Dan

It's one of those things, again, where you think surely they have waited to put it into next years. We'll get an article from Percy in a few months confirming Teflon Jon ****ed up and its given us another reason for us to be charged.

Another manager lied to according to Percy. That's four in a row. Dyche can do better than these clowns.

They're right far more often than they're wrong. No matter how inconvenient that can be.

This forum has always famously loved Russell Martin. You are right though I do remember this.

Their home form was poor but their away form, for their level of squad is exceptional. He's one of those who has undoubtedly overperformed and it's been a long time since we got somebody in who you can say had done that as manager. Feels such an obvious thing to look for and I never really feel like we do.

Yeah they did. Late winner. Martin's first game there. Martin made a pretty horrid start at Southampton, there was real talk of a sacking late September.

In fairness it'll be factoring in Wednesday's upturn too. Suppose they came here in February rock bottom of the league whereas this time they've just finished 12th and had a pretty decent away record. Definitely one of those things where it hits you how much we've dropped though.

1.38 PPG at Wednesday which normally has you around 8th or so. He took over a side that looked almost certain to be relegated. It's definitely flattened out a little but that's seriously impressive in tough circumstances with a really poor squad. Sometimes it's just a very obvious move. Demonstrable ability of punching above his weight, young, available and would come to us. It's a complete open goal for us here.

Our odds to beat Wednesday are far longer than they were in the exact fixture only 16 months ago. Bookies really don't fancy us a jot this season. Interesting.

Sheffield Wednesday at home or Preston away.

They do, it's boxing day they don't.

It's as if he knew

Couldn't handpick a kinder opening pair of fixtures. That's pretty fortunate given we're likely starting on minus.

That old Leicester Watford local derby!

I had to look that up. What the hell In 24 games!!!

I feel like it's 'too' obvious to give us Wrexham and that they're using up two in one there. Reckon it'll be something like Derby v Leicester, Wrexham v Coventry, Birmingham v Southampton or Ipswich.

We'll get something relatively interesting on the opening day for sure. I'm sure they've as much as admitted it's rigged for quite an interesting set of fixtures due to it being a week before the Premier League and all eyes on it. So I'd say we're almost certainly going to be on TV first weekend. I'll say Derby away.

It's one of those things that was so obviously dumb I really wonder if it's some sort of backhander. I wonder if it's at all linked to the Maddison deal. Like Praet that came before them as well - another expensive midfielder, big wages, that was basically never first choice.

I'm sceptical of AI but not a chance it pays £20mil for Oliver Skipp.

Gray was a good signing for the money but it didn't work out really and we held on way too long.

The leaks are always nonsense until the day itself. They're out at 12 for some reason but would imagine by about 10 you'll have a pretty good idea.

I'm saying this from a position where I think people are generally quite harsh on his capabilities as a manager. The Rudkin thing is a problem for me though, this is going to create another unaccountable body at the club. He will be bulletproof and while he might be a success, if he isn't, I don't think we can risk that personally.

Being banned for nothing definitely killing the usual enthusiasm tbh.

Middlesbrough are consistently dull as hell aren't they.

First started to really turn on Aiyawatt, or really have concerns about him when he failed to sack Rodgers at the start of 2022/23. These were big red flags. Everything that's happened since has gone about as disastrously as anybody could've imagined it. There'll be a lot of be careful what you wish for posts but if somebody had five years ago as we'd come back into the season during lockdown with about an 80% chance of qualifying for the Champions League told me that in five years time we'd have come off the back of our second relegation in three years from the Premier League, a very likely points deduction based on reckless financial mismanagement, those in place of this seemingly impossible decline to still have kept their jobs, even I, somebody capable of being a doom-merchant, would've called you mad. Aiyawatt had credit in the bank, arguably luckily as it was inherited credit, and long used it all up for me. The common thing you read is that if he just got rid of Rudkin & Whelan he'd be OK. But I've no idea how much more evidence we need that he simply isn't going to. We have undertaken under him the most rapid, most implausible decline I can remember. From probably the 7th most powerful club in the country to one that are now tipped as less likely to play in the Premier League in 2026 than Coventry City or Middlesbrough. And it's entirely self-inflicted. I've had enough. I've seen enough. King Power themselves look increasingly a busted flush and the behaviours you see at LCFC themselves explain why. They're at the point of no return for me. A hundred times out.