Now we have our squad..........

[Head Honcho]

Everybody happy, anybody not?

Do we have we have the right backroom team in place to get us promoted?

I know it's early doors but you could argue that some of our players have gotten worse since they joined and players like Peltier, Moussa and Schlupp will need to improve, even Fernandes and most of last seasons squad will need to up their consistency if we're going to be challenging come christmas.

What does everyone think?

[MANFACE]

Sven will sort it.

We are like a big bear coming out of hibernation, once we get going , they'll be no stopping us.

[zubi]

Still think we need a decent winger

[John Matrix]

we need to edit filter>position-coach>reputation-world class and see who's available.

[Ric Flair]

I would love Tony Adams to come in as coach, he worked well with Redknapp at Pompey and he's always going to Europe to better himself. Alongside Sven and Faz he could be brilliant and would help our defence work as a unit.

[thybluefox]

We do need some proper coaches, at the minute its just Faz and Stowell?

[Jimbo]

Really need a defense coach, someone to sort out the positional sense of our back 4 and make sure we start picking up some runners when it comes to defending corners and crosses.

[psychonaut]

An attacking coach is most definately needed!!! Our players need to know what to do in the final 3rd as so far it hasnt looked that convincing to... to say the least!

[Guest Col city fan]

We need pace on the flanks.................

[cc_star]

Balance doesn't feel right to me, too many players stepping on each others toes in the middle of the park, only one player capable of providing width (the often out of favour Dyer) now that the full backs attacking ability has been compromised from last season.

The management & coaching team seem incapable of sorting the defence out with many, many signings last season & this and the goals still going in at a level unsustainable for our ambition

We have a deep squad, but many skill-sets are duplicated so we're still unable to change things if things aren't going well

I think we could mount a push for 6th or so but can't see us troubling the top 2 at the moment

A collection of some excellent players (Kasper, Bamba at times, Wellens, King, Fernandes, Nuge & Beckford) & loads of OK players, little variation between some of them though & a tactically naive manager who doesn't seem to know what he's doing either formation-wise or coaching & development-wise does leave me fearful we'll fall short again

[Guest Col city fan]

Very much agree about Lloyd Dyer. He would always be in my team

Lloyd down the left... Pacey winger with a good cross down the right... 442 and this squad would be complete IMO

[Ric Flair]

Balance doesn't feel right to me, too many players stepping on each others toes in the middle of the park, only one player capable of providing width (the often out of favour Dyer) now that the full backs attacking ability has been compromised from last season.

The management & coaching team seem incapable of sorting the defence out with many, many signings last season & this and the goals still going in at a level unsustainable for our ambition

We have a deep squad, but many skill-sets are duplicated so we're still unable to change things if things aren't going well

I think we could mount a push for 6th or so but can't see us troubling the top 2 at the moment

A collection of some excellent players (Kasper, Bamba at times, Wellens, King, Fernandes, Nuge & Beckford) & loads of OK players, little variation between some of them though & a tactically naive manager who doesn't seem to know what he's doing either formation-wise or coaching & development-wise does leave me fearful we'll fall short again

True dat.

[Father Ted]

The squad is prem class. The backroom staff im not so sure. 4-5-1 last week vs southampton was schoolboy.

[Thracian]

Ego will be the problem. People naturally protect their own fortress and are often loathe to delegate authority that might eventually weaken their own position.

Let's be entirely clear. The situation at our club is much more promising than it has perhaps ever been. Most importantly there really does seem to be genuine backing for good ideas by the club's owners.

And, despite my criticism of his tactics, I think that Sven is a distinguished manager with a whole stack of qualities that more than counter his apparent weaknesses, especially looking to the longer term.

Thankfully those qualities wouldn't necessarily be undermined whatever assistance he brought in because, like Ferguson, the man's achievements will more than sustain his credibility long into retirement.

But for all that, our coaching and tactical success could be so much greater.

Max Gradel has just been sold for a supposed £2.5 milllion. We were so unappreciative of his ability and so unable to get the best from him that we sold him for £200,000 plus £0.5m sell on! How utterly naive is that and I'm not being wise after the event, I said it loud and clear at the time.

Why did we get so little out of him, or from any of our wingers? Why are our defenders dribbling in the back third of the field and sometimes costing us goals? Why is our delivery from set pieces so hit and miss and why do we clearly spend insufficient time on rehearsal and on imaginative options. And what about our movement? Why so few making selfless runs to create space or refusing to shoot from goalscoring positions?

Why do we lack so many weapons in our playing armoury? Capable attacking full-backs, wingers who can get behind defences, midfielders who will hurt themselves to get forwards quickly in support of attacks, strikers who compliment one-another ..it's all part of our club not attending to the detail of what's needed to succeed.

Yes, I know it won't all come at once but the current regime is way past beginner stage and we're still handicapping ourselves and still getting too many of even the basics wrong.

Voluntarily inviting pressure by sitting on two-goal leads because we don't believe we've got the capacity to keep pressurising is just symptomatic of our shortcomings because if we're going to adapt a defensive stratetgy for whatever reason it should be a practiced one and one imposed out of design not necessity at Championship level.

Conceding two goals a game isn't just about defenders it is about the functioning of our team as a whole and it isn't good enough. If King played at the base of the diamond I believe that weakness would be improved and that King could still do his late arriving at times because people like Fernandes could fill in behind him.

We need another dead ball specialist because Gallagher is looking too slow and inconsistent to be the permanent incumbent. I'd really be looking to someone like King, who is potentially accurate, to evolve into that job, or perhaps even Wellens (or both) but, again, coaching, imagination and practice will be the key.

With people like Beckford, Nugent and Schlupp to aim at it's vital that we're quick and accurate and that we have positive wide-men who know exactly where to find the strikers and that they have proper support when they take people on and try to disturb defences.

Gary Neville is one of the best examples of what i mean of a guy who would get right forward to our opponent's goalline if necessary. Evra tries to do the same and others before him right back to Denis Irwin. Why not us? Has it not proved successful enough?

We don't do it because we don't have fast-supporting defenders in any case. Stearman was the last non-loanee right back who could support at pace and it is why I still wonder about that role for Schlupp when he's not getting in as a striker cos that's a part of what good coaches do - they find a role for their best players and we sure need more attacking input from full-back.

[BlueBlood17]

Ego will be the problem. People naturally protect their own fortress and are often loathe to delegate authority that might eventually weaken their own position.

Let's be entirely clear. The situation at our club is much more promising than it has perhaps ever been. Most importantly there really does seem to be genuine backing for good ideas by the club's owners.

And, despite my criticism of his tactics, I think that Sven is a distinguished manager with a whole stack of qualities than more than counter his apparent weaknesses, especially looking to the longer term.

Thankfully those qualities wouldn't necessarily be undermined whatever assistance he brought in because, like Ferguson, the man's achievements will more than sustain his credibility long into retirement.

But for all that, our coaching and tactical success could be so much greater.

Max Gradel has just been sold for a supposed £7.5 milllion. We were so unappreciative of his ability and so unable to get the best from him that we sold him for £200,000 plus £0.5m sell on! How utterly naive is that and I'm not being wise after the event, I said it loud and clear at the time.

Why did we get so little out of him, or from any of our wingers? Why are our defenders dribbling in the back third of the field and sometimes costing us goals? Why is our delivery from set pieces so hit and miss and why do we clearly spend insufficient time on rehearsal and on imaginative options. And what about our movement? Why so few making selfless runs to create space or refusing to shoot from goalscoring positions?

Why do we lack so many weapons in our playing armoury? Capable attacking full-backs, wingers who can get behind defences, midfielders who will hurt themselves to get forwards quickly in support of attacks, strikers who compliment one-another ..it's all part of our club not attending to the detail of what's needed to succeed.

Yes, I know it won't all come at once but the current regime is way past beginner stage and we're still handicapping ourselves and still getting too many of even the basics wrong.

Voluntarily inviting pressure by sitting on two-goal leads because we don't believe we've got the capacity to keep pressurising is just symptomatic of our shortcomings because if we're going to adapt a defensive stratetgy for whatever reason it should be a practiced one and one imposed out of design not necessity at Championship level.

Conceding two goals a game isn't just about defenders it is about the functioning of our team as a whole and it isn't good enough. If King played at the base of the diamond I believe that weakness would be improved and that King could still do his late arriving at times because people like Fernandes could fill in behind him.

We need another dead ball specialist because Gallagher is looking too slow and inconsistent to be the permanent incumbent. I'd really be looking to someone like King, who is potentially accurate, to evolve into that job, or perhaps even Wellens (or both) but, again, coaching, imagination and practice will be the key.

With people like Beckford, Nugent and Schlupp to aim at it's vital that we're quick and accurate and that we have positive wide-men who know exactly where to find the strikers and that they have proper support when they take people on and try to disturb defences.

Gary Neville is one of the best examples of what i mean of a guy who would get right forward to our opponent's goalline if necessary. Evra tries to do the same and others before him right back to Denis Irwin. Why not us? Has it not proved successful enough?

We don't do it because we don't have fast-supporting defenders in any case. Stearman was the last non-loanee right back who could support at pace and it is why I still wonder about that role for Schlupp when he's not getting in as a striker cos that's a part of what good coaches do - they find a role for their best players and we sure need more attacking input from full-back.

There is no evidence of coaching, Sven is a chequebook manager - He had good success at Gothenberg, but everywhere else he's massively outspent the competition, all it is is sign players who he thinks are expensive enough to not need coaching & they'll figure it out on the pitch themselves, & if it doesn't work replace those players with dearer ones. Other than his faves of course who he sticks with no matter how badly their outcomes are.

Fullbacks don't know what to do, unsure as to whether they're supposed to be tucking in to keep things tight, or flying forward to add desperately needed width

Centreback pairing (no matter who it is) play like complete strangers and have done ever since Sven joined us - it was hidden for a while because Sousa messed us up so badly, but Sven's has been here more than long enough to take responsibility for his complete ineptness at the back

Middle, a load of broadly similar players who on paper are great going forward, but in reality don't seem as effective as they were before Sven got his hands on them - and we all know how ineffective they are when the opposition are attacking

Out wide - NOTHING except for the occasional mazey run by Vassell who gets pushed out there by defenders, he also lacks any ability whatsoever to cross which is obviously why defenders allow him to run there. the lack of width also means opposing wingers & fullbacks can push on without any problems whatsoever, putting us under even more pressure

Up front - A variety of players who on paper should be able to form a pairing with skills that compliment each other, Gally the wiley creater for a goalscorer like Nuge/Schlupp/vassell, the bigman/small man with Howard + 1, the fast schlupp/vassell with a hard worker Nuge, there is lots of combination, but almost no evidence that any of these players every play together outside of the 90mins on matchdays

In fact there's hardly any evidence anywhere on the pitch that any of the team play together outside of the matchday 90mins

Sven is a disaster for us, his success at Gotherberg was great yes, but the bulk of his success at Lazio was bought... and as for England, he had a squad which should of got to championship finals, or at least semi-final after semi-final and he didn't, we only look back reasonably fondly on Sven's time in charge because Capello makes him look like the best thing since sliced bread.

has Sven bought enough players to force promotion despite his weaknesses? Possibly, but a lot of defeats will come our way against sides which play as a unit

If Faz is our coach, then he is failing massively which by default means Sven is failing massively. We need a defensive coach urgently who can coach players how to perform as a unit, by that I mean (just one example, there are obviously hundreds of situation ona pitch which should be coached on the training ground) when the opposition is attacking down a flank, the players should automatically know where to fallback to - at the moment they are 6's & 7's with no one knowing who to pick up, where to stand and have been for a year

Our set-pieces are a laughing stock, we have nothing either attacking or defending them - It's embarrassing - again this is an example of coaching, or lackthereof

Sorry for rambling, but I'm fuming that we could balls this up, thanks to glaring errors on the coaching side of things that all but the most blinkered of fanboy can see, surely?

we have the players to be in the top 3 or 4, easily - but off the pitch we are lacking. massively

[wakeyfox01]

This thread = absolute tosh

That is all

[Guest MattP]

Gradel went for 2.5 not 7.5.....

We probably have a squad that can make the play offs, still lacking in creativity unfortunately and the defence needs to start picking up men sharpish.

[B52]

Satisfied, when Nugent is fit we bring disaster to every other club. It will be interesting to see our clash with West Ham.

[Head Honcho]

This thread = absolute tosh

That is all

Yes my apologies.

I thought this thread may tax the mental capabilities of many of our forum.

The sooner we get back to guess the attendance and brizzle city are a cheap outfit threads the better!

[marbelladave]

Really need a defense coach, someone to sort out the positional sense of our back 4 and make sure we start picking up some runners when it comes to defending corners and crosses.

An attacking coach is most definately needed!!! Our players need to know what to do in the final 3rd as so far it hasnt looked that convincing to... to say the least!

You are both right, A tactically sound first team coach is most definitely what we need.

Let Sven sit back and look after 'the big picture'.

[Dicko]

There is no evidence of coaching, Sven is a chequebook manager - He had good success at Gothenberg, but everywhere else he's massively outspent the competition, all it is is sign players who he thinks are expensive enough to not need coaching & they'll figure it out on the pitch themselves, & if it doesn't work replace those players with dearer ones. Other than his faves of course who he sticks with no matter how badly their outcomes are.

Fullbacks don't know what to do, unsure as to whether they're supposed to be tucking in to keep things tight, or flying forward to add desperately needed width

Centreback pairing (no matter who it is) play like complete strangers and have done ever since Sven joined us - it was hidden for a while because Sousa messed us up so badly, but Sven's has been here more than long enough to take responsibility for his complete ineptness at the back

Middle, a load of broadly similar players who on paper are great going forward, but in reality don't seem as effective as they were before Sven got his hands on them - and we all know how ineffective they are when the opposition are attacking

Out wide - NOTHING except for the occasional mazey run by Vassell who gets pushed out there by defenders, he also lacks any ability whatsoever to cross which is obviously why defenders allow him to run there. the lack of width also means opposing wingers & fullbacks can push on without any problems whatsoever, putting us under even more pressure

Up front - A variety of players who on paper should be able to form a pairing with skills that compliment each other, Gally the wiley creater for a goalscorer like Nuge/Schlupp/vassell, the bigman/small man with Howard + 1, the fast schlupp/vassell with a hard worker Nuge, there is lots of combination, but almost no evidence that any of these players every play together outside of the 90mins on matchdays

In fact there's hardly any evidence anywhere on the pitch that any of the team play together outside of the matchday 90mins

Sven is a disaster for us, his success at Gotherberg was great yes, but the bulk of his success at Lazio was bought... and as for England, he had a squad which should of got to championship finals, or at least semi-final after semi-final and he didn't, we only look back reasonably fondly on Sven's time in charge because Capello makes him look like the best thing since sliced bread.

has Sven bought enough players to force promotion despite his weaknesses? Possibly, but a lot of defeats will come our way against sides which play as a unit

If Faz is our coach, then he is failing massively which by default means Sven is failing massively. We need a defensive coach urgently who can coach players how to perform as a unit, by that I mean (just one example, there are obviously hundreds of situation ona pitch which should be coached on the training ground) when the opposition is attacking down a flank, the players should automatically know where to fallback to - at the moment they are 6's & 7's with no one knowing who to pick up, where to stand and have been for a year

Our set-pieces are a laughing stock, we have nothing either attacking or defending them - It's embarrassing - again this is an example of coaching, or lackthereof

Sorry for rambling, but I'm fuming that we could balls this up, thanks to glaring errors on the coaching side of things that all but the most blinkered of fanboy can see, surely?

we have the players to be in the top 3 or 4, easily - but off the pitch we are lacking. massively

Hmm, as this is your only post i'm not sure if you're a WUM or not, I really hope so for your sake.

Anyway, i'll have a little bite regardless, as even if you are trolling I have seen too many posts like this on the site.

Fans seem to have short memories. It wasn't that long ago that during our transfer windows we would be picking up free transfers from Rochdale, taking on over-the-hill journeymen looking for one last payday, or chancing it with youngsters deemed not good enough for other clubs.

We now have:

1. 
   

• Rich ambitious owners, who want to invest into the club, not only on the playing staff but also on the Commercial & Marketing side to make us into a "bigger club"
  
• An International-class manager, who has won more trophies alone in his career than our club has in it's existence
  
• A squad packed with quality players that is better than any squad we have had in the last 5-6 years, especially now that the one missing ingredient (a top striker) has been added
  
• A genuine ambition to get promoted, and a team that is improving game on game
  

Our start to the season has seen us comfortably progress through two rounds of the league cup, pick up 4 points from 6 on the road (would have been 6 from 6 barring a dodgy penalty/moments of madness from keepers at Forest) and win our last home game against the top of the league side who will definitely be in the promotion mix this season.

Yes we lost a couple of home games against Reading and Bristol City, but that is 2 games from 46. Hitting form at the start of the season isn't important. We're in 10th place now and only 6 points off the top for goodness sake. Given that the team was almost entirely new players it was always going to take some time for them to gel. Time that we DO have in this league.

The most glaringly obvious problem to me in our games this season has been that we tend to invite too much pressure onto ourselves as we haven't had an "out ball", due to not having a striker who can play with his back to goal and hold the ball up.

The last 30 minutes against Southampton was so tense because Vassell had ran himself into the ground and neither he nor Schlupp are "target men" in any sense of the word, so the ball kept coming straight back whenever we cleared it. The management have addressed this now and signed Beckford, who is a tall strong forward who can hold up the ball, and will also give us an added goal threat and a touch of creativity too. He'll link brilliantly with Nugent.

Call me a "fanboy" all you want, but it seems pretty clear to me that the glass is very much half-full right now and this is a great time to be a Leicester fan. That doesn't mean the club are beyond criticism from anybody, but to go to the lengths that you have is frankly disturbing.

Keep the blue flag flying high.

[LCFC OK]

There are non so blind as they that will not see! I struggle to write the word defence as I do not think there is such a thing at the KP. If we do not get a defensive coach on the payroll ASAP you can forget all about even challenging for a top six place.

[marbelladave]

There is no evidence of coaching, Sven is a chequebook manager - He had good success at Gothenberg, but everywhere else he's massively outspent the competition, all it is is sign players who he thinks are expensive enough to not need coaching & they'll figure it out on the pitch themselves, & if it doesn't work replace those players with dearer ones. Other than his faves of course who he sticks with no matter how badly their outcomes are.

Fullbacks don't know what to do, unsure as to whether they're supposed to be tucking in to keep things tight, or flying forward to add desperately needed width

Centreback pairing (no matter who it is) play like complete strangers and have done ever since Sven joined us - it was hidden for a while because Sousa messed us up so badly, but Sven's has been here more than long enough to take responsibility for his complete ineptness at the back

Middle, a load of broadly similar players who on paper are great going forward, but in reality don't seem as effective as they were before Sven got his hands on them - and we all know how ineffective they are when the opposition are attacking

Out wide - NOTHING except for the occasional mazey run by Vassell who gets pushed out there by defenders, he also lacks any ability whatsoever to cross which is obviously why defenders allow him to run there. the lack of width also means opposing wingers & fullbacks can push on without any problems whatsoever, putting us under even more pressure

Up front - A variety of players who on paper should be able to form a pairing with skills that compliment each other, Gally the wiley creater for a goalscorer like Nuge/Schlupp/vassell, the bigman/small man with Howard + 1, the fast schlupp/vassell with a hard worker Nuge, there is lots of combination, but almost no evidence that any of these players every play together outside of the 90mins on matchdays

In fact there's hardly any evidence anywhere on the pitch that any of the team play together outside of the matchday 90mins

Sven is a disaster for us, his success at Gotherberg was great yes, but the bulk of his success at Lazio was bought... and as for England, he had a squad which should of got to championship finals, or at least semi-final after semi-final and he didn't, we only look back reasonably fondly on Sven's time in charge because Capello makes him look like the best thing since sliced bread.

has Sven bought enough players to force promotion despite his weaknesses? Possibly, but a lot of defeats will come our way against sides which play as a unit

If Faz is our coach, then he is failing massively which by default means Sven is failing massively. We need a defensive coach urgently who can coach players how to perform as a unit, by that I mean (just one example, there are obviously hundreds of situation ona pitch which should be coached on the training ground) when the opposition is attacking down a flank, the players should automatically know where to fallback to - at the moment they are 6's & 7's with no one knowing who to pick up, where to stand and have been for a year

Our set-pieces are a laughing stock, we have nothing either attacking or defending them - It's embarrassing - again this is an example of coaching, or lackthereof

Sorry for rambling, but I'm fuming that we could balls this up, thanks to glaring errors on the coaching side of things that all but the most blinkered of fanboy can see, surely?

we have the players to be in the top 3 or 4, easily - but off the pitch we are lacking. massively

A pretty brutal and rather black and white assessment, but there are elements of truth throughout that post......

I have said consistently, since about half way through last season, that what we need is a proper 'matchday coach', Our team selection, setup and tactics have been inconsistent and at times really poor, a good coach is a neccessity in my view.

Sven can do the 'big picture' thing he is so good at, whilst a good young coach 'manages' the furst team, to me this is obvious, but as Thrac points out, will Sven be prepared to step back and let another coach handle the team?........

[SpartakAnj]

Hmm, as this is your only post i'm not sure if you're a WUM or not, I really hope so for your sake.

Anyway, i'll have a little bite regardless, as even if you are trolling I have seen too many posts like this on the site.

Fans seem to have short memories. It wasn't that long ago that during our transfer windows we would be picking up free transfers from Rochdale, taking on over-the-hill journeymen looking for one last payday, or chancing it with youngsters deemed not good enough for other clubs.

We now have:

1. 
   

• Rich ambitious owners, who want to invest into the club, not only on the playing staff but also on the Commercial & Marketing side to make us into a "bigger club"
  
• An International-class manager, who has won more trophies alone in his career than our club has in it's existence
  
• A squad packed with quality players that is better than any squad we have had in the last 5-6 years, especially now that the one missing ingredient (a top striker) has been added
  
• A genuine ambition to get promoted, and a team that is improving game on game
  

Our start to the season has seen us comfortably progress through two rounds of the league cup, pick up 4 points from 6 on the road (would have been 6 from 6 barring a dodgy penalty/moments of madness from keepers at Forest) and win our last home game against the top of the league side who will definitely be in the promotion mix this season.

Yes we lost a couple of home games against Reading and Bristol City, but that is 2 games from 46. Hitting form at the start of the season isn't important. We're in 10th place now and only 6 points off the top for goodness sake. Given that the team was almost entirely new players it was always going to take some time for them to gel. Time that we DO have in this league.

The most glaringly obvious problem to me in our games this season has been that we tend to invite too much pressure onto ourselves as we haven't had an "out ball", due to not having a striker who can play with his back to goal and hold the ball up.

The last 30 minutes against Southampton was so tense because Vassell had ran himself into the ground and neither he nor Schlupp are "target men" in any sense of the word, so the ball kept coming straight back whenever we cleared it. The management have addressed this now and signed Beckford, who is a tall strong forward who can hold up the ball, and will also give us an added goal threat and a touch of creativity too. He'll link brilliantly with Nugent.

Call me a "fanboy" all you want, but it seems pretty clear to me that the glass is very much half-full right now and this is a great time to be a Leicester fan. That doesn't mean the club are beyond criticism from anybody, but to go to the lengths that you have is frankly disturbing.

Keep the blue flag flying high.

This

[okie fox]

There is no evidence of coaching, Sven is a chequebook manager - He had good success at Gothenberg, but everywhere else he's massively outspent the competition, all it is is sign players who he thinks are expensive enough to not need coaching & they'll figure it out on the pitch themselves, & if it doesn't work replace those players with dearer ones. Other than his faves of course who he sticks with no matter how badly their outcomes are.

Fullbacks don't know what to do, unsure as to whether they're supposed to be tucking in to keep things tight, or flying forward to add desperately needed width

Centreback pairing (no matter who it is) play like complete strangers and have done ever since Sven joined us - it was hidden for a while because Sousa messed us up so badly, but Sven's has been here more than long enough to take responsibility for his complete ineptness at the back

Middle, a load of broadly similar players who on paper are great going forward, but in reality don't seem as effective as they were before Sven got his hands on them - and we all know how ineffective they are when the opposition are attacking

Out wide - NOTHING except for the occasional mazey run by Vassell who gets pushed out there by defenders, he also lacks any ability whatsoever to cross which is obviously why defenders allow him to run there. the lack of width also means opposing wingers & fullbacks can push on without any problems whatsoever, putting us under even more pressure

Up front - A variety of players who on paper should be able to form a pairing with skills that compliment each other, Gally the wiley creater for a goalscorer like Nuge/Schlupp/vassell, the bigman/small man with Howard + 1, the fast schlupp/vassell with a hard worker Nuge, there is lots of combination, but almost no evidence that any of these players every play together outside of the 90mins on matchdays

In fact there's hardly any evidence anywhere on the pitch that any of the team play together outside of the matchday 90mins

Sven is a disaster for us, his success at Gotherberg was great yes, but the bulk of his success at Lazio was bought... and as for England, he had a squad which should of got to championship finals, or at least semi-final after semi-final and he didn't, we only look back reasonably fondly on Sven's time in charge because Capello makes him look like the best thing since sliced bread.

has Sven bought enough players to force promotion despite his weaknesses? Possibly, but a lot of defeats will come our way against sides which play as a unit

If Faz is our coach, then he is failing massively which by default means Sven is failing massively. We need a defensive coach urgently who can coach players how to perform as a unit, by that I mean (just one example, there are obviously hundreds of situation ona pitch which should be coached on the training ground) when the opposition is attacking down a flank, the players should automatically know where to fallback to - at the moment they are 6's & 7's with no one knowing who to pick up, where to stand and have been for a year

Our set-pieces are a laughing stock, we have nothing either attacking or defending them - It's embarrassing - again this is an example of coaching, or lackthereof

Sorry for rambling, but I'm fuming that we could balls this up, thanks to glaring errors on the coaching side of things that all but the most blinkered of fanboy can see, surely?

we have the players to be in the top 3 or 4, easily - but off the pitch we are lacking. massively

The team is playing like a bunch of strangers because we have 12 new players! It takes time to develop understandings, etc.