Will Kelly do a good job next season?

[Babylon]

and the fact that he's been called a "Levein Mark Two" for his tactics suggests that other fans have noticed it as well.

By you, Barton Fox and Ultra.

Must be Levein mk II then.

[Thracian]

I don't recall ever calling him Levein Mark 11, otherwise I wouldn't have supported his being long term manager.

There are ways in which he is just like Levein, without doubt. His well supported zonal marking and inclination towards first stopping the opposition playing is Leveinist, though not necessarily a bad thing. In some ways he's too dogmatic for my liking and, much more worryingly, he tolerates both poor passers and people who are ineffective in parts of their job.

In other ways he is different. He doesn't tinker with the team much (that will please me when we've got a good team), he is more flexible in his tactics, he is a good man motivator, he's loyal and doesn't publicly humiliate his players, he's modest and self-effacing etc etc. Lots of good qualities that Levein didn't have.

As a manager he'll do good work in terms of effort and attitude. Whether he has the imagination to be successful on the resources at his disposal I am less sure. What I do know is that this team is not good enough to win us promotion, therefore changes/reinforcements are needed.

But then even people who dislike change/criticism of anything at Leicester City will surely recognise that.

Even with an amazing run of recent sucess we finished 17th, which Rob Kelly himself deemed a failure.

The fact that he recognises that failure is another difference between him and Levein. I just hope he acts now to avoid the same shortcomings in future.

To define "good job" I would consider a top six finish as acceptable success next season, whether we're promoted or not.

I think that is possible with a few modest improvements and anything beyond that would be exceptional. To this end I hope Kelly has all the good judgement and good fortune he will need to be successful and to end up a genuine legend in Leicester's history.

[Guest Gist]

I can see Kelly doing a decent job but I think it will take alot to make us a play off contenders, the way the league is getting stronger it is sure to be a huge task so I personally am only predicting a top ten at best. Due to the strenght of this league I can see another surprise relegation next season just like Millwall this time round.

[BartonFox]

I don't think Rob Kelly is the man to take the Club forward, but then I don't think Tim Davies is the man off the field to do that either, so I suppose it isn't really RK's problem. We are in real trouble.

The great run we have had which saved us is only masking the issues we have. We are not a good football team and we are a shabbily run Club. After years of false hope and stuttering performances I am not going to get taken in by a good run and think we are the new Arsenal. The football we have played has been dreadful, but a few wins tends to hide the real picture of the performances, and but for the quick wits of Hume and Fryatt we'd be in a right mess.

We have 2 bad goalkeepers although the worst of them seems to be first choice.

Our back 4 is soild enough, although we did miss McCarthy yesterday.

Midfield is powderpuff with little or no creativity and if we are worried about replacing Gudjonnsson then we really are in the mire. We have no wingers of substance, and Andy Welsh was left on the bench yesterday so we could play Club Captain Danny Tiatto, WTF was that all about?

Up front we have one of the best pairings in the league, but how long will they remain at the Club, a Club that is desperate for money?

Next year we will have Maybury, Stearman, Kisnorbo, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Johansson, Hughes, Wesolwski, Williams, Hume and Fryatt who are good enough for the CCC. According tot he FT we have no money to spend so we are left with Sylla, Henderson, Douglas, Hammill, O'Grady and very raw and untested Porter and Chambers, and a Billy Big-Time attitude in Sheehan.

Sorry if I am being un-fan-like but a few wins doesn't mask the glaring problems we fcae and Rob Kelly has been set up to fail. If they had that much confidence why only give him 12 months rolling?

[Foxes_Wizard_Striker]

I would expect a mid table postion next season, maybe just outside of play offs place if we contuine to pull above our weights and are lucky with injuries but we still need about two years at least to build a squad who is capable of not only achiveing promotion but is good enough to stay up and Kelly could be the man but I reckons he still need more exprience and he could grow in stature along with Leicester City similary like Big Sam and Bolton

[Ric Flair]

I don't think Rob Kelly is the man to take the Club forward, but then I don't think Tim Davies is the man off the field to do that either, so I suppose it isn't really RK's problem. We are in real trouble.

The great run we have had which saved us is only masking the issues we have. We are not a good football team and we are a shabbily run Club. After years of false hope and stuttering performances I am not going to get taken in by a good run and think we are the new Arsenal. The football we have played has been dreadful, but a few wins tends to hide the real picture of the performances, and but for the quick wits of Hume and Fryatt we'd be in a right mess.

We have 2 bad goalkeepers although the worst of them seems to be first choice.

Our back 4 is soild enough, although we did miss McCarthy yesterday.

Midfield is powderpuff with little or no creativity and if we are worried about replacing Gudjonnsson then we really are in the mire. We have no wingers of substance, and Andy Welsh was left on the bench yesterday so we could play Club Captain Danny Tiatto, WTF was that all about?

Up front we have one of the best pairings in the league, but how long will they remain at the Club, a Club that is desperate for money?

Next year we will have Maybury, Stearman, Kisnorbo, McCarthy, Gerrbrand, Johansson, Hughes, Wesolwski, Williams, Hume and Fryatt who are good enough for the CCC. According tot he FT we have no money to spend so we are left with Sylla, Henderson, Douglas, Hammill, O'Grady and very raw and untested Porter and Chambers, and a Billy Big-Time attitude in Sheehan.

Sorry if I am being un-fan-like but a few wins doesn't mask the glaring problems we fcae and Rob Kelly has been set up to fail. If they had that much confidence why only give him 12 months rolling?

Some great points there and that's why i've said it's all about the manager. I'm sorry Barton but none of us have any idea whether Rob Kelly will succeed here. What can we go on? He's never been a manager before and unless you have information that none of us have access to then it's almost impossible to say. But your right in the fact that it will be difficult for him to succeed here but when a team has no money then it's hard anyway. Look at Preston a team who have less money than we have, piss poor ground, less quality and a smaller squad and they are in the play-offs for a second year. Reason - their manager has installed a belief that cannot be destroyed easily, something i've seen recently at Leicester even if it's not been always pretty.

We have more than enough quality in our squad, it's all about the manager and none of us know how good he is. All managers start off somewhere, Kelly is starting here. As regard to the boards decision to give him a 12 month contract, I applaud it. It might seem to some that it's showing signs of caution at Kelly's ability but it also means we won't get stung if he isn't good enough. I'd rather that never need to be the case, but if he does fail like you say then we won't face a massive compensation pay-off.

[BartonFox]

Some great points there and that's why i've said it's all about the manager. I'm sorry Barton but none of us have any idea whether Rob Kelly will succeed here. What can we go on? He's never been a manager before and unless you have information that none of us have access to then it's almost impossible to say. But your right in the fact that it will be difficult for him to succeed here but when a team has no money then it's hard anyway. Look at Preston a team who have less money than we have, piss poor ground, less quality and a smaller squad and they are in the play-offs for a second year. Reason - their manager has installed a belief that cannot be destroyed easily, something i've seen recently at Leicester even if it's not been always pretty.

We have more than enough quality in our squad, it's all about the manager and none of us know how good he is. All managers start off somewhere, Kelly is starting here. As regard to the boards decision to give him a 12 month contract, I applaud it. It might seem to some that it's showing signs of caution at Kelly's ability but it also means we won't get stung if he isn't good enough. I'd rather that never need to be the case, but if he does fail like you say then we won't face a massive compensation pay-off.

Sadly Ric we don't have more than enough quality in the squad, it isn't balanced. Despite this 'great run' we are still at the arse end of the table with little prospect of adding the players needed to lift us.

We lose McCarthy for 2 games and we struggle badly, losing at home and getting over run by a group of journeymen. What happens if we lose Hume or Fryatt for a couple of games or longer? Elvis and O'Grady, smacks of Akinbiyi and Benjamin all over again.

The Preston comparison is not fair on Preston, they are well run Club and rebuilding their ground in a sensible manner, yet they have a squad that is competitive and can last the pace, we don't we only have 11 reasonable to semi decent outfield players.

[Ric Flair]

Sadly Ric we don't have more than enough quality in the squad, it isn't balanced. Despite this 'great run' we are still at the arse end of the table with little prospect of adding the players needed to lift us.

We lose McCarthy for 2 games and we struggle badly, losing at home and getting over run by a group of journeymen. What happens if we lose Hume or Fryatt for a couple of games or longer? Elvis and O'Grady, smacks of Akinbiyi and Benjamin all over again.

The Preston comparison is not fair on Preston, they are well run Club and rebuilding their ground in a sensible manner, yet they have a squad that is competitive and can last the pace, we don't we only have 11 reasonable to semi decent outfield players.

It might not be well balanced but we have 2 strikers that are up their with the best strikers in this league. We have a central midfielder who I believe will be one of the best players ever to play for Leicester in the modern era and we have a defence that although concedes some sloppy goals is individually very talented.

I'd say we have 6 quality players and then there are 5 or 6 decent players and the rest are crap. What i'm getting at though is Preston haven't got the quality that Leicester have but as a unit they are effective and that's where Kelly has got to excel. He's got to look at what he's got and make it as effective as possible, he needs to ship out the players who aren't good enough or who aren't pulling their wieght and then go to work on them. It's not just quality you need at this level it's grit and determination that ultimately pulls you away from the dross in this league.

If we haven't got any money what so ever then it's likely that we won't succeed, but managers work in far harder conditions than Kelly finds himself in here and get success but perhaps at a lower level but even so it's the point i'm trying to make. I share some of your concerns but the 12 game run we had has proved that with the right mentality and better use of the squad plus some positive transfer activity then there's no reason why we can't improve massively.

[vanfox12]

Yes - Rob Kelly will do a good job next season.

I think there's a problem here though. We had one awesome manager in Martin O'Neill, and we assume that every new manager can replicate what he did. They can't. It's about time we took a reality check, and realised that Rob Kelly doing well next season probably won't mean automatic promotion or even the play offs. For me, I would be pleased if we achieved top half - that would be progress.

Your Right mate - Next season that should be the bare minimum we expect from Rob Kelly anything else is a bonus.

[vanfox12]

It might not be well balanced but we have 2 strikers that are up their with the best strikers in this league. We have a central midfielder who I believe will be one of the best players ever to play for Leicester in the modern era and we have a defence that although concedes some sloppy goals is individually very talented.

I'd say we have 6 quality players and then there are 5 or 6 decent players and the rest are crap. What i'm getting at though is Preston haven't got the quality that Leicester have but as a unit they are effective and that's where Kelly has got to excel. He's got to look at what he's got and make it as effective as possible, he needs to ship out the players who aren't good enough or who aren't pulling their wieght and then go to work on them. It's not just quality you need at this level it's grit and determination that ultimately pulls you away from the dross in this league.

If we haven't got any money what so ever then it's likely that we won't succeed, but managers work in far harder conditions than Kelly finds himself in here and get success but perhaps at a lower level but even so it's the point i'm trying to make. I share some of your concerns but the 12 game run we had has proved that with the right mentality and better use of the squad plus some positive transfer activity then there's no reason why we can't improve massively.

Thats why O'Neil was successful here - he didn't have much to work with but he got the most out of good or average players - take the squad he had the likes of Lennon, Izzet, Savage, and Heskey were major players in that successful side and granted they've moved and enjoyed some success since leaving Leicester but individually they are not the best players in the world.

[BartonFox]

Thats why O'Neil was successful here - he didn't have much to work with but he got the most out of good or average players - take the squad he had the likes of Lennon, Izzet, Savage, and Heskey were major players in that successful side and granted they've moved and enjoyed some success since leaving Leicester but individually they are not the best players in the world.

What???

Lennon played in a UEFA Cup Final!!!!! Heskey played in a World Cup, Izzet a World Cup semi-final and Savage has played in the Premiership ever since he arrived there in 1996/1997 season. You don't do that if you are an average player, those players are class. In Heskey's case he could have been one of the greats but he has a soft mind.