Ben Nelson

[volpeazzurro]

14 hours ago, Fox on the Rox said:

Interesting theory. I used the same terminology about how we hold young players to ransom on the Development Squads thread.

 

Surely he's a different kettle of fish though? He has enough experience and a high enough profile outside the club that he won't have trouble finding suitors if he does choose to run his contract down. Currently he's a depreciating asset but all the club needs to do is play him and he will shoot up in value. Even if he's not great, clubs have seen what he can do and at least some will have faith they can get the best out of him even if we can't.

 

There were strong rumours of a PL bid late in the window though, so if it is a stand off it's going to be a case of who blinks first. If I were him, I wouldn't be giving in, the club have given him no reason to, he needs out for the sake of his career.

I don’t think you could blame any young player for wanting to get out of this shambles of a situation Top has created. The future of the club itself is up in the air due to his incompetence.

Football is a short career and as well as money, a young player either wants a club that is showing credible ambition or at least one with some stability and goal that he can aim for. If we’re not careful we’re very soon just going to have our ranks filled with a bunch of demotivated overpaid players that nobody else would in their right minds possibly want. It’s already happening!

[Tielemans63]

In my opinion, it's pretty simple. We know how bad Faes is because we've had to endure watching him for several years, we don't yet know how good Nelson can be. To persist with Wout over Ben is criminal.

[Ric Flair]

There's got to be more than meets the eye here, something doesn't add up.

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

There's got to be more than meets the eye here, something doesn't add up.

I reckon he has made it clear he won’t re-sign. He was involved before the close of the window and apparently there were bids from bigger clubs turned down so he may well have made his intentions to leave clear. 
 

Will be interesting to see what happens in January.

[Noahfence]

Saying this whilst banishing him from the squad is a bit confusing I must say!

[Ric Flair]

2 minutes ago, Noahfence said:

Saying this whilst banishing him from the squad is a bit confusing I must say!

So if he is showing such a high standard in training all the while, whilst Faes and our other defenders are making catastrophic mistakes most games then the conclusion is Marti, you're either economical with the truth or obtuse for failing to pick him.

[Noahfence]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

So if he is showing such a high standard in training all the while, whilst Faes and our other defenders are making catastrophic mistakes most games then the conclusion is Marti, you're either economical with the truth or obtuse for failing to pick him.

Not entirely sure how old the quote is but how can you say you want him to have minutes and improve whilst dropping him from the squad for the last however many weeks. 
 

Very bizarre 

[dmayne7]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

So if he is showing such a high standard in training all the while, whilst Faes and our other defenders are making catastrophic mistakes most games then the conclusion is Marti, you're either economical with the truth or obtuse for failing to pick him.

There's definitely something more at play as you have alluded to. You can see how pally Faes and Vestergaard are so amongst others, they are probably kicking up an almighty stink if they don't play. 

 

People can call it out as weak management (not unfairly so) but when you've got 4/5 players who are like that, and are your 'experienced' pro's it probably creates a total mess so I forsee it being a real challenge how to manage. As has also been alluded to, wouldn't surprise me if the directive is that these guys need to be playing regularly so we have a chance of selling them for some money (though we also know that we'll likely turn down reasonable offers because we're morons)

[moore_94]

Can’t wait to see Faes starting again on Saturday

[Lambert09]

19 minutes ago, Noahfence said:

Not entirely sure how old the quote is but how can you say you want him to have minutes and improve whilst dropping him from the squad for the last however many weeks. 
 

Very bizarre 

Well if he doesn’t rate him he’s not going to come out and say that to the media. Just more standard soundbites that mean nothing. 
 

One thing is for sure, the more pressure that lands on him, the less likely he is to give a youngster a chance.  We won’t see Nelson while Marti is at the club until we hit the fa cup and by then I’d imagine Nelson will be signing for another club for a modest fee and rightfully so 

[Noahfence]

6 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Can’t wait to see Faes starting again on Saturday

Does seem like as long as Faes & Vestergaard are here they have to start. He doesn’t want to upset the “big” personalities 

[Fox92]

45 minutes ago, Noahfence said:

Does seem like as long as Faes & Vestergaard are here they have to start. He doesn’t want to upset the “big” personalities 

Tbf Faes didn't start the season, Okoli did. But he looked as bad, if not worse.

 

We've needed new centre backs for ages. A decent season last time in the Championship totally swung some people again. I can't even bring myself to chant either of their name.

[dmayne7]

8 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

Tbf Faes didn't start the season, Okoli did. But he looked as bad, if not worse.

 

We've needed new centre backs for ages. A decent season last time in the Championship totally swung some people again. I can't even bring myself to chant either of their name.

Be definitely didn't look as bad. He wasn't great and he's also very unpredictable like Faes. But to fair to him, that unpredictability isn't because he's trying to be a hero like Faes and so is often far less destructive. He's also got the capability to dominate attackers, something Faes does have and most importantly, he loves to defend.

 

Impossible player to predict how much potential he has but he's absolutely worth giving a run of games.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

1 hour ago, Noahfence said:

Saying this whilst banishing him from the squad is a bit confusing I must say!

Just waffle unfortunately. You don't rot youth prospects in the reserves if you're a big believer in them.

[MPH]

Is it really bad to  want one of your CBs to get injured? 

[Donwebbio]

There are external forces at play here, there must be. Either there is a contract offer on the table that he isn't signing, or there is some conflict between agent and club regarding his development. My guess would be the former considering length of contract he has left.

 

There is a desperate need for fresh ideas and personnel at the back. We have had the same back 3 (Ricardo gets a pass) we have had for 3 years and has failed repeatedly for different managers. We look so vulnerable to the counter-attack, a major problem when we are expected to dominate the ball and attack high.

 

Edited 23 October 2025 by Donwebbio

[Fox92]

17 minutes ago, dmayne7 said:

Be definitely didn't look as bad. He wasn't great and he's also very unpredictable like Faes. But to fair to him, that unpredictability isn't because he's trying to be a hero like Faes and so is often far less destructive. He's also got the capability to dominate attackers, something Faes does have and most importantly, he loves to defend.

 

Impossible player to predict how much potential he has but he's absolutely worth giving a run of games.

Can't agree as I think he looks an absolute bomb scare. Shame we are stuck with Faes and Vestergaard because the manager just doesn't want to drop them and/or give Nelson a go.

[Noahfence]

23 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Just waffle unfortunately. You don't rot youth prospects in the reserves if you're a big believer in them.

I’m not even saying he’ll solve all our problems but I’d just rather persist with someone like him. 
 

Real shame if Marti just doesn’t rate him 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

5 minutes ago, Noahfence said:

I’m not even saying he’ll solve all our problems but I’d just rather persist with someone like him. 
 

Real shame if Marti just doesn’t rate him 

Nelson's ceiling for improvement and resale value are both infinitely higher than Faes and Vestegaard's. Any sane Leicester fan would take a slight (possibly nill) increase in mistakes at the back for the chance for him to develop.

[john ridley]

It'll be Marti's stubbornness over things like this which will get him the sack .Nelson  played well last season in a poor Oxford side ,where as our 2 clowns are playing poorly every week in what should be a superior side .If he doesn't change we're ****ed ,thanks Top ,Rudkin. 

[Ric Flair]

33 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Nelson's ceiling for improvement and resale value are both infinitely higher than Faes and Vestegaard's. Any sane Leicester fan would take a slight (possibly nill) increase in mistakes at the back for the chance for him to develop.

We simply must go up because if we don't whatever sellable asset we'll have will go. Yet, we won't play such sellable assets because we can't afford to risk it with promotion. That's some of the nonsense I've read this week. 

 

We are ran absolutely horrendous on and off the field. 

[Dan]

Another blagger manager.

[Dan]

4 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

We simply must go up because if we don't whatever sellable asset we'll have will go. Yet, we won't play such sellable assets because we can't afford to risk it with promotion. That's some of the nonsense I've read this week. 

 

We are ran absolutely horrendous on and off the field. 

We will go down again next season.

[Stormfox]

Rudkin needs to grow a pair and tell Marti he's going on loan in January if he isn't going to play him (clearly he isn't and Souttar will be above him when he returns) ... Hierarchy clearly thought he would be played otherwise they would have let him go on one of the loan offers they had and were/are too weak to tell Marti. 

His agents are probably continuing to keep an interest in him up for loan or sale. He won't get a loan in his last year so they need to get him out in Jan, sell him in the summer or make him sit in the stands and let him walk for compensation only. I'm not sure why he would sign another contract unless he was actually playing most games. 

[dmayne7]

1 hour ago, Fox92 said:

Can't agree as I think he looks an absolute bomb scare. Shame we are stuck with Faes and Vestergaard because the manager just doesn't want to drop them and/or give Nelson a go.

Totally understand why you'd have that view for the exact reason I stated. But he still shows a willingness to defend and get stuck in far beyond the other 2. Other worth saying that this was a lad who was one of the most highly coveted young centre backs in Europe when he first game through so there's something there. As I say, no idea what his potential really is but we know Faes and Vestergaard aren't good enough for the next level and both have generally been pretty poor this season, so not got anything to lose and only something to gain by playing Okoli as well.