Marti Cifuentes appointed new manager

[moore_94]

27 minutes ago, TJB-fox said:

Just me playing devils advocate but has anyone seen enough from him to suggest he’ll be a 40mil pound player?

I definitely think he could be in the future

 

He is very well rounded for a centre back; good in the air, decent pace, and very comfortable on the ball

 

There is a reason why big clubs have been after for him ages and why Prem clubs were after him in the summer

 

Incredibly disappointing if he doesn't get given another go this season and it will serve the club right when they have to sell him for a pittance next summer

[Paninistickers]

On 10/10/2025 at 20:08, Ric Flair said:

We're at risk of failing to utilise a massively valuable future asset in Nelson, thats the bottom line. Even putting his obvious skill set aside, where he's got everything you'd want out of a modern defender in a possession based team, it's an illogical decision.

 

Another strong season at this level in a promotion chasing team and there's a high likelihood he signs a new deal and we've protected a £30-40m valued player. Not doing so, whilst persevering with two defenders with no future at a higher level, just seems all round poor thinking. There's a growing chance that Nelson leaves here on the cheap, as he won't want to commit his long term future here and yet we've rejected bids last summer from Premier League clubs. Such a strange impasse.

That's not the manager's brief though,.it would seem. It looks like he's been told promotion at all/any cost/s.

 

And it's really difficult, when given that order,.to do away with a central defensive partnership that won 99 points two years ago. 

 

Personally, what little I've seen of Nelson, he gave me very similar vibes to John Stones. But, this is one where we have to trust a competent, professional manager knows and sees more than we do 

 

 

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, Paninistickers said:

That's not the manager's brief though,.it would seem. It looks like he's been told promotion at all/any cost/s.

 

And it's really difficult, when given that order,.to do away with a central defensive partnership that won 99 points two years ago. 

 

Personally, what little I've seen of Nelson, he gave me very similar vibes to John Stones. But, this is one where we have to trust a competent, professional manager knows and sees more than we do 

 

 

97 points for what it is worth. But honestly that flattered us. We lost 11 games. Teams like Bristol City, Plymouth and Millwall beat us quite easily by completely bypassing our defence. Same move over and over again. They really weren’t all that. And they (particularly Vestergaard being older) are two years old than then. 

[Gamble92]

5 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

97 points for what it is worth. But honestly that flattered us. We lost 11 games. Teams like Bristol City, Plymouth and Millwall beat us quite easily by completely bypassing our defence. Same move over and over again. They really weren’t all that. And they (particularly Vestergaard being older) are two years old than then. 

The squad should have done much better than that points total. 

[LCFCJohn]

2 minutes ago, Gamble92 said:

The squad should have done much better than that points total. 

Yep. I think people get carried away by how good we actually were. We were good. But the great sides at this level break 100 points like Nige’s side of 13/14.

 

And what was particularly good came from our wingers and KDH. Ricardo and Winks as well. I was not impressed by our defence at the time and still aren’t. 

[Gamble92]

1 minute ago, LCFCJohn said:

Yep. I think people get carried away by how good we actually were. We were good. But the great sides at this level break 100 points like Nige’s side of 13/14.

 

And what was particularly good came from our wingers and KDH. Ricardo and Winks as well. I was not impressed by our defence at the time and still aren’t. 

He made a big squad that was far too good for that level feel much smaller than it was and by the end his one dimensional philosophy was found out.

 

All the games we won towards the end had naff all to do with how he wanted to play. 

[Paninistickers]

5 minutes ago, Gamble92 said:

The squad should have done much better than that points total. 

Agree. Most of us felt Enzo got us promoted but made heavy weather of it, putting philosophy ahead of pragmatism at the business end of the season. A few lessons learned in winning run in games  1-0 from Claudio would've helped 

 

 

[Jobyfox]

12 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

97 points for what it is worth. But honestly that flattered us. We lost 11 games. Teams like Bristol City, Plymouth and Millwall beat us quite easily by completely bypassing our defence. Same move over and over again. They really weren’t all that. And they (particularly Vestergaard being older) are two years old than then. 

I really don’t think that Vestergaard at 33 is that much worse than Vestergaard at 31. It’s not like he’s reliant on his pace. 
 

The reason this defence is ok at this level is that the team dominates possession. It plays into the hands of the likes of JV and Faes who are both quite good on the ball, but can be defensively suspect. We conceded the fewest goals of anyone in 23/24 and we have started ok in that respect this time around. 
 

I stated earlier in this thread that (in my opinion) if we struggle this season it won’t be because of the defence, but our lack of creativity and the outlet provided by a decent striker 

[whoareyaaa]

Probahly be starting Dec/Jan can see Faes or Okoli going in Jan

[MPH]

4 hours ago, moore_94 said:

I definitely think he could be in the future

 

He is very well rounded for a centre back; good in the air, decent pace, and very comfortable on the ball

 

There is a reason why big clubs have been after for him ages and why Prem clubs were after him in the summer

 

Incredibly disappointing if he doesn't get given another go this season and it will serve the club right when they have to sell him for a pittance next summer

 

honestly, I think we were expecting another one of our defenders to leave and him be involved in the match squad a bit more..

 

 

[Fox on the Rox]

35 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

honestly, I think we were expecting another one of our defenders to leave and him be involved in the match squad a bit more..

 

 

I think that was still the hope deep into the window but, it did become apparent that wasn't going to happen and at that point he should have been let out on loan elsewhere in the Championship. There would've been plenty of clubs delighted to get him and play him every week. 

 

Yes, it would've been a risk. He could be helping a rival to succeed, we could get injuries or suspensions at CB but we're seeing the biggest risk of all coming to fruition - squandering a season of his development is robbing us of his value and, even more importantly, how is he going be feeling about the club now? Persuading him to sign a new contract is going to be an massively uphill struggle.

[LCFCJohn]

10 hours ago, Jobyfox said:

I really don’t think that Vestergaard at 33 is that much worse than Vestergaard at 31. It’s not like he’s reliant on his pace. 
 

The reason this defence is ok at this level is that the team dominates possession. It plays into the hands of the likes of JV and Faes who are both quite good on the ball, but can be defensively suspect. We conceded the fewest goals of anyone in 23/24 and we have started ok in that respect this time around. 
 

I stated earlier in this thread that (in my opinion) if we struggle this season it won’t be because of the defence, but our lack of creativity and the outlet provided by a decent striker 

I just meant in a not getting younger and more valuable way. 
 

We might have conceded the least goals on 23/24 but it was still 41, nearly a goal a game. It wasn’t a high bar with the next best at 43. Last season, Burnley (16), Leeds (30) and Sheffield United (36) all bettered this. Team like Watford (14th) and Hull (21st) only conceded 44. This season I think we are 4th in this metric. Burnley and Leeds also got to 100 points last season so if we had had the same season we had 2 years ago, last season, we wouldn’t have even got promoted. And we are decent at the other end (Vardy, KDH, Fatawu and Mavididi), so it was the defence that was our weakest area.

 

I do agree with you about scoring goals this season and this is the concern. We have the same defence as as above, they aren’t these amazing defenders many make them out to be (I don’t include you in that as you haven’t said that), and we are a lot weaker at the other end. Whilst Faes and Vestergaard have been making many errors leading to goals conceded. It’s not surprise that the metrics show we are in a higher position than we probably should be which is a concern going into the rest of the season. 
 

Hopefully James is filling the KDH void. Fatawu seems to have added goals but we are missing the goals coming from the left wing as Mavididi has stated off poor and obviously don’t have a striker who can score. 

[Ric Flair]

13 hours ago, TJB-fox said:

Just me playing devils advocate but has anyone seen enough from him to suggest he’ll be a 40mil pound player?

I base this on the likelihood that another strong season for a promotion chasing club with his profile and skill set and the fee rockets. Look at what Ben White went for after a year at Leeds in the Championship on loan from Brighton.

[sm1]

Considering his previous manager thought he was PL standard and now Nelson can't even get on the bench for us, something has gone wrong. There's two things Marti seems to have made his mind up on pretty early, firstly Hamza is a RB not a CM, and secondly Nelson isn't good enough. Initially he promoted Okoli over him and then Faes. Both have been pretty ordinary as has Vesty, but Nelson still can't get on the bench.

[Muzzy_no7]

5 minutes ago, sm1 said:

Considering his previous manager thought he was PL standard and now Nelson can't even get on the bench for us, something has gone wrong. There's two things Marti seems to have made his mind up on pretty early, firstly Hamza is a RB not a CM, and secondly Nelson isn't good enough. Initially he promoted Okoli over him and then Faes. Both have been pretty ordinary as has Vesty, but Nelson still can't get on the bench.

Fully understand Hamza being used RB and LB as he’s a proper dipstick with the ball at his feet.

 

Nelson not featuring is really odd, though. 

[Jobyfox]

5 hours ago, LCFCJohn said:

I just meant in a not getting younger and more valuable way. 
 

We might have conceded the least goals on 23/24 but it was still 41, nearly a goal a game. It wasn’t a high bar with the next best at 43. Last season, Burnley (16), Leeds (30) and Sheffield United (36) all bettered this. Team like Watford (14th) and Hull (21st) only conceded 44. This season I think we are 4th in this metric. Burnley and Leeds also got to 100 points last season so if we had had the same season we had 2 years ago, last season, we wouldn’t have even got promoted. And we are decent at the other end (Vardy, KDH, Fatawu and Mavididi), so it was the defence that was our weakest area.

 

I do agree with you about scoring goals this season and this is the concern. We have the same defence as as above, they aren’t these amazing defenders many make them out to be (I don’t include you in that as you haven’t said that), and we are a lot weaker at the other end. Whilst Faes and Vestergaard have been making many errors leading to goals conceded. It’s not surprise that the metrics show we are in a higher position than we probably should be which is a concern going into the rest of the season. 
 

Hopefully James is filling the KDH void. Fatawu seems to have added goals but we are missing the goals coming from the left wing as Mavididi has stated off poor and obviously don’t have a striker who can score. 

In reality I’m in agreement with most of what you’re saying.

 

I think in 23/24 our squad was overrated because it was so expensively put together and cost us so much in wages. The reality is that expensive players doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, which is something LCFC have found out to our cost. If that season had gone on another month we probably wouldn’t have got promoted as our form collapsed a bit towards the end. 
 

My optimism this season is less informed by 23/24, but more by the fact that I don’t think that the Championship has the quality of 24/25 or event 23/24. We simply need to be better than the rest. 
 

On this latter test I think our defence is good enough, our midfield is better than most, but up front we are behind many of our competitors. The key to this season is someone stepping up or creating a balance within the team to mitigate this lack of quality. I highly doubt whether we play Ben Nelson and Caleb Okoli or Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard is going to be the pivotal factor

[JimJams]

7 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I base this on the likelihood that another strong season for a promotion chasing club with his profile and skill set and the fee rockets. Look at what Ben White went for after a year at Leeds in the Championship on loan from Brighton.

He played a full premier league season for Brighton after the Leeds loan tbf.

[FoxinNotts]

I Like him. He's clearly up for it, and has made sacrifices to be our manger, if you believe what you read.

He lives at the training ground, whilst his family are still based in Barcelona.

Really hope he succeeds here

 

 

[Dahnsouff]

He is doing fine, we are clearly not firing on all cylinders, and he has not started off in a way some would ideally like.
As somebody mentioned, if it was made clear he should achieve promotion by the board (an error in my book), then he was never going to play that many emerging talents (like Nelson, but he should have gone on loan until January) and I suppose it also shows how highly thought of Monga is.

Agree that we will be at least one defender lighter after the Winter Window.

[Noahfence]

I looking forward to finally seeing the attacking non stop football

[Fox on the Rox]

1 hour ago, Dahnsouff said:

Agree that we will be at least one defender lighter after the Winter Window.

Hopefully, for his sake, it's Nelson. 

[Dahnsouff]

26 minutes ago, Fox on the Rox said:

Hopefully, for his sake, it's Nelson. 

I hope someone else goes and he plays! Why the hell would anyone want anything else!?!?!!

[LCFCJohn]

8 hours ago, Dahnsouff said:

I hope someone else goes and he plays! Why the hell would anyone want anything else!?!?!!

It’s not about not wanting that to happen. It’s about the realism of the situation and the longer it goes on, it could impact on future youngster committing.

 

For me, the reason I want Nelson now to move on is for his own sake. The fact so many of our fans are banging on about the Huddersfield game tells me already that if he was brought into the first team, the minute he makes a mistake (the kind Faes and Vestergaard make weekly), he will not be given anywhere near the licence to do so without criticism that those two get and will be piled on by a large proportion of our fanbase. 

 

If our fans supported him, I’d say play him. But it’s only going to end badly so please just move him on. 

[Dahnsouff]

49 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

It’s not about not wanting that to happen. It’s about the realism of the situation and the longer it goes on, it could impact on future youngster committing.

 

For me, the reason I want Nelson now to move on is for his own sake. The fact so many of our fans are banging on about the Huddersfield game tells me already that if he was brought into the first team, the minute he makes a mistake (the kind Faes and Vestergaard make weekly), he will not be given anywhere near the licence to do so without criticism that those two get and will be piled on by a large proportion of our fanbase. 

 

If our fans supported him, I’d say play him. But it’s only going to end badly so please just move him on. 

This is all based of assumption about what you feel is appropriate for a young promising CB, one who had had some experience, albeit at a club with lower expectations.

 

Young CB's do typically emerge later than other outfield players, there are exceptions of course. 

 

I'd would say it is also coloured by the fact we have many scars caused by current administration, so the default position is of an understandable distrust of them. 

 

Is he starts from January, then he will be on schedule, his injury having caused a minor delay. 

 

This is what I hope, and I would warrant this is what Ben would prefer. 

[LCFCJohn]

13 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

This is all based of assumption about what you feel is appropriate for a young promising CB, one who had had some experience, albeit at a club with lower expectations.

 

Young CB's do typically emerge later than other outfield players, there are exceptions of course. 

 

I'd would say it is also coloured by the fact we have many scars caused by current administration, so the default position is of an understandable distrust of them. 

 

Is he starts from January, then he will be on schedule, his injury having caused a minor delay. 

 

This is what I hope, and I would warrant this is what Ben would prefer. 

I think personally Ben would have preferred to be trusted and get the season under his belt.

 

And you say I’m making assumptions. Isn’t thinking he will start from January an even wilder one on your part? Where is the sign he will be involved? He isn’t even making the bench!

 

But what about the following?

 

Should we go up, what will we do having no centre backs capable at PL level? We will have to buy 2 before thinking about anything else.

 

You didn’t address the point about the fans. You’re honestly telling me people won’t be on his back the second he makes a mistake? The kids confidence will be crushed.

 

His contract situation. Let’s say your assumption (that’s what it is), that Ben is just find with being left out the squad whilst Faes and Vestergaard stink the place out, his contract still doesn’t have long left and you’re honestly telling me you think he’ll turn down other offers to stay here with no guarantees of first team football? I don’t.