The "do they mean us?" thread

[mannyzlcfc]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

https://onefootball.com/en/news/ranking-the-10-greatest-premier-league-teams-of-all-time-en-19790394?variable=20180423

9. Leicester City – 2015/16

 

They may not have played the most stylish brand of football the Premier League has ever seen but the Foxes are more than deserving of their place in this list for the sheer against-all-odds audacity of their triumph alone. Though many were keen to write off the most unlikely of title wins as a perfect storm that season, Claudio Ranieri’s side finished 10 points clear of runners up Arsenal and only lost three games all season. Two years on and we still can’t quite believe they did it.

 

Cheers 

[Danizen]

This is the most exciting thing to ever happen to our club! 

Edited 23 April 2018 by Danizen

[1972 Fox]

12 hours ago, davieG said:

https://onefootball.com/en/news/ranking-the-10-greatest-premier-league-teams-of-all-time-en-19790394?variable=20180423

9. Leicester City – 2015/16

 

They may not have played the most stylish brand of football the Premier League has ever seen but the Foxes are more than deserving of their place in this list for the sheer against-all-odds audacity of their triumph alone. Though many were keen to write off the most unlikely of title wins as a perfect storm that season, Claudio Ranieri’s side finished 10 points clear of runners up Arsenal and only lost three games all season. Two years on and we still can’t quite believe they did it.

 

Still brings a great big smile to my face that this reads Arsenal rather than Tottenham. 

[CosbehFox]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/27/the-premier-league-teams-ineptitude-index-2017-18

 

Interesting stuff this in comparison to other clubs

 

Suggest we are well organised, very rarely making mistakes. 

 

[MC Prussian]

52 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/27/the-premier-league-teams-ineptitude-index-2017-18

 

Interesting stuff this in comparison to other clubs

 

Suggest we are well organised, very rarely making mistakes. 

 

Or simply a bland team with a bland manager.

Btw:

Quote

... this is our (not entirely serious) celebration of the 98% of top-flight football that is not all extreme skill. ... The statisticians at Opta have provided exhaustive lists of numbers and we have abused them.

And even if the stats aren't to be taken that seriuosly, we still manage to make the Top Flop Five on two occasions.

As for that passing accuracy, well...

[Stadt]

57 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/27/the-premier-league-teams-ineptitude-index-2017-18

 

Interesting stuff this in comparison to other clubs

 

Suggest we are well organised, very rarely making mistakes. 

 

Only the reds that damaged us particularly badly, one of those shouldn’t have even been one with N’Didi against Brighton 

[CosbehFox]

21 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

Or simply a bland team with a bland manager.

Btw:

And even if the stats aren't to be taken that seriuosly, we still manage to make the Top Flop Five on two occasions.

As for that passing accuracy, well...

To be honest I expected us to be far higher up the list considering some of the howlers we’ve defensively made.

Edited 27 April 2018 by Cardiff_Fox

[davieG]

Leicester City’s treatment of Claude Puel reveals the rampant short-termism of modern football

Premier League clubs have never before enjoyed such riches. Nor have their owners and fans ever expected more for their money.

by Chris Weatherspoon

May 03, 2018May 03, 2018

 

As Claude Puel watched on helplessly from the sideline, he must have known what was coming next. 

After just four wins in Leicester City’s last 17 league games, the Frenchman became the subject of much speculation around his future.

That speculation intensified as 17 became 18, not least because the latest unsuccessful outing came in a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace. 

Granted, three goals came after Puel’s side had been reduced to ten men. But the manner of Leicester’s defeat did little to ease the growing pressure on the man in the dugout.

Short-termism abounds

But while last weekend’s defeat was a troubling one, the fact that Puel was facing up to doubts about his future even before kick-off at Selhurst Park is indicative of a very modern phenomenon. 

For while the influx of huge amounts of money has transformed the quality on show in the top tier of English football, so too does it seem to have changed the expectations of those watching the sport.

 

It was once a commonly held belief that in order for a manager to make a team “his”, he required three years in his post. That was deemed sufficient time for him to assess the lay of the land, root out the bad eggs and integrate his own players and style according.

Now such a timescale is a pipe dream for most managers. Once Arsene Wenger departs from Arsenal at the season’s end, just three clubs will have had managers in place for three years or more. Few are likely to follow suit. 

Puel is keen to impress upon Leicester’s hierarchy the need to overhaul the playing squad this summer; given his current trajectory, it seems unlikely that he will be granted permission to oversee it.

Realistic goals?

Though Leicester’s impressive early season form has tailed off, it should be remembered that they finished 12th last year. 

They are almost certain to finish no lower than 10th this time around which, while not the sort of leap they may have hoped for, still represents improvement. 

Moreover, Puel had to deal with his star player Riyad Mahrez going AWOL in January in a bid to force a move to Manchester City. 

 

That he has been integrated back into the side is testament to his manager; it would also be remiss to ignore this episode when considering reasons for the club’s slide in form.

Leicester players are said to be unhappy with some of Puel’s methods but it should be remembered that this is a squad which fell out of love with Claudio Ranieri less than a year after he led them to perhaps the most unlikely English title in history. 

Sacking a manager is often the easiest option available to clubs. It does not mean it is the right one.

A Premier League pandemic?

Fan impatience and boardroom agitation is not confined to the King Power Stadium. Look through England’s top tier and, indeed, throughout the lower divisions too and you will find a swathe of hasty decisions and swift about-turns. Blips are mistaken for unacceptable troughs with patience at a premium.

Last weekend saw Newcastle United booed off by some sections of the St James Park crowd, following a home loss to bottom side West Bromwich Albion. 

No matter that Rafa Benitez’s side had achieved safety from relegation with room to spare, some were unwilling to accept that poor performances can happen. Though it was a small minority that were culpable, trying to understand how these people think is baffling.

 

Similarly, up in the boardroom, clubs increasingly reach for the panic button above any other option. Returning full circle to Puel, it was he who found himself ousted after just one season at Southampton. 

They had reached a League Cup final and finished eighth. Now, they are odds-on to be relegated, and look set to return to the Championship for the first time in six years.

Such unrealistic expectations from both within and outside of clubs are problems that afflict football beyond this country’s borders. 

A venture to Spain, for example, would see one stumble upon a fairly sizeable managerial scrapheap. But that does not mean that the increasing detachment from reality on display in England is any more palatable.

This is the modern way

It is arguably a consequence of the world we live in. 

With the instantaneous reaction afforded by the likes of Twitter, not to mention the fact such media give voices to any and everyone, displays of howling anger are much more visible than they once were. What was once kept within the four walls of the pub on a Saturday night is now tapped out for the world to see, gaining traction as like-minded reactionaries hop on board.

Problematically, clubs have done little to stem the flow. Instead of investing in the long-term, they 

increasing prioritise on the here and now. Southampton were a good example of a club which laid out solid foundations across a number of years, yet their recent turn to a trigger-happy approach is likely to undo all of their previous good work.

Claude Puel is now deemed to have three games to save his job at Leicester City. If he wins all three, they will likely finish eighth; lose all three and they will likely finish tenth. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter all that much. 

But in the world of modern football, those three games are set to decide the Frenchman’s fate and, potentially, widen the Premier League’s ever-growing expectation gap.

[Babylon]

For how shit people think we've been, we're still only 12th in the 6 game form guide and 13th in the 10 game. Says it all about this league really.

 

Day to day I'm swinging between thinking it's turning into a disaster and giving him time to change things how he wants.

[Hammo]

8 minutes ago, davieG said:

Leicester City’s treatment of Claude Puel reveals the rampant short-termism of modern football

Premier League clubs have never before enjoyed such riches. Nor have their owners and fans ever expected more for their money.

by Chris Weatherspoon

May 03, 2018May 03, 2018

 

As Claude Puel watched on helplessly from the sideline, he must have known what was coming next. 

After just four wins in Leicester City’s last 17 league games, the Frenchman became the subject of much speculation around his future.

That speculation intensified as 17 became 18, not least because the latest unsuccessful outing came in a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace. 

Granted, three goals came after Puel’s side had been reduced to ten men. But the manner of Leicester’s defeat did little to ease the growing pressure on the man in the dugout.

Short-termism abounds

But while last weekend’s defeat was a troubling one, the fact that Puel was facing up to doubts about his future even before kick-off at Selhurst Park is indicative of a very modern phenomenon. 

For while the influx of huge amounts of money has transformed the quality on show in the top tier of English football, so too does it seem to have changed the expectations of those watching the sport.

 

It was once a commonly held belief that in order for a manager to make a team “his”, he required three years in his post. That was deemed sufficient time for him to assess the lay of the land, root out the bad eggs and integrate his own players and style according.

Now such a timescale is a pipe dream for most managers. Once Arsene Wenger departs from Arsenal at the season’s end, just three clubs will have had managers in place for three years or more. Few are likely to follow suit. 

Puel is keen to impress upon Leicester’s hierarchy the need to overhaul the playing squad this summer; given his current trajectory, it seems unlikely that he will be granted permission to oversee it.

Realistic goals?

Though Leicester’s impressive early season form has tailed off, it should be remembered that they finished 12th last year. 

They are almost certain to finish no lower than 10th this time around which, while not the sort of leap they may have hoped for, still represents improvement. 

Moreover, Puel had to deal with his star player Riyad Mahrez going AWOL in January in a bid to force a move to Manchester City. 

 

That he has been integrated back into the side is testament to his manager; it would also be remiss to ignore this episode when considering reasons for the club’s slide in form.

Leicester players are said to be unhappy with some of Puel’s methods but it should be remembered that this is a squad which fell out of love with Claudio Ranieri less than a year after he led them to perhaps the most unlikely English title in history. 

Sacking a manager is often the easiest option available to clubs. It does not mean it is the right one.

A Premier League pandemic?

Fan impatience and boardroom agitation is not confined to the King Power Stadium. Look through England’s top tier and, indeed, throughout the lower divisions too and you will find a swathe of hasty decisions and swift about-turns. Blips are mistaken for unacceptable troughs with patience at a premium.

Last weekend saw Newcastle United booed off by some sections of the St James Park crowd, following a home loss to bottom side West Bromwich Albion. 

No matter that Rafa Benitez’s side had achieved safety from relegation with room to spare, some were unwilling to accept that poor performances can happen. Though it was a small minority that were culpable, trying to understand how these people think is baffling.

 

Similarly, up in the boardroom, clubs increasingly reach for the panic button above any other option. Returning full circle to Puel, it was he who found himself ousted after just one season at Southampton. 

They had reached a League Cup final and finished eighth. Now, they are odds-on to be relegated, and look set to return to the Championship for the first time in six years.

Such unrealistic expectations from both within and outside of clubs are problems that afflict football beyond this country’s borders. 

A venture to Spain, for example, would see one stumble upon a fairly sizeable managerial scrapheap. But that does not mean that the increasing detachment from reality on display in England is any more palatable.

This is the modern way

It is arguably a consequence of the world we live in. 

With the instantaneous reaction afforded by the likes of Twitter, not to mention the fact such media give voices to any and everyone, displays of howling anger are much more visible than they once were. What was once kept within the four walls of the pub on a Saturday night is now tapped out for the world to see, gaining traction as like-minded reactionaries hop on board.

Problematically, clubs have done little to stem the flow. Instead of investing in the long-term, they 

increasing prioritise on the here and now. Southampton were a good example of a club which laid out solid foundations across a number of years, yet their recent turn to a trigger-happy approach is likely to undo all of their previous good work.

Claude Puel is now deemed to have three games to save his job at Leicester City. If he wins all three, they will likely finish eighth; lose all three and they will likely finish tenth. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter all that much. 

But in the world of modern football, those three games are set to decide the Frenchman’s fate and, potentially, widen the Premier League’s ever-growing expectation gap.

The basis of his argument is sound. But, crucially, it comes from a neutral standpoint.

 

He does not spend his money watching his team playing lifeless, hopeless (in the true sense of the word) football week after week.

 

Yes, our expectations are high but so they should be given that we were recently champions of this country and Champions League quarter-finalists. Look where Manchester City were a few years ago. And look at their expectations now. Why, given the wealth and generosity of our current owners, should we not have similar ambitions for sustained success?

 

We, as season ticket holders and fans, have every right to protest and demand change when we sense that our expectations are a long way short of being met and that things are starting to go seriously wrong.

 

If the author of this article had cared to watch us over the past few months, he would understand - perhaps even support - our grievances with Claude Puel.

[Babylon]

1 hour ago, Hammo said:

Why, given the wealth and generosity of our current owners, should we not have similar ambitions for sustained success?

We've spent no more really than the likes of Palace and Watford, if the owners really want sustained success that's more than floating about midtable, then it's time for them to put up or shut up when it comes to recruitment.

[davieG]

8 minutes ago, Babylon said:

We've spent no more really than the likes of Palace and Watford, if the owners really want sustained success that's more than floating about midtable, then it's time for them to put up or shut up when it comes to recruitment.

I suspect it'll take more than big transfer fees and wages to entice better players than we already have we're just not attractive enough add in the manager merry-go-round and it's even less so.

 

We've been incredibly lucky so far with the signings of Vardy, Mahrez, Kante, Fuchs and others all got for peanuts that's not going to happen again.

[Ian Nacho]

1 hour ago, Babylon said:

For how shit people think we've been, we're still only 12th in the 6 game form guide and 13th in the 10 game. Says it all about this league really.

 

Day to day I'm swinging between thinking it's turning into a disaster and giving him time to change things how he wants.

I think this Premier League season has been exceptionally poor compared to others. We've had a 7-8 game spell which has seen us sorted for the season. Our current points are only 4 points ahead of the team (Watford) that finished 17th last season and I can't see us getting many more points in our final games either to be honest.

[Ted Maul]

8 minutes ago, Ian Nacho said:

I think this Premier League season has been exceptionally poor compared to others. We've had a 7-8 game spell which has seen us sorted for the season. Our current points are only 4 points ahead of the team (Watford) that finished 17th last season and I can't see us getting many more points in our final games either to be honest.

Yeah, it's been dreadful. You only need to look at the top half to know that- the solid yet unspectacular Burnley comfortably 7th, us and Everton in very respectable positions despite playing dreadful football and the vast majority being unhappy with Puel & Allardyce, and a Newcastle side who had been pitiful for three quarters of the season in 10th.

 

Points for all positions below 6th are pretty low compared to usual- plenty have gravitated to the top 6 due to them improving and everyone else being somewhere between average and shocking.

[Ian Nacho]

4 minutes ago, Ted Maul said:

Yeah, it's been dreadful. You only need to look at the top half to know that- the solid yet unspectacular Burnley comfortably 7th, us and Everton in very respectable positions despite playing dreadful football and the vast majority being unhappy with Puel & Allardyce, and a Newcastle side who had been pitiful for three quarters of the season in 10th.

 

Points for all positions below 6th are pretty low compared to usual- plenty have gravitated to the top 6 due to them improving and everyone else being somewhere between average and shocking.

Teams such as Huddersfield in any regular season would have been dead and buried for a while now. They've been awful and it's amazing it's still in their hands to stay up.

[Babylon]

51 minutes ago, davieG said:

I suspect it'll take more than big transfer fees and wages to entice better players than we already have we're just not attractive enough add in the manager merry-go-round and it's even less so.

 

We've been incredibly lucky so far with the signings of Vardy, Mahrez, Kante, Fuchs and others all got for peanuts that's not going to happen again.

They need to get the ground and training ground stuff on the fast track with dates of completion nailed on sooner rather than later. It's about looking like a serious project, if you are shopping for players and you're saying the ground is going to be 42,000 in summer 2020 along with a new fancy training ground, it adds a certain weight behind the club.

[davieG]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

They need to get the ground and training ground stuff on the fast track with dates of completion nailed on sooner rather than later. It's about looking like a serious project, if you are shopping for players and you're saying the ground is going to be 42,000 in summer 2020 along with a new fancy training ground, it adds a certain weight behind the club.

It would help but we'd still be seen by many as Leicester City who!

[Papasmurf]

2 hours ago, Babylon said:

For how shit people think we've been, we're still only 12th in the 6 game form guide and 13th in the 10 game. Says it all about this league really.

 

Day to day I'm swinging between thinking it's turning into a disaster and giving him time to change things how he wants.

Bang on. Although losing 5-0 to anybody is not helping matters.

 

[KingsX]

25 minutes ago, Ted Maul said:

Points for all positions below 6th are pretty low compared to usual- plenty have gravitated to the top 6 due to them improving and everyone else being somewhere between average and shocking.

You make a key point here.  People who say "the PL is s#!t" meaning the lack of quality in more than two-thirds of the table, are simply describing the new reality.

 

Now the big four have become a big six (clubs that have hugely separated themelves in what counts most for outcomes: revenue and therefore long-term player quality *), that is where the points wil go.  I would love to see the percentage of all points available collected by the top six finishers since 1992-93.  A long-term upward trend.  I'll bet "our" year woud have been quite an anomaly in that statistic also.

 

Having only six clubs, year after year, with more wins than loses, and with positive goal differentials, will eventually undermine the PL as a sporting enterprise.  Albeit still a money-printing marketing scheme for those clubs with a worldwide TV and shirt-buying following.

 

* No need to chime in whether Man City or Spurs are/were "big clubs".  Going forward, any club with turnover consistently two to three times more than the seventh-highest club is now a big club.

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, KingsX said:

You make a key point here.  People who say "the PL is s#!t" meaning the lack of quality in more than two-thirds of the table, are simply describing the new reality.

 

Now the big four have become a big six (clubs that have hugely separated themelves in what counts most for outcomes: revenue and therefore long-term player quality *), that is where the points wil go.  I would love to see the percentage of all points available collected by the top six finishers since 1992-93.  A long-term upward trend.  I'll bet "our" year woud have been quite an anomaly in that statistic also.

 

Having only six clubs, year after year, with more wins than loses, and with positive goal differentials, will eventually undermine the PL as a sporting enterprise.  Albeit still a money-printing marketing scheme for those clubs with a worldwide TV and shirt-buying following.

 

* No need to chime in whether Man City or Spurs are/were "big clubs".  Going forward, any club with turnover consistently two to three times more than the seventh-highest club is now a big club.

Someone who gets it. The division is ‘shit’ because six clubs have made it that way and will unsettle or buy a player which challenges that 

[4everfox]

On 23/04/2018 at 16:59, davieG said:

https://onefootball.com/en/news/ranking-the-10-greatest-premier-league-teams-of-all-time-en-19790394?variable=20180423

9. Leicester City – 2015/16

 

They may not have played the most stylish brand of football the Premier League has ever seen but the Foxes are more than deserving of their place in this list for the sheer against-all-odds audacity of their triumph alone. Though many were keen to write off the most unlikely of title wins as a perfect storm that season, Claudio Ranieri’s side finished 10 points clear of runners up Arsenal and only lost three games all season. Two years on and we still can’t quite believe they did it.

 

Every time we lose I watch a documentary on that season I've still got recorded on sky instead of match of the day, and it still makes my hairs stand up. I'd love to relive that season all over again. Madness. 

[urban.spaceman]

9 hours ago, Babylon said:

They need to get the ground and training ground stuff on the fast track with dates of completion nailed on sooner rather than later. It's about looking like a serious project, if you are shopping for players and you're saying the ground is going to be 42,000 in summer 2020 along with a new fancy training ground, it adds a certain weight behind the club.

The training ground is key for me. Belvoir Drive has served us so well but it's going to start holding us back from growing into the club we want to be. 

[HighPeakFox]

13 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Someone who gets it. The division is ‘shit’ because six clubs have made it that way and will unsettle or buy a player which challenges that 

Absolutely right - it's fast becoming a closed shop, so I care less about LCFC cocking up, as it is getting harder and harder to get it right now.

[UniFox21]

3 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

Absolutely right - it's fast becoming a closed shop, so I care less about LCFC cocking up, as it is getting harder and harder to get it right now.

After our win, all the big teams threw money to prevent it happening again. Now its the top 6 and the rest of us. Everton were trying to throw money at it to get there but ultimately failed. 

[Blue ROI]

A reaction from Leicester or West Ham?

Given their previous in the field of downing tools for managers , it will be intriguing to see how Leicester’s players approach this game. Claude Puel’s future looks uncertain in the wake of his team’s slaughter at Crystal Palace and with nothing much to play for, the reaction – or lack thereof – of his players will be telling. Still in danger of going down, West Ham will be hoping there is mutiny in the air over the King Power Stadium and look likely to bring Andy Carroll along. The striker apologised to David Moyes following an act of petulance and subsequent training ground row, prompted by his manager’s refusal to give him a run-out against Manchester City from the bench. Should both sets of players fail to up their game after respective embarrassments, fans can look forward to witnessing one of the most lethargic “contests” in top-flight history

 

Glendenning in his usual sneering tone towards us. A joke of a writer.