They asked us to trust them...

[ThingsCouldGetMessi]

I was actually one of those who was happy when Ranieri got appointed. He has done well at pretty much every club he has been at in a long career. Forget Greece who haven't done any better without him.... He only managed them for 5 games and there is no way in my eyes that can make him a bad manager in any way. 

 

The main reason I was happy is because I believe that Ranieri can take this club to the next level and I won't be surprised if we finish 8th-10th in at least one season whilst he is here. Going to be honest and say I think (and I might be totally wrong, who knows?) that Pearson had taken us as far as he could. The change to me can only be for the benefit of the club.

 

As for Peter Taylor... He never had any of the qualities or experience at CR has. Even when he started so well, you could tell we were being lucky and that the wheels were likely to fall off. He spent a lot of money (around £30m if I remember correctly) on total ****. Imagine what we might have done if we had replaced MON with a proven manager. 

[Lasty]

I've read Izzet's book. Far from directly comparing the two, I just think it's way too early to judge one way or the other. Whatever people say, the fans were praising Taylor to the rooftops to anyone who would listen after the start he made, which was before anyone realised how bad his management was. Also, people were giving O'Neill shit after a dozen games or so. Fans can be fickle. My point is, six league matches and a couple of cup games really isn't sufficient time to judge whether Ranieri will be a success or not. I hope he is. The signs point to the fact that he may well be. But I'll refrain from putting my tongue up his arse just yet, til I've seen a bit more of what he has to offer. 

[Far Post Gerry]

We've managed to keep the momentum from end of last season, which is great. But without being too much of a pessimist, we all know it can't go on forever. It'll be interesting to see what happens when we go through a dip. Basically it's too early to be calling it either way.

[ealingfox]

Rarely has it been so important to a new manager to make a good start. Ranners has done that and deserves a lot of credit. He has acquitted himself very well so far.

But it's not even October yet. We've only played 6 league games and the fixture list has been very kind to us so far. There are still areas of concern, slight or not.

We've had two tastes of his tinkering in the league, Bournemouth and Stoke, and now we know how frustrating and doggo it can be. He deserves credit for fixing things in both games and rescuing a point but in both we could have easily taken all 3 without the awful first half.

Next, the shambolic defending. I dont have a problem with it so far because it hasnt mattered. If the results and goals scored stay the same then fine, but we all know that this will not be the case. Particularly if last night was the beginning of our long-running problem with extreme profligacy in front of goal rearing its ugly head again. If we are more open and vulnerable inevitably as a result of the way we play, its more acceptable - live by the sword, die by the sword. But we can cut out the individual errors and teach De Laet some basic principles of defending.

Lastly, Inler looks as if he is increasingly becoming the elephant in the room. It is very hard atm to think that this signing came with the endorsement of Walsh and the scouting team. He does not look even remotely suited to our style of play and he's been absolute muck so far. Yes its early days and he probably just needs time to settle. Im not having the 'Cambiasso needed time too' argument though. He had about a weeks training, then came on and changed the game at Stoke before bagging against United the following week. After that he was less doggo than others but not good enough to carry a struggling team. Not his fault.

Inler is well behind Drinky, Kante and King atm and I dont want to see at least one of them not getting minutes to accommodate Inler.

[foxfanazer]

I think some people confuse appreciation for NP as disrespect to Ranieri. CR has done a wonderful job in continuing momentum from last season and not changing too much. Thought he'd shore us up a bit more defensively tbh but if anything we are more gung ho than ever.

Really likeable bloke and hopefully another long term appointment for the club

[Babylon]

We've lost 1 game in 17...

 

1 game in 17
 

1 game in 17
 

1 game in 17

 

they have my trust.

[FoxonMaui]

Mine too Babylon!!!!

[Al-aLondon-Foxile]

As an arch-Pearsonite, I've got to give Ranieri close to 10/10 so far....though it's still very early days.

 

Ironically, he has not "tinkered" too much: evolution, not revolution - relatively minor changes to team/squad and playing style, compared to what I feared.

 

I'll always be grateful to NP for what he achieved at the club. He and his coaching/scouting team left LCFC in a good place when handing over to Claudio (as he was gracious enough to acknowledge), but so far Claudio has been impeccable taking things forward. Long may it continue.

 

I'm one of those (maybe a minority) who loved Pearson's dry humour and gruff, awkward attitude to the media, but Ranieri impresses on that front, too: authoritative in a charming way, a likeable and humorous bloke who keeps calm but has passion, positivity and isn't afraid to take decisions. Long may that continue, too!

 

Even the sun's shining....

 

 

This. entirely agree mate.

[Alf Bentley]

Have a word with yourself and read back what you have written here.

He made 10 changes to our team that played last night. It was our reserve team against only three changes for them to the team that

Beat Man City.

I too find it refreshing to see a manager making subs before the 69th minute.

All subs that Claudio has made have had an impact on the game and tactically he is always spot on. Example being, moving Kante into the middle against Stoke on Saturday.

Ranieri is doing a great job even geeing up the crowd in the latter stages last night.

Ranieri is changing our team in a positive and refreshing manner he has made changes.

 

 

The fact that he made 10 changes last night is interesting, but irrelevant to the thread topic (Ranieri's overall performance). Pearson sometimes made a lot of changes for League Cup games. So do many managers.

 

Of the 14 who played a part v. Stoke, 11 were regulars last season (Inler, Kante & Okazaki the exceptions). Same applies to all league matches. "Evolution, not revolution", as I said.

Ranieri has retained last season's spirit and emphasis on pace, crossing and pressing, while adapting the formation and tactical use of certain players (e.g. Mahrez given more freedom).  "Evolution, not revolution", as I said.

 

There you go. I've read back what I wrote - and I quite agree with myself. 

 

I'll now have not just one but two words with myself: "successful evolution." I'll even have two more words with myself in brackets: "(so far)".

 

The sun is shining - even on the churlish. 

[Izzy]

I think the players deserve a huge amount of credit for this run.

We can talk about the rights and wrongs of NP's sacking and what a good job the owners/CR/back room staff have done, but ultimately it's down to the players.

They could have downed tools when NP left, and you could argue CR has picked them up quickly and made the transition seamless, but what a thouroughly professional job they've all done in maintaining the run.

Proud of the players, the spirit they're showing, and the hard work, fitness and determination they're all putting in.

[thursday_next]

As an arch-Pearsonite, I've got to give Ranieri close to 10/10 so far....though it's still very early days.

 

Ironically, he has not "tinkered" too much: evolution, not revolution - relatively minor changes to team/squad and playing style, compared to what I feared.

 

I'll always be grateful to NP for what he achieved at the club. He and his coaching/scouting team left LCFC in a good place when handing over to Claudio (as he was gracious enough to acknowledge), but so far Claudio has been impeccable taking things forward. Long may it continue.

 

I'm one of those (maybe a minority) who loved Pearson's dry humour and gruff, awkward attitude to the media, but Ranieri impresses on that front, too: authoritative in a charming way, a likeable and humorous bloke who keeps calm but has passion, positivity and isn't afraid to take decisions. Long may that continue, too!

 

Even the sun's shining....

 

 

Entirely agree mate.

 

I was one of those who weren't that pleased with our 3-2 win over Villa, if only because Villa pointlessly self-destructed, other than that we were looking at a 0-2 loss. However, last night was different gravy. One of the most entertaining games I've ever watched at the King Power stadium.

 

I also think it was good that Nigel Pearson appeared on telly, which gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to him, in a manner of speaking. I think that a lot of us felt bad about the fact that he'd just disappeared.

 

Also, Benayoune now seems concentrated on staying on the pitch. I was happy with Dodoo and also Andy King. Inler reached the point where at least half his passes reached someone in a blue shirt. And as for N'Golo Kante, how he does what he does I have no idea, but as long as he keeps doing it I'll be ecstatic.

[Dan]

I think he's done very well so far but I think there are two big tests he's got to pass before I'm 100% confident in him.

 

First one is how we react to a loss. The second is how we react to losing Shakespeare, Walsh etc... when Pearson gets another job. Obviously number two might not ever happen and all is gravy.

 

In-fact come to think of it at this rate I think even number one might not happen

[bmt]

Ranieri had a cracking go at Fuchs when he played a free kick back to Schwarzer. Really enjoying life with him at the helm.

 

Was a big Pearson fan but you have to keep the faith in our owners.

[ramadaone]

Not sure how you can give the new manager 10 out of 10 when at right back its still either RDL or Simpson who are simply not good enough

 

In fairness this is about the only real negative thing to comment on but I really feel it will be the difference between lower / mid table and a top 10 finish

[SecretPro]

I'm going to love the day we can have a conversation on here where Ranieri's name gets mentioned and Nigels doesn't.

[foxychik]

This quote from CR from last night sums up the mood in the camp & last nights performance nicely

 

"I am very pleased, we were fantastic. We changed 10 players but they played at the same level. They're a great group and they work very hard. I'm very happy."

 

It was very difficult to tell we were watching almost an entirely different team - they played the same, albeit missing a slight bit of pace before the subs, - its going to pay dividends having like for like replacements if we start to pick up injuries, and a good cup run will do our 2nd first teamers ( not reserves because they are not playing like reserves ) in good match fitness.

 

It appears that CR & team have a plan B, and a plan C if things go wrong.

 

   

[Hack]

We've lost 1 game in 17...

 

1 game in 17

 

1 game in 17

 

1 game in 17

 

they have my trust.

Babs,

 

The perfect point to be made abut our owners, management and the team they have built via the backroom staff.  This is not an accident.  No one needs to be disrespectful to Nigel by being supportive to Claudio or visa versa , but the consistent  thing is the owners and management. we are very well lead by all involved including Nigel during his rain and now under Ranieri. We are a lucky fanbase to have the organisation we have call LCFC.

[inckley fox]

I direct you to my post above. Ranieri has identified our strengths and played to them, adding quality players like Kante, Inler (we hope), Fuchs, Okazaki. Taylor was completely oblivious to what made the O'Neill team work so well, dismantling the team spirit and organisation of the team, pissing off senior players and replacing talented players with dross from the football league.

 

Of those four players you mentioned, Pearson signed two of them, another was a target for Pearson and the other is yet to show his worth - but I certainly take your point.

 

Ranieri has so far found an extra gear in some of our players, and coming into an atmosphere where are lot of people were waiting for him to fail. If we touch 20 points within the next 4 or 5 games we'll all be reviewing our predictions and expectations. That's massively to his credit. A manager takes responsibility for results from day one, and his results have been superb up to now.

 

Yet his spells at clubs have often got off to excellent starts only to fall away. And yes, the memory of Taylor should serve as a warning. True, he upset the fabric of the club but many of the exits at the time were unavoidable - O'Neill had already called time on Zagorakis and Marshall; Walsh and Cottee were in their mid-30s, the average age of our side was 28+, Guppy's form had already dipped, Lennon wanted out. And we began that 00-01 season playing the same 3-5-2. His major error was in his poor signings, not in opting to make changes.

 

And our form continued for a few weeks beyond our current run. We were still in the top bracket in March. This current run also began under a previous boss and the jury is still out on Ranieri's signings (though Kante and Dyer already look the part). Changes have been made to the system, big names dropped and the defence does appear weaker. So there is still potential for parallels with Taylor in spite of that gut feeling of things progressing beautifully. By contrast, look at the starts two of our best managers - O'Neill and, in 2011, NP - got off to!

 

It doesn't mean that it won't work out beautifully. We should be very positive, but remember that Ranieri hasn't assembled this squad, nor has he sparked this great form out of thin air.

[Hack]

I think the players deserve a huge amount of credit for this run.

We can talk about the rights and wrongs of NP's sacking and what a good job the owners/CR/back room staff have done, but ultimately it's down to the players.

They could have downed tools when NP left, and you could argue CR has picked them up quickly and made the transition seamless, but what a thouroughly professional job they've all done in maintaining the run.

Proud of the players, the spirit they're showing, and the hard work, fitness and determination they're all putting in.

Agreed,  The players all deserve great credit for supporting the manager they have and playing with such skill and passion for this club no matter what.  Clearly they all trust each other and the club and are performing like a top ten team.  Arsenal will be a great test for everyone this weekend, players, manager, management and fans.  I am hopeful that we put in a great performance even though we may not win.

[inckley fox]

Babs,

 

The perfect point to be made abut our owners, management and the team they have built via the backroom staff.  This is not an accident.  No one needs to be disrespectful to Nigel by being supportive to Claudio or visa versa , but the consistent  thing is the owners and management. we are very well lead by all involved including Nigel during his rain and now under Ranieri. We are a lucky fanbase to have the organisation we have call LCFC.

 

Yes and no, up until July the consistent thing had been Pearson, not the owners. We rose up two divisions and 31 league positions under Pearson, one promotion and 19 positions of which came before our current board turned up.

 

But they - and now Ranieri too, who came into a job with every chance of it going instantly wrong - deserve huge credit. The real test of the decision to switch managers was always going to be in results, over time, and the early signs are excellent. We don't know how this season might have begun under Pearson, whether he would have continued where he left off or not, just as we don't know how 00-01 would have begun under O'Neill, and how much credit Taylor deserves for that (not much, I suspect). But Ranieri takes responsibility for results and, after their big call in the summer, so do the board. I'm cautious, but still very, very optimistic on that basis.

[Babylon]

I know Ranieri talks about not changing much, but I'd say that may well have been the remit from above and thankfully so.

 

I was worried when his name was mentioned as it harked back to the bad old days under Sven somewhat. But the owners and the board realised what we had behind the scenes. I wanted them to make all the backroom team Leicester people rather than just Pearson people and that's just what we've tried to do.

 

Managers will come and go, but they need to fit within our framework. It's a long term strategy the likes of Swansea and Saints have used and it pays dividends.

 

What we currently have is a real collective achievement, from the board, to Pearson, Ranieri, the players and all the backroom team. Yes Pearson should be seen as the catalyst (along with the owners investment) as it set the ball rolling. But everyone takes their slice of credit.

[AKCJ]

tHE MAJOR WORRY WHEN WE SACKED NIGE WAS THAT WE WOULD LOSE THE TOGETHERNESS. lAST NIGHT PROVED (AS IF IT WASN'T OBVIOUS) THAT IT'S STILL VERY MUCH INTACT).

 

 

Ahhh ****. caps lock. can't be arsed changing it.

[Guest MarshallForEngland]

Ironically, he has not "tinkered" too much: evolution, not revolution

 

[bovril]

Of those four players you mentioned, Pearson signed two of them, another was a target for Pearson and the other is yet to show his worth - but I certainly take your point.

 

Ha ha good point. Memory's going already....

[Alf Bentley]

Ironically, he has not "tinkered" too much: evolution, not revolution