Russell Martin - The Positives!

[honeybradger]

If he does well he might reignite my faith in god.

[SK3Blue]

Security around the Owner and Rudkin and the Police around the dugout, they can do a little swap around at half time. 

[Mike Oxlong]

He's not Russell Brand 

[Claridge]

must of said he needs money to re build, so a positive.negative is that they lie about having money to spend

[Gamble92]

7 minutes ago, Claridge said:

must of said he needs money to re build, so a positive.negative is that they lie about having money to spend

The equivalent of giving your wife the credit card to spend in Primark this is

[winteriscoming]

Given it a lot of thought and it’s still his Mrs. 

 

[alex]

He needs this to save a career, and he knows it. Let's hope he can do that here. I do believe youth players tend to really buy in to him.

[CrispinLA in Texas]

Lucy Pinder is better looking then Rebekah Vardy

[brookfox]

We’ve done our business early.

[ceebeefox]

Different clubs suit certain managers, sometimes previous failures click. Plus our youngsters have all been coached tip tap since they were kids.

[Iwebema]

12 hours ago, alex said:

He needs this to save a career, and he knows it. Let's hope he can do that here. I do believe youth players tend to really buy in to him.

This is my hope, obviously not the manager I wanted, but if he fails here he must know hes kind of done, certainly at the higher end of the game at least. It might make him compromise a bit or do something different.

 

I would love him to prove us all wrong but theres just so much evidence he wont. That said I do think he can get us promoted I am not convinced beyond that, too much evidence that when the standard is higher and he doesnt have the best players he gets found out.

 

Lets see who some of the signings are, hes talked about resetting energy, if we go into week 1 with vestergaard and winks playing then its already on course for a mess.

[Dippy]

Baring in mind I've not really seen a great amount of his football since he left MK in July 2021, but based on the fact that he doesn't seem to have changed at all since then, here are my positives for you guys:

 

He brought in a really good squad for the level. They may have flourished under another manager but losing his signings in the summer of 2022 to higher levels is a big reason as to why we got relegated the season after finishing third. Scott Twine, Matt O'Riley and Harry Darling especially were superb signings, and even the year before he brought in quality like Scott Fraser and managed to convince Cameron Jerome to return to England at a lesser level. 

 

He'll probably get you believing again if you can set aside a lot of the negatives. He's a good talker is Rus and despite inevitable mistakes in defence, he'll have you believing that it's all for the greater good of the team.

 

When it works, it's great football. The game has changed since 2019-2021 when he was here but I distinctly remember feeling extremely positive about a Russell Martin team going into the 21/22 season... then of course he left on the opening weekend of the season but it's probably harder to do that to Leicester than it was MK at the time.

 

Bragging Rights: Who doesn't enjoy saying that they had more possession than PSG, Man City and everybody else in Europe.

 

He clearly worked well enough at Southampton with a team that's too good for the level, and that should be the case with you guys. When you get back up again the story may be different, but focus on that if/when it comes.

[ealingfox]

He'll be gone quickly - remember a big portion of the KPFC footsoldiers made up the Gerrit Forward merchants during the Maresca season. They'll quickly become conflicted and obviously KP will win out - it can't be Topkin's fault so it will all fall on Martin.

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

I’m not convinced by this appointment, but I don’t think we should automatically write him off straight away. I don’t think that’s helpful. He talks a good talk, but can he deliver. If I get a sense of him being demanding and driving standards - like he says - then I think he could be what we need. For too long the culture around the place has stunk, and my hope is that he can change that. 

[cityfanlee23]

My gut feeling is RM will instantly identify Sammy Braybrooke as a pivotal part of the team and give him plenty of chances, and I think Braybrooke will become a much better player under RM. 

[GrobyLCFC31]

2 hours ago, cityfanlee23 said:

My gut feeling is RM will instantly identify Sammy Braybrooke as a pivotal part of the team and give him plenty of chances, and I think Braybrooke will become a much better player under RM. 

And Jayden Joseph!
He seems a Russ Martin full back/player!

Energetic, quick and good on the ball ( Man City upbringing helped with that) 

I’m hoping to see him feature heavily next season! 🦊 

Edited Tuesday at 20:05 by GrobyLCFC31

[fox_favourite]

3 hours ago, cityfanlee23 said:

My gut feeling is RM will instantly identify Sammy Braybrooke as a pivotal part of the team and give him plenty of chances, and I think Braybrooke will become a much better player under RM. 

And that won't be a bad thing one bit! He looked class in League 2 highlights I saw so the step to League 1 he will definitely be able to do. 

[Foxin_Mad]

If and it’s a big if, he refreshes the squad, brings in a mixture of young talent and a bit of leadership and experience, along with a clearly defined style and some basic standards he might convince me. He really needs this to work as much as we do, else he ain’t getting another job. My concern is his stubbornness and the fitness of the players who have often seemed way off the levels fitness wise the last few years. 

[cityfanlee23]

11 hours ago, fox_favourite said:

And that won't be a bad thing one bit! He looked class in League 2 highlights I saw so the step to League 1 he will definitely be able to do. 

Yep, I didn't get to see him play last season but heard fans were very impressed and his stats were also really good as a sort of box to box/link up midfielder

[davieG]

Russell Martin will hand Leicester City debuts to three 'new signings' as part of rebuild | Leicestershire Live

 

Russell Martin will hand Leicester City debuts to three 'new signings' as part of rebuild
Leicester City's academy is full of players eager to make their senior debut after Russell Martin's appointment

Josh Holland Leicester City correspondent

Russell Martin arrives at Leicester City with a bloated first-team squad that needs major surgery after two relegations. The Foxes will play in League One next season two years after being in the Premier League.

Martin's appointment was confirmed on Monday evening with the former Southampton and Rangers boss signing a three-year contract at the King Power Stadium. All eyes will be on how successful the 40-year-old will be in implementing his ideas on the training ground throughout pre-season before the new season.

Plenty has been made about the work needed on the squad this summer with only a small handful of players not facing speculation around their future. Martin is expected to bring his own players to the club throughout the window to give him the tools required to be a success.

However, Martin and Leicester find themselves in a luxury position of having a goldmine of academy players. The club's youth system is still of Category One standard and only Reading can say the same thing in the current crop of League One clubs.

 

At Southampton, the former Scotland international earned a track record of giving debuts to academy players. Exciting English winger Jay Robinson, Strasbourg forward Samuel Amo-Ameyaw, Tyler Dibling, Cameron Bragg and Romeo Akachukwu were all part of Martin's plans at St. Mary's - although Amo-Ameyaw was often behind Ryan Fraser and Ben Brereton Diaz.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harvey Barnes, Kasey McAteer and Luke Thomas are all prime examples of players graduating from the academy at Leicester and becoming first-team stars. In recent years, Jeremy Monga, Louis Page, Ben Nelson, Bade Aluko and Will Alves have all made their professional debuts.

This season, with the club in League One and in desperate need of a reset, Martin has the opportunity to release more wonderkids into the first-team with several players waiting for their chance. Lorenz Hutchinson, who started alongside Monga and Page in the 2024 Under-16 Premier League Cup triumph, is yet to make his senior debut despite his impressive statistics with the academy.

Lorenz Hutchinson has scored goals for fun with Leicester City academy(Image: 2026 Plumb Images)

For City's Under-18s, the striker scored 15 goals in 15 Premier League U18 games. He also adjusted to life in Premier League 2 with four goals and two assists - including a run of five goal contributions in six games. His form earned his recognition within the club, earning the Academy Player of the Season award.

The Foxes are currently lacking a striker after Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew departed. Jake Evans, who will return from his loan spell with Northampton Town, will be tested in pre-season but Hutchinson is one player Martin will have a close eye on.

 

In midfield, Logan Briggs is still yet to taste first-team action despite being one of the most-exciting and consistent performers for the academy recently. Under Enzo Maresca, he was named on the bench in the FA Cup win over Bournemouth.

Last term, he scored six and assisted a further eight in Premier League 2 to earn himself a nomination for Player of the Season. There have been some comparisons to Dewsbury-Hall by those that have watched him closely, with Briggs capable of playing as a No.8 and No.6.

One player who will almost certainly fancy their chances of making their debut for the Foxes is right wing-back Jayden Joseph. The 20-year-old impressed during his loan spell at Tranmere Rovers and played a crucial role in keeping them in the Football League.
Injuries stopped him from playing a full season but his return proved to be vital. Ricardo Pereira's exit means there will be a new regular right-back for City next season and Joseph offers the competition needed for Aluko.

All three players are almost guaranteed to be under consideration throughout pre-season, especially with the uncertainty around players in the transfer window. Leicester's participation in the EFL Trophy means Martin's men will play a minimum of 51 games across four different competitions and the academy players should have a platform to make their debuts.

The promotion of academy players is an easy win for Martin with fans. It’s something that damaged Gary Rowett’s reputation at the end of the last season and hurt Marti Cifuentes, who suggested he was keen on using youth players before going against his words.

[ronnup]

Whats his record for buying and locating talent like?