LCFCJohn

Yep, I’ve been mentioned it for a while. And deservedly so. Pearson’s 2008-2009 side were far too good and would give this current side a pasting (even if many of them are in their 50’s now)! Aiyawatt deserves to be in charge when that title is taken next season. And it will as there is no chance we are winning that league.

Less than I thought. Maybe the figure I had it my head was the posturing they did beforehand. Id still imagine if we are spending fees at all, we’ll look for players with a year left. Wareham above maybe. Hard to know what we will do.

Yeah he’s the one that jumps out. Transfer market does suggest an extra year is an option so might be a year or 2 but probably less and like you say if Exeter go down.

Probably more realistic than the striker sunder contract to 2029 that you have just quoted me. One year left at least means a small fee. If we had a midfield 3, I wonder if Page and Webster if signed could sit either side of Braybrooke as 8’s bombing forward. Thinking like KDH did under Maresca.

Wouldn’t make a difference to me. The damaging thing is having an owner who fans won’t hold to account. That will forever be the case with KP here. We need a complete clean slate and them gone from the club. Rudkin is a symptom not the disease.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe McCarron will be a yes man flop. But I would see sports science and performance very much under that remit. They are also areas we need to sort as much as anything. If he could look at that side and work towards something like what we had with Pearson, it’d be long overdue.

Just because they can’t see they are completed humiliated, doesn’t mean they aren’t!

I’m talking cost. The brightest L1 strikers (Tolaj and Ballard) are contracted for a number of years to 2029. Last summer, probably the best equivalent Kone went to the Championship for £6 mill and he had only a year left on his contract. Given the extra years the ones this year are under contract for, you’re realistically looking at at least £8 mill, potentially more either basic or with add ons. I then ask myself where we are getting £8 mill from and it becomes obviously to me they we won’t be shopping in that particular market!

Hmm. Might be making assumptions based on all the little Leicester crap he peddles. I just lumped him in with the KP lot as a result.

Been massively KP in hasn’t he so gone into hiding like most of them have.

I’m not sure what we do about the striker position. Those that have performed well in L1 this season (Ballard/Tolaj) will be out of our reach and unrealistic. I’m not seeing any stand out options in L2. Abroad in Europe or elsewhere (unrealistic with those running the club) or a loan from a team higher up the pyramid? I’d imagine loan and kick the can down the road is most likely.

Yep, I’ve noticed this. I think the ones leading the charge against criticism and defending KP are very low information generally. So rather than being able to see it coming, it takes for the league table to show in black and white that we are going down to see it.

Exactly. A cheap pick up for a side higher up the pyramid. He will still have a good reputation despite this season.

The answer is not to have an 11 full of kids but some (Aluko, Page, Braybrooke) and some older pros with good heads on them, like Pearson used to recruit. You’d hope they are looking to prove themselves even if they have eyes on a bigger move.

Under contract until 2029. Even L1 strikers are commanding big fees now (Kone cost £6 mill for QPR with 1 year left last summer). No chance we will be able to afford the likes of Tolaj and Ballard unfortunately. Both likely to cost at least £8 mill. It’s a shame. I don’t think it’s a case of the days being gone where a team can go down and pick the best talent from that league. But you at least have to go down in a financial position to do so which it’s quite clear we are a mess.

I see so many people including Nelson in their teams for next season and in this case, saying expecting him to stay. With many of the high earners, it’s hard to predict what will happen. But I have to ask, where is this notion Nelson is staying coming from? He’s among the most obvious departures apart from the out of contract ones for me.

I’d say Aluko and probably Page for me as well. Build around those 3. The others (Hutchinson/Evans) probably need integrating rather than chucked into the 11 for the opening game.

If he can stay fit, maybe then work around the following GK Aluko - CB - CB - LB CM - Braybrooke - Page RW - ST - Alves

Does Alves actually exist? Like not just a hologram? Genuinely forgot about him in my above breakdown. I think we’ll sign a number of players but agree it’ll be frees and loans, no fees spent. I definitely think there will be more non-academy players in that side though but hopefully they are in the squad.

Fill in the gaps GK Aluko - CB - CB - LB CM - Braybrooke - Page RW - ST - LW Subs Bausor Joseph Gray Motsi Hutchinson Evans I’d like to think Evans and Hutchinson could slot into the RW and ST positions but likely too much to ask, particularly Hutchinson. Monga will go I expect but if he did stay, he slots into the LW position. In terms of the senior players, I just have no idea who would be likely to stay. If Skipp stayed, could he play between Braybrooke and Page? CB and LB, I’d happily see it ripped up and started from scratch. Same with GKs who I think we will get rid of all the senior GKs anyway.

We will lose out now. Completely checked out.

Oh yeah, the youth players are a no brainer and we need to recruit a manager who has this skill set (so not Rowett). Braybrooke and Aluko are obvious replacements for 2 of those you have mentioned in Ricardo and Winks. Page would also be first 11 for me but unsure whether he is naturally a 10 or a deeper central midfielder. Maybe he could be left of a 3 like KDH, Braybrooke and someone with a bit more experience to be brought in. Unsure whether the others are starters. Monga will go I think but otherwise he’d replace Mavididi. Nelson will go also. The others I would say probably start the season on the bench and get integrated. The bigger question is if those still under contract, who would be accepted back in the side as it is unrealistic we will get rid of the lot.

So many people mentioning the CL misses, Forest FA Cup defeat, Rodgers and even the passing of Vichai and I think all this misses the point of the question. As someone said earlier in the thread, when the rot starts or sets in is earlier than when it becomes visible. The above moments or situations are all when it became visible. You have to look back further to when changes were made that started to turn the tide and begin the process of the rot which dates back to the summer of 2016 after the title. You could even go back a year earlier if you were being harsh, but 2016 was pivotal and when the club changed direction. In terms of the structure of the club, it has been downhill ever since.

Not Winks. He has another year. Although I’d say it’s likely he moves on anyway, as with some others who we may have otherwise found difficult to shift (such as Vestergaard). Either way, it will need to all go towards plugging the financial holes and won’t mean we can suddenly go and shell out transfer fees.

Let’s not kid ourselves that next season will be enjoyable or any better than this season. The best we can have realistic expectations of (not talking hope but expectations) is survival. There will be no big turnaround like in 2008. This regime will not recruit the next Nigel Pearson. They will double down again on another crap appointment. We won’t be signing the best talent from that level as we don’t have a pot to piss in. It will be frees and loans. Importantly, losing and failing to win games has now just become ingrained in the club. It’s a habit. We went to a Sheffield Wednesday team with 1 win in what 40 games at that point and I had no expectations that we would win. If our opening game of the season is against Bromley, MK Dons, Cambridge or Burton, same story. There won’t be an expectation for us to win because the club has become serial losers and has a losing culture and mentality ingrained now after 3 relegations in 4 years, the last 2 being utterly dismal.