So....where has it gone wrong?

[Monk]

Sly, a nice summary of the season so far. What are your expectations for the srcond half of the season. I see you're not running around like a headless chicken as some posters are... I'm prepared to sit and wait and see what Ollie can pull out of the transfer window hat.

[Sly]

Sly, a nice summary of the season so far. What are your expectations for the srcond half of the season. I see you're not running around like a headless chicken as some posters are... I'm prepared to sit and wait and see what Ollie can pull out of the transfer window hat.

Thank you.

I think we'll be more towards mid table-ish if I'm honest. We aren't actually that many players short, we are just lacking in a few areas. It's mainly the midfield, I don't blame the defenders for going long, as they don't have options in the midfield. We lack someone who can put the foot on the ball and carve a teame open. We lack natural width as well, I'd like to see more of Hayes and see what he has to offer, at least he's a winger.

I wish for a clinical forward, then again so do 20 other teams in the division. Not that our forwards are that bad, just no better than what other teams have in this division.

[Ultra]

We've all suffered the horrors and heard the rumors omitting from the Walkers Stadium this year. It has been like a comedy of errors but if you piece the jigsaw together, no one person is at fault. It is quite clear that some people have had larger parts to play in leading us to our current position that others. If you asses the madness we have had to witness from the start of the season you really do have to wonder if we are following a football team or a soap opera.

That's an understatement and a half..

We've had Martin Allen who seemed like a pleasant chap and he quickly built up a good report with the fans. We all enjoyed reading and hearing about his wacky ideas and how he was preparing us for the promotion push towards the Premier league. We were treated to a whole host of signings, to improve the squad from the inadequate underachievers that we've had to witness over the past 3 or 4 years. The players who we were buying came with reputations, some bigger than others but still we were being treated to something special. Too long had our club gone without success, Martin Allen was assembling a squad of big name players.

Apart from the three ex-brummies (plus Cort). I'm not sure how true this is..

Then the whispers started to kick in, the players were unfit, the dressing room was divided, players were only their to take the money and we had a manager who had been like a child in a sweet shop and was grabbing everything he could and what we'd ultimately been left with was a lot of square pegs to fit into round holes. Allen didn't command the respect of the players, in fact the players didn't even have the respect of their own fellow players. Allen was seen as a clown by the squad, he'd told his worshipers how hard they were working yet, the playing staff were aware that throughout the summer they were not being pushed hard enough, not sharp enough, not reaching peak fitness to face the challenge ahead.

Events since Allen's departure prove that the squad are not in a position to judge ANYONE as a "clown". In any event, it doesn't matter what kind of training schedule he set for them, as they'd have wrecked it by going out for regular sessions on the razz anyway!

Allen banished key personnel from the training ground, so that they could not observe the goings on.

Such as?

Unfortunately for him this was not enough to save his job. His actions or maybe lack of had not escaped the attention of the Chairman of our football club who acted sooner rather than later and terminated Allen’s contract. The pressure had already been turned up on Allen prior to this debacle as should the rumors be correct; he'd relied heavily on a certain scout when purchasing his players due to him having very little knowledge himself.

According to Mandaric at the open meeting, it went deeper than that. Allen apparently signed certain players on the basis that they had the same agent as he did. Ultimately, though, it was the chairman's responsibility to prevent this from happening.

Apparently this scout is now under investigation by the FA. It had become obvious that the players purchased were not good enough to do the job in hand. Milan had reacted to Allen’s spending earlier in the summer and purchased only one player, Bruno N'Gotty.

Incorrect - N'Gotty was signed before Allen arrived, as Mandaric later confirmed.

[Ultra]

Milan felt the backlash of the fans by removing Allen, they were upset that following a 4-1 victory over a very good Watford team, they felt he'd abused his position of power and sacked Allen due to personal differences. The fans were unaware of the behind the scenes goings on and Milan neither felt inclined or was unable to discuss these due to legal implications.

The "confidentiality clause" was actually due to Football League regulations. Mandaric had no leeway in the matter.

The fans chanted Allen’s name which saddened our Chairman further, causing him to angrily reacted and arrange a face to face meeting with them, allowing his charm to once again win them over, sow the seeds of doubt about Allen but reveal no details regarding his departure.

Mandaric was given the benefit of the doubt due to his support in the media and by "leaks" on boards such as this. He was also very fortunate that the meeting took place the night after our win at Villa. Even so, it played a comparatively small part in his survival.

Milan quickly set about replacing Allen and looked to bring in someone who would instill discipline, someone who would work the team hard and stabiles the ship, that man was to be Gary Megson. Away from the game for an extended period, Milan felt Megson deserved an opportunity to return to the game by allowing him to clean up the mess left by the previous management. Megson opted for a defensive strategy, battening down the hatches, the club needed to walk before it could run, it required safety before it could chases its dream of promotion. Unfortunately for Milan and Leicester, the gamble he’d taken decided to strike back and bite the hand that had fed it. Megson walked away from Leicester at the first opportunity he was given, did he really want to work this poor unhappy squad, where factions of it did not even speak to each other, some that couldn’t even speak English at all. Was Megson the man to realize Milan’s dream, or was the grass actually greener on the other side? Megson thought so and decided he’d chance his arm elsewhere. Should we have not realized then that we were in a real mess? A man given a opportunity by Milan, should be in debt to him but when posed with the dilemma of managing Leicester City choose to walk away.

Megson knew through his contacts, either before or VERY shortly after he joined us, that he had the chance of landing the Bolton job. However he needed to prove himself somewhere else first. Hence he used us as a stepping stone, and EVERYTHING he did during his time with us should be judged on that basis. At no stage did he take ANY interest in the long-term development of the team or the club.

Mandaric then took his time, he had to get things right. He turned to a man who was what some would say, was a cross between the two disappointments before him. A man that enjoyed a challenge, this man was to be Ian Holloway.

.. who apparently was never even considered at any stage either in May or September..

[Ultra]

Upon Holloway's arrival he wiped the slate clean for every member involved at the club. This was to be a fresh start for everyone; he would watch and ponder giving everyone a chance to prove themselves. Everyone was giving a new beginning, some took the bull by the horns and grasped the opportunity with both hands, others have fallen by the wayside and have proved that they lack both the desire, commitment and drive to play for Leicester City. He now needs to remove the rotting core from the apple and remove players from our squad. He will not simply cast them aside like previous management though; he will work with them, to find them new homes, treat them with respect, unlike those before him. In a weeks time he has 31 days to begin to assemble a squad of players, knit them closer together with further additions. Holloway believes that he is the man to take this club forwards, he has realized that the work required is greater than when you stand on the outside looking but he has not chosen to walk away from the challenge. This is Holloway’s chance to prove he can make a difference.

The jury is still out. Let's all hope they find in his favour..

Younger members of the playing staff have been known to get down heartened, even cry in the dressing room due to the fans booing them.

Ahhh, diddums...I'm sure they're cheered up when their payslips arrive. If they don't have the mental strength to play in front of crowds of 20000+ they're not fit to wear the shirt anyway.

We need to cheer our team, support our team through the bad times and the good. If we stand by Holloway stand by the team that he builds, allow him the time he requires, he will bring success to our football club. Rome was not built in a day and neither shall our great football team.

As I said, the jury is out. You assert he will be better than his immediate predecessors - sadly the results since he took charge have yet to bear this out.

He cannot afford to make any mistakes with the signings he brings in.

[Sly]

As I said, the jury is out. You assert he will be better than his immediate predecessors - sadly the results since he took charge have yet to bear this out.

He cannot afford to make any mistakes with the signings he brings in.

I couldn't agree more, it he gets it wrong, he'll be gone and we'll be in a whole host of trouble. I for one hope he gets it right.

[filbertway]

Ahhh, diddums...I'm sure they're cheered up when their payslips arrive. If they don't have the mental strength to play in front of crowds of 20000+ they're not fit to wear the shirt anyway.

Them payslips will pay for legal teams to get the nasty fans ejected and banned. So be careful who you boo

[Ultra]

Them payslips will pay for legal teams to get the nasty fans ejected and banned. So be careful who you boo

In some cases, we're talking hundreds, perhaps thousands, of "nasty fans".

None of our players earn anywhere near enough to have ALL of them taken out..

[filbertway]

In some cases, we're talking hundreds, perhaps thousands, of "nasty fans".

None of our players earn anywhere near enough to have ALL of them taken out..

Then they're obviously not earning enough to recieve such abuse. Why do you pin point the young ones? It's the experianced ones you should be targetting.

[Ultra]

Then they're obviously not earning enough to receive such abuse. Why do you pin point the young ones? It's the experienced ones you should be targetting.

As Carl Cort will observe, the experienced ones get their share of stick too.

But with one or two obvious exceptions, the youngsters are generally treated quite well.

[barmy76uk]

Idiot.

Compared to you he is the fountain of football knowledge.

Anyway, an excellent post Sly, a fair recolection of a roller coaster season! For me, a number of factors have gone wrong for us. Starting with the departure of Micky Adams. I don't believe he was the right man to take us forward, and after we got relegated he failed to build a team which could challenge for promotion. After that we became a mid table Championship club, which we have stayed ever since. Craig Levien and Rob Kelly were the wrong appontments and in appointing those two the board made sure that our status would not be rising any further. If it were not for Milan, we would have stayed a mid table club for years, but he came in, and the club was given a new lease of life. He got it wrong with Martin Allen, very wrong, but he realised his mistake and quickly corrected it, which is good. However the damage for the 2007 - 2008 season had been done, as Allen had waisted our summer. He appointed Gary Megson, who would have been a good manager. He qucikly realised he had a really bad squad, so he defended his way to some points. Later, a call came from Bolton, and off he went to furthur his career, and fair play to hom for doing so. However, his departure threw is into more confusion. Milan has called on Ian Holloway to save us. He is guilty of not realising how bad the squad is, but when we have some quality in, his system will work and in my opinion he'll be a good manager.

So basically thats what I think has gone wrong all these years.

Yawn you boring fool!

[Sly]

To be honest, I could have worded it slightly better in my original post. What was actually said was "please don't boo us at half time".

When the team go back to the dressing room this knocks peoples confidence and lowers morale. It is hard to pick these players off the floor, why should they want to play football for us? If someone boo'd you when you were having a bad day at work, how would you feel?

[MC Prussian]

Sly: That's an interesting and appropriate summary of our downfall. Good read, Sly. Very good read.

I know there are many others in and around Leicester that are by far more concerned and affected by the current state of things with LCFC, as a foreign supporter living abroad, I still feel for the club and the fans and the situation has reached a point for me where I don't really feel anything anymore. I can't really say that I'm disappointed or angry. Those emotions have faded a long time ago. All I do now is shake my head in disbelief when I look at this club. From administration to where we are now - I believe we deserve to be laughed at. Furthermore, I also think that many football supporters throughout Britain don't even know how fooked up we really are - so if there are any Leeds fans on here reading this, don't hesitate and start poking fun. When I think of the way Leicester City FC has been run in the past few years, then I must say that the former board completely misjudged the economical change in football (and in sports in general) either by incapability or on purpose by wanting to harm this club more than doing good.

Football has become an investment business and things are no different with LCFC. In addition, I cynically laugh at the clueless scouting system that we have (or have had), resulting in adding mostly useless, weak, willingless and/or greedy football players that no longer identify with this or any other club (I admit there's a few that care - and also a few promising academy players). Apart from youth players, most footballers spend one, maybe two years at the same club. Then they move on or they're sold to the highest bidder. They do no longer identify with the club and/or the fans. They're no longer integrated in the community. They don't want to. You simply cannot create a functionning team that way, left alone plan ahead. This is what Bosman has brought to this footballing world. Guns for hire. It's a perverted system. Capitalism can be cruel.

The only hope that I have right now starts with an "F" and ends with "ebruary".

@ Burnham & Barmy: Behave.

[The Stig]

Yawn you boring fool!

Coming from your self sir that's the biggest compliment I've ever been payed on Foxestalk.

[Super Arj]

Sly that was the best summary of the season ive heard

- excellent

it all went wrong when our players stopped giving two bollocks

about lcfc, most were playing for the money, not for the shirt

[Thracian]

Thracian, I always enjoy reading your posts.

I fully agree with your assessment of Iain Hume and I also campaigned with you for the inclusion of Sheehan. I’ve reserved my opinion of Andy King until I’ve seen more of him at this level. You might be controversial with some of the things that you say but that doesn't mean I disagree with everything that you say.

One thing I will add is that you ignite conversation, which is what a forum needs.

Thanks for those kind words. They're much appreciated.

I feel the same about King. His major problems to me are that he's a bit one paced, a bit lacking in stamina during the last 20 minutes and a bit reserved for now, which is inevitable I suppose.

My feeling is that he can overcome the last two and I have to be comforted by the fact that people like Neil Lennon were never pacey in midfield.

I'd like to see him develop enough confidence to be given more licence in a better side with more players making [passing opportunities around him.

He's shown himself capable of being extremely influential at two lower levels but the question now is whether he can have the same influence at the faster, Championship level.