So the big fat contracts had nothing to do with it?

[fox in the sox]

I remember people commenting that the players were no longer trying because a lot were given huge pay rises/contracts. With Gray commenting that the team are now 'back together' under Shakespeare, it seems that this had nothing to do with it.

[foxile5]

Football is much like politics : any statement that comes from within the closed circle should be regarded with suspicion and mistrust.

 

[VLC86]

10 minutes ago, fox in the sox said:

I remember people commenting that the players were no longer trying because a lot were given huge pay rises/contracts. With Gray commenting that the team are now 'back together' under Shakespeare, it seems that this had nothing to do with it.

It would be naive to say that it wasn't a factor in one way or another. Either by causing a divide or by decreasing motivation to do well, either way a change of manager was clearly needed to shake them out of the rut.

[Out Foxed]

sometimes 2+2 = apple

[David Lowe]

It's all to do with Birch not contracts isn't it? When Birch is sick the club is sick.

[Thracian]

My belief is it was a connected chain of events rather than one speciific thing that led to our appalling Premiership season until Ranieri's sacking.

 

Contract issues didn't help. But then there was the "celebrity" pre-season which disrupted our normally sound preparation,

 

Then there was Ranieri trying to change our style and perhaps trying to fit new signings into a group of players who didn't understand why we should change our successful style in any case, or involve players who weren't showing themselves capable of even deserving a place never mind maintaining our momentum.

 

These things and one or two more all contributed to a sorry tale which just got worse because there were no lasting positives to counter the impact of so many negatives. Until, despite all the sentiment, our owners took the only decisions that could have saved the situation by waving goodbye to Ranieri and appointing Shakespeare.

 

Suddenly the positives were back. We reverted to virtually the same team and style that won matches and a title, Ndidi emerged to improve our strength and threat from central midfield, players started looking happy and eager to do their jobs once more, the fans took heart and even more so with further Champions League success and Gray finally emerged as a genuinely useful squad member and one who could compliment our particular, fast counter-attacking strengths

.    

In other words our honest, humble, focused, feet-on-the-floor manager played to our strengths, our team returned to a system they understood and believed in and, no, it wasn't at the expense of Shaky being able to use anyone from outside the "chosen men", he just introduced others as and when it was logical and potentially beneficial. 

 

That Gray is right about the team being "back together" seems beyond doubt because all the old chemistry, focus, enthusiasm and understanding is back along with the simplest of philosophies..."do your job and you'll be in the team".

 

We've gone from Tinkerman to Thinkerman. From Changeling to Samething and the effect has been to transform our team of wonderers (as in "what the hell are we trying to do") back into a team of winners.

 

And some of our football now is back to its brilliant best with pace, imagination, marauding numbers and individual moments of magic.

 

From shite to exciting in a few short weeks ... who'd have guessed it!   

 

 

 

[polarbear]

16 minutes ago, Thracian said:

My belief is it was a connected chain of events rather than one speciific thing that led to our appalling Premiership season until Ranieri's sacking.

 

Contract issues didn't help. But then there was the "celebrity" pre-season which disrupted our normally sound preparation,

 

Then there was Ranieri trying to change our style and perhaps trying to fit new signings into a group of players who didn't understand why we should change our successful style in any case, or involve players who weren't showing themselves capable of even deserving a place never mind maintaining our momentum.

 

These things and one or two more all contributed to a sorry tale which just got worse because there were no lasting positives to counter the impact of so many negatives. Until, despite all the sentiment, our owners took the only decisions that could have saved the situation by waving goodbye to Ranieri and appointing Shakespeare.

 

Suddenly the positives were back. We reverted to virtually the same team and style that won matches and a title, Ndidi emerged to improve our strength and threat from central midfield, players started looking happy and eager to do their jobs once more, the fans took heart and even more so with further Champions League success and Gray finally emerged as a genuinely useful squad member and one who could compliment our particular, fast counter-attacking strengths

.    

In other words our honest, humble, focused, feet-on-the-floor manager played to our strengths, our team returned to a system they understood and believed in and, no, it wasn't at the expense of Shaky being able to use anyone from outside the "chosen men", he just introduced others as and when it was logical and potentially beneficial. 

 

That Gray is right about the team being "back together" seems beyond doubt because all the old chemistry, focus, enthusiasm and understanding is back along with the simplest of philosophies..."do your job and you'll be in the team".

 

We've gone from Tinkerman to Thinkerman. From Changeling to Samething and the effect has been to transform our team of wonderers (as in what the hell they were trying to do) back into a team of winners.

 

And some of our football now is back to its brilliant best with pace, imagination, marauding numbers and individual moments of magic.

 

From shite to exciting in a few short weeks ... who'd have guessed it!   

 

 

 

i think his heart was in the right place, to long term evolve our tactics away from the hihg pressing hihg intensity style especially with the increased games coming up. however the club didnt back him with the right signings, or he didnt clearly direct what he wanted. when he realsied the players were left with wernt capable of his the sitting back slower style he should have reverted, he was too stubborn.

 

lots of factors and ppl at blame 

 

ranieri

players

rudders

board perhaps?

club marketing perhaps

players

 

thankfully we should survive and put all this behind us and start afresh next year

[Guest Col city fan]

37 minutes ago, Thracian said:

My belief is it was a connected chain of events rather than one speciific thing that led to our appalling Premiership season until Ranieri's sacking.

 

Contract issues didn't help. But then there was the "celebrity" pre-season which disrupted our normally sound preparation,

 

Then there was Ranieri trying to change our style and perhaps trying to fit new signings into a group of players who didn't understand why we should change our successful style in any case, or involve players who weren't showing themselves capable of even deserving a place never mind maintaining our momentum.

 

These things and one or two more all contributed to a sorry tale which just got worse because there were no lasting positives to counter the impact of so many negatives. Until, despite all the sentiment, our owners took the only decisions that could have saved the situation by waving goodbye to Ranieri and appointing Shakespeare.

 

Suddenly the positives were back. We reverted to virtually the same team and style that won matches and a title, Ndidi emerged to improve our strength and threat from central midfield, players started looking happy and eager to do their jobs once more, the fans took heart and even more so with further Champions League success and Gray finally emerged as a genuinely useful squad member and one who could compliment our particular, fast counter-attacking strengths

.    

In other words our honest, humble, focused, feet-on-the-floor manager played to our strengths, our team returned to a system they understood and believed in and, no, it wasn't at the expense of Shaky being able to use anyone from outside the "chosen men", he just introduced others as and when it was logical and potentially beneficial. 

 

That Gray is right about the team being "back together" seems beyond doubt because all the old chemistry, focus, enthusiasm and understanding is back along with the simplest of philosophies..."do your job and you'll be in the team".

 

We've gone from Tinkerman to Thinkerman. From Changeling to Samething and the effect has been to transform our team of wonderers (as in what the hell they were trying to do) back into a team of winners.

 

And some of our football now is back to its brilliant best with pace, imagination, marauding numbers and individual moments of magic.

 

From shite to exciting in a few short weeks ... who'd have guessed it!   

 

 

 

Great post. However, with your final paragraph, to be honest, some of us had been calling for the change for ages. Some of us 'pre guessed it' so to speak. However, I didn't estimate the sheer size of impact that sacking Ranieri would have. It's been bigger than I imagined.

[Thracian]

30 minutes ago, polarbear said:

i think his heart was in the right place, to long term evolve our tactics away from the hihg pressing hihg intensity style especially with the increased games coming up. however the club didnt back him with the right signings, or he didnt clearly direct what he wanted. when he realsied the players were left with wernt capable of his the sitting back slower style he should have reverted, he was too stubborn.

 

lots of factors and ppl at blame 

 

ranieri

players

rudders

board perhaps?

club marketing perhaps

players

 

thankfully we should survive and put all this behind us and start afresh next year

 

Tactics should be adapted to the available personnel - not the available personnel adapted to a manager's  preferred ideals. To do the latter you need the right players and a period (like an entire pre-season) or careful preparation and even then it is hard to make such a change rather than evolve it 

 

But Ranieri thought he knew better, seemed to pile one mistake or misjudgement on another and ended up alienating people. Hopefully we'll stay on a sounder footing now and develop our team and our club in the way I'd always hoped would be the case this season - soundly and sensibly but in a way which complimented and strengthened the factors that have already made us successful.          

[polarbear]

1 minute ago, Thracian said:

 

Tactics should be adapted to the available personnel - not the personnel adapted to a manager's  preferred ideals. To do the latter you need the right players and a period (like an entire pre-season) or careful preparation and even then it is hard to make such a change rather than evolve it 

 

But Ranieri thought he knew better, seemed to pile one mistake or misjudgement on another and ended up alienating people. Hopefully we'll stay on a sounder footing now and develop our team and our club in the way I'd always hoped would be the case this season - soundly and sensibly but in a way which complimented and strengthened the factors that have already made us successful.          

I'm agreeing with you

[st albans fox]

Ranieri made the mistake of thinking he knew better than the sports science that had become an integral part of the club

 

he didn't believe we could play another season with that intensity and without NG. 

 

The players wanted to go to go again but he thought he knew better. He did last year - he didn't this ! 

[Thracian]

1 minute ago, Col city fan said:

Great post. However, with your final paragraph, to be honest, some of us had been calling for the change for ages. Some of us 'pre guessed it' so to speak. However, I didn't estimate the sheer size of impact that sacking Ranieri would have. It's been bigger than I imagined.

Thanks and you're right about the impact of Ranieri's going. I couldn't believe the vitriol of some of the more misguided media reaction.    

[fuchsntf]

I believe, that opinions on "the he big fat contracts/or too much money in football"....

Is just the simple get out thoughts of disappointed fans and observers.

99% footballers love playing, yes some overrate themselves, and the younger ones on high money may not be mature

on realities of life, but thats the nature of the beast...

I dont believe at Pl level that players revolt, or play delibrately below their own standards and skills, not that they are

angels, its just they know they need to prove and sell themselves , even in their dark bad moments.

Its natural and obvious, that every player, play for their present manager, and give 100%  , its not their fault

they dont realise, they havent the understanding on how to translate his wishes...they just want to play football.

[Melbourne Fuchs]

1 hour ago, David Lowe said:

It's all to do with Birch not contracts isn't it? When Birch is sick the club is sick.

Or maybe when the club is sick Birch is sick? No pressure Shakespeare.

[Dan]

2 hours ago, fox in the sox said:

I remember people commenting that the players were no longer trying because a lot were given huge pay rises/contracts. With Gray commenting that the team are now 'back together' under Shakespeare, it seems that this had nothing to do with it.

It's always been cliche. All these comments like "Vardy needs to stop doing these interviews and start performing" are daft, the two are very rarely linked.

[AKCJ]

It's my belief that 0 goals scored and 1 point in the calendar year was deemed not good enough by the actual professionals who know what they're doing and it meant that they had to put pressure on Vichai to realise that Ranieri was not taking the team in the right direction and that a change needed to be made. I would imagine that Vichai didn't realise how bad we were getting because he owes Ranieri everything and would have happily rolled over for him whenever.

[Vardinio'sCat]

 

Some fine posts here.

 

Seeing complicated reality as a series of simplistic issues is a curse of our times. Like many attractive false narratives, the 'not trying' meme contains an element of truth mixed with the playing down of other factors.

 

As a species we don't really remember facts too well, but we do love a good story.

 

Greedy, over-paid footballers who don't give a monkeys are gold dust for headline writers, and given their elevation to sainthood last season, ripe for an old school tabloid take down.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Col city fan]

1 hour ago, Thracian said:

Thanks and you're right about the impact of Ranieri's going. I couldn't believe the vitriol of some of the more misguided media reaction.    

To be fair, there was a degree of 'misguided vitriol' on here too wasn't there? An awful lot of 'he shouldn't go, it's all down to the players' and all that kinda stuff.

[Mark_w]

3 hours ago, foxile5 said:

Football is much like politics : any statement that comes from within the closed circle should be regarded with suspicion and mistrust.

 

Indeed. And as with politics, statements from people who want to explain complex problems by spouting unsubstantiated nonsense (like, they're not playing 'cause we gave 'em new contracts) should be entirely ignored. Bloody EU.

[foxile5]

3 minutes ago, Mark_w said:

Indeed. And as with politics, statements from people who want to explain complex problems by spouting unsubstantiated nonsense (like, they're not playing 'cause we gave 'em new contracts) should be entirely ignored. Bloody EU.

 

I'm unsure if you're disagreeing with me or not.

[sm1]

1 hour ago, AKCJ said:

It's my belief that 0 goals scored and 1 point in the calendar year was deemed not good enough by the actual professionals who know what they're doing and it meant that they had to put pressure on Vichai to realise that Ranieri was not taking the team in the right direction and that a change needed to be made. I would imagine that Vichai didn't realise how bad we were getting because he owes Ranieri everything and would have happily rolled over for him whenever.

Agree, Vichai was never going to get rid of Ranieri hence his statement backing him. I know many chairman do that, then sack the manager, but i think our owners have got real character and wouldn't do that. The problem came when they saw first hand how poor we were against Swansea. They then realised that the players, coaches and support staff were all adament that Claudio was the problem. They bit the bullet and sacked him, but i don't think they wanted to do it one bit.

[Webbo]

6 hours ago, fox in the sox said:

I remember people commenting that the players were no longer trying because a lot were given huge pay rises/contracts. With Gray commenting that the team are now 'back together' under Shakespeare, it seems that this had nothing to do with it.

Is this the same Gray who is demanding £60k a week?

[UPinCarolina]

1 minute ago, Webbo said:

Is this the same Gray who is demanding £60k a week?

His agent is making noise; agents are like arseholes in the footballing world: everybody has one, and most of them seem shitty. 

[sphericalfox]

5 hours ago, Thracian said:

My belief is it was a connected chain of events rather than one speciific thing that led to our appalling Premiership season until Ranieri's sacking.

 

Contract issues didn't help. But then there was the "celebrity" pre-season which disrupted our normally sound preparation,

 

Then there was Ranieri trying to change our style and perhaps trying to fit new signings into a group of players who didn't understand why we should change our successful style in any case, or involve players who weren't showing themselves capable of even deserving a place never mind maintaining our momentum.

 

These things and one or two more all contributed to a sorry tale which just got worse because there were no lasting positives to counter the impact of so many negatives. Until, despite all the sentiment, our owners took the only decisions that could have saved the situation by waving goodbye to Ranieri and appointing Shakespeare.

 

Suddenly the positives were back. We reverted to virtually the same team and style that won matches and a title, Ndidi emerged to improve our strength and threat from central midfield, players started looking happy and eager to do their jobs once more, the fans took heart and even more so with further Champions League success and Gray finally emerged as a genuinely useful squad member and one who could compliment our particular, fast counter-attacking strengths

.    

In other words our honest, humble, focused, feet-on-the-floor manager played to our strengths, our team returned to a system they understood and believed in and, no, it wasn't at the expense of Shaky being able to use anyone from outside the "chosen men", he just introduced others as and when it was logical and potentially beneficial. 

 

That Gray is right about the team being "back together" seems beyond doubt because all the old chemistry, focus, enthusiasm and understanding is back along with the simplest of philosophies..."do your job and you'll be in the team".

 

We've gone from Tinkerman to Thinkerman. From Changeling to Samething and the effect has been to transform our team of wonderers (as in "what the hell are we trying to do") back into a team of winners.

 

And some of our football now is back to its brilliant best with pace, imagination, marauding numbers and individual moments of magic.

 

From shite to exciting in a few short weeks ... who'd have guessed it!   

 

 

 

Stopped reading after 'Thracian said:'...

[Chico1958]

Claudio got it wrong.............. the owners took the difficult decision which has proved to be the right one

 

Stubborness was probably a factor in the end

 

I still believe he only wanted the best for the club and the players

 

Change is a difficult subject to get your head around so when people are reluctant to change inevitably you revert back to the status quo

 

 

But change is also inevitable it's called evolving