Are We Looking At The Wrong Problem

[VLC86]

16 minutes ago, Globalfox said:

Possibly but obviously still not up to the standard of our competition. Maybe we just started from a very very low level. Physical is part of the equation so is mentality and as we saw yesterday the mental approach of too many players is weak.

I think it’s quite easy to look deeply into the reasons we are shit, and maybe some staff members have been here for too long and need to go, but in my opinion yesterday wasn’t about fitness. It was about players being asked to play in a way which isn’t suited to this league, the manager being an arrogant bloke who throws them under the bus at every opportunity and a lack of confidence.

 

 

[SafewayFox]

8 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

Pearson brought Reeves and his team in. 

Fair point.

 

So how has the same man overseen such a decline?

[Pliskin]

2 hours ago, TeamRocket said:

I think it was when  BR got rid off all the hard work done by NP personally  head staffs where going left right and centre be BR sold a unrealistic dream to Top and Dung

This is it…. What’s happened is for years King Power benefitted from how Nigel set the club up, over time that system eroded and was never replaced. That’s why we’re in a shitty mess, along with dreadful decision making…. But the blueprint that made this club successful was ripped apart and never pieced back together. 

[Derby Blue]

This is the type of training (and the type of manager) we need. Jock Wallace's teams never tired.

[Clever Fox]

While fitness is a real issue since Enzo the squad isn't physical enough. Thankfully we've added more height to the sqaud last week which should help.

[CosbehFox]

10 minutes ago, SafewayFox said:

Fair point.

 

So how has the same man overseen such a decline?

All good organisations evolve. We never have. Just like when you have a really good footy team, you have to keep altering and tweaking it 

[foxfanazer]

Whole club needs a reset. New owners, staff, manager, players, fans (I wish)

[cityfanlee23]

Said in the summer that it's so blindly obvious to us all that the direction is not coming from the ownership. Realistically the only hope we have until we are sold is bringing in a Pearson style manager, someone who will grab the club by the scruff of the neck and march us in a direction. I thought RM might do that, but even he seems to have settled for whatever he inherited. 

We need an Army general in charge, we cannot progress if we keep trying to make the pieces of 6 different puzzles fit. 
We need a complete clearout from top to bottom. The only people capable of that is a Peason style manager, or new owners. 

[Pita]

6 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

Whole club needs a reset. New owners, staff, manager, players, fans (I wish)

The sooner Top and Rudkin go the better. 

[TeamRocket]

22 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

This is it…. What’s happened is for years King Power benefitted from how Nigel set the club up, over time that system eroded and was never replaced. That’s why we’re in a shitty mess, along with dreadful decision making…. But the blueprint that made this club successful was ripped apart and never pieced back together. 

100% agree. I honestly dont think some fans understand how much of a impact he had in this club and what he did. In no way am I asking for him to come back here or anything like that but do feel at this moment in time we need someone like him to rebuild. 

[Ian Nacho]

It's not just one department. We're run like a family business. You've got members of coaching staff, analysts, etc., who have been here for 15+ years. It's not to say they've never been up to the job, but football has moved on and other teams have gotten better and recruited better coaches where we have just stood still.It's this that drives the culture of failure. Regardless of results, you're going to stay in your job.

[old koppite]

3 hours ago, Globalfox said:

I am not sure we were happy, Burton away none of the oldies so probably did not show up. As soon as the lazy ones returned it returned. Against Plymouth even the youngsters looked blown out at 75 minutes. Compare that to Oxford yesterday who were still chasing us down for more goals at 75+ minutes. attitude counts a lot and I believe although it is only one of our problems the weakness in conditioning and poor sports science at Leicester is a large contributor. Look at all the opinions about we are weak in the challenge, we got bullied that’s where we lose regularly. Try talking to out team and you get oh the game has changed, physicality has gone, it’s rubbish.

I agree with you. There were some of us, including myself , who thought we did look fitter in pre season though, and were pleased to hear RM talk about “ run harder” etc and that he was aware of the concerns about fitness .

 Youngsters should be able to run all day- I remember myself at 21 in local football; 3 games in a weekend😂!  So you’re right, seeing the academy players in the friendlies sprinting and showing bags of energy gave us false hope.

I wonder if the approach of careful passing and low risk systems sets a sub conscious tempo for some players, which they find out to shake out of in the latter stages of a game. 

[mozartfox]

3 hours ago, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

Many aspects of the backroom operation are stale, including fitness. Total refresh is needed that leaves no stone uncovered.

This.  Rudkin out and then start a root and branch replacement of all aspects of the Club.  The Recruitment of former RM ‘mates’ will hurt us when he has gone. Recruiting / scouting needs a full overhaul.

[Bergen fox]

Everything about this club just stinks. 

[Pliskin]

3 hours ago, TeamRocket said:

100% agree. I honestly dont think some fans understand how much of an impact he had in this club and what he did. In no way am I asking for him to come back here or anything like that but do feel at this moment in time we need someone like him to rebuild. 

100% agree. Nigel is my favourite ever manager, and in my opinion our most important…… 

 

As you say, I don’t think some fans realise how important he was, and the trust Vichai had in him to bring him back and essentially set up the club….

 

We had experts in every area, strength and conditioning, injury prevention & recovery, nutrition, psychology, etc… he left nothing to chance, and the club ran efficiently, over time that’s gone, all those integral parts that made the blueprint what it was, vanished, it accelerated after the loss of Vichai because Top allowed Rudkin to run the club and he’s ran it into the ground. 
 

You’ve got essentially two ownerships, one where Vichai knew who to trust the run the club, and hold them to account, and then Top, who essentially can’t do anything, other than destroy everything his father put in place. 
 

Nigel was extremely forward thinking, despite what some think, and he created an environment to thrive. He had his shortcomings of course, but his vision for how the club operated off the field made what happened on it easier to manage. 
 

It’s what facilitated the great escape, and the premier league title win in my opinion….. would we have won it with Nigel? We will never know because he didn’t get a chance, but would we have won it if Nigel never came back? Not a chance in my opinion.

 

He was the tonic Vichai needed to take the club in the right direction…… models that’s Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford and even Coventry all now follow, no surprise to see Bristol City steadily improving too. 
 

Id love to have Nigel in as a DOF type roll…. He knows how football clubs should run. 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

All the issues are superficial until King Power leave.

[TeamRocket]

On 06/09/2026 at 19:21, Pliskin said:

100% agree. Nigel is my favourite ever manager, and in my opinion our most important…… 

 

As you say, I don’t think some fans realise how important he was, and the trust Vichai had in him to bring him back and essentially set up the club….

 

We had experts in every area, strength and conditioning, injury prevention & recovery, nutrition, psychology, etc… he left nothing to chance, and the club ran efficiently, over time that’s gone, all those integral parts that made the blueprint what it was, vanished, it accelerated after the loss of Vichai because Top allowed Rudkin to run the club and he’s ran it into the ground. 
 

You’ve got essentially two ownerships, one where Vichai knew who to trust the run the club, and hold them to account, and then Top, who essentially can’t do anything, other than destroy everything his father put in place. 
 

Nigel was extremely forward thinking, despite what some think, and he created an environment to thrive. He had his shortcomings of course, but his vision for how the club operated off the field made what happened on it easier to manage. 
 

It’s what facilitated the great escape, and the premier league title win in my opinion….. would we have won it with Nigel? We will never know because he didn’t get a chance, but would we have won it if Nigel never came back? Not a chance in my opinion.

 

He was the tonic Vichai needed to take the club in the right direction…… models that’s Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford and even Coventry all now follow, no surprise to see Bristol City steadily improving too. 
 

Id love to have Nigel in as a DOF type roll…. He knows how football clubs should run. 

Honestly totally agree with everything you've said! Personally also do think it was NP who won us the prem and even CR agreed in some way(by saying he did nothing just gave them a goal of 40pts which helped) and soon as he started to add thinkering we was sank and BR just made sure we stayed sinking.

 

100 per cent would take NP back as DOF with different owners maybe although he probably could have mentored Top better.

[Foxmeister]

Sell Seagrave and get them running up hills at Western Park. Jock Wallace wouldn’t have stood for this.

[Claudio Fannieri]

I genuinely believe this squad is comfortably good enough to be challenging for the top two. For me, the continued underperformance isn’t simply about the quality of the players , it’s about the environment and mentality we’ve created around them.

 

The tactical set-up has become too slow, too laboured and far too passive. There’s a real lack of intensity and urgency, and when that becomes the norm on the pitch, it inevitably sets the tone throughout the club. Frustration turns into malaise and losing starts to become far too comfortable.

 

Play more aggressive, front-footed, attacking football, increase the tempo and give teams something to worry about, and I genuinely don’t think we’d be anywhere near the position we find ourselves in.

 

Recruitment has also been questionable for several years, particularly through the Rodgers and Cooper periods, but arguably the bigger problem has been the wage and contract structure we’ve created. Big basic salaries, long contracts and limited performance-related incentive can remove hunger and create a comfortable environment where average performance is too well rewarded. That has to change.

I don’t necessarily think another expensive rebuild is the answer. Reset the playing philosophy. Build around high energy, intensity, aggression and attacking intent. Then reset the recruitment and remuneration model alongside it. Offer sensible, sustainable basic salaries with meaningful incentives linked to individual and team performance. Recruit younger, hungry players who still have something to prove and have genuine future sell-on potential, supplemented by a smaller number of experienced players with the right mentality and leadership qualities.

 

Create an environment where improvement is rewarded, performance matters and nobody becomes too comfortable.

For a club like Leicester, particularly given the financial reality we now operate within, sustainability and competitiveness have to work together. We don’t necessarily need to keep rebuilding the squad. We need to rebuild the culture.

Edited 8 September by Claudio Fannieri

[Foxmeister]

2 hours ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

I genuinely believe this squad is comfortably good enough to be challenging for the top two. For me, the continued underperformance isn’t simply about the quality of the players , it’s about the environment and mentality we’ve created around them.

 

The tactical set-up has become too slow, too laboured and far too passive. There’s a real lack of intensity and urgency, and when that becomes the norm on the pitch, it inevitably sets the tone throughout the club. Frustration turns into malaise and losing starts to become far too comfortable.

 

Play more aggressive, front-footed, attacking football, increase the tempo and give teams something to worry about, and I genuinely don’t think we’d be anywhere near the position we find ourselves in.

 

Recruitment has also been questionable for several years, particularly through the Rodgers and Cooper periods, but arguably the bigger problem has been the wage and contract structure we’ve created. Big basic salaries, long contracts and limited performance-related incentive can remove hunger and create a comfortable environment where average performance is too well rewarded. That has to change.

I don’t necessarily think another expensive rebuild is the answer. Reset the playing philosophy. Build around high energy, intensity, aggression and attacking intent. Then reset the recruitment and remuneration model alongside it. Offer sensible, sustainable basic salaries with meaningful incentives linked to individual and team performance. Recruit younger, hungry players who still have something to prove and have genuine future sell-on potential, supplemented by a smaller number of experienced players with the right mentality and leadership qualities.

 

Create an environment where improvement is rewarded, performance matters and nobody becomes too comfortable.

For a club like Leicester, particularly given the financial reality we now operate within, sustainability and competitiveness have to work together. We don’t necessarily need to keep rebuilding the squad. We need to rebuild the culture.

Nice idea but the young players we want to keep are leaving and the experienced ones we want to leave are hanging around like the in-laws after Xmas.

[CosbehFox]

This thread made me think back to when we were at Cheltenham. Peter Clark from the analysis team walked past our away end. My mate screamed out ‘tell them to ****ing run more’. He smiled. But in a way which was like I’ve been telling them for weeks but they don’t listen  

[Pita]

Our problem is we have two useless people running the club who can’t make a correct decision 

[filthyfox]

On 06/09/2026 at 12:29, sdb said:

I think it is just one of dozens of problems at the club. Scouting, recruitment, finances, coaching, conditioning, tactics, inconsistent hiring and then overdue firing, long and short term vision, naivety in the extreme with regards to opposition planning, contracts, any semblance of joined up thinking.

 

There is barely anything about this club that isn't unfit for purpose.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... you could not deteriorate a football club this quickly and this badly if you tried. Every single individual in this thread would do a better job than Top or Rudkin. And that's not some silly angry football fan hyperbole.

Its almost like a 5 year old has taken control of your Football Manager 2016 game