LCFCJohn

Not compatible situations. They were far from good enough on the pitch of course, and the owner was not investing much as he was trying to sell. However, they didn’t have a completely rotten culture, with overpaid mercenaries who don’t want to be there and didn’t have inept people running the football side. They realised how their season was going and thought ahead to this season. Now they weren’t very creative of course in bringing back Wilder but they did start thinking ahead by building their team for this season, putting youngsters into the side. They may well have gotten a lower points total for this. We are going to barely end up with a much higher total without even preparing for next season. I live in Sheffield and they are a community friendly club, who have an excellent youth system who they give chances to and despite owner uncertainty, have generally continued quite steadily on the pitch. It’s a bit offensive to them to compare us with them to be honest.

Clearly aimed at myself as I used the term scapegoating above so I will reply. By scapegoating, I mean comparatively to other players. Thats not me saying he has been good but his thread is the first to start with the comments during and after a game. There are others who are continually worse in terms of not giving a damn. You are right we have fallen and I guess that is why when you asked what is there to depend him on, just the fact he seems to actually care a bit and put some effort. You’re probably right that that shouldn’t be a reason to defend a player as it is the bare minimum. Unfortunately we have barely any that even do that. What I expect, is that he will leave and he probably needs to as the fans have given up on him. But if we look in say 3, even 5 years time, he will be at a higher level that our club sadly. I think we broadly agree mostly but have a different definition of scapegoating. I am looking comparatively where I think you think I am suggesting he has been good and doesn’t deserve criticism which is not what I am saying.

He’s not been good but he’s also a scapegoat for many. People just seem to have taken a weird disliking to him. He seems to have a better attitude than many, stories of him not getting on with some when he arrived as he had standards that others in the squad didn’t and got their backs up. He will leave and go on to be successful, he already did well last season in Italy, and it will be clear as day it was this club that was the problem.

In fairness, if you took the last 4 games, if we’d forfeited them all and taken a 3-0 automatic loss, our record would be exactly the same but it’d have just wasted a lot less of everyone’s time so I’m all for this.

In fairness, this is understandable on the basis that we are on the last day of February and there have been more commercial plane accidents (4) so far in 2025 than Leicester premier league goals (3) in the same period. Kind of a shocking realisation on both counts.

I always say, it was my favourite season to date and still is. Yes we achieved creating things since but the enjoyment factor, the league 1 season. But 1 season since 1884 does not set this as a bar that we measure future failures by.

This. We’re talking about Jannick bloody Vestergard not the other JV in his peak. He should have been willing to take whatever he was offered. He was ok at Championship level, nothing more than that and we were still poor defensively for a large part of last season.

You’d be looking at hitting 10 points from 15 out of that lot if you’re Wolves.

The academy was much different in Pearson’s time but relative to the quality there was and the level we were at: Joe Mattock Max Gradel Liam Moore Jeff Schlupp Andy King - made a few appearances the season before Pearson joined but really broke through the year after. Not bad considering. I think he certainly wanted to where a player was worth a shot.

The saying ‘I’m alright Jack’ comes to mind….

How many do you think could be getting significant minutes in the first team next season? Nelson (injury return pending) is the obvious one and could build the defence around him. Alves, if he stays fit and injury free (as there are often reoccurrences after major injury) is looking positive based on his start at Cardiff. Evans and Monga are hugely hyped but are quite young so maybe we more likely see them off the bench. Briggs as an AM seems to be getting good reviews and is already 20 so you’d expect him to come through soon if he is going to. Or is a loan more likely. Cartwright, does he look likely or too early? Joseph and Josh King? The good thing is they are different positions. With Alves, Evans and Monga being wide players, Nelson CB, Cartwright and Briggs are more central I believe but Briggs attacking and Cartwright defensive. Joseph full back I believe. Theres a really opportunity to give significant development here but it depends I suppose on the manager but I am interested from someone who watches regularly, how many of them appear they they could be ready to come straight in rather than out on loan.

Ok, as I thought with Monga and Alves. Hopefully we can work on converting Evans to being more a striker as this is an area we have less joy with in the transfer market.

Am I right in thinking Evans is a right winger not a striker? I was just thinking, would Monga, Evans and Alves play different positions (I.e Evans right, Alves centre and Monga left or do they play the same side?

Can’t believe he has 2 years left until 2027. Hopefully someone takes him off our hands. One of the most unlikely players I have seen for Leicester.

Invest heavily in data analytics and medical science, like a properly invested in version of what Pearson and his team did so well at doing with the resources they had available to them. Expand the scouting reach, both players and managers. Use Seagrave properly, not as a cushy spa but as a training ground. Enforce a culture with standards, not massive wages for doing f*** all. Bring proper coaches in for the younger age groups and have a clearly defined route to the first team as well as loans for first team experience. Overhaul the hierarchy. A proper DoF with a knowledge, standards and a vision. The same with other areas such as fan engagement. Easy stuff right!

2028, 3 years left yet.

It’s just realistic. You may want to sell everyone and buy a new squad but that won’t happen and there will need to be some retained. It is unlikely that we will manage to offload both LT and VK (talking specifically about the left back position). VK likely has more interest and can be financially worthwhile. The bring a new left back in and have Thomas as back up as he has a year left. If he has a good year and actually shows some sign of recovery then maybe. If he doesn’t add anything, he goes. If there is interest in both and financially worthwhile opportunities to move them on, then yes I suppose that would be worthwhile but I’d be massively concerned about the recruitment of 2 left backs as well as anything else we need. And no, Justin is not the answer at left back either.

I think so. We would obviously need someone else to come in but if that is a younger player who won’t expect to walk into the side, I would start the season with Thomas, hopefully have a coach who can work with him as I think centre half wise, we will be good with Souttar and Nelson but but the full back areas will need some good coaching. I don’t think Thomas is a bad player and always had a lot of time for him. Some of his good games don’t happen by being a bad player. He has obviously struggled in his head, fans turned on him and he came through in a terrible time with Rodgers in sabotage mode. And like I say, then didn’t get given the chance to rebuild himself at a lower level. Ironically it has taken for fans to turn on our latest left back for the door to be opened for him again.

Everyone seems to think Thomas is out of contract this summer but it’s 2026. As far as left back is concerned, I’d sell Kristiansen, bring a younger player in and see whether Thomas has a revival in him. If he does, there’s a chance for him to stay. He never got the opportunity in the Championship before as Enzo didn’t want natural full backs and he was sent on a couple of poor loans.

A lot is said about ‘Pep deciples’ as managers and how those who played under Alex Ferguson surprisingly haven’t generally been a success in management given how good he was. It made me think. Is Wellens the first who is coming through from Pearson? I can’t think of any others. But then they will only be of the age just getting into management I suppose.

Yeah that’s a bad situation. Although if your two words to decribe Top are amiable and fool, mine would be arrogant and incompetent. But not an asset stripper no. Or not deliberately. Indirectly through incompetence, we will run out of assets though!

I realise that your point wasn’t specifically about the point total but more what the squad could do so apologies for being pedantic! But yeah, I think they should have got over 100 points, it was a poor second half of the season all things considered.

Erm you may want to check the final league table there! If we get rid of a few of the higher earners, put faith in youngsters and importantly, have a competent manager who is aligned with doing this, we might be alright. It’s also the lazy culture that needs weeding out but that comes from our lazy, spoiled man child of an owner who doesn’t know what hard work is.

I’m not sure how much luxury we will have financially with the last bit of your post. Possibly the striker bit but centre halves wise, we have the following: Faes Okoli Vestergard Coady Souttar Nelson Nelson might be the wildcard as he could go to the top if this injury doesn’t derail him. In terms of being able to get promoted, Nelson and Souttar coming back is literally two new signings for the Championship. Further recruitment in this area (unlike up top where we will be really short assuming Vardy goes), will depend on outgoings. I’d love us to ship out Coady, Faes and Vestergard and add a new addition to Nelson, Souttar and Okoli (who I am not ready to write off yet). But is that realistic? I doubt it. If we could get rid of Coady and Faes and go with the other 4, we’d be well set for a promotion push in that area as I say. But thinking further ahead might have to wait.

I don’t think it’s that simplistic. They were under invested in, a poor poor team but they were not a shambolically run club. They did a great job of forward planning but bringing young players into the side like Arblaster, Peck and Brooks who have been key for them this season. They then recruited well for the Championship. Cooper, Burrows, O’Hare, Ray-Sakyi even our own Harry Souttar. We are a shambles. We will keep playing the OAPs, ignore our youth players and more likely chuck inflated wages at more failed PL players like Winks and Coady in the summer rather than recruiting wisely. Bit insulting to Sheffield United to compare us to them tbh.