Semper Eadem Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/when-the-free-bmws-and-hollywood-deals-came-leicester-believed-their-own-hype-rx77t6slt?shareToken=046ff09195e9970a9d1019ae5a6d15d9 As a life long City fan, the events of the last few days have been pretty traumatic. Yes some articles have had a patronising tone and maybe some consider them to be media brainwashing. Trying to take raw emotion out of it, this is worth reading.
Countryfox Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 28 minutes ago, Semper Eadem said: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/when-the-free-bmws-and-hollywood-deals-came-leicester-believed-their-own-hype-rx77t6slt?shareToken=046ff09195e9970a9d1019ae5a6d15d9 As a life long City fan, the events of the last few days have been pretty traumatic. Yes some articles have had a patronising tone and maybe some consider them to be media brainwashing. Trying to take raw emotion out of it, this is worth reading. Looks like the usual bag of sh1te to me ... Leicester dont know what they are doing ... shameful ... blah blah blah ... oh ! ... and wasn't Ferguson REALLY clever ! ... yawn.
Gillies Apprentice Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 On the face of it ,a cleverly written piece , but he omits to recognise the similarities with what happened at both Man City and Chelsea , where both their managers were sacked in virtually identical circumstances. It would have been interesting if he had done some research on what has actually been happening ,so he could also offer a view on how well (or not ) Ranieri had handled it and attribute the culpability for our predicament more rationally.
Stadt Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 He seems to think they weren't mega rich professional footballers before, the usual self-aggrandisement from Syed.
Vestan Pance Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 I find it interesting that none of these journalists think Kante leaving might have been an act of disloyalty on Claudio, is that because he signed for Chelsea? They seemed to forget that Mahrez and Vardy amongst others showed plenty of loyalty to Leicester and Claudio when they turned down offers from elsewhere. I'm not saying either is right or wrong, just double standards at work again to fit a biased agenda.
TrentFox Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 I've done a bit of work with Matthew and he's one of the nicest, humblest and thorough people you could ever wish to meet. But that piece does smack of his editor saying 'we need 600 words to fill a space by midnight' a bit! As Woody Allen once remarked, "everything in the world has already been said - it's just that not everyone has had the chance to say it". Seems to fit our club rather well, right now!
davieG Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 I'm sure there was a lot of complacency from the players but again a lot of it is based on the assumption that the players moaned to the owners none of which is proved. In truth some blame can be left at the door of everyone at the club.
SpacedX Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 7 minutes ago, TrentFox said: I've done a bit of work with Matthew and he's one of the nicest, humblest and thorough people you could ever wish to meet. But that piece does smack of his editor saying 'we need 600 words to fill a space by midnight' a bit! As Woody Allen once remarked, "everything in the world has already been said - it's just that not everyone has had the chance to say it". Seems to fit our club rather well, right now! Possibly, but Syed's remit is to produce a weekly opinion piece which is a regular feature in the Times' 'The Game' supplement and can embrace wider issues in sport beyond football. I find his opinions both radical and rational and invariably well informed. You really didn't need to hire a clairvoyant to predict what his subject matter was going to be this week. I don't think it was in anyway lead or encouraged by the Editorial team. You should find his piece on Mourinho from last year.
ZeGuy Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 Black & white approach that doesn't take into account Ranieri's failed tactics and his lack of a clear objective. Put the blame on the players and make Ranieri a victim of their complacency. Yeah, no.
SouthStandUpperTier Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 "everything in the world has already been said - it's just that not everyone has had the chance to say it".Just the Chuckle Brothers, the Honey Monster and Big Bird from Sesame Street left to give their two pence worth now.
TrentFox Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 17 minutes ago, Line-X said: Possibly, but Syed's remit is to produce a weekly opinion piece which is a regular feature in the Times' 'The Game' supplement and can embrace wider issues in sport beyond football. I find his opinions both radical and rational and invariably well informed. You really didn't need to hire a clairvoyant to predict what his subject matter was going to be this week. I don't think it was in anyway lead or encouraged by the Editorial team. You should find his piece on Mourinho from last year. Quite probably. I think you describe his style extremely accurately - radical and rational. His book 'Bounce' is a good example. Exploding the myth of 'talent' and doing so in a matter-of-fact way. I haven't read much of his stuff recently, but always enjoy it when I do. Isn't that the intention of a high-end journalist - to get us to join the dots up slightly differently than we may otherwise have done? Sadly, there isn't much of that around at the moment. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong journos!
MattCan Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 Nothing deep or new in this mediocre article. Basically, the usual players complacency and self-containment premises at the center of it.
LcFc_Smiv Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 About right for the usual nonsense he spouts.
SpacedX Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 39 minutes ago, LcFc_Smiv said: About right for the usual nonsense he spouts. 1 hour ago, MattCan said: Nothing deep or new in this mediocre article. Basically, the usual players complacency and self-containment premises at the center of it. I think his observations are entirely justified. What is it that you disagree with aside from the fact that it is critical of the club that you support?
Captain... Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 What a load of crap, blames the players, but credits Ferguson, the manager, for United's continued success. Ferguson was amazing and kept his players focussed on the next challenge. If that is the manager's job and our players lost their focus then surely that is a failing on Ranieri's part. You can't praise Ferguson and yet paint Claudio as blameless. I'm not saying it is all Ranieri's fault, but it is just typical of the crap being spouted in the media. We've ballsed up this season in the league big style and the blame for that runs through the club, from the players to the coaches to the board and the DOF, but ultimately the responsibility lies with the manager.
MrSpaM Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 I'm getting pretty fed up of reading articles that have been written by people that watched everything to do with the 'fairytale' last season, and then clearly haven't seen the way we've been playing this season It's extremely sad that Claudio has been let go by the club, but it was clear as day to anybody who attends games on a regular basis that we were going to be relegated if it was allowed to carry on This idea that we should just roll over and accept relegation or being at the bottom of the table because we over-achieved last season and were just 'little old Leicester' is just getting tiresome
SpacedX Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 13 minutes ago, Captain... said: What a load of crap, blames the players, but credits Ferguson, the manager, for United's continued success. Ferguson was amazing and kept his players focussed on the next challenge. If that is the manager's job and our players lost their focus then surely that is a failing on Ranieri's part. You can't praise Ferguson and yet paint Claudio as blameless. I'm not saying it is all Ranieri's fault, but it is just typical of the crap being spouted in the media. We've ballsed up this season in the league big style and the blame for that runs through the club, from the players to the coaches to the board and the DOF, but ultimately the responsibility lies with the manager. I do appreciate your point but I don't think that he is saying that the management is blameless. This piece is primarily about the players themselves and the dangers of complacency, something that Ferguson - or indeed a Captain like Roy Keane would never have allowed to set in. Actually, by using United and Ferguson as an exemplar, implicitly, Syed is also indicting Ranieri. Management aside though, if we take just the Hull game in isolation it's hard to dispute anything that is written here.
LcFc_Smiv Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 1 hour ago, Line-X said: I think his observations are entirely justified. What is it that you disagree with aside from the fact that it is critical of the club that you support? His assumptions come from the fact that our players have become lazy, greedy and complacent, this isn't a squad of nobodies who became successful over night. The spine of our team has had 3-4 very successful years with us, this isn't a group of players that would just decide we can't be bothered any more, it's actually embarrassing that we have a fan base that are willing to accept that point of view when a large number of our squad fought so hard to get us in this position in the first place. I am very grateful to what Ranieri did for us and I thank him for all he has done, the harsh reality is he came into a club that had created a positive culture and environment, a base where players, staff and management were all pulling in the same direction. He had every right to put his own stamp on the club but it's looking like he tried to change to much and moved away from the core philosophies of the club. Syed himself is a nonsense writer and just looking to drum up publicity to sell his next theory in his latest self-help book.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 A very poignant article, which perceives the truth of the matter. MON is of the same opinion, which is why he has stated he would not contemplate returning, due to the power Premiership players have at their respective clubs. He quite distinctly points the finger at them, here at Leicester. Well said Martin.
SpacedX Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 Just now, LcFc_Smiv said: His assumptions come from the fact that our players have become lazy, greedy and complacent, this isn't a squad of nobodies who became successful over night. The spine of our team has had 3-4 very successful years with us, this isn't a group of players that would just decide we can't be bothered any more, it's actually embarrassing that we have a fan base that are willing to accept that point of view when a large number of our squad fought so hard to get us in this position in the first place. I am very grateful to what Ranieri did for us and I thank him for all he has done, the harsh reality is he came into a club that had created a positive culture and environment, a base where players, staff and management were all pulling in the same direction. He had every right to put his own stamp on the club but it's looking like he tried to change to much and moved away from the core philosophies of the club. Syed himself is a nonsense writer and just looking to drum up publicity to sell his next theory in his latest self-help book. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Yeah, there are entire sections of shelves in airport branches of Waterstones and Smiths stacked with that sort of shite and I do agree. Saying that, I do believe that a degree of complacency did set in over the summer and perhaps entitlement. That doesn't necessarily follow as you put it that the players decided that they can't be bothered anymore - but as the ex sports psychologist Tony Way put it in the other piece when he referred to terrorists (see other thread), negativity amongst a few can be contagious. I don't think this is consciously engendered, but there have been times this season where they have no longer been playing for the manager, the club, the fans and most importantly...themselves and their own self respect. Forget the mandalas, the smell of incense and countless blessings conferred by Theravada Buddhist monks prior to the great escape...this reeks more of a Faustian pact.
Leicester69 Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 The fundamental point of that article is spot on...the fact that the players believed, and the manager allowed, a mentality of "we've done it" to creep in, rather than how do we keep it up, or do it again....no one, not even the most blindly optimistic City fan, would ever expect to win the league again...but it wasn't unreasonable to have expected top 10 in the league, a good run in the two domestic cups, and last 16 of CL. The rot started with a crap pre-season, crap signings and the manager allowing lethargy to creep in amongst the players, added to too many behind the scenes changes to training and confusing tactics...but we're all guilty...we should have rammed it down the opposition fans throats about being champions pre-match but we should have all been singing "we are staying up" during games, not "we are your champions"...we turned every game into the other teams cup final, whilst turning our own home games into a much less intimidating place to visit...the KP has been quiet all season, bar CL games and the odd game when we've played ok. Back to the article...an even better read, and more objective read, is Jonathan Norcroft's article in yesterdays Sunday Times, he also wrote the book Fearless, which I think is by far the best book written on last year's league win...he puts sentiment aside and points out some of the mistakes the club, the manager and players have made this season...combine this with the article about the sports psychologist, Syed's article and the truth is all in there...most City fans just want to deny CR got anything wrong, but he royally screwed things up from the minute we won the league, alongside others...we were doomed to fail right from the start of pre-season...the owners loyalty (which is a fundamental part of JN article) to CR will probably be our ultimate downfall.
Kaewbudda Posted 27 February 2017 Posted 27 February 2017 Thanks for uploading the article. Lots of different views on our demise. I respect all of the different opinions even if I don't agree with them. It can be tough listening to the pundits on TV but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think it's fair to say that after last season's triumph it was inevitable that a degree of complacency would set in. Affecting not only the players, but the board, owners, manager, fans, everyone. After winning the league I thought "we'd be ok". That sentiment was probably subconsciously shared by everyone at the club. Now that we're fighting for our lives again, I'm not sure whether the players have got the same drive and determination of previous seasons. I hope I'm wrong.
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