Philkeavo

He is utterly incompetent and all the evidence shows he is incapable of running King Power and Leicester City Football Club. Whilst I agree he is naive and gullible the rest is speculation, much like my reading of his intentions and motivations from the brief excerpt of his interview with OPA. I may of course revise my view once I’ve listened to the full interview tomorrow.

My impression from what I heard, nothing more. I’m speculating, is that alright with you 😬

Following Cifuentes sacking and Aiyawatt’s crazy bad WYS episode earlier. It is clear the club is on its knees. Vichai’s son is totally and completely accountable for the mess we’re in, but Rudkin is also totally and completely responsible for the footballing side. i asked Gemini to list his failings and provide a persuasive case for his sacking, here’s what it said: The core of the issue is that the "Leicester Model"—once the gold standard of European football—has been dismantled and replaced by a culture of expensive stagnation, overseen by Jon Rudkin. The Case for Sacking Jon Rudkin A persuasive argument for his dismissal rests on three pillars of systemic failure: 1. The Financial "Black Hole" and PSR Negligence Rudkin has overseen a catastrophic period of financial mismanagement that has left the club facing a potential nine-point deduction. • Asset Mismanagement: He allowed high-value assets like Youri Tielemans, Çağlar Söyüncü, and Ayoze Pérez to walk away for £0 in 2023. At their peak, these players had a combined market value exceeding £80 million. • The Wage Trap: Under Rudkin, the wage-to-turnover ratio reached unsustainable levels (peaking at over 116%). By handing massive, long-term contracts to aging or squad players like Jannik Vestergaard, he created "golden handcuffs"—players who cannot be sold because no other club will match their inflated Leicester salary. • The £90m Deficit: The club’s staggering losses (including the £89.7 million loss in the 2022/23 accounts) are a direct result of failing to generate profit through player trading, the very thing that previously made Leicester successful. 2. The Collapse of Recruitment Standards The scouting department, once led by experts like Steve Walsh, has become a "Recruitment Graveyard" under Rudkin’s ultimate sign-off. • Wasteful Spending: Since 2021, Leicester has spent over £150 million on players who have either failed to make an impact or significantly depreciated in value (e.g., Boubakary Soumaré, Patson Daka, and Wout Faes). • Lack of Profile: There is no longer a "Leicester type" of player. Every manager—from Rodgers to Van Nistelrooy to Cifuentes—has inherited a squad of "misfits" that don’t suit a singular tactical identity. 3. Strategic Inertia Rudkin’s longevity is his greatest indictment. In any other high-stakes industry, an executive who oversaw relegation with a top-10 wage bill and a failed "reset" in the Championship would be dismissed. • The "Mates Rates" Culture: His survival suggests a club that prizes personal comfort and loyalty to the Srivaddhanaprabha family over professional competence. • No Succession Plan: The sacking of Cifuentes today without a replacement lined up—leaving the burden on Andy King as interim—shows a board that is reacting to events rather than dictating them. Conclusion: If Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha continues to back Rudkin, he is essentially confirming your "delusional" assessment. You cannot expect a different outcome while the same man is making the decisions. For the club to move forward, the "Director of Football" role needs a modern, ruthless professional who understands the current financial landscape of the EFL and Premier League.

The timing of his interviews is indefensible from a comms management perspective. Aside from Aiyawatt coming across very poorly, leaving himself exposed to questions on Cifuentes future prior to then sacking him are beyond comprehension. I think Aiyawatt makes all the decisions and all of those decisions are terrible decisions. He is either not taking advice or the imbeciles working for him are not providing the right advice.

He clearly struggles in English. As others have said he is naive and his optimism is more than a touch delusional. My overall impression is his heart is probably in the right place but he just doesn’t project one iota of competence or confidence that he can turn things around and certainly not if he retains loyalty and trust in Dudkin. This short interview confirms all my worst fears that he is not up to it.

If we had any semblance of ambition we’d go all out for Robbie Keane at Ferencváros. Young and up and coming manager who has massively changed the culture and fortunes at the Hungarian club.

The fact the man child even says something like this to the media tells you everything about what a nasty coward he is. I want Cifuentes gone but the lack of respect in the telling the whole world ‘I might sack him if Jon gives me permission’ speaks volumes about what a cretin Aiyatwatt is.

I see what you did there 👏

In all likelihood he is going to be sacked today or tomorrow. What’s the chances the man child and his lapdog have done any kind of work in the background to source a new manager? We will plough on probably with King managing the crumbling mess of squad. Cifuentes sacking will, I fear, bring a temporary joy.

What, is the man child holding a meeting with himself?

I don’t some fans, particularly the KPFC brigade appreciate what a perilous state Leicester are in. The ‘we were in League 1 once’ idiots fail to understand the club was at least solvent and on an upward trajectory. We are now in the worst possible place with a trifecta of a likely points deduction, on-going financial crises and one of the worst LCFC teams I’ve seen in my lifetime. Maguire’s analysis on the Blue Tinted Spectacles podcast point to a very specific, grim reality for the club. Maguire pointed out that the constant reliance on Macquarie Bank loans isn't just about cash flow anymore; it’s about survival. By borrowing against parachute payments and future TV money as far out as 2028, Aiyawatt is essentially "pawning" the club's future to pay for our disastrous current plight. The club must continue to sell our best players just to service debt and avoid PSR breaches. After listening to the BTS podcast I am more than ever convinced we’re approaching the Sheffield Wednesday situation. The comparisons are clear. Both owners seem to view the club as a personal fiefdom where "loyalty" is demanded but transparency is non-existent. Like Chansiri, Aiyawatt’s move to act as interim CEO has removed the "buffer" of professional management, leaving him as the sole target for the mess he's created.

Exactly this! FT’ers have got to see that Rudkin is the symptom not cause. This starts and ends with the self-serving man child.

I think what the interview did for me was confirm where the problems at our club start and end - with the self-entitled smarmy man child. He has been ruinous for our club. Rudkin just does as he is told. Whelan got out, she’d had enough of the madness. Every single Leicester fans ire, frustration and rage should be directed at one person.

Well done, Lox. That was a great interview and provided a sobering insight into the financials. It aligns with what we’ve always suspected, but hearing it laid out in such forensic and unemotional language is still painful. It is clear that the blame for our spectacular decline lies squarely with Aiyawatt; he is the one common denominator. While Rudkin is utterly incompetent on every level, Aiyawatt is the one who signed off on these appalling decisions. From a purely strategic standpoint, if King Power wants to protect the club as a business asset, they need to boot him off the Board and let him spend his time exclusively on his only true interest, polo..

This would make a brilliant poster. Nothing else needed, message sent and definitely received 😹

That first sentence sums it up perfectly 👏

Probably all picking on Jakub. Lad made another shocking mistake but no-one aside from JJ and Skipp have played well recently.

There is zero evidence that Aiyawatt will sack Cifuentes. He’s in a state of denial and paralysis. He’s not been present physically or mentally for sometime.. It is a truly head scratching situation.

Doesn’t that one reaction or lack of sum up what a toxic club we’ve become. It’s fvking tragic.

Changes nothing. We’re a hideous club atm.

Was at the game, I am his biggest critic but thought he played well first half. As the second half wore on he was more like the player we’ve come to loathe. His mistake for the goal was catastrophic yet so Thomas. How is it conceivable he continues to play?

Depressingly familiar. We only play one half of football.

I am with you, definitely don’t want to get eaten by the Cov 😬

Boring boring Leicester

Jordan Blackwell summed it well on LeicestershireLive. Truth about attendance and City boycott The official attendance at the game is far from correct. The figure of 27,130 includes all tickets sold, rather than the number of people coming through the turnstiles. As an estimate, it does not feel farfetched to suggest the attendance was actually around 22,000, pointing to 10,000 empty seats. There has been a debate over whether this was due to the planned boycott by supporters or if there were other circumstances that could have impacted the attendance. Certainly, the boycott felt like it was hastily organised, with only a couple of weeks’ notice. It also felt like a primarily online endeavour. There would have been fans who didn’t know about it. And there were plenty of reasons why fans might not turn up. The match was on the TV, it was a school night and the first day back at work after Christmas for many, and it was also exceptionally cold. But focusing on those factors as reasons why people may not turn up ignores the truth of football fandom. When fans feel connected and hopeful and positive about their club and their team, they defy all of those excuses and turn up anyway. They stick on their thermals and their gloves, they brave the traffic, and they accept that they may not get quite as long a night’s sleep. They do all that because they love their club and they want to be in the stadium to see their team in the flesh and to take in the experience. There were plenty of City fans that clearly did not feel inspired to do that on Monday, whether they were boycotting or not.