Marti Cifuentes appointed new manager

[Phenom]

My issue is that we don’t seem to have a defined style of play. We don’t play possession-based football, we don’t counter, we don’t press. Just not sure what his identity is.

 

He seems like a great guy and the results haven’t been shambolic but he has to have the team play better and make some changes. 

[LCFCJohn]

I’m not too concerned with the results in isolation.

 

Away at a West Brom who have had a bright start and will likely be up there, not bad.

 

Draw with a settled Coventry side had been free scoring. Ok, you’d hope to win at home but keeping them quiet was a positive.

 

Draw away at Oxford playing 3/4 of the match with 10 men was not a disaster.

 

3 in a row becomes disappointing. That said, we lost too many games last time under Maresca. We seem to have more fight in us now and draws are important to keep the points total ticking as long as they also don’t become a habit over winning.

 

Performances are poor though. We don’t look a good side. I just want to see some energy and pace. Pressing when out of possession, being quicker when on the ball. Too many who slow play down like Ayew and even Winks. Thomas constantly playing backwards. 
 

There’s also a huge lack of planning beyond the now.

 

Soumare, Winks, Ayew, Ricardo, James (obviously has a buy purchase but for now) - all out of contract next summer

Stolarcryk, Faes, Vestergaaard - same in 2027

 

Half the outfield players due at this point to be leaving next summer. 3 more of the 11 next summer. Only leave Thomas who is a weak link, and Fatawu and Mavididi. 
 

Obviously it’ll be great if we can see the back of a number of them but it just shows what a mess we are.

[SafewayFox]

He seems to invert more like Cooper than Enzo.

 

I love Ricky P but way too much was asked of him last night and was clearly why Mason swapped Johnston and Lling-Junior at HT.

 

I actually miss Wilf’s runs to the by lines as we at least had an obvious play to break teams down.

 

Now it’s switch to Stephy or Abdul and just hope.

[Claudio Fannieri]

8 hours ago, SafewayFox said:

I’ve seen this a few times now, what about the first half was actually that good?

 

We kept the ball a bit better than other games?

 

We had one shot on target all game. We could have carried on until Super Sunday and barely troubled their keeper.

Our patterns of play were good in the first half, we beat their press a lot and got in some decent positions however our final end product lacked quality or was a poor decision. 1st half was our most cohesive performance in possession so far this season, however we failed to capitalise by creating or taking enough chances, however 2nd half we looked disjointed and the subs actually made us worse  and less cohesive. 
 

I see people saying Soumare was awful, he wasn’t he played well, I think Bouba has been a signing that has just not worked out and would question whether his style is suited to the cut and thrust of the game in England but last night he played well, he worked hard out of possession made tackles and recoveries and on the ball seemed to carry it more and be more progressive in his passing. Ayew continually gets slated and yes he has limitations but it’s as clear as day currently he is head and shoulders above Daka and Carranza on last nights showing. 
 

We are currently 3rd in the league and had lots of upheaval in the summer, it is far from perfect and there is a lot of room for improvement but for fans to be calling the manager out and saying lots of red flags, is a lot of bed wetting and over reaction. 
 

Faes carries a large weight of blame, first 10 minutes we were well on top and dominating the game and then he decided to throw in a ‘tackle’ that you would see at U5/U6 level and they take the lead, that goal changed the whole context of the game, they could sit back and defend, deny our attacking players space, break up play with niggly fouls, they set up in the same way Preston did. 
 

What we did see at least is a Foxes Never Quit attitude and we somehow managed to salvage a draw. 
 

As I have said it’s far from perfect under Cifuentes and yes he has got some things wrong, I would like to see Aluko, Page and Nelson all at least on the bench but I don’t see these lads day in day out he does. 

[SafewayFox]

7 minutes ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

Our patterns of play were good in the first half, we beat their press a lot and got in some decent positions however our final end product lacked quality or was a poor decision. 1st half was our most cohesive performance in possession so far this season, however we failed to capitalise by creating or taking enough chances, however 2nd half we looked disjointed and the subs actually made us worse  and less cohesive. 
 

I see people saying Soumare was awful, he wasn’t he played well, I think Bouba has been a signing that has just not worked out and would question whether his style is suited to the cut and thrust of the game in England but last night he played well, he worked hard out of possession made tackles and recoveries and on the ball seemed to carry it more and be more progressive in his passing. Ayew continually gets slated and yes he has limitations but it’s as clear as day currently he is head and shoulders above Daka and Carranza on last nights showing. 
 

We are currently 3rd in the league and had lots of upheaval in the summer, it is far from perfect and there is a lot of room for improvement but for fans to be calling the manager out and saying lots of red flags, is a lot of bed wetting and over reaction. 
 

Faes carries a large weight of blame, first 10 minutes we were well on top and dominating the game and then he decided to throw in a ‘tackle’ that you would see at U5/U6 level and they take the lead, that goal changed the whole context of the game, they could sit back and defend, deny our attacking players space, break up play with niggly fouls, they set up in the same way Preston did. 
 

What we did see at least is a Foxes Never Quit attitude and we somehow managed to salvage a draw. 
 

As I have said it’s far from perfect under Cifuentes and yes he has got some things wrong, I would like to see Aluko, Page and Nelson all at least on the bench but I don’t see these lads day in day out he does. 

This is a half truth in my eyes.

 

We looked tidy in positions of the pitch that we couldn’t hurt them.

 

Enzo always spoke about boxes and overloads, we don’t commit enough bodies in the final third which is compounding by Ayew being Ayew.

 

We were toothless all match and had one shot on target which was a tame header from Jannik.

 

 

Edited 27 September 2025 by SafewayFox

[Richmondfox]

24 minutes ago, SafewayFox said:

This is a half truth in my eyes.

 

We looked tidy in positions of the pitch that we couldn’t hurt them.

 

Enzo always spoke about boxes and overloads, we don’t commit enough bodies in the final third which is compounding by Ayew being Ayew.

 

We were toothless all match and had one shot on target which was a tame header from Jannik.

 

 

I’m not convinced by Marti or the football at all.  The same mistakes are being played out in real time as the last two managers but somehow even less attacking.  

 

Enzo had a style of play and everyone had a role. It feels like he’s a substitute teacher or a Sunday dad and he’s letting them play how they want so they like him. 

I’m not sure that the manager has an actual style of play or tactics. 
 

It starts with the slow walking football from JV.  He ignores the quick pass to the unmarked wingers or Winks and somehow ends up being pressed and passing back only for the keeper to boot it out and we lose possession. 

 

I think VK made the only overlap but Fatawu was in greedy mode trying to skin 3 players as he was expected to do everything on his own all game. 

 

Thomas is useless and provides little other than a pass back without even trying to pass to Mavadidi, then he throws his arms in the air asking for the ball again. 
 

Soumare made a few turns in the first half and passed forwards but then slipped back into his no look pass backwards and sideways for the rest of the game. 

Ayew stinks out any attack and drifts into areas he doesn’t need to. 

 

The manager hasn’t improved any players, the only thing he has done is given a wonder kid a chance. The players are obsessed with passing constantly in congested areas and then standing back to watch our wingers do everything yet produce little.

[Trav Le Bleu]

33 minutes ago, Richmondfox said:

I’m not convinced by Marti or the football at all.  The same mistakes are being played out in real time as the last two managers but somehow even less attacking.  

Are you saying he's worse than RVN?

 

[Claudio Fannieri]

1 hour ago, SafewayFox said:

This is a half truth in my eyes.

 

We looked tidy in positions of the pitch that we couldn’t hurt them.

 

Enzo always spoke about boxes and overloads, we don’t commit enough bodies in the final third which is compounding by Ayew being Ayew.

 

We were toothless all match and had one shot on target which was a tame header from Jannik.

 

 

You have actually highlighted the bit where I said we got in good areas then lacked quality in end product and decision making and then said it was a half truth and said the same thing in your own words 😳

[Richmondfox]

6 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Are you saying he's worse than RVN?

 

He is in the same category as Cooper and RVN, maybe even worse.  The mistakes have already been made and the evidence is there for all to see from previous season. He is making the same mistakes, playing these donkeys the same way with even less attacking tactics against weaker opposition. 
 

 

[Happy Fox]

If he fails to get us 3 wins from our next 4 games I think he will be sacked. He needs to seriously up his management game because tactically we are so far off it at the moment. Results wise we are ticking along but come the end of the day today we could easily find ourselves out of the playoffs and the pressure will be well and truly on. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

5 minutes ago, Happy Fox said:

If he fails to get us 3 wins from our next 4 games I think he will be sacked. He needs to seriously up his management game because tactically we are so far off it at the moment. Results wise we are ticking along but come the end of the day today we could easily find ourselves out of the playoffs and the pressure will be well and truly on. 

Mark needs to shut this place down.

[Happy Fox]

2 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Mark needs to shut this place down.

9 points from 12 available should be achievable: Against this opposition: Wrexham, Swansea , Portsmouth and Mauled by the Tigers FC 

 

anything less than 9 points I think Marti will be sacked.

 

[Sunbury Fox]

Defensively we look very vulnerable to counter attacks. Ricky is inverting as a right sided high 8 (the Ndidi role from Enzo’s time) in what appears to be a box midfield 4, with Winks and Soumaré as the base and James and Ricky at the top. In possession we are then left with only 3 defenders at the back, covering the whole width of the pitch, one of whom can’t even run. It’s hugely risky football and we’re not currently benefiting from the overloads in midfield in terms of creating chances as our ‘striker’ is dropping back to make it a midfield 5! Plus, as others have said, the wingers are receiving no support near them at all, so their only option is to beat 2 or 3 players on their own or lay it back. We have nobody underlapping or overlapping near them for the most part.

 

We better hope that Carranza and Ramsey come good or our lack of creativity and goal threat is really going to kill our chances of promotion.

Edited 27 September 2025 by Sunbury Fox

[funkyrobot]

23 minutes ago, Richmondfox said:

He is in the same category as Cooper and RVN, maybe even worse.  The mistakes have already been made and the evidence is there for all to see from previous season. He is making the same mistakes, playing these donkeys the same way with even less attacking tactics against weaker opposition. 
 

 

Omfg🤦🏻

[Fox92]

I wasn't convinced why we went after him and appointed him. Still not convinced after 7 games, don't think we've actually played well in a full game. I said prior to the season my biggest worry was scoring goals.

[Happy Fox]

With the players we have we should be doing much better, but I think our board will be getting twitchy if results don’t improve in our next 4 games.

 

we get 6 points from our next 4 games. 18 points in total from 12 games is not even playoff standard form. If the target is automatic promotion we need 9 points minimum, and with our squad we should be beating those teams quite comfortably, but anyway I like Marti I hope he can do the business, but the next 4 games are an acid test he needs to pass.

[lcfc sheff]

wingers need to be getting closer to the box,  need fullbacks (maybe stop the inverted fullback stuff??)  or centre mids (like Ndidi used to)  overlapping but we aren't getting that at the moment

[Jakemoore]

I’ve not liked a manager as much as Marti since Craig Shakespeare. I think I’m allowing that to take over a bit too much. Fact is, we haven’t played well for more than 45 minutes in a single game yet. 
 

The biggest positive I can draw so far is that we’re not losing games regularly. That will get us mid-table. But surely we want and should expect at least 6th. We all criticise this squad but when you analyse it against the other 23 sides, it’s in the top 6 comfortably. 
 

I like you Marti. But you need to start winning games now…

[Richmondfox]

36 minutes ago, funkyrobot said:

Omfg🤦🏻

I’m not wrong though?  He has a world of data and content to check yet he is playing them the same way and making the same mistakes.  His clean slate waffle at the start of the season is playing out exactly like we knew it would.  

 

Have any of our players improved? What is our style of play and what is working? Pass the ball to Monga or Fatawu and hope they skin 3 players? The Ayew set pieces and famous hold up play?

[Joe90]

Results speak! 2 wins from 6 games in a honking league is not great tbf, I’m not having  the  argument about he has inherited a shite squad although this is true it’s still the best in the league!!!  Poor start considering 

[filbertway]

Nothing like i expected so far. At this point I wonder if the anti youth policy comes from above.

 

Tactics are safe and team choices are safe, regardless of what managers say when they come in.

 

Still early, no real judgements from me till Christmas. Just a comment on the early signs.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Burn it all to the ground 

[kenny]

3 hours ago, SafewayFox said:

He seems to invert more like Cooper than Enzo.

 

I love Ricky P but way too much was asked of him last night and was clearly why Mason swapped Johnston and Lling-Junior at HT.

 

I actually miss Wilf’s runs to the by lines as we at least had an obvious play to break teams down.

 

Now it’s switch to Stephy or Abdul and just hope.

There is an argument to start Ricky p on the bench. If he starts then he can't be a right back and an 8.

 

He could be one of our top scorers coming off the bench when the game is stretched.

[FoxinNotts]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Are you saying he's worse than RVN?

 

Not possible 

[FoxinNotts]

He wins the next one against Wrexham, and he's had a good start to the season. Fact