smudgerfox

The resistance to the appointment of RM was/is fully justified. Yes, right from the start. Unless you believe in little green elves at the bottom of the garden. His actual managerial record does not justify his reputation. He was mid-table at MK Dons and Swansea, scraped the Championship play offs in Southampton, then was a disaster in the Premier League for Saints ,and similar in the SPL at Rangers. A manager with that record should be willing at least to adapt their style. He is not and has stated many times that he is not. Furthermore, the style of football he is so wedded to, is easily combatted by teams with less talent but who possess a determination to stick to a rigid gameplan. We saw this on Tuesday and we have seen it multiple times, already this season. Consequently, those of us who criticised the appointment of RM at the start, are week by week, being proved right, in real time.It says a lot that a large section of the fanbase predicted what the people who are paid handsomely to run our club, could not predict. I would love him to succeed. But in all honesty, I simply cannot see any circumstances in which that will happen.

One simple question for the press conference.. "Russell, you have maintained a win percentage below 40 percent throughout your managerial career and your goals against average at all your clubs is around 1.5. What are you doing at Leicester to to improve those crucial metrics?"

Having been tangentially involved with the Trust myself, I can absolutely guarantee they work very hard in very difficult circumstances. Their legitimacy comes from faithfully representing the fanbase and if the fanbase doesn't sign up in impressive numbers, doesn't take part in surveys and/or shows no appetite for protest, then its pronouncements can be easily dismissed as the views of a noisy minority. I was handing out leaflets about the annual fan survey before the Hull game and I couldn't believe how many fans were determined to walk past and not get involved. On the protests, there were people complaining that it was blocking their route to the stadium.

The only stats that matter Russell Martin Goals conceded as manager Career: 1.43 Leicester City 1.6 Win Ratio Career 38.57 Leicester City 36.36 RM' s supporters have to explain why they're so confident he'll outperform his career averages to date.

I think Wanya Marcal's goal last night is a good example of everything that is wrong. For five years we've watched ourfull backs fail to get close to their wingers. It happened again. Granted the space, Marcal didn't stop to think about his options, didn't think about dinking the ball harmlessly to the back post, didn't think about turning back to guarantee possession, didn't think about trying to place the ball right in the corner of the net. He realised a goal was on and went for it with conviction. He hit it hard, got it on target. and changed the course of the game. In moments like that, matches are won and lost. Watson, Doyle and Alves found themselves in similar positions last night and either hesitated, overplayed or underhit their shots. And they've been doing the same over and over again all season and will probably continue doing the same. What's the difference? One plays for a team that realises the paramount importance of scoring a goal, the rest play for a team maximising stats such as possession and shots.

Brendan Rogers kicks over water bottles in anger when we're 3-0 up before half time. Bollocks the players at h/t and says we played much better in second half. Final score? 3-0 This madness has been going on for five years now.. https://thefosseway.net/2026/05/07/the-mclaren-in-morrisons-car-park-why-leicester-city-must-ditch-the-style-delusion/

Russell Martin Goals conceded as manager Career: 1.43 Leicester City 1.6 Win Ratio Career 38.57 Leicester City 36.36 He's doing what he does

Completely misjudged by RL last night. Straight after FT, what felt like five minutes on the permutations of qualifying for the next section of the EFL Trophy when no-one cares about that. OPA has talked about the "road to Wembley" in the past. This really is accepting the decline of the club without acknowledging that's what you're doing. They never mention the finances - which probably feed into what happens on the pitch - indeed they never provide any insight into the finances other than what the likes of Kieron Maguire tell them. Their coverage of the sale of the club has been woeful. Basically they just keep reporting matches, injuries, signings as though nothing has changed. And they persist in the idea everything will get better soon (international break = chance to polish performance, new signing = more experience). And, Pipes apart, they NEVER question Martin' on his record, his playing style and his insistence on sticking with it. The game we saw last night was one I have seen dozens of times by the various permutations of our team in the past five years. Defensive frailty, combined with a lack of urgency in front of goal (Riis excepted). Failure to seriously undo a deep block after going behind. Slow, deliberate build-up. Continuation of identical tactics after substitutions. And this isn't going to change because it's precisely what RM does. His record here (goals conceded, win ratio) is on track with what he's achieved in his managerial career thus far.

All the emphasis is on how you get the ball from your own 6 yard box to the opposition penalty area ('progressing the ball through the lines.." But football matches are won and lost in and around both penalty areas - out of possession in defence, in possession in attack. Emphasising the build up, completely misses the point.

The xg of us conceding if he loses possession was much much higher than our xg if he keeps it... What possessionistas call old school thinking ...

Interesting example of this you chose - in particular RM's response. While we have to factor in that the coach is trying to prevent a young player dwelling on a mistake - it's also a clear signal to the squad that taking this kind of risk is to be encouraged. Yet this particular manoeuvre risked conceding a goal while the reward of pulling it off was to retain possession about 70/80 yards from the opposing goal. Like passing across the six yard box it implies high risk, low reward. Yet the disciples of possession football insist these routines are essential to their success.

His teams consistently concede 1.5 goals a game - in every job at every club. He barely discusses the defence except in terms of individual errors...very Brendan..

You're saying Jakub is instructed to flap at crosses and feebly pad them into the danger area? That's neglect of basic goalkeeping skills and it's a million miles away from "amazing" and is no justification for being "pleased with their contribution." Not deserving to lose isn't a million miles from deserving to win, is it? Especially when the ie couldn't end in a draw..

He said Jakub was "amazing." He wasn't amazing, he was a car crash. Flapping around at corners and crosses, more often then not deflecting the ball into the danger area, rarely collecting the ball cleanly, hesitant as a sweeper keeper, with inconsistent distribution. You cannot lie like that and expect to get away with it, The alternative is that RM really believes that is all you can expect from a keeper. Iif correct that beggars belief, but it would explain his decision to bring in McCarthy and play him above Jakub. I don't think he understands the basic principles of defence, According to Soton fans, one of his worst decisions was to persist with Buzunu in goal, who was an absolute liability. One analyst concluded RM rates shot-stopping and cross collection less highly than playing out from the back. He also said we deserved to win the game - the stats show it. I am sick of the possession football ideologues saying this. There's one stat that matters - the final score. I have now seen countless games in the past five years which City have supposedly "controlled" but lost. I don't say there weren't encouraging signs last night. But time after time we are asked to be encouraged by creative approach play - even when it doesn't lead to victory. And despite all the exhilarating triangular patterns we scored from a corner.

He said Jakub was "amazing.." gaslighting on an industrial scale..

Actually not - more than 1 goal a game conceded at every club

I wish the media would question RM on his defensive record as this is quite plainly his Achilles heel. His teams concede on average 1.5 goals a game - and I'm sorry but no team is ever going to be successful for long with that record. You could see it yesterday - a new goalie who is amateurish in all aspects of the job..and a statuesque defence protecting him...

Russell Martin not told the club was up for sale? Up to his old tricks?

Agree with this. Notts County subs were more athletic than some of our starters...

McCarthy's performance was particularly damning of Martin's judgment. He has spoken so highly of this guy - his ability, his experience, his professionalism and then he put him in ahead of the pre-season first choice. And what I saw was a panic-stricken performance - punching (not at all convincingly) crosses that could easily have been caught, poor distribution and a general lack of six yard box presence... RM has a career average of 1.5 goals conceded per game and it's not hard to see why if he thinks McCarthy is a good goalkeeper...

Anyone know what's happened to Kevon Gray? Thought he would be close to first team this season? Apologies if I missed some news on injury/move..

These are exactly the kind of goals we haven't scored since Vardy left ...countless times the oppo keeper would parry a shot and there'd be no-one to tap in, countless crosses but no-one attacking the ball to head in.

This is where a respected and effective DoF comes in. The manager cannot be allowed to dictate who is in and who is out. Managers have no stake in the outcome and want a ready-made player for the standard the club is at. But their job is - in a DoF set up - to develop the talent at their disposal. This is why replacement of Rudkin remains essential - the manager needs faith in the DoF judgement of a player and a series of managers have had none in Jon...

I think the club mishandled the early careers of Nelson and Bassey spectacularly badly and they very nearly made the same mistake with KDH. Nelson didn't even get a starting place at the start of last season despite a player of the season performance at Oxford, then a struggling Championship side. Even if you argue he isn't better than the likes of Okoli - though he is - at least you're giving your own asset a chance to develop as a player. He had a loan spell at Rochdale at the bottom of League 2 at the time - how useful was that to a player talked about as having elite potential? The loans managers tend to last no more than a few months - Huth cane and went and another one lasted a few weeks before joining Plymouth. For the record, Bassey played no senior football for us despite being on the books for five years, then put in a man of the match performance for Rangers in a Europa League Final. He now has 94 appearances for a Fulham whose primary strength is a solid defence. KDH had to have two sensational season long loan spells to break through - and he even then had to prove his worth to Brendan in pre-season.

Please explain how we avoid a player who is determined to run down his contract, doing just that?