Fez of Mahrez Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 Perhaps the word of the day after Donald Trump's tweet earlier... I don't think many people (especially the media and neutrals) have acknowledged just how unprecedented (or unpresidented) this season is. It's not just last season that was the one-off. Think what we've had to cope with: the emotional hangover of last season the tag of champions the increased interest in our players both in terms of transfers and media exposure the extra pressure of the Champions League the "how will it ever be as good?" factor the changes needed to the playing squad and management the general up-sizing of the club as a whole - to "be" a Champions League club off the pitch is an entirely different operation the loss of two integral individuals on and off the pitch It's easy after the event but all these things will have been hard to prepare for given the lack of precedents. Other teams have won the league from being rank outsiders but not in the modern day when football is 24/7, the pressure is immense and the money is obscene. No club has ever had to do this before - not quite like this. That's not to excuse some of the bad decisions but it's no wonder things haven't gone swimmingly. I think everyone connected with the club has struggled with one or more of the above at some point or other. However, I'm more interested in the effect it's had on us as fans than on the players and staff. I've heard all kinds of opinions about this season - certainly a lot of people have found it hard to care as much or to be as motivated to support the team when we've just had the season of our lives and it seems like the games at the moment are every other day. Given the extreme highs and lows we've had over the past few years, it's tempting to think everything is either amazing or terrible and as a fanbase, it seems like we're swinging from one to the other almost daily. Even in the past ten days we've had the highs of the Manchester City game, the CL draw and today's comeback; the lows of the Porto defeat, the Bournemouth defeat and the end of the first half today. We were desperate for Man City to be "the turning point" and hopefully the equaliser today will do it instead but even if the next two games don't go to plan, I think it's worth remembering no club has ever been through the challenge of a season like this before and it seems unlikely they will in our lifetimes. With the referee losing the plot, last season's top scorer sent off, our best outfield player so far this season unavailable, to show the real Leicester spirit was something very special. In fact, given the undoubted pressure at the moment, I'd go so far as to say two of the last three games (Man City and today) have seen performances even more remarkable than anything last season, backed 100% by a fanbase that's been through the mill in the past few months. So we might not be top of the league this Christmas but we've managed to go into it on a high against all the odds and that's proper Leicester.
harpendenfox Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 You have a great gift for articulating things clearly and I think I agree with every single word you have written. You've summed everything up quite brilliantly
trabuch Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 There's a lot of people on this forum need to read this. Agree 99% (nothing is more remarkable than last season).
adejo92 Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 Great post, hopefully we can use this season to stabilize and build for next season with level heads and less of a schedule.
waylander Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 Yep this is and unpresidented sensible post . Well rounded and my favourite post this season. Up the city
urban.spaceman Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 An excellently articulated post in which you manage to nail absolutely everything. If FT had a Post of the Month competition I'd nominate yours.
ozleicester Posted 17 December 2016 Posted 17 December 2016 Nah, sorry Fez, this title is nowhere near as good as "Unbelievables"... will not be buying the sequel.
Stadt Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 1 hour ago, harpendenfox said: You have a great gift for articulating things clearly and I think I agree with every single word you have written. You've summed everything up quite brilliantly yeah he should write a book or something
FoyleFox Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 Excellent post. All well considered points and very well articulated. Some fans would do well to take note of the above. We have come a remarkable long way in a very short time. UTF.
1972 Fox Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 2 hours ago, Vardinio'sCat said: If Carling made FT posts... Or even Carlsberg!
weller54 Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 6 hours ago, Vardinio'sCat said: If Carling made FT posts... Willie Carling?
Arriba Los Zorros Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 Yes well said! We have to remember that despite the horrible, losing football, we are after all still in the PL and CL and what's more as reigning champions! To use your word this is an unprecedented time in our history. We're Leicester, we've had it much worse!
Guest Col city fan Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 You've asked about the impact it has had on the fans..... Personally, I'm finding it difficult to be as bothered about watching us, the results and everything else that goes with it this season. Having done 'the impossible', it's not easy to be as excited about things this season. It doesn't get any better than it did last summer, unless we go on to make the Champions League final or something. II see the OP has gained an awful lot of plus ones and very pleasant comments thereafter. Personally, I AM surprised this season that, despite everything, we've played so poorly at times and recruited so badly, given the amazingly strong position we were in. As you know, I don't do the nicey nicey positive for positive sakes stuff. I think this season could have as easily just been one where we continued to look good. Not as good, of course, but certainly better than we have done. As it is, we sit a mere three points off bottom three, with sides like West Brom, Middlesborough and Watford above us. I suspect nearly all the people on here who have given you a plus one, hand on heart, didn't expect that at this time of the season. The question really is 'what now'? Any hangover dwindles with time. What I'm expecting to now see is for the football club to start performing generally better than we have done and to almost stop using all the above as an excuse. We are better than this and need to start showing it. The Everton game will be a bit of a blueprint I think. Beat Everton, convincingly, and the amazing effort of yesterday will be confirmed as some sort of turning point. Lose, and this thread will drift into the archives of the forum I suspect. You do write well though Fez. I give you that.
Guest Col city fan Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 26 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said: Very fair comment Col Cheers chap. As I said, it would be interesting to see, if one was to put up a poll, how many of the posters above, who have quite rightly, given a plus one, would have had us where we are at this time of the season. Personally, I didn't expect another miracle. But I thought we'd probably be about mid to upper table.
Fez of Mahrez Posted 18 December 2016 Author Posted 18 December 2016 24 minutes ago, Col city fan said: You've asked about the impact it has had on the fans..... Personally, I'm finding it difficult to be as bothered about watching us, the results and everything else that goes with it this season. Having done 'the impossible', it's not easy to be as excited about things this season. It doesn't get any better than it did last summer, unless we go on to make the Champions League final or something. II see the OP has gained an awful lot of plus ones and very pleasant comments thereafter. Personally, I AM surprised this season that, despite everything, we've played so poorly at times and recruited so badly, given the amazingly strong position we were in. As you know, I don't do the nicey nicey positive for positive sakes stuff. I think this season could have as easily just been one where we continued to look good. Not as good, of course, but certainly better than we have done. As it is, we sit a mere three points off bottom three, with sides like West Brom, Middlesborough and Watford above us. I suspect nearly all the people on here who have given you a plus one, hand on heart, didn't expect that at this time of the season. The question really is 'what now'? Any hangover dwindles with time. What I'm expecting to now see is for the football club to start performing generally better than we have done and to almost stop using all the above as an excuse. We are better than this and need to start showing it. The Everton game will be a bit of a blueprint I think. Beat Everton, convincingly, and the amazing effort of yesterday will be confirmed as some sort of turning point. Lose, and this thread will drift into the archives of the forum I suspect. You do write well though Fez. I give you that. I don't know if you've misread my post as being "nicey nicey positive for positive sakes stuff" but that's not my point at all. I thought we'd be around 7th this season and even the Champions League achievements haven't taken away the disappointment that we're a long way off that. And obviously people will be happy if we beat Everton and unhappy if we don't. It was the same with Porto, Manchester City, Bournemouth... that will always be the case. This thread can drift into the archives of the forum all it likes - the opening post wasn't about how great everything is or how yesterday was a turning point, it was merely to acknowledge that this season is unprecedented and that presents challenges that no other club or set of fans have been through before. And as I said, I'm more interested in how it's affected us as fans. It's the easiest thing in the world to tear apart the decision-making in the summer and the mistakes made through this season, and I've been there doing that as well, but this is more about acknowledging the emotional ups and downs of this season as a fan and the fact neutrals can't really understand what it's been like. I actually had that recent Telegraph article in mind - slagging off the fans for expecting more from our club instead of accepting our place. I don't think we should accept this is the best it can get at all. As a fan you always want to build on success and I'm as frustrated as anybody that hasn't happened. This season was the opportunity of ten lifetimes, never mind one, to go to the next level as a club (and that opportunity hasn't completely gone yet). It's all been difficult to cope with as a fan. I've had the same issue as you and a lot of others where it's been difficult to care as much but I've also been furious at times with the lack of effort, the heads going down once a goal goes in and the apparent tactical naivety so this definitely isn't about happy clapping. We spend thousands of pounds on following the club and you lose heart with it when you sacrifice a lot to go to Porto (I did and the performance was embarrassing) or Bournemouth on a Tuesday night (I didn't, and anyone that did deserves a bloody medal - that's a bigger ask than Porto for lots of reasons). To say we need to kick on and improve and all of that is the same stuff you hear from Ranieri and the players before and after games. It's so obvious it hardly needs to be said. Nobody is thrilled to be where we are in the league after what happened last season. Rather than see it as an excuse, let's just acknowledge this is a unique season and the emotions are going to be up and down even more than normal. The forum being on a massive high after results like Man City and a massive low after Bournemouth is understandable rather than just a kneejerk reaction to one result, because it's hard to know what success looks like after last year and, because of the massive inconsistency, we still haven't worked out whether we've got a decent side here or not. Say what you like about the Everton game but we could lose that and still obliterate West Ham a few days later. That's how inconsistent we are and what we're having to get used to seeing.
sylofox Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 I still think the biggest problem this season was our pre season. None stop travel from the end of the season the euros America. All ment our pre season build up was piss poor. It has taken till now for our league season to start. It's a good job we got the CL group we did. Had we got a hard group moral would have been lower than a grass snakes belly.
Fez of Mahrez Posted 18 December 2016 Author Posted 18 December 2016 Just now, sylofox said: I still think the biggest problem this season was our pre season. None stop travel from the end of the season the euros America. All ment our pre season build up was piss poor. It has taken till now for our league season to start. It's a good job we got the CL group we did. Had we got a hard group moral would have been lower than a grass snakes belly. I agree - there was too much glitz and glamour in pre-season when that isn't what any success this club ever gets is built on. We're built on hard work and determination. It's always worth thinking of the alternative but I don't think many fans would have accused the club of being small-time if we'd played Burton and Mansfield again with the same results during the league season. I guess the financial incentives were just too big for the owners and execs to turn down.
Guest Col city fan Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 19 minutes ago, Fez of Mahrez said: I don't know if you've misread my post as being "nicey nicey positive for positive sakes stuff" but that's not my point at all. I thought we'd be around 7th this season and even the Champions League achievements haven't taken away the disappointment that we're a long way off that. And obviously people will be happy if we beat Everton and unhappy if we don't. It was the same with Porto, Manchester City, Bournemouth... that will always be the case. This thread can drift into the archives of the forum all it likes - the opening post wasn't about how great everything is or how yesterday was a turning point, it was merely to acknowledge that this season is unprecedented and that presents challenges that no other club or set of fans have been through before. And as I said, I'm more interested in how it's affected us as fans. It's the easiest thing in the world to tear apart the decision-making in the summer and the mistakes made through this season, and I've been there doing that as well, but this is more about acknowledging the emotional ups and downs of this season as a fan and the fact neutrals can't really understand what it's been like. I actually had that recent Telegraph article in mind - slagging off the fans for expecting more from our club instead of accepting our place. I don't think we should accept this is the best it can get at all. As a fan you always want to build on success and I'm as frustrated as anybody that hasn't happened. This season was the opportunity of ten lifetimes, never mind one, to go to the next level as a club (and that opportunity hasn't completely gone yet). It's all been difficult to cope with as a fan. I've had the same issue as you and a lot of others where it's been difficult to care as much but I've also been furious at times with the lack of effort, the heads going down once a goal goes in and the apparent tactical naivety so this definitely isn't about happy clapping. We spend thousands of pounds on following the club and you lose heart with it when you sacrifice a lot to go to Porto (I did and the performance was embarrassing) or Bournemouth on a Tuesday night (I didn't, and anyone that did deserves a bloody medal - that's a bigger ask than Porto for lots of reasons). To say we need to kick on and improve and all of that is the same stuff you hear from Ranieri and the players before and after games. It's so obvious it hardly needs to be said. Nobody is thrilled to be where we are in the league after what happened last season. Rather than see it as an excuse, let's just acknowledge this is a unique season and the emotions are going to be up and down even more than normal. The forum being on a massive high after results like Man City and a massive low after Bournemouth is understandable rather than just a kneejerk reaction to one result, because it's hard to know what success looks like after last year and, because of the massive inconsistency, we still haven't worked out whether we've got a decent side here or not. Say what you like about the Everton game but we could lose that and still obliterate West Ham a few days later. That's how inconsistent we are and what we're having to get used to seeing. Great post. I agree with pretty much all of it.
sylofox Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 6 minutes ago, Fez of Mahrez said: I agree - there was too much glitz and glamour in pre-season when that isn't what any success this club ever gets is built on. We're built on hard work and determination. It's always worth thinking of the alternative but I don't think many fans would have accused the club of being small-time if we'd played Burton and Mansfield again with the same results during the league season. I guess the financial incentives were just too big for the owners and execs to turn down. I dont think we will go down. And like most hoped/thought 6th to 8th would be our finish this season. The difference in prem money will be 10/12m did we make that in the summer.
Vardinio'sCat Posted 18 December 2016 Posted 18 December 2016 6 hours ago, Blue Fox 72 said: Or even Carlsberg! Oh dear... I blame the cider!
.png.0e7438f54a80a2f2566907f77fd7a32a.thumb.png.0ea5e31693d284629c473304eabd4568.png)
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.