Cifuentes OUT

[Freddy]

16 hours ago, Spanner73 said:

Wow you lot really are delusional if you think that changing the manager will completely change the culture of the football club and that ultimately is why we’re failing ! 
 

Look at Man Utd 

Did a whole list of managers one after another change anything ? 
 

Rangers in Scotland ? 
 

 

Rubin Amorim appears to be passionate/emotional enough to turn, probably, the biggest club in the world around, so maybe it is about finding the right man to lead our team. The correct manager at the right time motivates and give confidence to his men regardless of external pressure. Is Marty that man? 

[Donwebbio]

In a league table of competence at the club Marti is comfortably mid table. There are people and issues below him that need dealing with first:

1) Top is a terrible owner. He has fostered a culture of losing and ever-decreasing standards. Perform poorly at your job and get an extended contract or a place on a padded seat next to him at games (when he can be bothered to attend)

 

2) Rudkin: a man who has all the charisma of a supply PE teacher. A maligned academy coach who has somehow made it into the most influential role at the club. A disgrace that will echo through the ages.

 

3) The rest of the board including the Communication director who cannot or doesn't know how to communicate. We must be the only club in Britain who gets their comms director to take a bow of silence.

 

4) the players: we must have 10 players who are earning wages far in excess of their ability which has seen 2 relegations in 3 years. Not only that, they think they are better than the club that overpays them and they ooze contempt.

 

5) some of the worst, most placid, unpassionate fans who sit there in silence until it comes time to clap the players off. 

 

Until we sort 1-5 out all we would be doing in sacking the manager is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I'm pretty sure we got the best manager available (who was interested) and the one we deserve at this point in the history of our club. 

 

[Spanner73]

2 minutes ago, Donwebbio said:

In a league table of competence at the club Marti is comfortably mid table. There are people and issues below him that need dealing with first:

1) Top is a terrible owner. He has fostered a culture of losing and ever-decreasing standards. Perform poorly at your job and get an extended contract or a place on a padded seat next to him at games (when he can be bothered to attend)

 

2) Rudkin: a man who has all the charisma of a supply PE teacher. A maligned academy coach who has somehow made it into the most influential role at the club. A disgrace that will echo through the ages.

 

3) The rest of the board including the Communication director who cannot or doesn't know how to communicate. We must be the only club in Britain who gets their comms director to take a bow of silence.

 

4) the players: we must have 10 players who are earning wages far in excess of their ability which has seen 2 relegations in 3 years. Not only that, they think they are better than the club that overpays them and they ooze contempt.

 

5) some of the worst, most placid, unpassionate fans who sit there in silence until it comes time to clap the players off. 

 

Until we sort 1-5 out all we would be doing in sacking the manager is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I'm pretty sure we got the best manager available (who was interested) and the one we deserve at this point in the history of our club. 

 

5 key points all agreed with ! 

[Spanner73]

7 minutes ago, Freddy said:

Rubin Amorim appears to be passionate/emotional enough to turn, probably, the biggest club in the world around, so maybe it is about finding the right man to lead our team. The correct manager at the right time motivates and give confidence to his men regardless of external pressure. Is Marty that man? 

No because he’s fighting upstairs. 
 

It’s like trying to run up an steep icy mountain whilst Top is holding onto his legs 

[iancognito]

On 23/10/2025 at 09:47, Foxin_Mad said:

You could have said the same with Rudd and Cooper in the division above. This clown is in a terrible division that Coventry managed by Lampard sit 4 point clear of and Rod Edwards Boro sit second. You only need half an ounce of competence to be successful 

Lampard and Edwards have both been successful with bang average squads in this league before. RVN and Cooper had better squads and did worse. I don't care what Ruud did abroad, he was pathetic here. Worse than Pleat, Holloway and Taylor.

 

This team has about 3 or 4 players that are better than this level. The rest are Championship standard. And the problem now is expectation, people expecting us to be top 2 because HMS Piss The League ran the show 2 years ago. 

 

Again, you're barking up the wrong tree. In aiming your shots at the manager you're letting the two people to blame for this squad off the hook.

[Foxin_Mad]

22 minutes ago, iancognito said:

 

 

Again, you're barking up the wrong tree. In aiming your shots at the manager you're letting the two people to blame for this squad off the hook.

I don’t think Cooper or RVN were as bad as Taylor and co as they had money to spend. RVN had nothing, it was a shit sandwich.

 

It can be true that the manager is a clown which this one truly is and the people who employed him are also clowns, absolutely. I’m not giving the clown a free pass because he was employed by idiots. He keeps picking dogshit like Soumare and Daka. Setting the team up to send everyone to sleep with utter bore ball. I don’t really care if we are shit, and get beat, what really riles me is seeing us tart around for half the game with players who couldn’t give a shit and not even trying to score goals or get in positions to create chances, football is basic, these idiots complicate it unnecessarily 

[Old Fox]

A really tricky one - he has an task that I believe is nigh on impossible as we have a bunch of players who do not give a damn but also are just not very good - unfortunately they are are players that are paid well and probably the club needs them to be moved on but no one wants them - the board will have told him that and whilst Ndidi and Justin are two they managed to move on the likes of Soumare, Skipp, Faes and Kristensen to name but four who either are really poor from an attitude or capability perspective but they need removing - but dropping them completely means they have no book value and I imagine the owners will want something for them - rock and a hard place!

He has been dealt a difficult job and whilst the youngsters have promise Aluko, Nelson, Braybrooke, Evans are talented are they championship level and the club owners clearly need promotion and he will be under that pressure - you can also destroy a youngster by throwing them in too early !

I like many on here have lost the connection to my club probably as low as it has been since Taylor or Levein days and I know this is board and executive issues too but I do not envy MC at all!

 

[Mickyblueeyes]

Calling Jannick Vestegaard a “leader” is another loser move. 
 

His team are not getting wins but also not playing well. They’re getting worse.
 

Players are unfit. Uninterested. Poorly coached. Uninspired. Players are shit but it’s incredibly frustrating after last year we have an uninspiring clueless manager leading us again. 
 

Only a matter of time before he goes. Then it’s the lottery of who is next and it’s unfortunately going to be the links to Martin. 
 

This fella though, backed the wrong horses and we are again going through the motions - no future here. 
 

Feels like early 2000s manager merry go round again. 

[Danizen]

On 23/10/2025 at 17:58, Winstonthedog said:

We have a good few players who have played in the Premier league ... but very very few who are Premier league players .... and that's the difference 

The players in question would strongly disagree. That's the problem. 

[cityfanlee23]

3 hours ago, Donwebbio said:

In a league table of competence at the club Marti is comfortably mid table. There are people and issues below him that need dealing with first:

1) Top is a terrible owner. He has fostered a culture of losing and ever-decreasing standards. Perform poorly at your job and get an extended contract or a place on a padded seat next to him at games (when he can be bothered to attend)

 

2) Rudkin: a man who has all the charisma of a supply PE teacher. A maligned academy coach who has somehow made it into the most influential role at the club. A disgrace that will echo through the ages.

 

3) The rest of the board including the Communication director who cannot or doesn't know how to communicate. We must be the only club in Britain who gets their comms director to take a bow of silence.

 

4) the players: we must have 10 players who are earning wages far in excess of their ability which has seen 2 relegations in 3 years. Not only that, they think they are better than the club that overpays them and they ooze contempt.

 

5) some of the worst, most placid, unpassionate fans who sit there in silence until it comes time to clap the players off. 

 

Until we sort 1-5 out all we would be doing in sacking the manager is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I'm pretty sure we got the best manager available (who was interested) and the one we deserve at this point in the history of our club. 

 

Agree with all of these points, however, generally speaking the manager is in a position to somewhat offset a few of these problems on the pitch, by not playing negative, sideways, slow, predictable football whilst constantly picking favourites and seemingly happy to let the future of the club rot on the bench or not even in the squad (not that the youth are the overnight fix, but if we are doomed to mid table mediocrity under Cifuentes, atleast do it with Nelson/Aluko/Page getting regular minutes)

None of the 5 points you made can be fixed overnight, the problems I mentioned which play a huge role in whether we pickup 0,1 or 3 points on a match day can be fixed overnight. 
If Cifuentes tomorrow decided to throw his system out of the window and adopt an attacking system along the lines of German Gegenpressing, or an attacking hybrid like Iraolas Bournemouth, we would be fighting for automatics imo. The system we are currently using is actively working against our best talents. 

The reason I wanted Rohl in, is because his system is aggressive and utilises wingers and a heavy overlap from multiple angles to create space for them, under Rohl, Mavididi, Fatawu and Monga would be unlocked. Under Cifuentes they are in chains, either having to pass backwards, or having to beat 3 players to get a shot away because they have zero support other than backwards or sideways. 

Again, completely agree with everything you've said, but none of them are an excuse for Cifuentes playing this awful brand of football that puts constraints on our best attacking talent. 
He promised attacking football, he promised youth, he promised always pushing for another goal even if we are winning comfortably, he promised players playing on merit. He's delivered none of that. 

Edited 25 October 2025 by cityfanlee23

[Donwebbio]

5 minutes ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Agree with all of these points, however, generally speaking the manager is in a position to somewhat offset a few of these problems on the pitch, by not playing negative, sideways, slow, predictable football whilst constantly picking favourites and seemingly happy to let the future of the club rot on the bench or not even in the squad (not that the youth are the overnight fix, but if we are doomed to mid table mediocrity under Cifuentes, atleast do it with Nelson/Aluko/Page getting regular minutes)

None of the 5 points you made can be fixed overnight, the problems I mentioned which play a huge role in whether we pickup 0,1 or 3 points on a match day can be fixed overnight. 
If Cifuentes tomorrow decided to throw his system out of the window and adopt an attacking system along the lines of German Gegenpressing, or an attacking hybrid like Iraolas Bournemouth, we would be fighting for automatics imo. The system we are currently using is actively working against our best talents. 

The reason I wanted Rohl in, is because his system is aggressive and utilises wingers and a heavy overlap from multiple angles to create space for them, under Rohl, Mavididi, Fatawu and Monga would be unlocked. Under Cifuentes they are in chains, either having to pass backwards, or having to beat 3 players to get a shot away because they have zero support other than backwards or sideways. 

Again, completely agree with everything you've said, but none of them are an excuse for Cifuentes playing this awful brand of football that puts constraints on our best attacking talent. 
He promised attacking football, he promised youth, he promised always pushing for another goal even if we are winning comfortably, he promised players playing on merit. He's delivered none of that. 

Thanks for your reply. Don't get me wrong, Marti has been underwhelming so far and absolutely hasn't delivered on his promise of utilising the academy and continues to pick players who have failed here repeatedly. He doesn't get a free pass on that and should be called out on that. My post is questioning the wisdom of sacking another manager when there the foundations of the club are so rotten. 

[sishades]

Martin O Neil won only 2 of his first 15 games. Should he have been sacked??

[Ric Flair]

9 minutes ago, sishades said:

Martin O Neil won only 2 of his first 15 games. Should he have been sacked??

Peter Taylor had us top of the league in October and still top 4 by December and still should have been sacked.

[HankMarvin]

2 minutes ago, sishades said:

Martin O Neil won only 2 of his first 15 games. Should he have been sacked??

Probably,

We were near top when he took over, football is a lot less forgiving now.

That was just a few years after the prem started.

 

Lots of examples of managers that have only won a few and end up getting sacked also and it’s the right decision. 
Martiball boring football would get eaten alive in the top flight by hungry attacking teams.

Has he improved one player?

 

[lcfcbluearmy]

9 minutes ago, sishades said:

Martin O Neil won only 2 of his first 15 games. Should he have been sacked??

 

Just now, Ric Flair said:

Peter Taylor had us top of the league in October and still top 4 by December and still should have been sacked.

I think your missing the point there Ric. The answer to both those questions is at that point in time mentioned no they shouldn't have been sacked.

 

It was too early for MON and he needed time to put his stamp on the squad.

 

And at that point Taylor was doing well as it was still early. That dosent mean he shouldn't have been sacked earlier than he was but at the point we were top of course he shouldn't have been sacked

 

The point is Cifuentes might be brilliant he might not but at this point it's too early to tell especially as he didn't get much of a pre season. If in another 10 games things haven't improved then it's time to take action

[sishades]

36 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Peter Taylor had us top of the league in October and still top 4 by December and still should have been sacked.

Who in their right mind would sack a manager being top 4 in the premier league. ?

[cityfanlee23]

1 hour ago, Donwebbio said:

Thanks for your reply. Don't get me wrong, Marti has been underwhelming so far and absolutely hasn't delivered on his promise of utilising the academy and continues to pick players who have failed here repeatedly. He doesn't get a free pass on that and should be called out on that. My post is questioning the wisdom of sacking another manager when there the foundations of the club are so rotten. 

Yep, I can completely see that point, and to be honest, knowing the board we will get rid of Marti and bring in Martin and things will go from bad to worse. 
If for example though Hassenhuttl said he would join, i'd probably take that gamble personally, but I have a very high bias against possession obsessive football personally. 

[Winstonthedog]

1 hour ago, Danizen said:

The players in question would strongly disagree. That's the problem. 

Yes but results and performances would prove them to be very wrong 

[Freddy]

4 hours ago, Spanner73 said:

5 key points all agreed with ! 

Marty shouldn't worry about the things that he can't control, points 1-3, but the players that make up a squad are the reason he gets up in the morning. The lads that kick a football for our club should want to run through a brick wall to do so, motivation is a managers no1 goal. Only then will the LCFC fanbase become loud again. I will not believe fans loyal enough to pay up and make the effort to attend games are passive, pissed off yes, but absolutely not at fault. 

[coolhandfox]

Say he plays attacking football, high press and trust the kids!

 

Of course you do Marti.....

[winteriscoming]

The issue a lot have with him me included is that he says one thing about the potential of young players coming thru like Nelson this week and then does the complete opposite and he’s not even in the squad. 
I believe fans would be more lenient with him if at the very least they saw that he’s trying to develop and get more youngsters in the match day squad. He clearly isn’t. 
You might as well have Steve Cooper in charge as Cifuentes seems obsessed with experienced shit players just as Cooper did. 

[Collymore]

6 minutes ago, winteriscoming said:

The issue a lot have with him me included is that he says one thing about the potential of young players coming thru like Nelson this week and then does the complete opposite and he’s not even in the squad. 
I believe fans would be more lenient with him if at the very least they saw that he’s trying to develop and get more youngsters in the match day squad. He clearly isn’t. 
You might as well have Steve Cooper in charge as Cifuentes seems obsessed with experienced shit players just as Cooper did. 

Yep. I'd even argue we looked better at times under RVN than this we're being served up. RVN had the balls to use Evans and Monga in the highest division too. 

 

[Kitchandro]

3 hours ago, iancognito said:

Lampard and Edwards have both been successful with bang average squads in this league before. RVN and Cooper had better squads and did worse. I don't care what Ruud did abroad, he was pathetic here. Worse than Pleat, Holloway and Taylor.

 

This team has about 3 or 4 players that are better than this level. The rest are Championship standard. And the problem now is expectation, people expecting us to be top 2 because HMS Piss The League ran the show 2 years ago. 

 

Again, you're barking up the wrong tree. In aiming your shots at the manager you're letting the two people to blame for this squad off the hook.

 

5 hours ago, Donwebbio said:

In a league table of competence at the club Marti is comfortably mid table. There are people and issues below him that need dealing with first:

1) Top is a terrible owner. He has fostered a culture of losing and ever-decreasing standards. Perform poorly at your job and get an extended contract or a place on a padded seat next to him at games (when he can be bothered to attend)

 

2) Rudkin: a man who has all the charisma of a supply PE teacher. A maligned academy coach who has somehow made it into the most influential role at the club. A disgrace that will echo through the ages.

 

3) The rest of the board including the Communication director who cannot or doesn't know how to communicate. We must be the only club in Britain who gets their comms director to take a bow of silence.

 

4) the players: we must have 10 players who are earning wages far in excess of their ability which has seen 2 relegations in 3 years. Not only that, they think they are better than the club that overpays them and they ooze contempt.

 

5) some of the worst, most placid, unpassionate fans who sit there in silence until it comes time to clap the players off. 

 

Until we sort 1-5 out all we would be doing in sacking the manager is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I'm pretty sure we got the best manager available (who was interested) and the one we deserve at this point in the history of our club. 

 

You see I agree with most of the points in these posts but I just don’t get the arguments in bold. They are two separate things. I can see the squad is average and that owner and board are awful and all this. I’m very vocally against the owners.

I can also see we have a few talented players that, coached correctly, are very good at this level and can make a difference. I can see when our tactics are going to be ineffective even with better players. I can see equally average and worse squads playing better football than us.

 

I just don’t see why two things can’t be true at the same time. He might have been the best-known or most experienced manager we could attract. But best manager we could attract? Nah. We just don’t scout managers who fit what we need in terms of style of play and personality. Which is another major flaw of the owners, so it’s not letting them off the hook.

[winteriscoming]

4 minutes ago, Collymore said:

Yep. I'd even argue we looked better at times under RVN than this we're being served up. RVN had the balls to use Evans and Monga in the highest division too. 

 

You’ve got to back your convictions. 
I’m baffled Nelson isn’t even on the bench. 
Really don’t think he’s helping himself. 

[foxfan92]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

Peter Taylor had us top of the league in October and still top 4 by December and still should have been sacked.

Didn't we manage top of the league for at least a match? Kind of run that earns you the temporary England manager position... what a guy!😎