League One 2026/2027

[Ric Flair]

47 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

Chaplin has played as a 9 a lot more often in his career than Reid. If Russell doesn’t trust Otchere, I think he’ll stick Chaplin up there, which would make room for Page.

He's 5ft 3

[ClaphamFox]

7 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

He's 5ft 3

Chaplin is 5’6” (168cm) and Reid is 5’7”(170cm). Both short arses, but if it’s a false nine does it matter as much? If Russell wants height, it has to be Otchere (6’1”/185cm). 

Edited 7 hours ago by ClaphamFox

[Ric Flair]

6 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

Chaplin is 5’6” (168cm) and Reid is 5’7”(170cm). Both short arses, but if it’s a false nine does it matter as much? If Russell wants height, it has to be Otchere (6’1”/185cm). 

I'm staggered Reid is that small. Yeah Otchere must start.

 

It's not been tried yet but I think i'd actually prefer a 4-1-2-2-1 system that gets almost everyone in who deserves to be in.

 

Hamza/Skipp

 

Braybrooke

Page

 

Chaplin

Alves

 

Otchere

[coolhandfox]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

I'm staggered Reid is that small. Yeah Otchere must start.

 

It's not been tried yet but I think i'd actually prefer a 4-1-2-2-1 system that gets almost everyone in who deserves to be in.

 

Hamza/Skipp

 

Braybrooke

Page

 

Chaplin

Alves

 

Otchere

End up very narrow, with no real natural width. 

 

We are desperate for a new CF with height and a couple more wingers.

 

If Otchere starts we are in trouble, I think people have been blinded by a couple of tap in, his all round game is miles off it for me.

 

Crazy part of PL recruitment in 24/25 was the lack of thought about the physical of the league when we brought in Ayew and Reid both small and couldn't run and more.

Edited 6 hours ago by coolhandfox

[Rubbersoul]

12 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

End up very narrow, with no real natural width. 

 

We are desperate for a new CF with height and a couple more wingers.

 

If Otchere starts we are in trouble, I think people have been blinded by a couple of tap in, his all round game is miles off it for me.

 

Crazy part of PL recruitment in 24/25 was the lack of thought about the physical of the league when we brought in Ayew and Reid both small and couldn't run and more.

Otchere would be fine as a rotation option behind a striker that is established but yeah we can’t go into the season with him starting its not fair on him. 

[Ric Flair]

23 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

End up very narrow, with no real natural width. 

 

We are desperate for a new CF with height and a couple more wingers.

 

If Otchere starts we are in trouble, I think people have been blinded by a couple of tap in, his all round game is miles off it for me.

 

Crazy part of PL recruitment in 24/25 was the lack of thought about the physical of the league when we brought in Ayew and Reid both small and couldn't run and more.

Listening to Martin I think thst might be the way we go when against a low block.

[coolhandfox]

13 minutes ago, Rubbersoul said:

Otchere would be fine as a rotation option behind a striker that is established but yeah we can’t go into the season with him starting its not fair on him. 

I would say as a third choice, he not played a single minute of senior football.

 

One injury and he playing all season.

 

I would get a 23-26 year old, a senior pro then him.

 

We are going to play 46 league games plus minimum of 5 Cup games, he should still get plenty of minutes.

[moore_94]

34 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

End up very narrow, with no real natural width. 

 

We are desperate for a new CF with height and a couple more wingers.

 

If Otchere starts we are in trouble, I think people have been blinded by a couple of tap in, his all round game is miles off it for me.

 

Crazy part of PL recruitment in 24/25 was the lack of thought about the physical of the league when we brought in Ayew and Reid both small and couldn't run and more.

Tbf you would effectively end up with wingers from Alves and Chaplin

 

Chaplin although he “plays” in the middle pretty much mostly drifts out wide right anyway

 

Alves in his career so far has been left wing (moving inside) or as a 10

Edited 5 hours ago by moore_94

[honeybradger]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

I'm staggered Reid is that small. Yeah Otchere must start.

 

It's not been tried yet but I think i'd actually prefer a 4-1-2-2-1 system that gets almost everyone in who deserves to be in.

 

Hamza/Skipp

 

Braybrooke

Page

 

Chaplin

Alves

 

Otchere

What has Chaplin done so far to indicate that he deserves to be in the starting XI?

[Ric Flair]

2 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

What has Chaplin done so far to indicate that he deserves to be in the starting XI?

Like it or not he'll be the first name on the teamsheet. Likely be our new captain.

[coolhandfox]

12 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Tbf you would effectively end up with wingers from Alves and Chaplin

 

Chaplin although he “plays” in the middle pretty much mostly drifts out wide right anyway

 

Alves in his career so far has been left wing (moving inside) or as a 10

We are just incredible light in attacking positions.

[honeybradger]

24 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Like it or not he'll be the first name on the teamsheet. Likely be our new captain.

That would show that we have not learned a thing. He should have to earn his way into the starting XI like the rest of the players.

 

Not been convinced by him yet.

[BlueBus]

2 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I'm staggered Reid is that small. Yeah Otchere must start.

 

It's not been tried yet but I think i'd actually prefer a 4-1-2-2-1 system that gets almost everyone in who deserves to be in.

 

Hamza/Skipp

 

Braybrooke

Page

 

Chaplin

Alves

 

Otchere

I'm liking the look of Otchere but it's pre-season, don't forget that we beat Florentina 2-0 before last season, it's not an accurate representation of anything really (Musa vs Barca). 

 

Other than Michael Owen (there'll be a few more I'm sure) I can't think of any striker who's scored 10/15 goals+ in their debut season, even Halaand went 16 games without a goal on his debut season. 

I'm all for playing the kids but you can't rely on them to score you 10/15 goals a season, which is what we desperately need because other than BDR, Mavididi and Chaplin, who's scoring goals for Leicester? 

[Bablemikey]

I don't imagine for a minute that we'll be bringing in a striker that excites us. We"re just not fishing in that pond anymore with the resources we have.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

We can't play Chaplin or Reid up front. They have to stand on the Yellow Pages to kiss their spouse or significant others

[coolhandfox]

46 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

What has Chaplin done so far to indicate that he deserves to be in the starting XI?

 

His selection likely hinges on his experience and established track record of scoring and creating goals. In contrast, if we opt for a midfield trio of Page, Braybrooke, and Skipp, the two attacking options, Page and Braybrooke, have registered just 2 goals and 6 assists combined throughout their careers.

 

 

 

 

 

[stevostadium]

5 hours ago, FosseSpark said:

Team for Notts County:

 

Stolarzcyk

Aluko Souttar Okoli Thomas

Choudhury Skipp

Alves Chaplin Mavididi

Otchere

 

Subs: McCarthy, Nelson, Page, Evans, Braybrooke Hutchinson, Joseph, Carr, Gray

 

An eye opening loss likely

i expect at least 3 of them not to be here so think your way off the mark there.

 

I fully expect Braybrooke in CM regardless of if skipp leaves.

Souttar wont be here and Okoli is unlikely also.

 

McCarthy in goals for me also.

 

THink there be 2 players not signed yet in eh first 11 also

[honeybradger]

4 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

 

His selection likely hinges on his experience and established track record of scoring and creating goals. In contrast, if we opt for a midfield trio of Page, Braybrooke, and Skipp, the two attacking options, Page and Braybrooke, have registered just 2 goals and 6 assists combined throughout their careers.

 

 

 

 

 

If youre going purely off goals and assists then we would be better off with BDCR than Chaplin based on last season.

 

As we saw with Skipp, who was previously in the championship team of the season, 3 years is a long time in football and track records mean very little if the player has not been performing recently.

 

Furthermore, the best goal scorers in league 1 usually don't come with a track record of goal scoring at that level. Dom Ballard and Jayden Wareham were both unproven goalscorers before last season, same with Charlier Kellman and Richard Kone.

 

Picking teams based off of track records rather than performances won't end well.

[coolhandfox]

7 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

If youre going purely off goals and assists then we would be better off with BDCR than Chaplin based on last season.

 

As we saw with Skipp, who was previously in the championship team of the season, 3 years is a long time in football and track records mean very little if the player has not been performing recently.

 

Furthermore, the best goal scorers in league 1 usually don't come with a track record of goal scoring at that level. Dom Ballard and Jayden Wareham were both unproven goalscorers before last season, same with Charlier Kellman and Richard Kone.

 

Picking teams based off of track records rather than performances won't end well.

Do you see Page and Braybrooke getting 10 to 15 goal contributions between them?

 

Chaplin will be key to our press with the way he runs, harasses, and gets involved, whereas BCDR is a passenger.

 

Out of the entire pre-season, the only players I've seen lock down a starting spot are Braybrooke and Alves, followed closely by Aluko and Joseph.

 

I think players like Page and Evans have plenty of time on their side, and they’ll get plenty of minutes this season given we have a minimum of 51 games across the league and cups.

 

 

[AKCJ]

3 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I'm staggered Reid is that small. Yeah Otchere must start.

 

It's not been tried yet but I think i'd actually prefer a 4-1-2-2-1 system that gets almost everyone in who deserves to be in.

 

Hamza/Skipp

 

Braybrooke

Page

 

Chaplin

Alves

 

Otchere

Excellent walking football team but you need a bit of pace surely.

[AKCJ]

44 minutes ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

We can't play Chaplin or Reid up front. They have to stand on the Yellow Pages to kiss their spouse or significant others

 

We need to employ radical new tactics.

[honeybradger]

15 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Do you see Page and Braybrooke getting 10 to 15 goal contributions between them?

 

Chaplin will be key to our press with the way he runs, harasses, and gets involved, whereas BCDR is a passenger.

 

Out of the entire pre-season, the only players I've seen lock down a starting spot are Braybrooke and Alves, followed closely by Aluko and Joseph.

 

I think players like Page and Evans have plenty of time on their side, and they’ll get plenty of minutes this season given we have a minimum of 51 games across the league and cups.

 

 

I can see Braybrooke alone getting 10 goal contributions this season if he plays the same role he has been in pre season.

 

His final ball has been excellent and has also been making good runs behind the defenders, although he's not the most confident in front of goal.

 

Something along the lines of 3 goals 8 assists is definitely achievable.

 

In terms of Chaplin he has been a passenger so far, even Hutchinson and Evans who most on here would say they have been unimpressed by and aren't ready have shown more.

 

I would be surprised if he ends up being the 10 goal contribution player you say we need. More likely it will be one of the academy players that steps up, assuming they are given the opportunity.

Edited 3 hours ago by honeybradger

[Ric Flair]

11 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Excellent walking football team but you need a bit of pace surely.

Well baring in mind this is only 1 player different if we went 4-3-3 with Mavididi instead of an additional central midfielder, our lack of pace is a major issue full stop. As is a lack of height.

 

The signing of Christian McFarlane at LB and Aluko at RB would bring both pace and height for a start.

[lfu]

17 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

 

We need to employ radical new tactics.

Don't let Arteta see this lest it gives him ideas for new corner routines

[coolhandfox]

Just now, honeybradger said:

I can see Braybrooke alone getting 10 goal contributions this season if he plays the same role he has been in pre season.

 

His final ball has been excellent and has also been making good runs behind the defenders, although he's not the most confident in front of goal.

 

Something along the lines of 3 goals 8 assists is definitely achievable.

 

In terms of Chaplin he has been a passenger so far, even Hutchinson and Evans who most on here would say they have been unimpressed by and aren't ready have shown more.

I agree Braybrooke will get his fair share of goal contributions, he’d actually be the first name on my team sheet, but I don’t think he's direct competition for Chaplin's spot.

 

As I've said, only four players have really impressed me in pre-season: Braybrooke, Alves, Aluko, and Joseph.

 

The rest have just been OK.

 

I also think its easy to forget that Chaplin started pre-season 16 days behind everyone else