What percentage of blame do you apply to those responsible for our demise?

[Dahnsouff]

If a buffet is 25% light brown shit, 25% dark brown shit, 25% black shit and 25% white shit (ask your parents) then it’s still 100% shit

[Guest Col city fan]

4 hours ago, TrentFox said:

I hold you, @Ric Flair, 💯 responsible. For everything. The demise of our club, the war in Ukraine, third world debt, pestilence, famine. The whole shooting match! And all because you told us Daka was good 😖😂

And @Ric Flair

A little bird told me that you’d told us all we should sign Tete?!

Is that true my lad!

😂

[Fox1norfolk]

5 hours ago, HankMarvin said:

Article today probably not worthy of its own thread 

 

The spectacle of summed up the sorry state of Leicester City's season.

After yet another pitiful display and defeat at , where to slip two points adrift of safety with three games remaining, Maddison said – with typical candour – that Leicester had not been 'hungry enough to want to win the game.'

Few could deny that, and Maddison did not seek to exclude himself from blame. That did not stop the inevitable social media pile-on, though, and instead of stepping away from his phone, the England midfielder went in for another go.

'What is wrong with social media, say 1 thing in an interview straight after a game and it gets taken way out of context,' he wrote on . 'When I say not hungry enough I mean aggressive and on the front foot in duels, not us wanting to win or realising the importance.'

The problem here is that lacking aggression in duels sounds suspiciously like a side without the stomach for the fight – something Leicester have struggled to find throughout the season.

James Maddison attempting to clarify a post-match interview summed up Leicester’s season 

The Foxes are sleepwalking towards Premier League relegation after Monday's loss at Fulham 

Dean Smith's arrival had an initial impact, with Leicester taking five points from games with Wolves, Leeds and Everton. 

But with fixtures against Liverpool and Newcastle to come, that haul looks insufficient and – just seven years after winning the Premier League title – Leicester may already be relegated by the time they take on West Ham on the final day of the campaign.

Here Mail Sport examines how the Foxes – FA Cup winners two years ago – found themselves in this mess.

  

Recruitment

In early August 2021, as chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha carried the Community Shield around the Wembley pitch after the win over Manchester City, Leicester felt like one of the best-run clubs in Europe. Yet this was the summer that marked the start of the slide. 

Leicester committed about £60million on Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Jannik Vestergaard, as well as bringing in Ryan Bertrand on a free transfer. No major player was sold.

Leicester have had no return on that investment and the failure to make a significant sale caused problems the following summer, when then-boss Brendan Rodgers feared the players were tiring of his message but was unable to overhaul his squad due to Leicester's Financial Fair Play concerns.

  

Management decisions

Hope for the best while planning for the worst. 

By sticking with Rodgers for so long when he had clearly reached the end of the line, Srivaddhanaprabha – known as 'Khun Top' – did the former but forgot about the latter.

Brendan Rodgers (left) was not backed in the transfer market and Leicester failed to prepare for life after their FA Cup-winning coach before sacking him 

The appointment of Dean Smith on an eight-game deal summed up their fuzzy thinking 

When Rodgers sat down with the hierarchy for a pivotal meeting in January 2022, there were two options: change the coach, or change the players. 

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and the board have made crucial mistakes this season 

Support Rodgers' vision and give the squad the 'healthy shake-up' he felt it needed to stay competitive, or try to move forward with the same group but a different leader. 

Leicester did neither and even when they did sack Rodgers on April 2, there was no plan for what happened next. 

Khun Top and the board hoped coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell could muddle through until the end of the season and when that did not work, they interviewed numerous managers before settling for Smith on an eight-game deal. 

It was fuzzy thinking that did not match the severity of the situation.

  

Appetite

Some sources have even made the suggestion – strongly disputed by senior figures – that Leicester's £95million training ground itself, with its hotel-style rooms, swish dining areas and details tailored to meet a player's every need, had weakened the squad's hunger. 

Rodgers was a stickler for timekeeping but not everyone appeared to feel the same way, with players missing certain appointments and arriving late for others. 

'It's like a holiday camp,' lamented one earlier this season. 

Leicester will feel the benefits of this superb facility in years to come but at present, it looks like becoming the best training base in the Championship.

There is also a feeling - strongly denied by senior figures at the club - that Leicester players are treating their new £95million training facility 'like a holiday camp' 

Leicester spent £95m on their new training complex - but it could be Championship-bound 

  

Future

'Sleepwalking towards relegation' was a phrase directed at Leicester as far back as last autumn but they have still not woken up. 

Maddison and Harvey Barnes will both be sold if the Foxes go down but that will not plug all the financial holes created by dropping out of the Premier League and there will have to be severe cuts to the wage bill across the club. 

If they somehow survive, Leicester will likely move for Graham Potter, long admired and out of work since leaving Chelsea in April. But Potter would surely not want to work in the second tier, meaning Leicester would either stick with Smith or move for a younger boss like Russell Martin of Swansea. 

Yet however the season ends, this campaign has been a lesson in how not to do things. These mistakes must never be repeated.

But I’m sure there is a plan B. The £95 million training centre could sold and converted into 5 star luxury hotel spa complex with a large golf course. 

[FoxOnWheels]

100% board

[cropstonfox]

100% Jamie Vardy. For getting old!

Can't carry this mediocre bunch of hangers on any more. Or allow the cretin of a Manager to ride on his back any longer.

Sorry Vards it's down to you!

[Strokes]

Top 5%
Rodgers 5%
UFS 25%
The family Stand 20%
Filbert the fox 5%
Kasper 2%
Covid 18%
Brexit 20%

[foxfanazer]

6 hours ago, AKCJ said:

I would say that Rodgers, Top and Rudkin each share a 33% blame.

 

Rodgers' ego. Rudkin's incompetence. Top's negligence. 

Wellens for the remaining 1%?

[Ric Flair]

5 hours ago, FoxyLeon said:

If you want to argue that Vichai's 'ruthlessness' is missing, then that's fine, but you then also have to argue that Top's foresight and willingness to give Pearson more time, kept our Premier League status and led us to the impossible of a domestic league title.

 

My answer, although I despise the bloke, is not Rodgers. I'm going to say that actually our demise is a result of Pearson, Walsh and Shakespeare (Even Powell, Kev Phillips etc) not being employed by the Club. I don't buy that the 'ruthless' Vichai was some kind of genius with his decision making....He appointed Sven and Claudio Ranieri! The truth is that since Pearson left, our standards have declined and our lack of footballing experience at the Club has dwindled. I think actually under Puel we managed to get some of that back. Contrast to Rodgers, and Puel was superior in every aspect. He was beginning to put together a very exciting young side, which looked fit and well coached. 

 

Why Pearson excelled, was because he wasn't arrogant...That's right! Despite some fans who didn't like him, I'll point out one simple area which shows he was not the arrogant man some claimed....DELEGATION. Whether it be the Coaching side that he brought in Shakespeare/Powell/Phillips to help with, the Recruitment side that he brought Walsh in to run, or the Leadership in the dressing room that he was constantly bringing in the right players to help with Wes/Huth/Was/Cambiasso etc etc.

 

Our demise is because Vichai and Top took over the running of the Club after Pearson left. I'd argue it's very similar to SAF and the Glazers at Man United. Despite record levels of spending, both by Top/Vichai and by the Glazers, they're simply poor decision makers in the Football world, and once the true captains of the ship in Pearson and SAF left, decline began. I guess you could also make a case that Whelan and Rudkin are our Ed Woodward. 

This is a pretty fascinating take on it all, that's all I can say.

[Pliskin]

Ritchie Wellens 100%

[splinterdream]

50% board, 40% Rodgers, 10% players

[Vestan Pance]

100% the person who is in charge of goal music.

[SuperMike]

2 hours ago, Fox1norfolk said:

But I’m sure there is a plan B. The £95 million training centre could sold and converted into 5 star luxury hotel spa complex with a large golf course. 

Sell it to Notts Forest!

[CosbehFox]

3 hours ago, Col city fan said:

And @Ric Flair

A little bird told me that you’d told us all we should sign Tete?!

Is that true my lad!

😂

Could be this generations Lee Cattermole or JET

[Mike Oxlong]

Shit pies and beer 100%. If we sold better pies and beer we would have finished top 10. 

[fuchsntf]

8 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I think it's fair to say that it's not just one person or one area that is responsible for us going from being the envy of almost every club in the country to being bumrushed out the PL.

 

We remind me of these cheeseburger pasties they sell in petrol stations in South Africa. Look the absolute bollocks, taste the absolute bollocks and then you can't remember how or why when you've had the squits for 3 weeks straight. 

 

Keeping it simple between manager and manager employed staff and club employed staff and directors/board/owners, I think its Rodgers 40% and the club 60%

 

What a disaster. Even a miraculous 2 wins in the next 3 and we somehow stay up, without serious changes across the board and many other areas on and off the pitch, we're gone next season anyway.

Ric you like all of us have struggled to find those explainable reason(s) 

But I believe very few fans,including ITK are lost to put a finger,on this complete demiese of the club.
Taken attitudes,holding too long on wrong beliefs..a black,  grey at best kaleidoscope of a perfect storm of endeavours and misdemeanours across and through the whole club at all levels..Where at present nobody has the foggiest..

[fuchsntf]

8 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Shit pies and beer 100%. If we sold better pies and beer we would have finished top 10. 

PL retribution..19 clubs hated our whole catering package.

We really have fked up our feeding ,drinking needs as a club..

[Dan]

You can't really apportion Rodgers and Top's blame against each other because Rodgers, while it was obviously a lot on him, was allowed to do so by Top. In a way, it's 100% Top.

 

Top also has the most recoverable of everybody though. If he sacked Rudkin/Whelan I'd actually have a little hope in him again. But given it took the most underperforming manager in football 75% of the season to go I have strong doubts.

[CosbehFox]

9 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

You can't really apportion Rodgers and Top's blame against each other because Rodgers, while it was obviously a lot on him, was allowed to do so by Top. In a way, it's 100% Top.

 

Top also has the most recoverable of everybody though. If he sacked Rudkin/Whelan I'd actually have a little hope in him again. But given it took the most underperforming manager in football 75% of the season to go I have strong doubts.

The thing what questions me about the future is that you’d think Top would have some awareness of football. You know to have an actual interest in something, you have an opinion for yourself. 
 

At some point, you’d expect him to go ‘hmmm I see clubs like Brighton and Brighton making it work. How do they make it work?’ A big part of that is of course their hierarchy behind the scenes and the importance of a good technical director/director of football. 
 

But i don’t think even that level of critical thinking goes on. The football clubs is being viewed like it’s a standard business but it isn’t. There’s so much more emotionally and organisationally that makes it more complex than a standard business. 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

I’m blaming the ****er who last serviced Vichai’s helicopter.

 

I think we managed to do a few years based on all the work he’d done and the culture he’d instilled, but the 40% Rodgers 40% board and 20% board split seems reasonable for the last 18-24 months. 
 

Actually I revise that to 50% Rodgers 40% board and 10% players based on suddenly remembering Rodgers ‘sack me’ comments, and Rodgers regressing the careers of top PL players and making them look Sunday League. 

[iancognito]

For however much I blame Rodgers more than Top or the players, Top is the guy who could have changed it all in a split second by firing Rodgers earlier. The shit football, tactics and demotivational speeches are Rodgers. The repeatedly poor mistakes all over the pitch is the players, right down to the penalty taking confusion against Everton, Madders assist for Bournemouth and Nacho missing 2 absolute sitters vs Saints. But if Top has some balls and sacks Rodgers in November, even after the 5 wins in 7 we end up in mid-table. No wins in January and that run of games between Blackburn at home and Palace away has properly Rodgered our season and stay in the PL.

I can't give it percentages but fiddling whilst Rome burned  seems more and more bigger than any other mistake.

[SafewayFox]

9 hours ago, Babylon said:

It's not an easy one to answer, because at the end of the day they let that utter piece of shit stay in charge, and let him bring in his own utter shite team around him, whilst binning off trusted employees at his behest... BUT... I kinda get why they put a lot of faith in him considering the start we had. 

 

I can forgive a lot of things, whilst I don't agree with their decisions, I can at least understand them or understand how hard they are. What I cannot understand and I cannot forgive, is that wa**** rubbishing everyone and everything in the summer, absolving himself of blame constantly, telling the players they aren't good enough. 

 

The summer set the tone for the season, he could have chosen to be positive and bullish, or even go for a siege mentality. But no, it was all about HIM and his image.

 

So I lay 100% at his door.

This 100%
 

I was reading so many comments and found myself changing my mind after some very convincing reasons, that it was solely Top/the board BUT I think that’s too generous on the egotistical Rodgers.

 

He got paid EXTREMELY well to do one job and pick 11 players with the aim to pick up 3 points but his hideous, egotistical and quite frankly unprofessional behaviour saw him leaving out our best CB due to personal reasons and regularly doing the opposite of creating a positive TEAM ethos.

 

The lack of team unity, leadership on/off the pitch being about as strong as my 15 month old son all boils down to Rodgers.

 

I’d also like to give his notebook and little clap a special mention too…..the most “going through the motions” sideline behaviour that I’ve ever seen after watching/playing football for many, many years.

[SecretPro]

36.5% Rodgera

32.4% Top/board

0.1% Birch

1.2% fans

19.8% players

4.1% Colin hill

3.2% The Knights Templar

2.7% Imran Khan

[Gamble92]

Is it me or are all the titles of threads getting longer? 

[Aus Fox]

Whoever it is that negotiated contracts and is ultimately responsible for player incoming/outgoing - I believe this is Rudkin’s door.

To go into a season with a third of your first team squad out of contract is criminal and asking for problems.

Add this to the fact a blind man could see the squad was in desperate need of an overhaul at the end of last season and all we did was bring in one CB at the end of the window and did not get rid of any of the deadwood or players who don’t want to be here.

As bad as it’s been on the pitch it’s been shambolic off the pitch. If as some say, they didn’t want to give Rodgers any more money to spend, that’s fine, but if trust is lost then sack him at the end of last season and let someone else come in and rebuild.

When they finally do sack him with 2 very winnable games, to not have someone lined up and playing Bournemouth at home with Stowell and Sadler in charge is negligent at best. Any decent manager who can motivate the players and there was 4 points in those two games there for the taking.

Off the field since January 2020 I think we’ve got almost every decision off the field wrong. 

Yes Rodgers and the players have to shoulder some of the blame, but for me it’s 90% at Rudkin and the boards door.

[Tuna]

I'm leaning toward 60-70% the board actually, Rodgers should have been dismissed when we were still in single figures for games this season if our board were not completely incompetent.

 

Yes Rodgers is hugely to blame and yes he could have walked away but if the board were doing there job we'd be about 12th in the league with 40 points by now.

 

They had so many opportunities to sack him it's ridiculous, and to compound their disastrous management of the football club they blew two winnable matches and pretty well our last reasonable chance of staying up by leaving us with the ludicrous S&S setup while arguing amongst themselves about who would be the manager when a workable strategy for succession after Rodgers should have been implemented.

 

Smith in after Palace and we'd have more than 0 points from Villa and Bournemouth.