone of this and other threads, addressing the fans who’ve renewed their season tickets, essentially saying “there you are, we’re getting relegated, and it’s your fault. I hope you’re happy now you’ve destroyed the club”. And what does “fighting for the club” even mean? Simply not going to games any more, and swearing allegiance to Harborough Town instead? It’s interesting that you’ve been going to games for 30 years, through some fairly dark times. Surely your own rules should dictate that you stopped going when we last faced administration? Just because you’ve finally reached the end of your tether, after 30 years, it doesn’t mean everyone else has. No one is happy with how things are being run, and everyone wants Top to sell. But we all approach it in different ways, and in-fighting between fans doesn’t help anyone.

I just think if the fans cut off the ticket revenue, the club looks in much worse shape to a future buyer. But mainly I’m sick of being told by people on FoxesTalk that anyone who is still going to games is not a proper fan. I’ve been taking my kids for years, and they still want to go, and why shouldn’t they? They’re young adults now but they’ve still got all their old kits from when they were little, they were born in Leicester, they live in Leicester, they love football, they’re gutted at what’s happening but Leicester is still their team. And they want to watch them on a Saturday afternoon. I resent fans like my kids being blamed for the financial mess the club is in. There’s a man who sits behind us with his young son, who loves it, cheers the team, sings the songs, and is really enthusiastic. They were in the season ticket ballot for 4 years before they got one. Why shouldn’t they renew? These are the future fans. Why is their enthusiasm being blamed for Top’s mistakes? All the “KPFC” rubbish. Pitting fans against each other. It’s pathetic. There are many people who should take some blame for the mess the club is in, but none of them are the fans who just pay money to watch their team play football. If some fans have had enough and don’t want to go to matches any more, that’s fine. But don’t be telling the rest of us that we’re traitors who are in some way responsible for the situation.

If they didn’t want to play in the championship, they sure as hell won’t want to play in League 1. And looking at the way they play, most of them have checked out already. Their agents will already be putting the word out I’m certain. There’s no way Fatawu, Winks, Mavadidi etc will step on a pitch in League 1. The saddest thing is that they’ll end up going to better clubs and playing well. A bit like Tielemans did at Villa, after playing like a lame donkey at Leicester for his final season.

Yes but he’s not going to sell because ticket sales drop for one season. Cutting off the money to the club will just make the club poorer. Time and again we’ve seen greedy owners outstay their welcome, till the club goes into administration. How would that be a good thing? Like Sheffield Wednesday - they’ve got rid of Chansiri but at the cost of a likely double relegation.

Of course they’ll go. They’ll take pay cuts to avoid playing in League 1. Thomas might stay, because League 1 is his level, but he’ll take a pay cut because there are relegation clauses.

He’ll have no choice of we’re facing administration. Either step back and sell, or put the money in.

The players on high wages will be gone. The vast majority of our current starting 11 and subs will be gone. And Top will have to either sell, or bankroll the club using his own money. This is permitted in league 1.

Top will have to put his own money in if he doesn’t want to sell. That’s allowed in League 1.

Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. But if no one goes to games, then we know the club will be bankrupt. And it’s less likely to be bought by someone else if the fan base is non existent.

So on one thread we’ve got people saying the club is already essentially bankrupt, and will inevitably cease to exist in a couple of years. Then on another thread we’ve got people saying that no one should buy tickets, so that we can starve the club of funds and force Top out. But surely if the club is already set for closure, what’s the point in boycotting games? We might as well make the most of football while we can? After all, if it’s already a done deal, what’s the point of any kind of protest? So tell me, which of the multitude of experts on here is correct?

Yes but Top is not in a hurry to sell. It could take administration/bankruptcy to get rid of him, and we’ve all seen what that has done to Sheffield Wednesday. They’re facing starting League 1 with a 15 point deduction, so are highly likely to go down to league 2, despite having new owners. Our best hope is to do well in League 1, so Top is happy to sell, knowing he’ll get some money out of it. Rather than allowing the club’s finances to get even worse than they already are.

Yes but while starving the club, we’d go so low before Top would sell, there’d be no coming back from it.

It’ll be OK. Of course LCFC will continue. So much hysteria here!

Talk me through what you think needs to be done. You’re saying no one should renew their season ticket, and presumably no one should go to games. So the stadium would be empty apart from away fans. The club would generate zero revenue. Can you tell me how you think that would improve things? In my opinion you’re directing your anger to the wrong people. It’s not the fault of the fans that we’re in this mess. It’s the fault of the owners, the board, the managers and the players. I understand that it’s easier to rant on here at the fans who’ve renewed their season tickets, because it’s a more tangible group of people, some of whom will actually read what you write. After all, you can’t exactly vent to Top or Rudkin. So you take your anger out on other fans. But we’re all powerless. I want Top and his cronies to go as much as anyone, but boycotting the games will just drag us further down. Yes, Top would then be forced out through administration, but we’d be in a worse state than ever. He’s clearly lost interest, and I’m certain he’ll sell as soon as he feels he’ll get enough money for the club. The best thing we can hope is that we do well in League 1, and become an attractive prospect for a new buyer. Who the hell would buy a club without fans?

There’ll be plenty of unused seats. I’d try going to the ticket office before the game.