A missed opportunity....

[ARM1968]

When you're not a big club, to establish yourself as one is nigh on impossible. Man City were a sleeping giant and the money invested in them has seen some of that potential realised. Pep would never manage Leicester - thank god. 

 

We we can pick up others cast offs, bring players on who havent had a chance, sign people no one has risked before, but we are not attractive enough to sign really top players. 

 

In in order to reach the levels we as fans would like almost requires a paradigm shift. 

[goose2010]

13 minutes ago, SheppyFox said:

Who's mentioning last season? 

then why would you be livid? the only reason surely is that you dont think we were good enough last season so need more players

[WigstonWanderer]

8 minutes ago, ARM1968 said:

When you're not a big club, to establish yourself as one is nigh on impossible. Man City were a sleeping giant and the money invested in them has seen some of that potential realised. Pep would never manage Leicester - thank god. 

 

We we can pick up others cast offs, bring players on who havent had a chance, sign people no one has risked before, but we are not attractive enough to sign really top players. 

 

In in order to reach the levels we as fans would like almost requires a paradigm shift. 

I think it can be done, (subject to ffp which I'm not sure about), but you'd need owners who will do whatever it takes and not worry about losing a shed load of money. Can't get a top manager? - pay him whatever it takes, and explain that you will do the same for players.

 

Assuming that the spending actually, eventually has a positive impact on results, and a top 6 position ensues over a few seasons, like Man C we'd start to be seen as a top club and it would be easier and cheaper to attract talent.

 

Won't happen with our current owners, and no reason to suppose that we'd ever get any such in the future.

[davieG]

1 hour ago, Foxy_Bear said:

I don't think the right people are behind the scenes right now for us to go out and take massive risks. 

 

The scouting team that put together our title winning team, on the most part aren't there anymore. Neither is Walsh who oversaw that team being put together. When those guys went out and signed a player, I felt good about it as i believed in them, I don't have the same confidence in Rudkin and our current scouting network. Is it possible that the owners don't have the same belief in our current lot to hand them the same freedom/cash to go out and take major risks. 

 

I reckon that they've took the safe approach and establish ourselves as a top half of the table team, build our backroom staff and the trust that the owners have in them before making another push. 

 

The scouting team that put our title wining team together didn't take any risks at least not in money spend terms they also had a much lower target to achieve and significantly less expectation. Rudkin was part of that team.

[Kitchandro]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

Massively missed opportunity, we did the unimaginable and won the league. Teams have spent hundreds of millions and spent decades trying to achieve what we did who are far more established and far more resolutely built to achieve it. We turned up and did it, we ripped up the rule book. Sadly, we were in no way capable of remaining at the top, globally behind the scenes our directors and executives weren't cut out for taking us to the next level and we didn't act fast enough to bring in a chief exec and a DOF to cope with this. We had a small window of opportunity to gain ground on the elite and we missed it.

 

Then you look at our recruitment team and our academy and both are nowhere near what you'd expect for a club that has won the biggest prize of all in English football, again we didn't act fast enough to cash in on our lofty status and get in some real clout with experience of being at the top. We knew what we'd achieved was nigh on a miracle and we'd not ever get there again without serious progression, but we made a horribly fist of trying to improve a team that was sporting gold. Our academy is also appallingly ran, it's job for the boys and until a certain regime is removed it'll not improve. We've quite a negative philosophy going on from academy to first team right now and there's certainly no real desire to give these kids the platform and belief to get an opportunity in our first team. Harvey Barnes is the most recent example, it's beggars belief he's not had any minutes with the first team in a match this summer, shocking. Sent instead to play some 50 minute matches in some dog shit tournament in France, well done.

 

The signings we made last summer are scary, especially when you consider how methodical and shrewd we seemed to be in the Pearson and Walsh era. It was as if we genuinely had no idea what sort of calibre signing we needed to go for now we were in the Champions League. I'd actually rather we'd stuck to what we knew best in signings made under Pearson but we seemed to go for the players who'd done well in crap leagues like Russia, Portugal and Poland and hoped for the best. Not a single one of them has really improved the XI we've now had for several years, an XI that is getting very old and familiar especially at the back.

 

I also think we're now at a cross roads, we properly need to rebuild but we've a manager who's probably not brave enough to completely change things. He's allegiances to so many of these players and has been their mate as well during his time as assistant manager. I think the magic has worn off this rags to riches team and I don't see us being successful again without change. Our style of play is becoming easily thwarted and out thought, our real only source of creativity is soon to leave and we're now on our 3rd manager who doesn't seem to think we need competition at right back, more than 1 token creative player or somebody who is dangerous at set pieces.

 

Right now I'm about as negative as I've ever been going in to a new season since probably the 13/14 which we won at a canter, so hopefully I'm made a mug of here

 

 

Agree mostly but we don't need to overhaul our style of play, we need to go back to implementing it.

 

We haven't been playing to that philosophy over the past year so you can't say it's been sussed out or isn't working. The few times we have, we've looked like our former selves.

 

Also, since Walsh left we've been buying players with no thought about how they'll fit into this style or into the starting 11. Signing Slimani and Mendy was pointless because they were never going to suit the philosophy we built our success on. 

 

Signing Musa and Hernandez was pointless because they are crap players.

[lgfualol]

I don't really think there was anything wrong with the signings we made last Summer. The problem was all the trouble behind the scenes, players obviously couldn't be arsed until they got some backlash and Ranieri changing what made us successful - not an environment anyone will succeed in, even our heroes. 

 

Hernandez wasn't crap, playing him at RB all the time was crap. Musa wasn't crap, dropping him and destroying his confidence after he scored 2 in 2 games was crap - notice how he turned non-league standard after that masterstroke. 

 

There are many reasons for the missed opportunity really. 

[Scotch]

20 minutes ago, davieG said:

The scouting team that put our title wining team together didn't take any risks at least not in money spend terms they also had a much lower target to achieve and significantly less expectation. Rudkin was part of that team.

I didn't say that, that team took risks, I said that they had earned the trust of the owners to go out and get players and that success lead to them being able to go out and break transfer records. 

[mozartfox]

1 hour ago, goose2010 said:

Livid? really? you think the squad is worse than last season?!

Well it's no better!

[SheppyFox]

46 minutes ago, goose2010 said:

then why would you be livid? the only reason surely is that you dont think we were good enough last season so need more players

I'd be livid because id want more signings, last year was for the most part a joke as everyone agrees, has nothing to do with needing to buy more new players.

[MrSpaM]

42 minutes ago, Kitchandro said:

Also, since Walsh left we've been buying players with no thought about how they'll fit into this style or into the starting 11. Signing Slimani and Mendy was pointless because they were never going to suit the philosophy we built our success on.

Well it wasn't really pointless was it, Leo was looking to leave so we bought in Slimani as a replacement, Kante left so we bought in Mendy as a replacement

[GaelicFox]

2 hours ago, Micky said:

We have pocketed a shed load of cash from both the champions league and winning the title. We are still in a very good position to attract some real quality players yet it seems that we are going to do very little.

 

I think we are in risk of missing a great opportunity and we may live to regret not being ambitious and taking some risks. Perhaps I am jumping the gun and maybe the club will surprise me in the coming weeks?

 

If we lose Mahrez we suddenly become a very average team who will be battling at the bottom of the table. To add to this we have a very inexperienced manager. I am not feeling too optimistic about our future at the minute.

It's ok Mickey give yourself a rub down you will soon be back up and feeling hard and proud 

[Livid]

3 hours ago, SheppyFox said:

I'll be livid if nacho is our last signing.

 

3 hours ago, goose2010 said:

Livid? really? you think the squad is worse than last season?!

Will you two leave it out!!

[Clever Fox]

1 hour ago, WigstonWanderer said:

I think it can be done, (subject to ffp which I'm not sure about), but you'd need owners who will do whatever it takes and not worry about losing a shed load of money. Can't get a top manager? - pay him whatever it takes, and explain that you will do the same for players.

 

Assuming that the spending actually, eventually has a positive impact on results, and a top 6 position ensues over a few seasons, like Man C we'd start to be seen as a top club and it would be easier and cheaper to attract talent.

 

Won't happen with our current owners, and no reason to suppose that we'd ever get any such in the future.

1

I agree with a good bit of what you say but I do think you are being unfair to our Owners. They have been nothing short of fantastic for our Club. They did try the approach of throwing a lot of money at the problem believing that it would bring success. It didn't and it rarely does unless the Manager has the proven record of success and handling players.

Pearson convinced them his way was best for a club our size that was to build slowly with careful planning good signing and have top people in the right positions within the Club. Credit to Pearson and the Owners, Even in our darkest moments in our survival year he never wavered from that belief, And he was proved right with our success under Ranieri.

The mistake the owners made was allowing Ranieri eventually to tinker and change personnel and methods that had been proven to work over a few years. We had a setup the envy of most other Clubs.

 

We're lucky in that we still have Shaksphere who must still have the knowledge of how to put it back together, Albeit with different personnel. But that's ok as thankfully there's always new experts starting out and looking for a start.

It's going to take time to get back to familiarity and I've faith in Shakey that he can get us there. I've been encouraged by the signings so far and Iheanacho about to sign. I'm sure one or two more might arrive. I just hope one is a

creative player. Last season was a survival job. We now enter a new era for everyone. So let's just relax and see how it unfolds. I believe we are still moving upwards as a Club, albeit after a few bumpy scares, but that's the beauty of Football.

[WigstonWanderer]

1 hour ago, Clever Fox said:

I agree with a good bit of what you say but I do think you are being unfair to our Owners. They have been nothing short of fantastic for our Club. They did try the approach of throwing a lot of money at the problem believing that it would bring success. It didn't and it rarely does unless the Manager has the proven record of success and handling players.

Pearson convinced them his way was best for a club our size that was to build slowly with careful planning good signing and have top people in the right positions within the Club. Credit to Pearson and the Owners, Even in our darkest moments in our survival year he never wavered from that belief, And he was proved right with our success under Ranieri.

The mistake the owners made was allowing Ranieri eventually to tinker and change personnel and methods that had been proven to work over a few years. We had a setup the envy of most other Clubs.

 

We're lucky in that we still have Shaksphere who must still have the knowledge of how to put it back together, Albeit with different personnel. But that's ok as thankfully there's always new experts starting out and looking for a start.

It's going to take time to get back to familiarity and I've faith in Shakey that he can get us there. I've been encouraged by the signings so far and Iheanacho about to sign. I'm sure one or two more might arrive. I just hope one is a

creative player. Last season was a survival job. We now enter a new era for everyone. So let's just relax and see how it unfolds. I believe we are still moving upwards as a Club, albeit after a few bumpy scares, but that's the beauty of Football.

Sorry, I wasn't being critical of the owners, though it may have come across that way. I was merely going through the requirements to "do a Man City". I'm not even sure I'd want that sort of money-charged advancement anyway. Our title win was much more special.

[KingsX]

The title and CL run both primed the kitty.  The window to afford talent is starting to close -- but still open.

 

As players come and go, the enablers of long term success are the quality of the ownership and the recruitment/coaching staff, and the economic base of the club.  The perceived fashionability of “Llttle Old Leicester” is irrelevant, except as market size limits revenue.  Of the three legs of the stool, only the ownership is arguably “top six”, but the economics have changed enough to support the next level -- IF the staff are excellent enough.

 

There is no excuse for the front office and coaches if this club fails to construct and properly deploy a roster with enough quality, balance and depth to slot into the upper half of the table.  A good year should see a challenge for Europe.  A poor year should no longer result in a relegation fight, because LCFC are now well clear of the economic realities of the fringes of the PL, and only need to avoid major mismanagement to stay clear.

 

I agree with those who say academy overhaul and investment are a must.  But that takes years, and the window will close.  IMO further player purchases are needed.  Not by making bets we cannot afford to lose (e.g. overpaying for a Sigurdsson), but by identifying and ponying up for excellent young talents (e.g. Maguire and Iheanacho), in the back line and center midfield.  By cashing out some bad bets at a loss, not by rolling over, exposing our belly, and underselling Mahrez.  These actions in sum, would not require mortgaging the future.  Of course they do require excellence in management.

[cc_star]

9 hours ago, Micky said:

We have pocketed a shed load of cash from both the champions league and winning the title. We are still in a very good position to attract some real quality players yet it seems that we are going to do very little.

 

I think we are in risk of missing a great opportunity and we may live to regret not being ambitious and taking some risks. Perhaps I am jumping the gun and maybe the club will surprise me in the coming weeks?

 

If we lose Mahrez we suddenly become a very average team who will be battling at the bottom of the table. To add to this we have a very inexperienced manager. I am not feeling too optimistic about our future at the minute.

 

Owners say they don't want to spend silly money & are happy with 10th!

[HighPeakFox]

There's a cartel at work, in my opinion. 

[Clever Fox]

3 hours ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Sorry, I wasn't being critical of the owners, though it may have come across that way. I was merely going through the requirements to "do a Man City". I'm not even sure I'd want that sort of money-charged advancement anyway. Our title win was much more special.

No problem, We all know the Owners have been great for us despite making a few mistakes. But that's life.

I wouldn't want us to be the next Utd or City or Chelsea either. It's the hope, expectation and the unknown is what makes us that bit special. And you are right our win is all the much sweeter for the way we achieved it.

 

Enjoy the season.

[cc_star]

21 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

There's a cartel at work, in my opinion. 

That's what FFP exists to protect

[HighPeakFox]

39 minutes ago, cc_star said:

That's what FFP exists to protect

Sure. Do you believe it's actually working? 

[Chico1958]

Neymar to PSG probably says it all

 

I bet teams who are near to going to the wall are thinking how can we ever compete.   

 

We are a small to medium size fish in the great scheme of things

 

Just be happy we're still in the pond   

 

Ps: How do you think West Ham feel now...... nearly closed the deal with Neymar for 20 million.