Rodgers opens up on Leicester City transfer struggles but 'won't go to war' with club

[Babylon]

1 hour ago, Blanchflower78 said:

We've won the Prem an FA Cup, community shield and sampled Champions League and Europa league football in last 7 years. The owners owe the fans nothing.

 

However, it's clear we have reached our maximum and sadly things will more than likely peter off now. As to what extent who knows but watching big/shrewd investment around us is the biggest indicator we are now miles away.

 

Vardy, Kasper and Evans are all outstanding pro's at the end of their careers but none have any meaningful resale value and all will need replacing come next May latest. 

 

So then you look at the likes of Fofana, Barnes and Madders to generate large transfer fees but you lose their quality's and likely struggle to match it elsewhere.

 

The club are in a very difficult position and sadly on paper you can't see how they can overturn it without damaging its ability to comfortably remain in the Prem. Will Top turn to further investment elsewhere?

Calm people. 
 

We’ve literally just opened a £100m+ training ground, pumped £60m+ on players last summer despite the pandemic losses, and are expanding our ground. 
 

We are spending far too much on wages. And have massively invested all over the place. 
 

This summer might be a tread water until next summer when we get loads of the wage bill. But the club aren’t suddenly just going to stop investing.

[Fazzer 7]

39 minutes ago, MadsEmil said:

If we can shift Soyuncu, Perez, Mendy, Hamza, Praet, Iversen and maybe Vestergaard and some other youngster like Hirst, that should still net us 35-40m at the very least while also freeing up a lot of space

 

Use that money to get Colwill and a RW on loan and to extend Youri.

 

Promote Wright, Nelson, Braybrooke (latter 2 wouldn't even take up slots)

 

Be easier to sell fridges to Eskimo’s 

[irishfoxkev]

I’m amused by the assumption that every other team has strengthened just because they have bought in this window.

To be honest I’ve never heard of most of these strengthening players that teams like Villa, Brighton etc have signed. Some on here may know them and point to their Opta  Stats or whatever as reasons to believe they are good but most of these stats have been achieved in Leagues a big step away from Premier League. Just remember the euphoria on here this time last year when the signing of Dakar (he tore the  Austrian league apart with his goal scoring) and Soumarre (was instrumental in taking Lille to French title) were announced......Hopefully they both show 2nd season improvement this coming season.

You don’t have to look too hard to find plenty of big name Marquee signings by the big boys that have failed .

[Babylon]

40 minutes ago, adam said:

So every side in the league has strengthened apart from us. We're stuck with the same old players. Albrighton and perez on the right. An injury prone defence. Wilf already injured. Vardy another year older and tielemans would sign for anyone if an offer comes in for him. We're in a mess and to top it off Rodgers now has the perfect excuse because we haven't signed anyone.  Roll on August. 

Correction, every other team has bought players. Can we get it into our heads, signings don’t always improve a team. We should know that enough ourselves. 

[LFox99]

4 minutes ago, irishfoxkev said:

I’m amused by the assumption that every other team has strengthened just because they have bought in this window.

To be honest I’ve never heard of most of these strengthening players that teams like Villa, Brighton etc have signed. Some on here may know them and point to their Opta  Stats or whatever as reasons to believe they are good but most of these stats have been achieved in Leagues a big step away from Premier League. Just remember the euphoria on here this time last year when the signing of Dakar (he tore the  Austrian league apart with his goal scoring) and Soumarre (was instrumental in taking Lille to French title) were announced......Hopefully they both show 2nd season improvement this coming season.

You don’t have to look too hard to find plenty of big name Marquee signings by the big boys that have failed .

 

Agreed, just take a look at what Villa did last summer and where it got them. Other than Buendia (and even he hasn't performed to the level of a 30m odd signing), they've been mediocre signings to say the least

[Greg2607]

Maybe he isn't getting the signings he wants as the club are not 100% convinced in Rodgers.  Maybe they are hedging their bets in case they need to remove him next season and have money for a new manager. 

[WigstonWanderer]

3 hours ago, davieG said:

Asked what he made of City’s lack of activity, Rodgers said after the 3-3 draw with OH Leuven on Saturday: “I trust the club implicitly. It’s a club that has always given me everything they have had since I’ve been here.

Think this is the key quote here. Notice he said “everything they have had”, not “everything I’ve wanted”. Clearly saying “not my fault”.

Edited 16 July 2022 by WigstonWanderer

[gw_leics772]

Not got time to read whole thread but initial reaction was immediate from me, and I'm not (normally) a Rodgers basher.

 

So he opened his stupid fat mouth mid season without talking to the hierarchy about what was possible. (And it was pretty obvious from the start that we would not be spending loads with a squad already too big for the 25 limit!) Didn't buy it in advance but certainly smacks of getting his excuses in early, when he could have said something along the lines of - without the unprecedented level of injuries and no Europe I have high expectations for the coming season - and the mood would have been completely different. Could even have admitted that he said it to light a fire under the players arses, and it worked, aren't I great! Due to the strong finish. If he really does know more than us, it sounds like we're screwed, but still don't think we should be.

[volpeazzurro]

1 hour ago, ttfn said:

I agree with much of this but if there’s genuinely no money to spend and we can’t get rid of any of our players the last thing you want is a new manager. 

I'm not sure about your last point, it's debatable if nothing else.

 

If there's no money until we can sell, I can understand and accept that personally. The squad is bloated and the wages are quite high so to merely buy more while some just sit in the stands drawing their wages is at best, a poor business model, at worst, the road to ruin. Top is quite right imo to put his financial foot down. 

 

With everyone fit I still believe that we've got a better squad than most and we should  reasonably expect top 10 without a single transfer.

 

What we don't have, is a manager, imo, that can get the best out of them. Repeat this season's same Rodgers philosophy, tactics and round pegs square holes football and we'll just get more of the same dire standard of performance. Something would have to change, can you see it being Rodgers? I think the players will get very sick of it soon too if they're not already. 

 

A change of one man, the manager, with a new impetus and an ability to play a system suitable to the players he's actually got rather than one's he wished he had could work wonders. It would certainly be easier to finance than the speculative buying of several new players and stockpiling and paying the old one's for sure!

 

However, there's one big flaw in my argument. What manager, who is currently available and who would want to come here is there out there that could fulfil such a role? 🤔 

[moore_94]

1 minute ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Think this is the key quote here. Notice he said “everything they have had”, not “everything I’ve wanted”. Clearly saying “not my fault”.

I expect that is likely to be the case for the vast majority of managers apart from the odd one or two

 

Managers will always want 1 more player than they have been able to get etc.

[coolhandfox]

4 minutes ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Think this is the key quote here. Notice he said “everything they have had”, not “everything I’ve wanted”. Clearly saying “not my fault”.

Why would he say that, he said he wanted 6 new players this summer. 

 

So clearly his not going to say that. 

[Guest Col city fan]

2 hours ago, JimmyC74 said:

Emphasises the mess we have got into paying premium wages to peripheral players who we can’t persuade anyone else to take.

 

a lot of the blame re contracts and being able to move players we no longer want sits with the DofF.

That’s how I see it.

If we weren’t paying ridiculous salaries to players who won’t be anywhere near our first choice 11 this season, we’d have more a wage budget to bring in players on loan for instance. This matters. Reputedly giving the likes of Bertrand 80 k per week matters.. it means we can’t use this money, or any part of it, on anyone else.

Those sanctioning these signings would have been sacked in any other profession due to appalling value for money. 
But Leicester remains a very loyal club to its employees in large part. The re-signing of Matty James is a case in point. Here was a player who’s career at this level was over, yet the club gave him a 3 yr contract extension.

We need to see these players through their contracts and almost start again.

[filbertway]

Not sure why he can't achieve what he's achieved before with the same playing squad.

 

 

[hejammy]

3 hours ago, Lcfc82 said:

Rodgers knew exactly what he was doing when he bought this idea of a squad overhaul up last season. 

Was never going to happen, his excuses are in early.

Oh behave! Clearly we needed new players! 

[splinterdream]

6 minutes ago, gw_leics772 said:

Not got time to read whole thread but initial reaction was immediate from me, and I'm not (normally) a Rodgers basher.

 

So he opened his stupid fat mouth mid season without talking to the hierarchy about what was possible. (And it was pretty obvious from the start that we would not be spending loads with a squad already too big for the 25 limit!) Didn't buy it in advance but certainly smacks of getting his excuses in early, when he could have said something along the lines of - without the unprecedented level of injuries and no Europe I have high expectations for the coming season - and the mood would have been completely different. Could even have admitted that he said it to light a fire under the players arses, and it worked, aren't I great! Due to the strong finish. If he really does know more than us, it sounds like we're screwed, but still don't think we should be.

This is all relevant to the 'have we hit our glass ceiling question'. Rodgers may have been brought in to make us a top 4/6 side, I would guess that's why he's on big money, but it's quite evident to do that you need finances and power to turn over a squad if requires irrelevant of whether they sell or not, Rodgers may have thought he that power and financial clout but clearly he doesn't 

[coolhandfox]

Just now, filbertway said:

Not sure why he can't achieve what he's achieved before with the same playing squad.

 

 

He more then likely can, but not sure that will be enough for the Foxestalk faithful. 

[splinterdream]

4 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Not sure why he can't achieve what he's achieved before with the same playing squad.

 

 

Because the rest of the sides strengthen 

[WigstonWanderer]

11 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Why would he say that, he said he wanted 6 new players this summer. 

 

So clearly his not going to say that. 

Better if he said nothing at all. The problems that we have seem to have arisen during his tenure, with his hand picked head scout. He shouldn’t just blame the club.

Edited 16 July 2022 by WigstonWanderer

[Mark_w]

I like Brendan, he's done a great job so far. But it's not a great message to send to what is really a pretty good squad is it?

[coolhandfox]

1 minute ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Better if he said nothing at all. The problems that we have seem to have arisen during his tenure, with his hand picked head scout. He shouldn’t just blame the club.

Yes we have never made an transfer mistake before he arrived.

 

Musa 18m

Sliva 30m

Slimini 30m 

[coolhandfox]

1 minute ago, Mark_w said:

I like Brendan, he's done a great job so far. But it's not a great message to send to what is really a pretty good squad is it?

Or you could see it as a kick up the arse for some squad players!

[filbertway]

2 minutes ago, splinterdream said:

Because the rest of the sides strengthen 

Thatd be a fair argument. The way he's talking though he gives the impression we will be lucky to finish top half.

 

Id still expect him to be picking up 60+ points and good showings in the cups.

[Pliskin]

8 minutes ago, hejammy said:

Oh behave! Clearly we needed new players! 

He isn’t stupid though. He definitely openly said it to save his face if the worst happened. He’s a sly mother****er when he wants to be. 

Edited 16 July 2022 by Pliskin

[moore_94]

5 minutes ago, splinterdream said:

Because the rest of the sides strengthen 

All the sides below us that are strengthening are doing it to still try and catch the team they all finished behind last season which had to deal with ridiculous injury issues, a lot of player rotation with a very inconsistent defensive lineup, and a lot of football over the past 2 years

 

They now will be competing with / hopefully having to try and catch up to one that will be playing 1 game a week, getting plenty of rest, hopefully have a consistent starting eleven and back line and also hopefully less injury issues

Edited 16 July 2022 by moore_94

[filbertway]

Just now, coolhandfox said:

Or you could see it as a kick up the arse for some squad players!

Its not going to improve players, I dont think anyone can fault the effort of any players. Aside from Vestergaard when he has to chase a striker