Club radio silence creates a vacuum and toxicity

[Babylon]

3 hours ago, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

Thanks for this. This is exactly what I mean, and are all clubs I think most would agree are transparent and generally run well. And these people come across as personable and decent people. Whereas with Kim Jong Rudkin and Kim Il Sue we have a comms and engagement strategy similar to North Korea.

When we were doing well, the likes of Walsh, and McKenzie loved talking about how and why we do things the way we do... let's see how open and transparent those clubs are when things go wrong, and they are getting slaughtered for everything left right and centre. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

12 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Will those clubs be doing this when they're not successful though? I'm not really interested in clubs blowing smoke up their arses when it's all going well. I'd want to know what my club's DoF is doing when it's all gone to shit.

 

Rudkin wasn't lapping it all up when we were doing well and that was fine, but I'd like to hear him or the club justify what they're doing now that it isn't. Radio silence is fine when you're at the top end of the league but currently we don't hear a peep until Top wants to either take credit or deflect blame on the last day of the season.

The Villa video I posted is a perfect example of that though. They were all wailing about Grealish going and he stepped into the firing line and told everyone why and what the plan was. 

[AKCJ]

2 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

The Villa video I posted is a perfect example of that though. They were all wailing about Grealish going and he stepped into the firing line and told everyone why and what the plan was. 

That's the sort of thing that should have happened after we got relegated. When we were promised this big review.

 

Instead we got that pathetic statement from Top that deflected blame.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

1 minute ago, AKCJ said:

That's the sort of thing that should have happened after we got relegated. When we were promised this big review.

 

Instead we got that pathetic statement from Top that deflected blame.

No doubt we'll get another one in a few months.

[RoboFox]

7 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

That's the sort of thing that should have happened after we got relegated. When we were promised this big review.

 

Instead we got that pathetic statement from Top that deflected blame.

It was the usual attempt at gaslighting the fans.

 

"Look at all the success we've had! How can you be angry at us?" trying to deflect attention away from the most egregious relegation in Premier League history, and the shockingly rapid decline of the football club. 

 

TBF it seems to work.

 

Edited 7 January by RoboFox

[Nolucklcfc]

This is something they will never do because they can’t defend what’s they’ve done. Silence from the board isn’t something new and has further distanced the fans from the club. 

[Lineker's Left Foot]

The only way change will occur is if people voted with their feet and didn’t attend games etc.  I’m not giving this club one penny more until these current incumbents are gone 

[RYM]

The Brentford model works as it's 100% transparent.

Years ago they said they were aiming for the Premier League and explained their moneyball model to the fans. It meant everyone knew the vision. When they lost games it wasn't too much of a problem as the long term vision was always there. Some fans hated it but the majority trusted the system and the stats to get to the EPL. Everyone at the club knew their job was to get the club to the EPL doing their own little thing.

Amongst that they were transparent about the "small margins" and how these helped: Sleep coaches, what pillow each player should have, players monitored as to when they should use social media or not etc etc. It seems bizarre to many but it works! They even have a legal team who will look at the social media of each player and their friends and family to see if they are the right type of person. Thomas Frank mentioned a "no dick heads" policy on player recruitment.

 

Where they "win" here though is that Phil the DoF regularly communicates to the fans in each transfer window and updates that against the plan.

 

I think most fans would give their club more time if they said "in 5, 10, 15 years these are our aims" but most clubs are like ours and just react without any clear vision or identity. One of the biggest faults of our recent times was not having a succession plan when Brendan was eventually sacked. In contrast when Dean Smith (ironically) left Brentford they already knew Thomas his assistant was ready to take over. When he leaves, they will do the same. So very simple eh!

 

[The Fosse Way]

46 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Will those clubs be doing this when they're not successful though? I'm not really interested in clubs blowing smoke up their arses when it's all going well. I'd want to know what my club's DoF is doing when it's all gone to shit.

 

Rudkin wasn't lapping it all up when we were doing well and that was fine, but I'd like to hear him or the club justify what they're doing now that it isn't. Radio silence is fine when you're at the top end of the league but currently we don't hear a peep until Top wants to either take credit or deflect blame on the last day of the season.

 

He's on the pitch at Preston though, isn't he? He's on the open top bus weaving its way around the city centre with the adoring crowds celebrating a promotion only necessary because of the rank incompetence on his watch.

 

39 minutes ago, Babylon said:

When we were doing well, the likes of Walsh, and McKenzie loved talking about how and why we do things the way we do... let's see how open and transparent those clubs are when things go wrong, and they are getting slaughtered for everything left right and centre. 

 

@RYM has covered Brentford above.

 

Brighton haven't won for 8 games and their CEO is going on national radio: https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/barbs-on-r5-now.411410/

 

They obviously get fans wondering if it's all going to shit - but look at the number of responses talking about the bigger picture, the bigger plan, how their chairman communicated with them last summer: https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/have-we-spunked-our-money-on-average-players-or.411226/

 

Until clubs like Brighton and Brentford overspend, have catastrophic seasons, get relegated or start signing terrible players on a consistent basis then you'll have to put up with our fans continuing to point to lots of different things they're doing as good examples of how to run a football club, because there's very little evidence they're going to do any of the stupid things we did. It's free learning and our club needs to take what it can before it's too late.

 

This was 6 months ago, again referencing Brighton and Barber, and pretty much all still applies now: https://www.thefosseway.net/viewpoint/leicester-city-grand-vision

 

This is a timely discussion right now anyway, as it's the Foxes Trust AGM next Monday and there are 3 new board members to be ratified, all ready to help bring a fresh approach and do what they can to hold the club to account: https://foxestrust.co.uk/membership

[CosbehFox]

There hasn't been a clear statement of ambition for some time. I don't know the clubs actual ethos or their outright target over the next few years. 

 

The appointment of managers has a couple of lines attributed to Top. This nothing ref: Ruud "It is my pleasure to welcome Ruud to Leicester City. He joins a Club with a rich history, passionate supporters, and a talented squad, and we are all excited to see the impact he can have as we embark on this new chapter together. Ruud’s experience, knowledge, and winning mentality will undoubtedly bring great value to us, and we look forward to supporting him in achieving success for our fans and our Club."

 

The latest statement of substance was from Whelan following the financial results in 2024. The latest publicly open statement from Top was in 2023 with the only the vow to be back in the Premier League a notable statement and it even includes this statement '"Over the coming days and weeks, we need to reflect on the processes and decisions that have brought us to this point. What we learn from this experience must convert into action that makes us stronger and prevents this happening to us again in the future.'' 

 

I don't know the clubs plan. Even the financial accounts don't have an outright ambition within them. 

[1972 Fox]

3 hours ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

One of the best pieces of communication from a football club is when Villa sold Grealish and their Chief Exec came out and explained the whole process, what the clause was set at and what they were planning to do with the funds. We could only ever dream of something like that, could you imagine one of our lot doing something like this?

 

 

The best we ever get is a statement saying player X joins club X for an undisclosed fee.

 

Edited 7 January by 1972 Fox

[Babylon]

17 hours ago, The Fosse Way said:

 

He's on the pitch at Preston though, isn't he? He's on the open top bus weaving its way around the city centre with the adoring crowds celebrating a promotion only necessary because of the rank incompetence on his watch.

 

 

@RYM has covered Brentford above.

 

Brighton haven't won for 8 games and their CEO is going on national radio: https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/barbs-on-r5-now.411410/

 

They obviously get fans wondering if it's all going to shit - but look at the number of responses talking about the bigger picture, the bigger plan, how their chairman communicated with them last summer: https://www.northstandchat.com/threads/have-we-spunked-our-money-on-average-players-or.411226/

 

Until clubs like Brighton and Brentford overspend, have catastrophic seasons, get relegated or start signing terrible players on a consistent basis then you'll have to put up with our fans continuing to point to lots of different things they're doing as good examples of how to run a football club, because there's very little evidence they're going to do any of the stupid things we did. It's free learning and our club needs to take what it can before it's too late.

 

This was 6 months ago, again referencing Brighton and Barber, and pretty much all still applies now: https://www.thefosseway.net/viewpoint/leicester-city-grand-vision

 

This is a timely discussion right now anyway, as it's the Foxes Trust AGM next Monday and there are 3 new board members to be ratified, all ready to help bring a fresh approach and do what they can to hold the club to account: https://foxestrust.co.uk/membership

8 games... what a disaster   They are currently top 10 in the premier league. 

 

I'll say it again, easy to talk about it when things are going well. When every man and their dog has the knives out and will twist every word that comes out of your mouth, not so easy. 

[aklaxon]

I've always found the PR and Communication from KP/Leicester City to be minimal.

It didn't matter so much when we were winning, when we were making shrewd signings, selling players for mega, and announcing new training grounds and stadiums.

 

It's why we never get a fair crack in the media and on shows like Match of the Day (Linekar will make some joke, and one of the bald ones will throw some shade), it's why good journalists struggle to write stories about us, it's why we hardly ever get linked to new transfers, it's why when they make club statements they feel so far removed from the situation, it's why when prices increase they make no sense to us. 

 

It's a strategy, it needs a PR team to be making connections with those in the media, so Leicester get some air time, but also so they can share news. It also needs a team to reach out to the community, engage with younger fans, fan groups like Foxes Trust, Union FS etc., so when they are planning a big change like season ticket prices/ digital tickets, they know how to handle it.

It doesn't need Rudkin doing a Q&A or Whelan filming a selfie. It's also more than a free beer and doughnut before the game. But the fact that writers like Blackwell from the Mercury or Tanner from The Athletic never write about Rudkin or Whelan suggests to me they don't have a connection with them. 

 

But I fear there isn't a media/PR/comms team. There's no transparency around who even works at the club. My gut says it is literally Rudkin and Whelan talking to the social media guy to put out a statement when we have news to break... Tin pot.

[CosbehFox]

21 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/09/27/wolves-owners-sporting-director-premier-league-season/

Alongside that interview from Wolves CEO earlier this season. 

 

In other examples of communication by clubs not doing so well, here's Leeds CEO explaining the sales over the summer and the disappointment around no promotion. 

 

 

 

[Sly]

On 07/01/2025 at 13:15, Muzzy_no7 said:

Rudkin has to do the job of two people yet he isn’t competent enough to even do one of them.

 

He needs to be relieved of his duties and replaced with a proper DOF and a technical director AS WELL. 
 

 

+ Fax Machine Operator 

[Paninistickers]

Isn't the radio silence the whole point? 

The KP organisation doesn't want any light shed on it at all.

I suspect the reason why Rudkin and Whelan are held in such high regard by KP is exactly because of their modesty. Their reticence to speak publicly. Their discretion. 

 

No questions, no answers, no lies. Straight bat everything. Always. 

 

Why did KP even take us of all clubs over? Was it exactly because of our relatively low profile?  Has anyone ever (properly) asked, or found out, who actually was Vichai? How did he acquire - and then profit beyond all reasonable projections - an airport shop? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CosbehFox]

51 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

Isn't the radio silence the whole point? 

The KP organisation doesn't want any light shed on it at all.

I suspect the reason why Rudkin and Whelan are held in such high regard by KP is exactly because of their modesty. Their reticence to speak publicly. Their discretion. 

 

No questions, no answers, no lies. Straight bat everything. Always. 

 

Why did KP even take us of all clubs over? Was it exactly because of our relatively low profile?  Has anyone ever (properly) asked, or found out, who actually was Vichai? How did he acquire - and then profit beyond all reasonable projections - an airport shop? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The club work on the mantra of less is more. Give out less information, there’s less to hold them to. If you have a target, you’ll be responsible for achieving it. If you have no announced target, there’s no clear defined responsible person. 
 

I still say some of it is cultural. Their position (and the version of democracy) in Thailand means there’s no notion that it’s good to communicate. Within that they are surrounded by largely corporate drones, who have very little feeling for Leicester as a city, let alone a club, so keep the silence, we are getting paid well whatever. That our top hierarchy is full of long servers and very few with the ambition to work elsewhere speaks volumes. Don’t upset the apple cart 

[CosbehFox]

10 hours ago, aklaxon said:

I've always found the PR and Communication from KP/Leicester City to be minimal.

It didn't matter so much when we were winning, when we were making shrewd signings, selling players for mega, and announcing new training grounds and stadiums.

 

It's why we never get a fair crack in the media and on shows like Match of the Day (Linekar will make some joke, and one of the bald ones will throw some shade), it's why good journalists struggle to write stories about us, it's why we hardly ever get linked to new transfers, it's why when they make club statements they feel so far removed from the situation, it's why when prices increase they make no sense to us. 

 

It's a strategy, it needs a PR team to be making connections with those in the media, so Leicester get some air time, but also so they can share news. It also needs a team to reach out to the community, engage with younger fans, fan groups like Foxes Trust, Union FS etc., so when they are planning a big change like season ticket prices/ digital tickets, they know how to handle it.

It doesn't need Rudkin doing a Q&A or Whelan filming a selfie. It's also more than a free beer and doughnut before the game. But the fact that writers like Blackwell from the Mercury or Tanner from The Athletic never write about Rudkin or Whelan suggests to me they don't have a connection with them. 

 

But I fear there isn't a media/PR/comms team. There's no transparency around who even works at the club. My gut says it is literally Rudkin and Whelan talking to the social media guy to put out a statement when we have news to break... Tin pot.

There’s a chap at LCFC who controls the status quo regards PR. 99% of the words quoted by Top are his. When his background is from MK Dons, I need go no further in trying to explain how there’s little understanding of what football fans want. 

Edited 8 January by CosbehFox

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

19 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

There’s a chap at LCFC who controls the status quo regards PR. 99% of the words quoted by Top are his. When his background is from MK Dons, I need go no further in trying to explain how there’s little understanding of what football fans want. 

 

Is this the fridge freezer who forever looks like he's not seen daylight in about five years?

[CL Fox]

On 08/01/2025 at 11:13, Babylon said:

8 games... what a disaster   They are currently top 10 in the premier league. 

 

I'll say it again, easy to talk about it when things are going well. When every man and their dog has the knives out and will twist every word that comes out of your mouth, not so easy. 

And here's something from Wolves....

 

Emmanuel's a winner and he's driven," said Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs.
...
"When Vitor came in it's the first conversation we had, to add one quick. There are so many games in January, so you can't afford to waste a month."

[moore_94]