Lack of leadership on the pitch

[Pliskin]

5 hours ago, EnderbyFox said:

Imagine we had someone with this attitude (and the temperament to back it up)

 

This post makes you sick…… this is Sunderland……. Whose best achievement in the last decade is a weird Netflix documentary, and look at us now? From premier league champions, to a million miles away from the likes of Sunderland in a decade. 
 

King power out. 

[Manwell Pablo]

8 minutes ago, winteriscoming said:

Will he though? 
If they thought so highly of him they’d of signed him. 
Apart one motm display against west brom in the championship where he blocked and tackled everyone he doesn’t offer anything either creative or attacking wise. 
1 decent game out of prob 20 starts isn’t enough. 
Baffles me why we gave him a contract extension. 

 

Yes, he has done so already. 

 

You don't need to win MOTM to put in a decent display, and he's not an attacking or creative player, not his role. 

 

Not as simple as that is it as we've clearly got plans for him and Wilder left Sheffield United.

 

Much bigger wastes of space in our squad over him. Rather get rid of Skipp any day of the week he really does offer nothing, just a poor man's Harry Winks, who we insist on playing over Harry Winks for some reason, 

[cityfanlee23]

There is a name on the free transfer list that is a proven leader in Josh Brownhill

At 29 he's not the ideal signing and doesn't have any sell-on value, but he is a proven leader as Burnley captain. 
 

 

Edit:
Initially I also said Victor Lindelof as he was captain of both United and Sweden, I knew he had a few injuries last season, but I didn't realise it was 21 games missed through 3 seperate injuries, I thought he was just overlooked. 
22 games missed in 23/24 too. Probably a miss.

Edited 14 August 2025 by cityfanlee23

[cruzFOX]

WTH is Andy King doing now that Van nostrils has gone? Surely he can help Marty with re-molding the culture in the team and setting high expectations. Or are they not listening to him. Guess he’s not imposing enough. We need Nige back in a footballing director role if he’s still got the steel.

[Fear Of The Fox]

The lack of any fight in the majority of these players is infuriating. Unfortunately most of them can't be sold even if you put them on Poundland's shelves, so the only solution is to start fining them. 2 weeks wages as a warning and let's see their response. 

[winteriscoming]

8 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Yes, he has done so already. 

 

You don't need to win MOTM to put in a decent display, and he's not an attacking or creative player, not his role. 

 

Not as simple as that is it as we've clearly got plans for him and Wilder left Sheffield United.

 

Much bigger wastes of space in our squad over him. Rather get rid of Skipp any day of the week he really does offer nothing, just a poor man's Harry Winks, who we insist on playing over Harry Winks for some reason, 

I’m not debating that Skipp is shit and yes there are other’s that we should get rid of but he’s not that good. 
What I’m saying is you can count on one hand the amount of decent displays Choudury has had since he’s been here. 
The argument that he can do a decent job in the championship is imo ridiculous. 

[Fear Of The Fox]

7 minutes ago, cruzFOX said:

WTH is Andy King doing now that Van nostrils has gone? Surely he can help Marty with re-molding the culture in the team and setting high expectations. Or are they not listening to him. Guess he’s not imposing enough. We need Nige back in a footballing director role if he’s still got the steel.

The board is hiring soft characters in all club positions because they know someone with a fiery attitude and work ethic will probably errupt in the dressing room against players like Soumare, Skipp, Faes, Justin, Daka to name a few. 

[Manwell Pablo]

5 hours ago, winteriscoming said:

I’m not debating that Skipp is shit and yes there are other’s that we should get rid of but he’s not that good. 
What I’m saying is you can count on one hand the amount of decent displays Choudury has had since he’s been here. 
The argument that he can do a decent job in the championship is imo ridiculous. 

 

I mean, keeping the reply short, if he was deemed to do a decent job in the Championship for Sheffield United, and was useful for us last time we went up, how is it ridiculous? 

 

I mean this isn't covering the fact he can and has covered numerous positions and he's not exactly the most expensive player on the books.

 

No he's not that good, think some idiot on here called me racist for saying as much,  sadly, neither are we in general at the moment. That's the real problem. Right now, he's the kind of player we need to retain, for now at least. 

[Iwebema]

I know its been said before, but it does need repeating. 

We have absolutely no idea how to recruit these type of players, no due diligence happens, we just sign whichever player is recommended to us by an agency.

The experienced players we sign seem to be stroppy man children who are just interested in picking up a wage.

Vestergaard

Winks

Soumare

Faes

Ayew

They all throw a hissy fit at the first sign of adversity and take 0 accountability (remind you of anyone 😅)

 

Its a crying shame that this crop of youngsters have this shower of shite as "role models" to look up to. The sooner we rid ourselves of these type of players the better.

[winteriscoming]

3 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

I mean, keeping the reply short, if he was deemed to do a decent job in the Championship for Sheffield United, and was useful for us last time we went up, how is it ridiculous? 

 

I mean this isn't covering the fact he can and has covered numerous positions and he's not exactly the most expensive player on the books.

 

No he's not that good, think some idiot on here called me racist for saying as much,  sadly, neither are we in general at the moment. That's the real problem. Right now, he's the kind of player we need to retain, for now at least. 

I’m not going to agree with you on this one.

I can kind of understand what you’re trying to say but just look at you what you’ve put. He’s not that good but in your opinion he’s the kind of player we need to retain. Really?? 
I’m not saying we’ll get a prime Keane or Vieria to replace him but there’s got to be better players out there available to us. 

 

[LCFCJohn]

6 hours ago, winteriscoming said:

I’m not going to agree with you on this one.

I can kind of understand what you’re trying to say but just look at you what you’ve put. He’s not that good but in your opinion he’s the kind of player we need to retain. Really?? 
I’m not saying we’ll get a prime Keane or Vieria to replace him but there’s got to be better players out there available to us. 

 

I’m not a fan of Choudhury really, I don’t like his off the field activities and he gets paid too much for his ability. If it was possible to move him on I would.

 

But looking with a balanced perfective, to say he’s not ‘decent’ at Championship level is hyperbolic. We have ambitions of going back up and we want players who are very good at this level. But it’s a big league with a variety of clubs at different levels and if you put him into many sides, your Stoke, Preston, Blackburn etc, he would likely be very good for them. So decent/average Championship player is what he is. Unfortunately, he has been given premier league wages by us. And that explains the Sheffield United point. They did really like him. But sensibly ran clubs will look and say, that’s too much for us to give in wages so we will find a more financially viable option.

[Manwell Pablo]

9 hours ago, winteriscoming said:

I’m not going to agree with you on this one.

I can kind of understand what you’re trying to say but just look at you what you’ve put. He’s not that good but in your opinion he’s the kind of player we need to retain. Really?? 
I’m not saying we’ll get a prime Keane or Vieria to replace him but there’s got to be better players out there available to us. 

 

 

Well yeah we aren't that good, it's all relative. And getting rid of the people I'd have out first, given we've got about 2 weeks, is the priority.

 

I mean it's all irrelevant as the Muppets we have in charge wont do right by the club anyway. It is largely a fruitless task sitting here discussing what is best for the club while we have people with a proven track record of not doing what is right for the club running it. 

[winteriscoming]

12 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Well yeah we aren't that good, it's all relative. And getting rid of the people I'd have out first, given we've got about 2 weeks, is the priority.

 

I mean it's all irrelevant as the Muppets we have in charge wont do right by the club anyway. It is largely a fruitless task sitting here discussing what is best for the club while we have people with a proven track record of not doing what is right for the club running it. 

Completely agree with where we were 4 or 5 seasons ago to where we are now is down to these clowns. 
Everything about them is reactive rather than proactive. 

[Manwell Pablo]

3 hours ago, LCFCJohn said:

I’m not a fan of Choudhury really, I don’t like his off the field activities and he gets paid too much for his ability. If it was possible to move him on I would.

 

But looking with a balanced perfective, to say he’s not ‘decent’ at Championship level is hyperbolic. We have ambitions of going back up and we want players who are very good at this level. But it’s a big league with a variety of clubs at different levels and if you put him into many sides, your Stoke, Preston, Blackburn etc, he would likely be very good for them. So decent/average Championship player is what he is. Unfortunately, he has been given premier league wages by us. And that explains the Sheffield United point. They did really like him. But sensibly ran clubs will look and say, that’s too much for us to give in wages so we will find a more financially viable option.

 

Sheffield United are not sensibly ran  

 

They've sacked a competent manager, They've shipped out three or four pretty solid players, fetched 22 odd million, and are trying to use AI to replace them for a pittance and that kind of approach is what leads to you getting smashed 4-1 at home by a team you beat 6-0 on aggerate over two legs a few months before. 

 

The one good thing about this league is we are not the only team in a mess. 

[LCFCJohn]

16 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Sheffield United are not sensibly ran  

 

They've sacked a competent manager, They've shipped out three or four pretty solid players, fetched 22 odd million, and are trying to use AI to replace them for a pittance and that kind of approach is what leads to you getting smashed 4-1 at home by a team you beat 6-0 on aggerate over two legs a few months before. 

 

The one good thing about this league is we are not the only team in a mess. 

Comparatively to us 

 

But seriously, I just meant in terms of slapping a massive contract down on a player who did a good job for them, but not worth the wages we are paying him. 
 

Obviously they may have made some dodgy decisions but they are not as stupid as those running our club!

[Manwell Pablo]

1 minute ago, LCFCJohn said:

Comparatively to us 

 

But seriously, I just meant in terms of slapping a massive contract down on a player who did a good job for them, but not worth the wages we are paying him. 
 

Obviously they may have made some dodgy decisions but they are not as stupid as those running our club!

 

I don't think Choudhurry is anything like one of our highest earners tbh, he's been bit part in the PL at best, and signed his new deal while we were in this league.....They were thinking about signing him and the wages didn't seem to be an issue and I don't think we were demanding a massive fee.

 

The reason they didn't sign him is because Wilder left they've bought in Rubben Selles and adopted this ethos of artificially analysed players for less than a million each, I don't think they looked at anyone they had loan last season on a perm basis. It could be finances but I would say that says more about their finances than Choudhurry being unaffordable to most promotion chasing Championship teams. 

 

Unless someone knows something I don't.

[Claudio Fannieri]

The problem is the culture at the club from top to bottom, rumours of it being run like a Sunday league team, players best mates with the owner so happy to undermine the manager whenever necessary, any leader who dares to question the players or raise standards, gets hung out to dry. 

we could sign 5 captains but in truth it would be window dressing until Top and Rudkin facilitate systemic change in culture and professionalism. 
 

50% of the squad don’t want to be here and the majority of the remaining players of any quality are all academy prospects with barely any experience, let alone being given added pressure of captaining this utter shit show. 
 

We have to get rid of the bad apples and the players who want out or gone stale, only then can we rebuild and change the culture, mentality and mindset of the club. 

 

[StonyFox]

The leadership comes from the top (pun intended). There's zero leadership from the owner, board, CEO, DoF and this filters through to the playing squad. Marti has a real job on his hands to make players care when the decision makers at the club don't.

 

It's not a surprise, as we've slowly been removing leaders/characters from the squad since Rodgers' days. I thought it was Rodgers, but maybe it was coming from higher up. No leaders means no one to question you. If you think of the players we've had over recent years like Kasper, Morgan, Huth, Vardy, even Evans for a while, and compare them to the players we have now with Justin and Hamza being captain, it's another area of the club where we've fallen off a cliff. 

 

Who in the current squad is going to tell Faes to shut the **** up when he starts giving it to the fans!? 

[Mike Oxlong]

The only good things about the club at the moment are the young players coming through and possibly Marti (too early to judge and limited by his options)

 

There’s not a senior player that I would be sad to see go and KP, Rudkin and recruitment all need to get the bus out of town asap 

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

I don't think Choudhurry is anything like one of our highest earners tbh, he's been bit part in the PL at best, and signed his new deal while we were in this league.....They were thinking about signing him and the wages didn't seem to be an issue and I don't think we were demanding a massive fee.

 

The reason they didn't sign him is because Wilder left they've bought in Rubben Selles and adopted this ethos of artificially analysed players for less than a million each, I don't think they looked at anyone they had loan last season on a perm basis. It could be finances but I would say that says more about their finances than Choudhurry being unaffordable to most promotion chasing Championship teams. 

 

Unless someone knows something I don't.

I have had the impression he is still overly paid for how good he is, even if that is not anywhere near our highest (which is more a reflection on us)!

 

But I don’t know anything specifically and your explanation makes perfect sense that they have gone another direction.
 

I suppose it still is the case he was well thought of there, regardless of the reason he was never signed permanently. Having not bounced back likely means they are cutting their cloth though.

[Winstonthedog]

1 hour ago, Mike Oxlong said:

The only good things about the club at the moment are the young players coming through and possibly Marti (too early to judge and limited by his options)

 

There’s not a senior player that I would be sad to see go and KP, Rudkin and recruitment all need to get the bus out of town asap 

Marti needs the fans full unwavering support ..  we have to many has beens and some never gonna be's... Top does not have the physical presence or authority to take control of his club ... the clubs hierarchy have well and truly painted itself into a corner and that is why there is little communication... as it will involve words such as ... "yes we have made a total fu#cking mess of things and take full responsibility" 

[Collymore]

On 14/08/2025 at 11:20, Chelmofox said:

I know we like to rewrite history, but Vardy offered no leadership on the pitch.

I mean you've got 27 likes off this comment which surprises me (although I do think some people jump on the bandwagon when they see a well liked post "better like it too") 😉

 

Was he 27 likes not a leader on the pitch? Really? 

 

Come on people - he would get stuck in, back his teammates up, organise the press, be in player's ears, not sulk.. And most importantly score goals which is leading by example?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 15 August 2025 by Collymore

[Chelmofox]

9 minutes ago, Collymore said:

I mean you've got 27 likes off this comment which surprises me (although I do think some people jump on the bandwagon when they see a well liked post "better like it too") 😉

 

Was he 27 likes not a leader on the pitch? Really? 

 

Come on people - he would get stuck in, back his teammates up, organise the press, be in player's ears... And most importantly score goals which is leading by example?

Personally, i think he was a poor Captain, but thats my opinion. He tried to lead by example, and he led the team during one of the worst barren spells we have ever had.  Its fine when hes banging the goals in, but when the chips are down and he is missing chances, you could see the teams heads visibly drop and he had no tools to do anything about it. He had 2 good traits as a captain - he would get in the refs ear, and if he could score it would raise everyones spirits.

 

It in no ways clouds my judgment on the complete awesome sauce that is Jamie Vardy.  I dont expect all people to make great leaders. But i dont want to pretend that we have lost an amazing captain in him moving on. Losing Kasper was much bigger deal for us in terms of leadership. I vividly remember Kasper working hard with his players - things i never saw from Vardy. 

 

We lost something else when Vardy left. 

Edited 15 August 2025 by Chelmofox

[Collymore]

12 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

Personally, i think he was a poor Captain, but thats my opinion. He tried to lead by example, and he led the team during one of the worst barren spells we have ever had.  Its fine when hes banging the goals in, but when the chips are down and he is missing chances, you could see the teams heads visibly drop and he had no tools to do anything about it. He had 2 good traits as a captain - he would get in the refs ear, and if he could score it would raise everyones spirits.

 

It in no ways clouds my judgment on the complete awesome sauce that is Jamie Vardy.  I dont expect all people to make great leaders. But i dont want to pretend that we have lost an amazing captain in him moving on. Losing Kasper was much bigger deal for us in terms of leadership. I vividly remember Kasper working hard with his players - things i never saw from Vardy. 

 

We lost something else when Vardy left. 

Another 30 odd likes incoming. I'll start you off! 

[Collymore]

12 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

Personally, i think he was a poor Captain, but thats my opinion. He tried to lead by example, and he led the team during one of the worst barren spells we have ever had.  Its fine when hes banging the goals in, but when the chips are down and he is missing chances, you could see the teams heads visibly drop and he had no tools to do anything about it. He had 2 good traits as a captain - he would get in the refs ear, and if he could score it would raise everyones spirits.

 

It in no ways clouds my judgment on the complete awesome sauce that is Jamie Vardy.  I dont expect all people to make great leaders. But i dont want to pretend that we have lost an amazing captain in him moving on. Losing Kasper was much bigger deal for us in terms of leadership. I vividly remember Kasper working hard with his players - things i never saw from Vardy. 

 

We lost something else when Vardy left. 

In all fairness well put.