The "do they mean us?" thread pt 4

[Out Foxed]

4 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Kasper. One of the bargains

“He wasn’t the biggest bargain but he absolutely was and is one of the biggest bargains in English football history really.

[davieG]

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/leicester-city-vicious-trap-4067277?ITO=newsnow

 

Leicester City are caught in a vicious trap
Ten years on from their Premier League fairytale, Leicester face the prospect of a bleak future. The Foxes are paying the price for outright terrible mismanagement
Article thumbnail image
Leicester only have themselves to blame for their current predicament (Photo: Getty)
Avatar for Daniel Storey
Daniel Storey is The i Paper's chief football writer, covering the Premier League, EFL, England national team and the European game.
November 28, 2025 6:00 am

Watching Leicester City win at home is an odd experience these days, not least because it doesn’t happen very often. The usual upbeat pre-match rigmarole quickly gives way to a tepid murmur. After five minutes, a low-key chant of “We want Rudkin out” is issued towards the director of football, but last season they were far more vociferous. 
There is joy in the moment of course; that will always happen and a surprise win over Stoke City was both necessary and welcome, but it never exactly feels like goodwill is being accrued and banked to generate momentum. It’s like everyone gave up a while ago on this team being dependable.
You see their point. Between 3 December 2024 and last Saturday, Leicester won four home league games: Ipswich Town, Southampton, Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday. Three of those sides are now above Leicester and the other has minus points.

Here’s another fun fact: before Stoke and Stephy Mavididi, the only Leicester player to score more than once in a match in the last two and a half years was James Justin. I was at the King Power to hear him booed by his own supporters last season and he’s since left for the Premier League. It doesn’t suggest that the environment is entirely indicative to anyone – players, managers, supporters, owners – having much fun.
This might have been different had they sought an alternative manager; Marti Cifuentes is below old club Queens Park Rangers and he will lose his job if there are more repeated setbacks and the home wins remain infrequent. But then Leicester aren’t great at managerial recruitment: Steve Cooper was not liked by fans from the start and Ruud van Nistelrooy was an extraordinarily foolish gamble.

The pressure is increasing on Marti Cifuentes with every passing week (Photo: Getty)
Beyond losing too many games, Cifuentes’s crime appears to be replicating the frustrating elements that caused Brendan Rodgers’s eventual decline: nothing much good really happening. Leicester rank fifth in the Championship for possession and first for short passes, but 12th for touches in the opposition box and 16th for expected goals. There is an accented two-word phrase you hear at multiple East Midlands stadiums: “Gerrit forward”.
Were we being generous, this is a cautionary tale of an ambitious club that achieves a miracle and then repeats it to lesser degrees – Premier League, Europe, FA Cup – before English football’s hardwired hierarchy bites back. Perhaps that would be easier to stomach for supporters. Beware how the machine grinds you down in the end. Look out, provincial clubs, the giants are stomping their feet again.

There’s certainly an argument there: the spending to maintain fifth-placed finishes and the Champions League dream; the overspend on wages to retain key players and keep a manager happy. What chance did Leicester have when they had already done what nobody else could nor likely will again?
But really, the lies blame squarely at their own feet. There were chances to write a different story, when they sold Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes and James Maddison for almost £300m. There were more opportunities to rebuild rather than hanging onto Wes Morgan, Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki, Ayoze Perez, Caglar Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Christian Fuchs and Youri Tielemans, all mentioned because they left the King Power on free transfers. 
And there was a chance to make do in summer 2024, when Leicester must have known that they were sailing close to the wind. They spent £80m on new players, most of whom barely featured positively in the Premier League and most of whom are still contracted because their value has dropped so significantly. Add in the profitability and sustainability rules issues and probable points deduction and you have no firm platform to go again.
Look at Ipswich and Southampton for the contrast, who also bungled Premier League seasons and who hardly started brightly back in the Championship (although are quickly improving now). They sold players for a combined £185m in the summer and spent £100m on their rebuilds. Leicester made around £45m and signed three loanees and a 38-year-old free transfer. They are caught in the trap that they set for themselves.
Three days after the Stoke win, Leicester lost 3-0 at Southampton. It was nothing new – since the aforementioned 3 December 2024, when they beat West Ham at home in the top-flight, Leicester have conceded twice or more in a league game 24 times in less than a year. That’s why there was no joy on Saturday: there’s always a fist waiting just around the corner to punch you in the gut.

Three-and-a-half years ago Leicester were drawing at home to Roma in a European semi-final, now they’re here. That has become the weight around their neck because it provokes repeated optimism from those in charge about the steps to recovery, even when they look unrealistic. For too long, the reasonable complaint from supporters was a lack of communication that warped from symptom of the disease to one of its causes.
All the while, everything became more difficult as Leicester proved themselves incapable of addressing the malaise quickly or emphatically enough. Promotion back to the Premier League wasn’t an escape – it was a journey onto a stage where their systemic flaws would be further exposed. The second time down was always going to be doubly difficult.

You can debate the minutiae all night, individual players, transfers, managers, signings, employees who simply aren’t doing or did not do enough. But from a wider angle, Leicester’s problem is the need to keep looking further and further back, and higher and higher up the food chain, to find the nucleus. Mistakes get piled upon mistakes. A club chases its tail. Recent history shapes your short-term future and that becomes a repeated cycle.

[indierich06]

8 minutes ago, davieG said:

They are caught in the trap that they set for themselves.

This really sums things up doesn't it? Architects of our own downfall.

[davieG]

3 minutes ago, indierich06 said:

This really sums things up doesn't it? Architects of our own downfall.

Yeah I said a few months ago it was all self inflicted. For sure they tried to keep up with the 6 but failed to see when it was time to realise you can't compete non-stop you have to take a breather and refresh maintaining a mid table position before trying again.

 

We got success relatively easily and we became blasé thinking we'd made it taking eye off the ball.

[The Fosse Way]

"Here’s another fun fact: before Stoke and Stephy Mavididi, the only Leicester player to score more than once in a match in the last two and a half years was James Justin"

On several levels, what? Forest fans need to stop writing about us.

[Bourbon Fox]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/leicester-city-vicious-trap-4067277?ITO=newsnow

 

Leicester City are caught in a vicious trap
Ten years on from their Premier League fairytale, Leicester face the prospect of a bleak future. The Foxes are paying the price for outright terrible mismanagement
Article thumbnail image
Leicester only have themselves to blame for their current predicament (Photo: Getty)
Avatar for Daniel Storey
Daniel Storey is The i Paper's chief football writer, covering the Premier League, EFL, England national team and the European game.
November 28, 2025 6:00 am

Watching Leicester City win at home is an odd experience these days, not least because it doesn’t happen very often. The usual upbeat pre-match rigmarole quickly gives way to a tepid murmur. After five minutes, a low-key chant of “We want Rudkin out” is issued towards the director of football, but last season they were far more vociferous. 
There is joy in the moment of course; that will always happen and a surprise win over Stoke City was both necessary and welcome, but it never exactly feels like goodwill is being accrued and banked to generate momentum. It’s like everyone gave up a while ago on this team being dependable.
You see their point. Between 3 December 2024 and last Saturday, Leicester won four home league games: Ipswich Town, Southampton, Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday. Three of those sides are now above Leicester and the other has minus points.

Here’s another fun fact: before Stoke and Stephy Mavididi, the only Leicester player to score more than once in a match in the last two and a half years was James Justin. I was at the King Power to hear him booed by his own supporters last season and he’s since left for the Premier League. It doesn’t suggest that the environment is entirely indicative to anyone – players, managers, supporters, owners – having much fun.
This might have been different had they sought an alternative manager; Marti Cifuentes is below old club Queens Park Rangers and he will lose his job if there are more repeated setbacks and the home wins remain infrequent. But then Leicester aren’t great at managerial recruitment: Steve Cooper was not liked by fans from the start and Ruud van Nistelrooy was an extraordinarily foolish gamble.

The pressure is increasing on Marti Cifuentes with every passing week (Photo: Getty)
Beyond losing too many games, Cifuentes’s crime appears to be replicating the frustrating elements that caused Brendan Rodgers’s eventual decline: nothing much good really happening. Leicester rank fifth in the Championship for possession and first for short passes, but 12th for touches in the opposition box and 16th for expected goals. There is an accented two-word phrase you hear at multiple East Midlands stadiums: “Gerrit forward”.
Were we being generous, this is a cautionary tale of an ambitious club that achieves a miracle and then repeats it to lesser degrees – Premier League, Europe, FA Cup – before English football’s hardwired hierarchy bites back. Perhaps that would be easier to stomach for supporters. Beware how the machine grinds you down in the end. Look out, provincial clubs, the giants are stomping their feet again.

There’s certainly an argument there: the spending to maintain fifth-placed finishes and the Champions League dream; the overspend on wages to retain key players and keep a manager happy. What chance did Leicester have when they had already done what nobody else could nor likely will again?
But really, the lies blame squarely at their own feet. There were chances to write a different story, when they sold Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Harvey Barnes and James Maddison for almost £300m. There were more opportunities to rebuild rather than hanging onto Wes Morgan, Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki, Ayoze Perez, Caglar Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Christian Fuchs and Youri Tielemans, all mentioned because they left the King Power on free transfers. 
And there was a chance to make do in summer 2024, when Leicester must have known that they were sailing close to the wind. They spent £80m on new players, most of whom barely featured positively in the Premier League and most of whom are still contracted because their value has dropped so significantly. Add in the profitability and sustainability rules issues and probable points deduction and you have no firm platform to go again.
Look at Ipswich and Southampton for the contrast, who also bungled Premier League seasons and who hardly started brightly back in the Championship (although are quickly improving now). They sold players for a combined £185m in the summer and spent £100m on their rebuilds. Leicester made around £45m and signed three loanees and a 38-year-old free transfer. They are caught in the trap that they set for themselves.
Three days after the Stoke win, Leicester lost 3-0 at Southampton. It was nothing new – since the aforementioned 3 December 2024, when they beat West Ham at home in the top-flight, Leicester have conceded twice or more in a league game 24 times in less than a year. That’s why there was no joy on Saturday: there’s always a fist waiting just around the corner to punch you in the gut.

Three-and-a-half years ago Leicester were drawing at home to Roma in a European semi-final, now they’re here. That has become the weight around their neck because it provokes repeated optimism from those in charge about the steps to recovery, even when they look unrealistic. For too long, the reasonable complaint from supporters was a lack of communication that warped from symptom of the disease to one of its causes.
All the while, everything became more difficult as Leicester proved themselves incapable of addressing the malaise quickly or emphatically enough. Promotion back to the Premier League wasn’t an escape – it was a journey onto a stage where their systemic flaws would be further exposed. The second time down was always going to be doubly difficult.

You can debate the minutiae all night, individual players, transfers, managers, signings, employees who simply aren’t doing or did not do enough. But from a wider angle, Leicester’s problem is the need to keep looking further and further back, and higher and higher up the food chain, to find the nucleus. Mistakes get piled upon mistakes. A club chases its tail. Recent history shapes your short-term future and that becomes a repeated cycle.

This is a really good and insightful piece

[OntarioFox]

2 hours ago, The Fosse Way said:

"Here’s another fun fact: before Stoke and Stephy Mavididi, the only Leicester player to score more than once in a match in the last two and a half years was James Justin"

On several levels, what? Forest fans need to stop writing about us.

It's frustrating just how much of a brain-dead clanger that is, because the rest of the article is absolutely spot-on. Kind of smacks of someone feeding AI then not doing enough proof reading?

 

If anything, it's scary if it IS an AI article, because it's 99% accurate.

[Swarles Barkley]

10 hours ago, The Fosse Way said:

"Here’s another fun fact: before Stoke and Stephy Mavididi, the only Leicester player to score more than once in a match in the last two and a half years was James Justin"

On several levels, what? Forest fans need to stop writing about us.

Am I being stupid here. What does Stoke and Mavididi got to do with this fact    
 

Also didnt Fatawu get a hat trick against Southampton 

Edited 28 November 2025 by Swarles Barkley

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

27 minutes ago, Swarles Barkley said:

Am I being stupid here. What does Stoke and Mavididi got to do with this fact    
 

Also didnt Fatawu get a hat trick against Southampton 

 

You aren't being stupid, Daniel Storey seems to think:
- Mavididi scored twice against Stoke (he obviously didn't) and...

- James Justin is the only player to score more than once in a match since the start of 23/24. He isn't – In the Enzo season, Fatawu got his hat trick against Southampton. Vardy got 4 braces. Dewsbury-Hall got 2 braces. Mavididi got 2 braces. Daka got 2 braces. Even bloody Tom Cannon got two goals against Huddersfield on NYD.

 

It's a really weird passage, absolutely none of it is correct and it's not even close to being so.

Edited 28 November 2025 by Miquel The Work Geordie

[ealingfox]

2 hours ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

You aren't being stupid, Daniel Storey seems to think:
- Mavididi scored twice against Stoke (he obviously didn't) and...

- James Justin is the only player to score more than once in a match since the start of 23/24. He isn't – In the Enzo season, Fatawu got his hat trick against Southampton. Vardy got 4 braces. Dewsbury-Hall got 2 braces. Mavididi got 2 braces. Daka got 2 braces. Even bloody Tom Cannon got two goals against Huddersfield on NYD.

 

It's a really weird passage, absolutely none of it is correct and it's not even close to being so.

 

He means since Justin's brace against Arsenal last season doesn't he?

 

Edit - noticed the two and a half years bit. Yeah it's just waffle

Edited 28 November 2025 by ealingfox

[Jaspa]

1 hour ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

You aren't being stupid, Daniel Storey seems to think:
- Mavididi scored twice against Stoke (he obviously didn't) and...

- James Justin is the only player to score more than once in a match since the start of 23/24. He isn't – In the Enzo season, Fatawu got his hat trick against Southampton. Vardy got 4 braces. Dewsbury-Hall got 2 braces. Mavididi got 2 braces. Daka got 2 braces. Even bloody Tom Cannon got two goals against Huddersfield on NYD.

 

It's a really weird passage, absolutely none of it is correct and it's not even close to being so.

It's like when AI gets stuff wrong and just makes stuff up. He should probably proof read his own content before publishing it under his name 

[jayfox26]

Aside from the Mavididi Stoke shite, what on earth is he on about us hanging onto Vardy, Fuchs, Morgan too long cos they left on frees. Morgan retired and Vardy is our greatest ever player and we didn't hang onto Fuchs too long, he was a legend for us. The only outlier in that argument is Tielemans who we absolutely should have made money on. 

[Stadt]

I don’t like Storey generally but that article besides one oversight is almost on the money. He lives in Loughborough - he’ll know clued up fans.

 

It falls short of actually blaming the owner though which is what makes it a milquetoast piece 

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chris-wilder-picks-out-outstanding-10677911

 

Chris Wilder picks out 'outstanding' Leicester City player as he talks up Marti Cifuentes' squad
The Sheffield United boss gives his verdict on his side's 3-2 victory at the King Power Stadium in which the Blades raced into a three-goal lead before City's attempted fightback

Jordan Blackwell
08:00, 30 Nov 2025
Updated 08:55, 30 Nov 2025

Chris Wilder talked up the Leicester City squad his Sheffield United side overcame, with a special mention to the “outstanding” Jordan James.

The Blades manager oversaw a 3-2 victory at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with his side racing into a three-goal half-time advantage, but with City coming close to a second-half comeback.

Stephy Mavididi got the first and then James struck a second from distance, the swerve on shot deceiving Sheffield United goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

Wilder always felt City’s second-half response was possible, not only because of the quality he believes they have in their squad, but because the scoreline took the pressure off.

 

Wilder said: “I’ve been a pro a long time and when you’re 3-0 down, the game becomes easy and you can afford to take risks because everybody thinks the game’s done and dusted.

“Michael’s made that mistake (for the first goal) and then the atmosphere changes around the place. The second goal, Michael may be a little disappointed with it but it’s a fabulous finish. He (James) is an outstanding player.

 

“They’ve all got moments, all of their players. We had to withstand that, it’s a great test for us. The character shone through.

“They will come out, they’ve got nothing to lose, and you’ll see them be braver on the ball and taking more risks and they did.

“They have, as you see, international players, players that have played in the Premier League, players that can open you up and ask the question, and they did.

“Regardless of what’s going on and the environment, the players they’ve got at their disposal are top players who have played at the highest level and won things.

“(Jordan) Ayew came on and was a threat, the two wides (Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu) are arguably the best two wides in the division, the young boy (Jeremy Monga) who came on is incredibly highly thought of in the game.

“Bobby Reid, (Harry) Winks, (Jannik) Vestergaard, (Wout) Faes, they’re all international players. We know about Luke (Thomas), and Hamza (Choudhury) can’t get a game. (Ricardo) Pereira, the skipper, it’s right the way through.

“You could see they were hurt at half-time and they’ve come flying out. We had to deal with it, which we did.”

The result means Sheffield United have now won three games on the bounce, moving them up to within three places and five points of City.

A second straight defeat saw City drop a place to 16th. They’re now seven points above the drop zone and nine points away from the automatic promotion places.

[Taz_The_Fox]

Hes not wrong. There is no way we keep him for another season. 

[Hamilton Fox]

 Leicester have conceded twice or more in a league game 24 times in less than a year

 

Bloody hell, this stat if true just goes to show how bad our team is at defending (not that i didn’t know already)

[The Year Of The Fox]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRrQK0jlxEU/?igsh=MWpoaGtydWo5b3Z2aQ==

[NZ_Foxile]

Shocking and sad to see so many empty seats in home sections of the King Power. Shows level of frustration and anger with the mess Leicester are in on and off the pitch. Cifuentes will get the grief and possibly the sack for another loss but problems run far deeper. Leicester need stronger leadership from dressing-room to boardroom. 

More spirited second half cannot hide the shambles and surrender of the first and the troubles within the Club. Threat of possible points deductions, issues around Top, Rudkin and too many players overpaid and underperforming. Wout Faes has played 28 times for Belgium in last three years so he must be decent but he rarely exudes much authority or security with Leicester. 

It’s about concentration and attitude as well as ability. It’s about taking responsibility and remembering Leicester’s identity and that Foxes never quit. 

Recruitment a huge issue. Lost some leaders, didn’t replace them with strong characters, fighters needed in times like this. Why did they start playing only when 3-0 down to Sheffield United? Pulled two goals back, bit more enterprise, Mavididi having a go, Soumare a good sub, James’ outstanding strike, Monga brings trickery and hope. But too late. Damaging defeat at home to a team who started the day 22nd in the Championship (and Chris Wilder, a leader, has got Sheffield United going). 

Leicester have to wake up. They’re heading towards celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the great Premier League title triumph. Leicester have also to beware they’re not heading to League One. They have to fight back and win back the fans. #LCFC 🦊 #LEISHU

[john ridley]

1 hour ago, Hamilton Fox said:

 Leicester have conceded twice or more in a league game 24 times in less than a year

 

Bloody hell, this stat if true just goes to show how bad our team is at defending (not that i didn’t know already)

And we still play the same cvnts ,what does that tell you ?

[john ridley]

Henry winter spot on .

[Chelmofox]

13 minutes ago, john ridley said:

And we still play the same cvnts ,what does that tell you ?

We currently dont have any other cvnts to play.

[Corky]

A shame other managers don't tell the truth about our squad. It might fire them up to prove a point rather than be told how good the names are and how tough it is to beat them, which is bollocks.

[MattFox]

Wilder loves us doesn’t he

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/what-marti-cifuentes-50m-point-10678212

 

What Marti Cifuentes' £50m point shows as certain Leicester City slide may spark board concern
Talking points from Leicester City's 3-2 defeat to Sheffield United, looking at the start, the second-half response, Cifuentes' future, the empty seats, and relegation

Jordan Blackwell
10:47, 30 Nov 2025

Marti Cifuentes was dumbfounded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” he said of watching his Leicester City side go two goals down inside four minutes.

He was perhaps alone in his bewilderment. For City fans, it didn’t seem that farfetched. They saw their team concede after 10 seconds at Everton in February and then trail 2-0 inside six minutes. At home to Newcastle in April, they were two goals behind after 11 minutes.

Yes, Saturday was a more rapid capitulation but it was hardly out of the ordinary.

In all of those games – on Saturday, against Everton and against Newcastle – City went on to let in a third before half-time. Throw in Tuesday’s match at Southampton, and last season’s embarrassments at home to Brentford and Wolves, then that’s six times they’ve been losing 3-0 at the break in less than 12 months.

So the first-half showing was not an outlier but the sort of performance that’s become all too common of late.

After the Southampton defeat, Cifuentes said the loss wouldn’t define City, but how they reacted would. Was that the true City on display against Sheffield United, then? One where they appeared to lack energy and motivation and were completely overwhelmed by their opponents?

 

Really, Cifuentes’ surprise over the speed of the first two goals was a surprise in itself. Because when asked why he thought his team had begun so poorly, he pointed to deep-seated problems, as if he knew City had a recent history of early calamities.

“Everybody knows why I’m here,” he said when asked to explain the slow start. “I came here to fix some issues. I never said those issues were easy to fix, and that it would be quick. I’m aware of the things we need to improve.”

Cifuentes didn’t explicitly say on Saturday what those issues were, but it would not be unfair to guess he’s referring to the culture around the club, something he’s mentioned frequently.

It does feel like the slow start might be a mentality issue, but it’s deciphering what exactly the problem is.

Is it fear of making mistakes? Is it fear of a negative reaction? Is the doom and gloom around the club seeping into the players? Do they simply not care?

Cifuentes has always denied the latter, but it remains a criticism that is often levelled at the squad by the fans.

It’s a barb that comes to the fore more often in games where loanee Jordan James is the star man. His all-action style naturally gives an impression that he cares more, but his demeanour and personality add to that feeling.

It’s not a good look for the squad if a player not even permanently contracted to the club appears to be trying harder than the others.

Those two fast goals mean City now have the joint-worst record in the division for the first 10 minutes of matches, with one goal scored and six conceded.

Cifuentes is right in that it’s something for him to fix, and it would have been hoped that he'd have made progress by now. But if it’s that deep-rooted, it’s also a problem for the people who assembled the squad, and those who steer the club from the very top.

Credit for second half must be tempered
In those five previous games in the past 12 months in which City have trailed 3-0 at half-time, they didn’t score a single goal. In some of the matches, they went on to lose 4-0.

So perhaps there should be some credit afforded to the manager and players for at least making a fist of a comeback attempt. It’s difficult to know how much credit though.

As Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder pointed out: “When you’re 3-0 down, the game becomes easy and you can afford to take risks because everybody thinks the game’s done and dusted.”

City did appear to be playing with a weight lifted off their shoulders. There was much more fluidity to their play, and much greater intent. It felt like the players wanted to get the ball forward more quickly.

But it also felt like Sheffield United retreated into a mindset of wanting to protect that lead. They definitely weren’t as adventurous, and that afforded City more control.

And how many good chances did they really create? At 3-1, there was only really Jannik Vestergaard’s bundled effort that Jairo Riedewald cleared near the line. After James made it 3-2, there was no final opportunity.

The stats say City created 1.2 expected goals in the second period, with more than half of that figure made up by Stephy Mavididi’s header. In normal circumstances, that’s pretty good. When an opponent lets you dominate, it’s only okay.

Substitutes Boubakary Soumare and Oliver Skipp had some of their best games in a City shirt. Soumare looked a level above Harry Winks in the way he controlled the match from the base of midfield, shrugged off Blades players and spread passes about the pitch.

Skipp, tasked with filling in at centre-back, was composed in defence and progressive on the ball. But these were unique circumstances where both players were under far less pressure than usual.

For how City meekly accepted defeat, or solely worked to keep the opposition’s score down, in those other matches in which they trailed 3-0 at the interval, praise can be afforded to the players for how they responded on Saturday.

It helps Cifuentes too. Watching that second half, it could not be said the players are downing tools on his watch.

But any credit afforded needs to be tempered by the circumstances of the game, and by the fact they were only quite good after the break, rather than excellent.

When questions over a manager’s future are credibly asked, it can feel like the start of an unrecoverable situation.

That a handful of City fans joined in with Sheffield United supporters’ sack taunt of Cifuentes just before half-time meant it was a valid topic of conversation in the post-match press conference. Later, the Spaniard was asked if he felt he had the support of the board.

It feels like a significant moment when that question first arises. No matter the confidence in the answer, it seems like a tipping point. Those doubts over a manager’s future tend to linger until they’re gone.

But Cifuentes was pretty bullish in his replies. He mentioned that he’s been in such situations and had such chants directed at him before and that he’s come through the other side.

He again set out the long-term nature of the “rebuild” at City and that he’s on a mission to fix the club. He spoke of his meetings with the chairman and director of football in which they collaborate on ideas to turn the club around, as if to point out they’re on his side.

He did also mention, unprompted, the lack of money spent at City in the summer compared to the £50m put into each of the squads at Southampton and Ipswich.

Cifuentes said: “Everyone knows that during this summer we tried to make certain decisions that were not easy. We didn’t spend money at all, while you see at Southampton and Ipswich, the other two clubs who were relegated, they spent a lot of money.”

It’s not an untrue statement from Cifuentes, but bringing it up felt a little like a move in self-preservation. All managers look to protect their reputation when under pressure and drop in those kinds of comments to let others know about the difficulty of the circumstances they’re working in.

Again, such comments feel significant. Once a manager starts fighting to protect themselves, it starts a direction of travel from which there's rarely a u-turn.

But perhaps Cifuentes is right. The unusual circumstances at City, where there has been very little investment into the squad on his watch, means that patience will be shown.

Given the mood around the club and the staleness of the playing group, the pressure to succeed immediately may not be as high as it usually is at a relegated Premier League club in the Championship.

But what is true is that if Cifuentes wants to put an immediate halt to those chants and those questions, he needs a win at Derby.

Attendance slide may spark board concern
That’s the fourth straight home game in which the attendance has been under 30,000 and while the official figure against Sheffield United wasn’t as low as it was for the Blackburn and Middlesbrough games, a packed-out away end on Saturday suggested home ticket sales may have dropped, even if very slightly.

To the eye, it felt like there were plenty of empty seats. Perhaps there were a few season-ticket holders who didn’t turn up, but whose attendance is counted in the official figure.

There were definitely more than a few empty seats after the third Sheffield United goal went in, and many fans didn’t return after half-time.

To the naked eye, this felt like the earliest City fans had had enough. If the stadium was more than three-quarters full in the second half, that would be a surprise.

But maybe that will make a difference in forcing change. Even in the past few years, while there have been complaints around the running of the club and there has been a negativity seeping down from the stands, attendances haven’t really dropped.

Maybe to cut through to the businesspeople that run a football club, they need to see that punters simply aren’t turning up anymore.

When the official attendance is over 28,000, it probably won’t be an almighty panic at the moment. But there is a negative trend right now, and the club may be forced into action if they feel that slide could continue, or even become more severe.

City must consider relegation prospect
One of the big topics of conversation heading into Saturday’s game was the congestion in the Championship table.

City sitting 15th in the standings going into the final game of November seems like a problem. City sitting three points off the play-offs and six points off automatic promotion going into the final game of November doesn’t seem too concerning.

But another defeat changes the complexion again. The gap between City and the automatic promotion spots is now greater than the cushion they have to the relegation places.

With a potential points deduction to come, it’s not out of the realms of possibility to consider the club falling into League One.

The tendency is to look at the table and see how close City are to the play-offs, but they need to look over their shoulder too.

They know from the first Premier League relegation that simply believing a bottom-three finish is out of the question does not stop it from happening.

City better believe they’re in a relegation battle. That’s the only way to potentially stave it off.

[fox_favourite]

2 hours ago, NZ_Foxile said:

Shocking and sad to see so many empty seats in home sections of the King Power. Shows level of frustration and anger with the mess Leicester are in on and off the pitch. Cifuentes will get the grief and possibly the sack for another loss but problems run far deeper. Leicester need stronger leadership from dressing-room to boardroom. 

More spirited second half cannot hide the shambles and surrender of the first and the troubles within the Club. Threat of possible points deductions, issues around Top, Rudkin and too many players overpaid and underperforming. Wout Faes has played 28 times for Belgium in last three years so he must be decent but he rarely exudes much authority or security with Leicester. 

It’s about concentration and attitude as well as ability. It’s about taking responsibility and remembering Leicester’s identity and that Foxes never quit. 

Recruitment a huge issue. Lost some leaders, didn’t replace them with strong characters, fighters needed in times like this. Why did they start playing only when 3-0 down to Sheffield United? Pulled two goals back, bit more enterprise, Mavididi having a go, Soumare a good sub, James’ outstanding strike, Monga brings trickery and hope. But too late. Damaging defeat at home to a team who started the day 22nd in the Championship (and Chris Wilder, a leader, has got Sheffield United going). 

Leicester have to wake up. They’re heading towards celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the great Premier League title triumph. Leicester have also to beware they’re not heading to League One. They have to fight back and win back the fans. #LCFC 🦊 #LEISHU

This is a great summary and I completely agree.