How much longer does Claudio get a pass?

[Clever Fox]

Expecting a defeat against Man City but wouldn't be surprised if we got a result. after all we are Leicester city.

[urban.spaceman]

Maybe this slump is a ploy?

 

We've got the Premier League and the Champions League exactly where we want them.

 

Think about it... Players give just 10% energy and effort, we persist with a system that doesn't work etc.... then come February, we get Mahrez and Slimani back from AFCON, plus a couple more signings to strengthen - and hey presto! The players have more energy, Claudio reveals he's secretly been working on literally all of possible formations, we storm up the table to the 6th and then we thrash Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona to become Champions of Europe.

 

Christ, this plan is so dastardly genius it's actually scary.

 

THAT my friends is the real ending of Vardy movie.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

I think I need a lie down. 

[Guest]

Call Rafa. give him 50m to spend in january and 5m a year in wages. 

[Eskay]

If we get pasted on Saturday (which I suspect we will), would you all be surprised if the owners sacked him?

 

Regardless of sentiment, we are a business at the end of the day. And the assets (manager and players) are all costing a lot more than they were a year ago. Yet they are on a rapid decline. The owners aren't likely to tolerate the performance for much longer.

They will also be thinking about Leicester as a 'product'. The price of tickets/memberships continues to rise and they want to keep doing that. Along with the fact that if we are on TV less and less, it's less money in the pocket too.

 

If I think back to Sven and Nige sackings (phantom and real) - I didn't always see them coming and it wasn't always at a time that made sense either.

 

A pasting on Saturday and I think there is a real chance we have a new manager on Boxing day.

 

I'm not saying I want him sacked. I like the guy....I'm saying that this has gone on for too long and he is running out of time quicker than we might think.

[norwichfox]

2 hours ago, Eskay said:

If we get pasted on Saturday (which I suspect we will), would you all be surprised if the owners sacked him?

 

I'm not sure that the owners are as focussed on us this season given that they are officially in mourning for the King of Thailand. It would be nice to hear something from them even if it's the dreaded "vote of confidence".

[Wymsey]

The thing is if the team win a couple of games, he'll be labelled as he knows what he's doing or a great manager (which he was certainly last season).

 

But things are very much dead-pan currently and this makes the situation uncertain in terms of what or who needs changing. If Ranieri changes from 442, I'm more than sure certain player's performances will improve and this would feed off others.

 

In football, you have to change things if certain tactic etc aren't working. Ranieri hasn't and at the moment it's like driving a car with low-pressured tyres in a race.

[Struwwelpeter60]

5 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

They'll never take away that title from us but it's leaving a slight bitter taste.

For Christ's sake, the players and the manager won that title, not the fans.

[Guest LCFC_World]

3 minutes ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

For Christ's sake, the players and the manager won that title, not the fans.

The fans played a huge part ffs

 

lets go back in time and have no fans turn up to games and see if we win the title then, no wait take away the fans and see if the club can afford the players wages. We wouldn't even be on TV if no fans turned up as it wouldn't look good on the cameras would it?..

 

So us fans played a huge part actually. 

[Guest Col city fan]

7 hours ago, Bedford Fox said:

I honestly can't believe some of these comments. Stand by your manager and team and support. All the talk about how we were the best fans last season, easy to be great fans when you're winning but now is when we need to get behind the boys and support. 

I think many are missing the point a little.

We do have some really good players. We've seen it.

When confident, Vardy is a goal scoring machine...we've seen it

When given a free role, Mahrez is class...we've seen it

When supported, Drinkwater is one of the best English central midfielders...we've seen it.

Slim is a 30mill quid striker....we've seen he can be lethal.

 

One of the reasons for contemplating a change of manager is if we think someone else can get better out of these players than Claudio. Not last season...he did....but THIS season.

To be getting so little out of such good players (don't say they are crap...we've seen they aren't) is not acceptable.

Why Pearson remained in a job and did the great escape was because, in the end (it took a lot of working out), he managed to get his best players firing. Cambiasso, Vardy, even Schlupp! 

The question is this then...given we have some very good players, are you confident that Ranieri THIS season can get the best out of them? 

[LJS]

1 minute ago, Col city fan said:

I think many are missing the point a little.

We do have some really good players. We've seen it.

When confident, Vardy is a goal scoring machine...we've seen it

When given a free role, Mahrez is class...we've seen it

When supported, Drinkwater is one of the best English central midfielders...we've seen it.

Slim is a 30mill quid striker....we've seen he can be lethal.

 

One of the reasons for contemplating a change of manager is if we think someone else can get better out of these players than Claudio. Not last season...he did....but THIS season.

To be getting so little out of such good players (don't say they are crap...we've seen they aren't) is not acceptable.

Why Pearson remained in a job and did the great escape was because, in the end (it took a lot of working out), he managed to get his best players firing. Cambiasso, Vardy, even Schlupp! 

The question is this then...given we have some very good players, are you confident that Ranieri THIS season can get the best out of them? 

Why do you assume that we have very good players playing beneath themselves rather than very average players who played miles above themselves last season?

 

You can't take last season as the yardstick. It's unscientific (insofar as science can be applied) to use the anomaly as the norm. You take the majority of evidence as the yardstick. The majority of evidence is the whole of the players' careers. We have a mix of players ranging from lower end top flight to middling second division. Last season was the anomaly. The great climb to heights never suggested by anything these players had ever done before. This season is the reversion to the mean.

[Struwwelpeter60]

32 minutes ago, LCFC_World said:

The fans played a huge part ffs

 

lets go back in time and have no fans turn up to games and see if we win the title then, no wait take away the fans and see if the club can afford the players wages. We wouldn't even be on TV if no fans turned up as it wouldn't look good on the cameras would it?..

 

So us fans played a huge part actually. 

How many goals did you score last season?

How many saves did you make?

How many shots did you block?

How many tackles did you make?

I guess, as many as I did.

Zero.

 

 

"...no wait take away the fans and see if the club can afford the players wages..."

 

Obviously, you don't know the facts:

 

Leicester City

Accounts of Leicester City Fooball Club Ltd for the year to 31 May 2015

• Ownership Owned by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his family via his Thai company, King Power International Ltd

• Turnover Joint 12th highest in League £104m, up from £31m in Championship in 2014

• Income Match-day income £11m; TV and other football income £74m; Retail & merchandise £2m; Conference & catering £0.9m; Sponsorship, suites, advertising & other £17m

• Wage bill 18th highest in League £57m, up from £36m in Championship in 2014

• Wages as proportion of turnover 55%

• Profit before tax £26m, following £21m loss in 2014

• Net debt £6m

• Interest payable £1.6m

• Highest-paid director Unnamed, £145,000 (Susan Whelan is the chief executive)

 

In other words: LCFC could pay its bills without the fans showing up, but not without

the TV-cameras showing up.

And that are the figures for the 2014/15 season.

Last season LCFC share of the TV-money amounted to  £ 93m.

 

 

"We wouldn't even be on TV if no fans turned up as it wouldn't look good on the cameras would it?.."

 

But you know, that we are living in the age of CGI?

 

[Struwwelpeter60]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

Why Pearson remained in a job and did the great escape was because, in the end (it took a lot of working out), he managed to get his best players firing.

It took him 29 games to work it out.

Why should the owners give CR less

time?

He won them the title and didn't insult

their country (in Asia a father is responsible

for the actions of his children, no matter how

old they are).

[Guest LCFC_World]

9 minutes ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

How many goals did you score last season?

How many saves did you make?

How many shots did you block?

How many tackles did you make?

I guess, as many as I did.

Zero.

 

 

"...no wait take away the fans and see if the club can afford the players wages..."

 

Obviously, you don't know the facts:

 

Leicester City

Accounts of Leicester City Fooball Club Ltd for the year to 31 May 2015

• Ownership Owned by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his family via his Thai company, King Power International Ltd

• Turnover Joint 12th highest in League £104m, up from £31m in Championship in 2014

• Income Match-day income £11m; TV and other football income £74m; Retail & merchandise £2m; Conference & catering £0.9m; Sponsorship, suites, advertising & other £17m

• Wage bill 18th highest in League £57m, up from £36m in Championship in 2014

• Wages as proportion of turnover 55%

• Profit before tax £26m, following £21m loss in 2014

• Net debt £6m

• Interest payable £1.6m

• Highest-paid director Unnamed, £145,000 (Susan Whelan is the chief executive)

 

In other words: LCFC could pay its bills without the fans showing up, but not without

the TV-cameras showing up.

And that are the figures for the 2014/15 season.

Last season LCFC share of the TV-money amounted to  £ 93m.

 

 

"We wouldn't even be on TV if no fans turned up as it wouldn't look good on the cameras would it?.."

 

But you know, that we are living in the age of CGI?

 

Okay lads let's not turn up and have an empty ground and watch a load of CGI fans in the background. 

 

Wether you want to admit it or not the fans have played a huge part in the promotion season, the great escape season and the title wining season. It's us fans that pay to watch the game and buy the merchandise and buy sky sports and bt sport to watch the games - so when it comes down to it it's the fans that make it all happen. 

[foxinsocks]

We are a team. ... players manager owners and fans.  I did decide i didnt want to be in a team with the last manager... but i still want to be on the bus with claudio... we can sort thus season out.... i think he can still do goid things for us.  

[Guest Manini]

6 minutes ago, LCFC_World said:

Okay lads let's not turn up and have an empty ground and watch a load of CGI fans in the background. 

 

Wether you want to admit it or not the fans have played a huge part in the promotion season, the great escape season and the title wining season. It's us fans that pay to watch the game and buy the merchandise and buy sky sports and bt sport to watch the games - so when it comes down to it it's the fans that make it all happen. 

Be a nightmare...they'd have to make all the seats green...

[Struwwelpeter60]

26 minutes ago, LCFC_World said:

Okay lads let's not turn up and have an empty ground and watch a load of CGI fans in the background. 

 

Wether you want to admit it or not the fans have played a huge part in the promotion season, the great escape season and the title wining season. It's us fans that pay to watch the game and buy the merchandise and buy sky sports and bt sport to watch the games - so when it comes down to it it's the fans that make it all happen. 

Do I get you right?

We, the fans, are part of the "team", when they are winning, but not ,

when they are losing?

How is that?

 

What happened to the good, old  " we win together, we lose together " ?

Out of fashion?

[Guest Col city fan]

2 hours ago, LJS said:

Why do you assume that we have very good players playing beneath themselves rather than very average players who played miles above themselves last season?

 

You can't take last season as the yardstick. It's unscientific (insofar as science can be applied) to use the anomaly as the norm. You take the majority of evidence as the yardstick. The majority of evidence is the whole of the players' careers. We have a mix of players ranging from lower end top flight to middling second division. Last season was the anomaly. The great climb to heights never suggested by anything these players had ever done before. This season is the reversion to the mean.

How can a very average player 'play miles above themselves' for almost a whole season? What a ridiculous comment!

 

Either Vardy got the all time Premiership consecutive goals record or he didn't?

Either Mahrez got player of the season, or he didn't.

 

We've seen they can be brilliant. I'm asking the question...who can get the best out of them this season? Ranieri? 

[SpinneyHillRanger]

Claudio is still dreaming.... He has really been a let down with his rigidity and stubbornness. Italians are known for their tactical nouse 

 

He needs to start moving onfrim last year's tactics and seeing what everyone else can see. 

[Barky]

3 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Maybe this slump is a ploy?

 

We've got the Premier League and the Champions League exactly where we want them.

 

Think about it... Players give just 10% energy and effort, we persist with a system that doesn't work etc.... then come February, we get Mahrez and Slimani back from AFCON, plus a couple more signings to strengthen - and hey presto! The players have more energy, Claudio reveals he's secretly been working on literally all of possible formations, we storm up the table to the 6th and then we thrash Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona to become Champions of Europe.

 

Christ, this plan is so dastardly genius it's actually scary.

 

THAT my friends is the real ending of Vardy movie.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

I think I need a lie down. 

I think we're waiting til we're 5000-1 to win the league and then we'll start trying. It wouldn't be the same if we weren't 5000-1.

[LJS]

17 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

How can a very average player 'play miles above themselves' for almost a whole season? What a ridiculous comment!

 

Either Vardy got the all time Premiership consecutive goals record or he didn't?

Either Mahrez got player of the season, or he didn't.

 

We've seen they can be brilliant. I'm asking the question...who can get the best out of them this season? Ranieri? 

Of course it isn't ridiculous. It's called form. Many players in their careers have hit patches of form which are over and above the levels they normally play at. Francis Jeffers, James Beattie, Michael Ricketts. There will be hundreds of examples. It just so happens that all of ours did it at the same time, whilst all the usual contenders were failing. Vardy's scoring record and Mahrez winning player of the season are examples of that.

 

Are you a bit dim? You can't just pick a single season from however many they have collectively and decide that's the one 'normal' season and everything else is underperformance.  They were brilliant for a season and a bit. The evidence would suggest that that year and a bit is the unusual part of their careers. 

 

You talk about a whole season as though it's a reasonable statistical unit from which to identify trends. It isn't. It's the accepted unit of footballing occurences but statistically 38 games is barely higher than the minimum number of data points (25 is generally accepted as the minimum, but the more you have the better - I use hundreds at work) required to observe real trends in activity/output. 

 

You talk of Raniei getting 'the best' out of our players. The 'best out of them' this season will be different to 'the best out of them' last season. A number of things have changed. 

 

1) They've all won a prize beyond their wildest expectations. This will do things, unintended things, to their desire/mentality.

2) They're a year older. Our central defensive partnership was already old.

3) They're playing more games.

4) We lost one of the most important players (in my view the single most important player) involved in that triumph.

 

I'm sure there is more. You seem to be adopting the role of some kind of hitchens-esque intellectual, asking the tough questions nobody else dare ask. What you're actually doing is asking questions nobody can answer (because nobody knows) and using the obvious lack of an answer in return as a way of making people look as though they're not thinking through the issues properly. 

 

Who knows who can get the best from these players? We don't even know what the 'best' is at present. It might well be that we're watching it. You can point to last season but lots of things have changed since then. What we do know is that the one manager who led the current crop of players to the best performances of their career, and the club to its best ever achievement, is the one currently in post. Maybe he isn't the best under the current circumstances. I don't know and neither do you. Neither does anybody know who would be. But what I will say is that if anybody has earned the right to demonstrate that he is the right man, it's the bloke who led us to a league title just seven months ago.

[Terraloon]

I know you can't ignore last season but had it been a normal mid league finish the alarm bells would surely big ringing loud in the owners ears.

Ok the league win will live long in the memory but whilst there were  huge positives the owners approach will  no doubt be both pragmatic and  ifneeds be hard nosed. 

My guess is that if or when LCFC find themselves in the bottom 3 in the next 4-5 games we will hear the classic vote of confidence but past that point and  if the position is precarious come early Jan then I think there will be a change then for any incoming manager would need to make some changes in the January window 

[Wymsey]

The great success, barring yesterday, in the CL is possibly a big factor in the owners keeping faith in him and standing back a bit at the moment; going far into this competition further will likely to enhance the King Power brand globally. They may realise the next time we can compete for the top domestic crown may be a lot of seasons away.

 

Of course, the PL season is currently poor and they're as fed-up as most of us fans are, but ultimately now the fast progress in the CL could be a defining factor for another fairytale story that the owners want the fans to enjoy and support the team through - that unfortunately may have to give way a lowly but not relegation-bound season.

[zealot]

On 12/3/2016 at 20:27, uragomper said:

CLAUDIO: "We did our best today, but it wasn't enough. We have to keep working hard in training and trust the bad moment will turn." 

He has lost the plot

Time to go

What are you talking about!?

 

Claudio isn't the problem.

 

We have a team of players who can't pass nor tackle and it's been that way for a while.

 

Even last season Kante, Drinkwater and Vardy tackled for the whole team.  

 

A manager can only do so much with the tools he has at his disposal.

[seenitall]

Bejesus we kept that numpty Pearson for a whole season for winning the second division and never looking like staying up at this stage of the season - let alone qualifying for the Champions League final 16 - sure we should get rid of Claudio because the ressies lost in Europe - snap out of it or I'll have to bring up delusions of grandeur..........

[ZeGuy]

9 hours ago, LJS said:

He stays even if he takes us down. I'm pretty sure he'll leave by choice if we do go down (and I think we are going down) but if he wants to stay to get us back up then I'll be supportive of that.

 

I'm finding it hard to get upset about our current form. Yes, we look poor. And, again, I think we are going down. It doesn't bother me though. It will happen several more times before I die. Our natural posiiton is top end Championship and bottom end Premier League. That's fine by me. It gives us lots of variety and, as a fan, there are benefits to second tier football. More games for my money, more midweek evening games, easier access to aways, fewer morons in the ground. Obviously I spend years in the Championship longing for top flight football. Such is the curse of being a City fan. But I accept our lot, I'm happy with it, and I enjoy the variety.

 

The fans who seem to be most upset by our current form are those who allowed themselves to believe that winning the title was an opportunity for the club to "push on". It never was. It's why last season was so brilliant. We had far from the best squad and it was an all or nothing season. It's amazing that we pulled it off. People look at our players now and struggle to understand how they can be so poor after last season. I look at the careers of our players and struggle to understand how they were so good, and just cherish that they were.

 

All of the traditional top six spent more than us and, to be honest despite last season, already had better squads, man for man. We spent **** all really. £68m (much less relatively than the £28m Taylor spent ruining the O'Neill side) in total, £20ish million net. Peanuts. We didn't spend it on bad players either, we just strengthened in the wrong areas. We might go down, and if we do we might come up again. That's it, forever. It's what we do. Relegation really isn't the end of the world (even for the owners if they are truly as committed as they claim, and have banked the monies from the Premier League and Champions' League years sensibly). We'll still have a football club to watch. And not just any football club. Our football club, who won the league against all the odds in one of the greatest sporting achievements ever seen.

Never gonna happen. He's already on borrowed time, I'd say he has max until mid-february to sort things out. The owners won't allow this club, which achieved one of the greatest feats in football history, to become a laughing stock and/or get relegated. It's their money after all. You might lack any sort of ambition, they don't. And I'm pretty sure the staff, the fans and some players too.

 

It was. The perfect occasion to get the club a bit higher. You were about to sign A. Silva (well now, it will indeed never happen). With him and Mendy on the pitch it would have been a whole other story and you'd be now singing another song. Sadly the recruiting went south. 

 

Love the understatement there. Beside Slimani, who is indeed lethal with a decent service, and Mendy sadly injured the whole time, not a single signing did give any real sign of satisfaction. Not.a.single.one. Some of them didn't even make it to the bench. Not PL ready. LOL.

 

Pushing forward, becoming better is the natural way of things. There's no such thing as eternal mediocrity. When you see an opportunity, go for it. Don't sit down with your thumbs up your ass and watch the train go by, thinking "Meh, it wasn't meant for me anyway".