Les-TA-Jon

Pretty sure the EFL/PL don't get a say in the final punishment or the timing of it? They've charged us months ago. They suggest a punishment. Then all the deliberations and appeals etc happen. Then the independent commission decide on a final outcome. All of this + the complexities of our unique case causes the delay. The PL/EFL don't get to 'wait to see if the punishment stops us getting playoffs or could relegate us'

Lascelles is only 9 months younger than Coady

He's 38.

4th manager in a row where we've sacked a manager and then taken a long time to get a replacement in, almost as if the process of identifying and appointing a manager begins after the decision to sack the previous one. It really boggles the mind how bad the strategic and executive branches of the club are. Changing managers is an entirely predictable occurrence in modern football. I wonder, do the club even know they're in a relegation battle? You need around 48-50 points to stay up. We're currently trending for 58. 6 or 9 points deduction pretty much relegates us, and that's assuming our form doesn't worsen!

Apart from the 3 earlier this season? It is 24 games since our last though.

Those 2 games under Sadler and Stowell were as much about the club not having someone lined up. It's crazy to me that we were so obviously going down under Rodgers and they had months of warning, not only did they wait until 2nd April (!) but to not have someone lined up was criminal.

We can't really trust much of the so called pundits and journalists on this saga, much less ChatGPT...

I agree. As I say though it just depends on funds. If funds are low, we're left with a threadbare squad, half of which are largely unproven youth players.

An opportunity for what? Reducing the wage bill, sure. But I think it depends entirely on how much money we can / are allowed to, for a rebuild. We'll need a ton of players - I don't trust our recruitment to find value and we could just simply buy into the next tranche of overpaid, average players. Also there's a chance that the club takes the easy/cheap option and re-signs some of those out of contract players too.

And here's the squad as of 1st July, assuming all those players out of contract are not extended 21 players total, including 8 youth players, no striker, midfield very weak. And we'll also likely have to sell Fatawu. Oh and I guess I forget Jake Evans.

Agree. We need a firefighter from now until May. Then someone else - a builder - from the summer onwards. Problem is, who is willing to come into this basketcase for only 4 months? And then unless we line up the builder early, they'll have less time to start the rebuild and either way they'll be doing so without ever having managed us for an actual match.

Why are we suddenly trusting a random tweet?

The average points for teams finishing 21st over the last 21 seasons is 48.2 points. We're on 38 points. Averaging 1.3 points per game, trending to finish on 60 points. Target 50 points = safety 12 points required + maybe 9 max to account for a deduction? A target of 59 points, out of 17 games / 51 points remaining. So maintaining current form + a 9 points deduction means we're just about OK, but we're on thin ice! Any sort of downturn in form, a bigger deduction, or one team down there having a great escape and we could go down. Of the teams down there: vs Norwich 3/3 points vs Charlton 3/3 points vs West Brom 4/6 points vs Portsmouth 1/3 points vs Blackburn 0/3 points vs Oxford 1/6 points vs Sheff Weds 3/3 points So Charlton (H), Norwich (H), Sheffield Weds (A), Portsmouth (A) and Blackburn (A) (on the final day!) are pretty crucial

The average points for teams finishing 21st over the last 21 seasons is 48.2 points. We're on 38 points. Averaging 1.3 points per game, trending to finish on 60 points. Target 50 points = safety 12 points required + maybe 9 max to account for a deduction? A target of 59 points, out of 17 games / 51 points remaining. So maintaining current form + a 9 points deduction means we're just about OK, but we're on thin ice! Any sort of downturn in form, a bigger deduction, or one team down there having a great escape and we could go down. Of the teams down there: vs Norwich 3/3 points vs Charlton 3/3 points vs West Brom 4/6 points vs Portsmouth 1/3 points vs Blackburn 0/3 points vs Oxford 1/6 points vs Sheff Weds 3/3 points So Charlton (H), Norwich (H), Sheffield Weds (A), Portsmouth (A) and Blackburn (A) (on the final day!) are pretty crucial

The club is going to take 2-4 weeks to identify and appoint a new manager, like it always does. That’s Rodgers, Cooper, RVN and now possibly Cifuentes when the manager has been sacked and then the search for the replacement is commenced from a standing start afterwards, despite the urgency of the situation

In our current circumstances, we're never going to be able to identify, attract or appoint the 'right' manager for a huge rebuild and promotion push - so we just need someone who's willing to come in for 5 months and keep us up.

The problem is that he's clearly always been a limited, if flexible squad player. If that's all he'd ever done for us, that'd be fine - but the mismanagement of the squad has meant he's played way too much football for us, become vice captain, almost by default rather than reflective of any actual leadership ability, and been given 2 massive contracts along the way.

I have little faith in us identifying or attracting a meaningfully better replacement - and the club will likely take 2-4 weeks to sort it

Possibilities: - the club can’t afford to sack him - the club aren’t watchful enough to sack him - the club can’t/wont identify/attract someone better - the club wants to avoid the cost of sacking him until absolutely necessary/there is a relegation zone clause

It's on brand though isn't it? When was the last time there was full strategic alignment between the needs of the squad, the manager, analysts and recruitment? I think you have to go back to Puel. Rodgers doesn't believe in data. Dismantled the proven model when signing players like Perez. Players like Bennett, Under, Vestergaard, Faes, and especially Kristiansen, Tete, Souttar were club signings. Things improved under Enzo, largely because of his quality and strength of character, but still some errors like Coady and Winks (on wages at least). Cooper...well we all know how that summer went.

Most of it will have been swallowed up by us trying to get back to zero, for PSR

You're in luck - contracted to June 2028!

It did if we needed a CB and couldn't afford to sign one It's why players like Choudhury and Thomas are still here, years after being obvious that they were only good enough to be squad players for us at best. Squad player starts coming towards the end of their contract, PSR + financial situation means you have little headroom to sell them for a small fee and fund a replacement, so you're only option is to extend their contract. Same kinda applies to Ricky P and Vestergaard. And Stolarczyk starting when he's not quite good enough.

For clarity: 'It's not possible to get a manager better than Cifuentes" = / = "It's not possible for King Power to get a manager better than Cifuentes" I think it's perfectly possible and easy for us to have a better manager, even in our current sorry state. I don't have any faith that 1) the club will be watchful enough to want to and 2) have the ability to find and appoint one