ClaphamFox

Okoli hints he wants to stay for 'rebuild': https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/leicester-city-player-hints-stay-10216570

The one silver lining on that cloud being that if his agent has put out the Rangers story to push us along, that means we haven't fully committed to Martin yet.

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Adieu, Odsonne

Well that makes it even weaker than if he sourced it himself! He may well do. At the very least I think it's safe to assume he's under consideration. But I can't shake the feeling that it isn't as anywhere near as close as some reports have led us to believe.

The Mail said it was 'imminent' a week ago but hasn't mentioned it since. And I wouldn't classify them as reliable anyway. Geoff Peters supports Leicester and you'd assume has some good contacts, but he works for TalkSport, which is known for broadcasting/publishing 'speculative' stories and presenting them as much more solid than they really are.

"So, you promise you'll change your tactics and become more defensively solid, then? "Yes, absolutely. Do you promise I've really got that massive transfer kitty you mentioned?" "Yes, absolutely." [Everybody in the room averts their gaze from each other and clears their throat]

Because nowhere reliable has called it yet. TalkSport and Football Insider seem certain about it, but neither are known for breaking Leicester-related exclusives. Nothing from John Percy, Rob Dorsett or any of the Mercury/Radio Leicester reporters yet. It's a bit strange - if it were really a done deal, you'd expect wider coverage than it's getting at the moment.

Does anybody have Russell Martin's email address so @nnfox can send him these wise words?

Russell Martin will probably love both of them, so don't be surprised at all if they both start for us in the first game of the new season.

I’m not a religious man but I’ve been lying prone on the altar of my local church for six hours now…

No.

Yet still not a word from any of the more reliable journalists that follow us. If it’s all but done, why are they all keeping so quiet about it?

It does. I suspect the owners' view is that we were on a certain trajectory with Enzo and that when he left we made a mistake in going in a different direction with Cooper. They probably see Martin as the best way to return to our previous trajectory and get the most out of the players we have. There is some logic in it, but the glaring fact of Martin's catastrophic attempt to get Southampton to play like Man City in the PL would put most owners off. Possibly not ours, though.

Suddenly our dodgy finances make sense 🤔

Apparently a few today tried to start a chant of, “Nothing personal, Russell, but we don’t think you’re the right fit - and this is more a message for our owners than you anyway”, but for some reason it didn’t catch.

Nobody reliable has reported it yet. Rob Dorsett - who is better informed than most about us - said last week that Russell was under consideration along with Rohl but a decision hadn’t been made. I’m clinging onto the hope that the club is still deciding and may yet sidestep this terrible appointment…

Farewell, 2024/25 season. Missing you already 😢

Why are people assuming this is a done deal when no reliable sources have reported it as such?

Is there any chance this isn’t true?

This is interesting. Nick De Marco was out on the lash last night with Kieran Maguire. They seem to be good mates. I wonder if that’s got something to do with why Maguire seems so confident we’re more likely to get a points deduction this season rather than next…

The next five weeks are going to be like a game of managerial Cluedo as various candidates are eliminated as they accept other jobs until we’re finally left with Russell Martin in the Seagrave Wellness Room with a book of inspirational Buddhist quotes.

You are correct.

Yes, I suppose we will argue that because we won that appeal and the arbitration process was still ongoing, it hadn’t been established that 2023/24 fell within the PL’s jurisdiction and we therefore had a valid reason not to submit our accounts. Whether that will wash or not is another matter.

I would prefer that to Martin.

More likely Rohl.