How significant was the loss of Kasper Schmeichel?

[Pliskin]

Off the field we know that there’s nothing Kasper has control over, but in terms of performances on the pitch, especially defensively, if Kasper was still here do we think the standards would have fallen so low? 
 

Mads is a wonderful goalkeeper, but I certainly believe that, that defence would not be getting such an easy ride if he was still here, and the general behaviour of some of the lads, would the “I miss you Enzo” debacle have ever happened? 
 

Personally I think we’re seeing now more than ever how important his leadership was, I doubt that we would be seeing such pathetic standards if he was still at the club. 

[StanSP]

Yes. 

[Lionator]

Keeping Kasper and staying up would’ve just papered over ever widening cracks. Now the cracks look like the Mariana Trench. 

[Aus Fox]

The single worst decision we’ve made in the last 5 years was letting Kasper go and not replacing him.

This is the major reason for so many of our problems right now.

[lcfc_forever]

This was a huge mistake by Rodgers, and another example of Rudkin’s mismanagement as he gave him complete control.
 

Kasper’s performances were on the decline statistically but he gave leadership to the team and demanded high standards, things became too comfortable for the players when he left. And goes without saying he would have been better than Ward! 

[Pliskin]

Just now, Aus Fox said:

The single worst decision we’ve made in the last 5 years was letting Kasper go and not replacing him.

This is the major reason for so many of our problems right now.

I agree, in terms of setting standards. Kasper was the ultimate pro, but I think he genuinely loved being here…. Maintaining high standards could well have kept us up when we went down season before last, the quality was there, but the attitude and application probably would have been a which as we know, a good attitude can take you far. 

[phoneticerror]

Kasper would’ve kept us up for sure. Then it begs the question of whether we would’ve kept any of the players who left us in the mass exodus of quality that happened after relegation. We then recruited poorly.

 

This was the start of our heavy decline.

Edited 23 January by phoneticerror

[Lako42]

Kasper was pretty shit towards the end and we needed to move on imo.

 

 

Moving on to Danny Ward was the mistake. 

[Levi Port]

We don’t go down with him and no chance we would have been relegated that following season with the rubbish in the league that season. Single biggest factor imo. Could have had Rodger’s till the end we’d still be in the prem. Ward in goal that season was an abomination. 

[Soar Fox]

8 minutes ago, lcfc_forever said:

This was a huge mistake by Rodgers, and another example of Rudkin’s mismanagement as he gave him complete control.
 

Kasper’s performances were on the decline statistically but he gave leadership to the team and demanded high standards, things became too comfortable for the players when he left. And goes without saying he would have been better than Ward! 

If Rodgers was the one that forced him out I very much doubt KS would sign for him a couple of years later. 

[Nick]

4 minutes ago, Levi Port said:

Could have had Rodger’s till the end we’d still be in the prem.  

For me, we pulled the trigger on Rogers too late - we should have done it much earlier. I do think if we'd have kept him on,  he likely would have kept us up. He certainly would have been better than the shambles we appointed to take over on a temporary basis. But that's just my opinion.

[SK3Blue]

Often think Kasper had the foresight to see the club was going to take a sharp decline, he had mentioned a desire to play in Europe again a few months earlier. 
 

Another example of how we’ve lost leadership both on and off the field in a big way. Would have stayed up with him here. 
 

Once again, like we’ve done with Vardy, our backup plans were not sufficient in Ward or Iversen, in the same way Daka, Iheanacho and now Cannon aren’t for Vardy. 
 

 

[adejo92]

Ward coming in was more of a problem than Kasper leaving.

 

If Mads had come in when Kasper left, we'd be better off.

 

Don't get me wrong, I know he had dressing room presence,  but by all acounts that little 'clique' we quite toxic.

Edited 23 January by adejo92

[lcfc_forever]

13 minutes ago, Soar Fox said:

If Rodgers was the one that forced him out I very much doubt KS would sign for him a couple of years later. 

It was - reported at the time they fell out, and some players weren’t liking Kasper’s high demands on them. Remember when he dropped Kasper for Ward vs. Watford for no reason but to end his consecutive run of appearances in his last season? 
 

Guess he realised later it was a stupid error and they made up. His performance yesterday was superb. 

Edited 23 January by lcfc_forever

[Chelmofox]

14 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Kasper was pretty shit towards the end and we needed to move on imo.

 

 

Moving on to Danny Ward was the mistake. 

The season we came 8th, the majority of posters on here were complaining how sh1t Kasper was, how he was terrible at corners and his distribution was rubbishetc etc. Most wanted him gone. 

 

The mistake, as you say, was not going and finding a proper keeper to replace him. I remember when the initial news broke and it was said he could go when a suitable replacement was found. Never happened.

[Soar Fox]

6 minutes ago, lcfc_forever said:

It was - reported at the time they fell out, and some players weren’t liking Kasper’s high demands on them. Remember when he dropped Kasper for Ward vs. Watford for no reason but to end his consecutive run of appearances in his last season? 
 

Guess he realised later it was a stupid error and they made up. His performance yesterday was superb. 

That worked out well for them the following season. 

[Bilo]

The first mistake was letting Schmeichel go in the summer without replacing him. The second was not bringing in Keylor Navas, when he was available and willing to come, after three months of having the first mistake brutally exposed.

[lcfc_forever]

2 minutes ago, Soar Fox said:

That worked out well for them the following season. 

Exactly! 

[J. James]

Ifs, buts and maybe's, players move on, retire and are sold, the problem wasn't Kasper going, (although l remember thinking at the time that it felt pivotal), the problem was as it is now - the leadership and mismanagement of the club, in particular the lack of recruitment of quality and ridiculously long contracts on high wages for mediocrity.

 

I also agree with @Soar Fox, had this been on Rodgers, Kasper probably wouldn't have gone to Celtic, but who knows.

 

We needed leaders during that relegation season, we had none.

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

100%. It’s probably the one transfer you could pin a lot of the decline on. Another colossal decision the club got wrong. He was that important I think it was a strategic decision gone wrong. We would have stayed up easily if he had stayed. We may have even stayed up if we had replaced him - but we didn’t either. Beyond belief.

 

I should imagine the decision to not replace him was driven by saving on a wage and a fee and thinking Ward will be ok. Goalkeepers have a foundational role in the team, and having a strong one often is difference between being an ok team and a good team. My personal view on Ward is that he has got ability in him, but he has no bottle or temperament and therefore can’t handle PL games. He’s often perfectly ok against the likes of Walsall and smaller sides.
 

That people within the club did not grasp what he brought to the club in terms of leadership as well is baffling. We’ve really struggled with leadership ever since.

 

I’d love to know if getting rid of him was partly motivated by how strong a character he was. Maybe the likes of Rudkin etc didn’t like that, particularly if Kasper may have been challenging their decisions? Don’t know, but you could see it.

Edited 23 January by Wasyls Pec Deck

[coolhandfox]

Moving him on was the right decision he was the 3rd highest paid keeper in the league but wasn't performing to that level.

 

The issue was he's replacement.

 

We have done the opposite with Vardy and keep him to long.

 

Between the 2 of them they were costing 15m per annum.

 

 

[shailen]

A keeper like Kasper saves you 5-10 points a season whereas a keeper like Ward costs you 5-10 points a season.

 

No doubt in my mind had Kasper stayed that season we'd be comfortably mid table and our squad quality would be much much better.

[davieG]

I suspect that Rodgers ego clashed with Kasper's who we know was all very opinionated and Rodgers couldn't cope with it so one had to go Rudkin chose Kasper.

[Bert]

He’s a massive loss and I have no doubt he would’ve kept us up. Anyone saying differently is simply doing so to go against the grain. 

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

6 minutes ago, davieG said:

I suspect that Rodgers ego clashed with Kasper's who we know was all very opinionated and Rodgers couldn't cope with it so one had to go Rudkin chose Kasper.

Aye think a lot of people thought that but they’re together at Celtic so can’t be the case.