Inside The Dressing Room: Elliott On O'Neill, Izzet & Leicester's Potential In 2000

[davieG]

Inside The Dressing Room: Episode 1 - Matt Elliott

 

https://www.lcfc.com/news/1746550/inside-the-dressing-room-elliott-on-oneill-izzet--leicesters-potential-in-2000?fbclid=IwAR3qhN9wb1z3uYthrpUH73_XkB4sjA8O0GwFrrPn_hqXvIbhLjNAE3c-0oI

 

Better to view the original.

[Mickyblueeyes]

Matt Elliott said: "I remember once, Martin brought me in for a private chat. I thought I was in trouble! I was captain at the time and he brought me in and he said: 'Matty, I want you to relay the message to the players that we're going places. I don't want to be eighth or ninth in the Premier League and winning a cup here and there. I want us to push on and be better than that'. He wanted to emulate what Leeds United were doing at time time, reaching Champions League slots. He had visions of that. That's why he brought the likes of Stan Collymore into the Club. If you think of that team at that time... We'd just won the League Cup, we were buzzing with confidence. It's definitely a case of what could have been."

 

We must've sold Heskey not long after that. Had he stayed, with the new stadium and bit of money, I wouldnt have put it past O'neil of the 90's achieving that. 

[Gamble92]

The whole story of it falling apart when it was getting good seems to be clouded in a bit of a myth because we ended up beating Sunderland 5-2 in one match.

 

O'Neill would have still had to have gone out and done some incredible business with the money Taylor spunked away. He doesn't have a very good record of doing that either. By no means do i think we'd have self destructed the way we did under Taylor, but to suggest we were like Brazil against Sunderland and about to conquer the world, is a bit of an unbend legend i hear a lot. 

[Freeman's Wharfer]

It’s 2032 and the latest episode of Inside The Dressing Room is out with Kasper Schmeichel: “Brendan brought me in for a quiet word and asked me to tell the lads that we couldn’t possibly compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea because we didn’t have the resources that they did. He wanted to emulate what Everton were doing at the time - years and years of Premier League survival without going anywhere. That’s why he went out and signed the likes of Jannik Vestergaard. It’s definitely a case of what could have been” 

[foxestalkisfullofidiots]

5 minutes ago, Gamble92 said:

The whole story of it falling apart when it was getting good seems to be clouded in a bit of a myth because we ended up beating Sunderland 5-2 in one match.

 

O'Neill would have still had to have gone out and done some incredible business with the money Taylor spunked away. He doesn't have a very good record of doing that either. By no means do i think we'd have self destructed the way we did under Taylor, but to suggest we were like Brazil against Sunderland and about to conquer the world, is a bit of an unbend legend i hear a lot. 

He signed some good players for Celtic not long after he left, if he signed the same players for Leicester I'm sure we would of progressed

[Gamble92]

3 minutes ago, foxestalkisfullofidiots said:

He signed some good players for Celtic not long after he left, if he signed the same players for Leicester I'm sure we would of progressed

Wasn't half of them our players anyway? 

[SouthStandUpperTier]

MON knew he'd taken us as far as he could and made the wise decision to go to Celtic and shoot some fish in a barrel for a few years.

Edited 3 August 2020 by SouthStandUpperTier

[Sampson]

24 minutes ago, Gamble92 said:

The whole story of it falling apart when it was getting good seems to be clouded in a bit of a myth because we ended up beating Sunderland 5-2 in one match.

 

O'Neill would have still had to have gone out and done some incredible business with the money Taylor spunked away. He doesn't have a very good record of doing that either. By no means do i think we'd have self destructed the way we did under Taylor, but to suggest we were like Brazil against Sunderland and about to conquer the world, is a bit of an unbend legend i hear a lot. 

Yeah, I kind of feel that too.

MON got out at the right time, as he did at Celtic and Villa. He was good at knowing when he'd taken a side as far as he could.

Heskey had been sold. Cottee, Walsh, Flowers and Elliott were all ageing players and were never the same players after the 99-2000 season (Walsh already looked done in 99-2000 if we're honest).

Collymore wouldn't have done much under MON either after the 99-2000 season. His career was done by then pretty much.

The squad would have needed a lot of refreshment anyway if MON stayed. Our attack and defence both needed a lot of investment. No way would he have been as bad as Peter Taylor at trying to rebuild the squad, but it would have taken us a lot to push on from the point we were at when MON left. From his point of view, he definitely left at the right time.

[Miella27]

I disagree. Yes, some players were getting on a bit, but Lennon had not yet peaked. O'Neil knew how to handle players like Collymore (As he had managed tricky players like Marshall and Savage at the time) We still had top players like Izzet, Elliott, Taggart who still had at least 2-3 more years in them. Sinclair, Guppy, Savage, Zagorakis (May be wrong on that last one) were capable premier league players. Also, I think players like Gilchrist, Oakes, Wilson would have developed and had better careers than they did after O'Neil left. 

 

We'd probably have got Sutton, a better goalkeeper than Walker or Royce to replace Flowers... And a lot more for the 25 million that Taylor squandered. There would have been no 4-4-2 where we utilised (decent, but ultimately) weaker players like Rowett and Davidson at full backs. 

 

We'd be looking at a backbone of Elliott, Taggart, Izzet, Lennon, Collymore and potentially Sutton. Add in Guppy, Savage, Sinclair and £20 million to spend. I like to dream....

 

I think he could have replicated his Aston Villa years with us, I. E. Top 5 finishes but not much further, but we'll never know for sure

[deanolegend1989]

Neil Lennon was the key. He was fantastic player for us and it all fell apart when he left.

Remember , despite how we fell off a cliff, we were top 4 and in a FA Cup QF in March 2001! That was with Peter Taylor and a front line of akibiyi and eadie.

Lennon left in December and our form, whilst initially won us a few games, suddenly plummeted quick. The myth was ‘the Wycombe game destroyed confidence’ etc etc. The reality was our midfield was ripped out, a bit like when Kante was ripped out too.

So I have to disagree that we had been taken as far as we could. If Martin has stayed, we kept Lennon and signed a few players we could easily have pushed top 6.

[Corky]

What a man Matt Elliott is.

 

Iconic player.

[SouthStandUpperTier]

20 minutes ago, Miella27 said:

I disagree. Yes, some players were getting on a bit, but Lennon had not yet peaked. O'Neil knew how to handle players like Collymore (As he had managed tricky players like Marshall and Savage at the time) We still had top players like Izzet, Elliott, Taggart who still had at least 2-3 more years in them. Sinclair, Guppy, Savage, Zagorakis (May be wrong on that last one) were capable premier league players. Also, I think players like Gilchrist, Oakes, Wilson would have developed and had better careers than they did after O'Neil left. 

 

We'd probably have got Sutton, a better goalkeeper than Walker or Royce to replace Flowers... And a lot more for the 25 million that Taylor squandered. There would have been no 4-4-2 where we utilised (decent, but ultimately) weaker players like Rowett and Davidson at full backs. 

 

We'd be looking at a backbone of Elliott, Taggart, Izzet, Lennon, Collymore and potentially Sutton. Add in Guppy, Savage, Sinclair and £20 million to spend. I like to dream....

 

I think he could have replicated his Aston Villa years with us, I. E. Top 5 finishes but not much further, but we'll never know for sure

The squad was going to need an overhaul, if not immediately, then pretty soon. I just don't think MON had the heart for it, especially once the opportunity at Celtic became available.

[Paninistickers]

Nice to see a couple of posts highlighting Lennon's role. 

 

I've felt a few threads on here have been a bit revisionist and given most credit goes to Muzz for the midfield. Muzz was the superstar. But Lennon, for me, was the keyman. 

 

I'm trying to think of a midfielder now in the PL who's like him and I can't. 

 

positional sense was amazing. Either on hand for a pass or knew where to cover an opponent's break. ALWAYS behind the ball and  dictating the entire tempo of our play.

 

Personally, I thought he sold himself a bit short by going  to Celtic. 

 

 

[Woof]

Although Muzzy was and still is one of my all time favourite players, I agree that Lennon was the key player in that side.  My favourite moment was towards the end of a game (if I remember correctly when we were beating Chelsea) when he headed out to the left wing, received a long ball and sat on it 

[Strokes]

6 hours ago, Sampson said:

Yeah, I kind of feel that too.

MON got out at the right time, as he did at Celtic and Villa. He was good at knowing when he'd taken a side as far as he could.

Heskey had been sold. Cottee, Walsh, Flowers and Elliott were all ageing players and were never the same players after the 99-2000 season (Walsh already looked done in 99-2000 if we're honest).

Collymore wouldn't have done much under MON either after the 99-2000 season. His career was done by then pretty much.

The squad would have needed a lot of refreshment anyway if MON stayed. Our attack and defence both needed a lot of investment. No way would he have been as bad as Peter Taylor at trying to rebuild the squad, but it would have taken us a lot to push on from the point we were at when MON left. From his point of view, he definitely left at the right time.

Flowers only came in 1999 he had a couple of good season.

The guy you’re agreeing with also stated O’Neill didn’t have a great record with big signings? 
I can’t remember many big flops, gunnlaugsson, Fenton and possibly Zagorakis at a stretch. He had enough hits to balance it out. Claridge equal record transfer at the time, Lennon wasn’t much in value behind it and was a big number then. Elliott record transfer, Eadie looked good before his injury. 
We didn’t just lose our players when he left, we lost our identity for over a decade and it’s not revisionism to say so.

[Miella27]

1 hour ago, SouthStandUpperTier said:

The squad was going to need an overhaul, if not immediately, then pretty soon. I just don't think MON had the heart for it, especially once the opportunity at Celtic became available.

I'm not sure an overhaul was needed. The midfield was pretty young and established, wing backs were fine, Elliott and Taggart weren't finished for 2-3 years, Sinclair and Gilchrist could have played centre back. I'd imagine we'd have probably gone for a young Dunne and/or Collins over the next couple of yrs, as he signed them for Villa.

 

The goalkeeping issue was big, and the replacement for Heskey. I'm not sure there was much else that needed changing for a couple of years. Obviously moving on Walshie might have been a battle O'Neil didn't fancy and maybe ONeill wanted more than we could give him. 

 

 

[Mickyblueeyes]

8 hours ago, Gamble92 said:

The whole story of it falling apart when it was getting good seems to be clouded in a bit of a myth because we ended up beating Sunderland 5-2 in one match.

 

O'Neill would have still had to have gone out and done some incredible business with the money Taylor spunked away. He doesn't have a very good record of doing that either. By no means do i think we'd have self destructed the way we did under Taylor, but to suggest we were like Brazil against Sunderland and about to conquer the world, is a bit of an unbend legend i hear a lot. 

What you’re forgetting at that time is not only was O’Neil probably the hottest property in English football management  (baring Alex Ferguson), he had an assistant who was an absolute gem in John Robertson. It’s no surprise that O’Neil hasn’t been as successful as a manager since Robbo retired due to bad health (Sunderland and forest). 
 

Robbo has the ability to see the quality in a player that many missed. And in Steve Walford we had a coach who could then implement the program to take that player to the next level. 
 

Him and O’Neil found Lennon, Elliott, Izzet, Savage, Guppy and Taggart. They convinced Cottee to come back from Malaysia and revitalised him. Gilchrist was one of his last few signings and if you go back to the 2-0 win at Anfield and compare that to his first game, you will see the level of improvement that team was able to do. There was no reason why the 5 or 6 players O’Neil and Robertson would’ve signed that summer wouldn’t have followed suit as the previous lot. 
 

It’s been years but we forget the actual impact these three men had on the club and  if there ever was a time for a board to take a risk on a football management team, that was it. Instead we had board room squabbles to deal with. 
 

The Sunderland game was great but as others have said, the demise was the mid season sale of Lennon and lack of impact his replacement, Matt Jones had. I won’t mention the other fart head we signed to replace him.
 

 

[drofmor55]

3 hours ago, Miella27 said:

I disagree. Yes, some players were getting on a bit, but Lennon had not yet peaked. O'Neil knew how to handle players like Collymore (As he had managed tricky players like Marshall and Savage at the time) We still had top players like Izzet, Elliott, Taggart who still had at least 2-3 more years in them. Sinclair, Guppy, Savage, Zagorakis (May be wrong on that last one) were capable premier league players. Also, I think players like Gilchrist, Oakes, Wilson would have developed and had better careers than they did after O'Neil left. 

 

We'd probably have got Sutton, a better goalkeeper than Walker or Royce to replace Flowers... And a lot more for the 25 million that Taylor squandered. There would have been no 4-4-2 where we utilised (decent, but ultimately) weaker players like Rowett and Davidson at full backs. 

 

We'd be looking at a backbone of Elliott, Taggart, Izzet, Lennon, Collymore and potentially Sutton. Add in Guppy, Savage, Sinclair and £20 million to spend. I like to dream....

 

I think he could have replicated his Aston Villa years with us, I. E. Top 5 finishes but not much further, but we'll never know for sure

Zagorakis was a top class player..captained Greece to the European Championships...Agree with everything else though

and as others have said Lennon was a very effective player without catching the eye...very similar to Gilberto Silva at Arsenal.

Think what made MON decide to leave was a combination of Heskey deciding to leave and being a boy from Derry wanting to manage Celtic.

If Heskey had stayed i think we could have challenged for top 4 or even higher. After Taylor took over we were top of the league after 8 games, such was the strength of the team MON handed over but then the Taylor effect kicked in

[OzFox]

On 04/08/2020 at 03:03, Paninistickers said:

I've felt a few threads on here have been a bit revisionist and given most credit goes to Muzz for the midfield. Muzz was the superstar. But Lennon, for me, was the keyman. 

I was lucky enough to go to one of the first matches they played together, away at Charlton. Even then it was obvious how good they both were and they looked as though they'd played together for years. I remember thinking they hunted as a pair...if one went in for a tackle the other was there to mop up. I can't remember who they replaced but it was an immediate big improvement.

 

Think Claridge got his first for us that night too. 

[Fox92]

On 03/08/2020 at 17:45, Corky said:

What a man Matt Elliott is.

 

Iconic player.

Two goals in a Cup final too. Absolute legend, no doubt about it.

[ParkerPen]

On 03/08/2020 at 13:01, SouthStandUpperTier said:

MON knew he'd taken us as far as he could and made the wise decision to go to Celtic and shoot some fish in a barrel for a few years.

 

Things went well for MON at Celtic (and fair play to him for that) but as an Irish Catholic he was drawn to Celtic when they were still a genuinely big club, and don't blame him one bit for deciding his time with us was up

[foxinsocks]

On 03/08/2020 at 17:45, Corky said:

What a man Matt Elliott is.

 

Iconic player.

What a shame he is now having to tow the club line rather than give objective opinion. He was obviously not convinced he could make it as a pundit.   He was getting like young... so dependent on being feed info from  the club he couldn't say it like it is.  I like piper much better

Edited 6 August 2020 by foxinsocks

[The whole world smiles]

On 03/08/2020 at 13:01, SouthStandUpperTier said:

MON knew he'd taken us as far as he could and made the wise decision to go to Celtic and shoot some fish in a barrel for a few years.

To be fair to him rangers had won 11 of the last 12 leauge titles it was a pretty big achievement to shift the balance of power so quickly. 

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, foxinsocks said:

What a shame he is now having to tow the club line rather than give objective opinion. He was obviously not convinced he could make it as a pundit.   He was getting like young... so dependent on being feed info from  the club he couldn't say it like it is.  I like piper much better

I'm not sure poor Alan Young was fed anything other than free corned beef sarnies and cans of Tyskie. 

[FoxyJim1987]

On 03/08/2020 at 12:49, Gamble92 said:

The whole story of it falling apart when it was getting good seems to be clouded in a bit of a myth because we ended up beating Sunderland 5-2 in one match.

 

O'Neill would have still had to have gone out and done some incredible business with the money Taylor spunked away. He doesn't have a very good record of doing that either. By no means do i think we'd have self destructed the way we did under Taylor, but to suggest we were like Brazil against Sunderland and about to conquer the world, is a bit of an unbend legend i hear a lot. 

We were little LCFC who had won a 2nd league Cup in 3 years and had signed a famous striker who scored a hat trick on his home debut. We had him paired with Emile, we had Lennon and Izzet we had Matty and Tags at the back and Flowers. We were the best arguably we had ever been in our history at the time. Everyone was excited. It went pear shaped fairly quickly which is why there is such a sense of what might have been. Football is full of what ifs. If he hadn't gone to Celtic and Heskey wasn't sold, and Stan wasn't injured etc. People forget we were 4th and in a FA cup quarter final under Taylor up until March aswell. I still say to this day that Wycombe match led to 10 years of shite. Izzet and I think Savage were injured and missed the rest of the season, we were embarrassed, then Lennon was sold, the money spunked on absolute donkeys and the rest was history.