Pre Match Leicester v Sheffield United

[glyn]

Dreading how I’m going to feel by 8pm

 

[Brown Nose]

It's not our fault that, in half a season, BR has gone from the best thing since sliced bread to the equivalent of a Steve Bruce or Roy Hodgson.

Nobody that I can recall has criticised him until the last couple of weeks. We all want him to succeed.

But shit management is shit management. He's making basic errors and showing that he has no idea of how to sort things out.

It's fair to say that BR overachieved in the first half of the season. He got a lot of credit for that.

It's also fair to say that he's has underachieved in the second half of the season and he deserves criticism for that too.

 

[popillius]

It's not our fault that, in half a season, BR has gone from the best thing since sliced bread to the equivalent of a Steve Bruce or Roy Hodgson.

Nobody that I can recall has criticised him until the last couple of weeks. We all want him to succeed.

But shit management is shit management. He's making basic errors and showing that he has no idea of how to sort things out.

It's fair to say that BR overachieved in the first half of the season. He got a lot of credit for that.

It's also fair to say that he's has underachieved in the second half of the season and he deserves criticism for that too.

Give that man a biscuit.

 

[tedfoxxx]

Me, that man and a biscuit.

Gross.

 

[LeeCovFox]

It's a young team, this has been mentioned so many times. The bad run has been a collective effort of crucial injuries at bad times, terrible recruitment in Jan and a lack of experience. Some of the over reaction has been a bit mental re. Brendan. Bournemouth away was absolutely the fault of the playing staff, not the manager in my opinion. Some of the crying on here post has been remarkable. This shit takes time.

The plan against Brighton didn't work, that is true, but I remember thinking at the time that by winning the central areas of the pitch we would be able to dominate, or at least that was what I thought the thinking was behind playing Mendy in there with N'Didi. It didn't work and Brendan acknowledged that.

All in all you don't become a shit team or a shit manager over night and we have neither.

But, if this is also part of the players again dividing the dressing room, as has been alleged, then this is actually the problem. How many managers are they allowed to throw under the bus if that's true?

It isn’t a young team. We’re the 8th youngest in the league. Older than Man Utd and Chelsea. It’s an excuse. Even if that were the reason I’d consider it poor management not to have added some experience to the squad. He’s had a couple of windows to do so.

Injuries aren’t just bad luck. Training routines and general fitness are huge factors. Those things are down to the manager. In the same way I thought it was to our credit that we kept our best players fit in the title season, I am concerned about it now. I’m not claiming there is no luck involved at all, but I think it’s a weak argument to deploy.

We have been poor tactically since early December. We’ve pressed with less intensity and we’ve moved the ball forward less frequently, and more slowly. Some of that might be about players lacking confidence and seeking to play low risk balls so as to avoid mistakes. But it has been such a consistent approach for so long now that I don’t buy that it isn’t deliberate.

I’m not in a position to say whether or not the players are in the habit of downing tools to spite managers or not. But it seems just as likely to me that we’ve just made rubbish appointments. The record of the owners in appointing managers is not a good one. No consistency in terms of a particular playing philosophy or style of squad building. It has mostly been famous blokes, or blokes who have worked for the club before.

 

[LeeCovFox]

 

[homer]

"Recent results have certainly left us with work to do in order to ensure we finish in a position that reflects the possibilities we have created for ourselves this season. There is no doubt that, when the season began, being where we are with three games to go is a position we would have been very happy with. However, striving to exceed expectations is something we have always tried to do and we cannot deny that our early-season form promised more than our pre-season targets. So, while perspective is of course important, we also have to consider the moment and seizing opportunities we may not have expected.
…..Three games for us to earn a finishing position of which we are worthy."

Wonder if that last bit means "Three games to save your job, Brendan" ?

 

[LeeCovFox]

It ought to. We could be just 2 points ahead of the side currently in 8th, by 8pm. If we manage to miss out on Europe altogether then he has to go. Any sort of European qualification and I’d give him a crack at next season, but even then - if it’s not Champions’ League football - he’d be on very thin ice from the get-go given the scale of the collapse.

 

[alex]

So, I'm going to continue to play devil's advocate here, and please don't think I wasn't screaming at the TV for both the Brighton and Bournemouth games BTW, and also please don't think I haven't been concerned by the drop in form, but I simply don't think this is the main fault of the manager.

What shit management are we saying here? Really? Because, for me, the players are more to blame in almost every circumstance. Against Bournemouth we collapsed and players let the team down massively.

We may have over achieved pre-Christmas but I believe two good cup runs and a top-6 finish would be deemed a good return this season as we build. I wouldn't focus too much on the second half of the season personally which I think has seen key injuries, and therefore a reliance on players who aren't ready yet, especially with the pressure of gaining a place at Europe's top table.

I can't help but feel a lot of us have had our expectations heightened and are making bizarre comments on that basis. "He's a shit manager...." (he's actually not), "I'm not even watching..." (ok...), "We're going down next season..." (we won't) are all nonsense to me.

Reality is, we're not ready for the CL. We will get royally Homer-ed in that competition. We need Europa League next season and a much better recruitment drive to build a squad worthy of the training ground etc. We keep with this management team and back them and build. Longevity is the key. I believe we have the right management team in place, but people are going to need to be patient.

 

[alex]

It isn’t a young team. We’re the 8th youngest in the league. Older than Man Utd and Chelsea. It’s an excuse. Even if that were the reason I’d consider it poor management not to have added some experience to the squad. He’s had a couple of windows to do so.

Injuries aren’t just bad luck. Training routines and general fitness are huge factors. Those things are down to the manager. In the same way I thought it was to our credit that we kept our best players fit in the title season, I am concerned about it now. I’m not claiming there is no luck involved at all, but I think it’s a weak argument to deploy.

We have been poor tactically since early December. We’ve pressed with less intensity and we’ve moved the ball forward less frequently, and more slowly. Some of that might be about players lacking confidence and seeking to play low risk balls so as to avoid mistakes. But it has been such a consistent approach for so long now that I don’t buy that it isn’t deliberate.

I’m not in a position to say whether or not the players are in the habit of downing tools to spite managers or not. But it seems just as likely to me that we’ve just made rubbish appointments. The record of the owners in appointing managers is not a good one. No consistency in terms of a particular playing philosophy or style of squad building. It has mostly been famous blokes, or blokes who have worked for the club before.

So - just to be clear - you're now convinced this appointment isn't a good one?

 

[Graz]

At which point he'll send on Matty James.

To play at Right Back.

I feel like there's been lots of this type of comment in this thread, and I find it bizarre.

No matter how much you can question Brendan for recent performances, he's not Ian Holloway putting Harry Worley in as a central midfielder...

Brendan hasn't made random, bizarre tactical decisions or selections with no logic behind them. Sure, you can disagree with bringing Nacho off at half time against Bournemouth (which I did too, even in the match thread), but you could still see his logic behind it whether you agree with it or not.

But Brendan isn't playing players out of position, he's not making bizarre selection choices that suggest he has no clue what he's doing. He's fitting in the best players he has available for the system we want to play.

I don't think he's particularly making different changes now to what he was doing when things were going well.

So can we stop suggesting he's some brainless oaf who picks players at random?

Just another example of hysterical fans trying to make out the issue we're facing are much bigger than they are. Same with all the "lost the dressing room" bollocks - it gets rumoured every time we start to decline in form now. I suspect it did happen under Ranieri - but I can't imagine it's happened everytime since. I think it's more just that they have a mentality when they get into a slump that they then struggle to get out of.

 

[Miles Away]

I feel like there's been lots of this type of comment in this thread, and I find it bizarre.

No matter how much you can question Brendan for recent performances, he's not Ian Holloway putting Harry Worley in as a central midfielder...

Brendan hasn't made random, bizarre tactical decisions or selections with no logic behind them. Sure, you can disagree with bringing Nacho off at half time against Bournemouth (which I did too, even in the match thread), but you could still see his logic behind it whether you agree with it or not.

But Brendan isn't playing players out of position, he's not making bizarre selection choices that suggest he has no clue what he's doing. He's fitting in the best players he has available for the system we want to play.

I don't think he's particularly making different changes now to what he was doing when things were going well.

So can we stop suggesting he's some brainless oaf who picks players at random?

Just another example of hysterical fans trying to make out the issue we're facing are much bigger than they are. Same with all the "lost the dressing room" bollocks - it gets rumoured every time we start to decline in form now. I suspect it did happen under Ranieri - but I can't imagine it's happened everytime since. I think it's more just that they have a mentality when they get into a slump that they then struggle to get out of.

You're watching a different game from me Graz. I've found his tactical changes and substitutions routinely bizarre, especially since the restart.

There are a lot of examples, but I'd point to the Brighton game as his worst individual performance, from the starting line up, to substitutions, to tactical approach it was a grim display.

 

[popillius]

Brendan hasn't made random, bizarre tactical decisions or selections with no logic behind them.

Just a few examples. There are far more but I can't be bothered:

He played two defensive midfielders against Brighton, including Mendy who hadn't had a sniff for months and is almost certainly leaving us soon.

He failed to make any substitutions in that game until winning it was an impossibility and then he made completely bizzare ones.

He made a bizzare and completely stupid substitution at half time vs Bournemouth which changed the game completely when we were bossing it.

His substitutions are more often than not, baffling and actually serve to hinder us from getting back into a game when we are behind. We saw this in the Norwich games, the Bournemouth game, the Chelsea game, the Burnley game and others.

He changed the 4-1-4-1system when it was working so well and since then we've seen some real shit shows of formations.

Apart from that and countless other examples, his tactics have been spot on. Look, no one is saying he should be sacked right now. The only silly over reactions I've seen here are from those who refuse to accept that Rodgers has made some costly errors and that fans should be allowed to criticise these.

 

[LeeCovFox]

So - just to be clear - you're now convinced this appointment isn't a good one?

I don’t know yet, but I’m getting there.

If we get into the Champions’ League then he has done a very good job indeed. That alone will mean his appointment has been a good one but won’t mean that the warning signs can be ignored. If I were Top I’d want to see that he understands what has gone wrong and what he plans to do about whatever factors are involved.

If it’s the Europa League then I’d give him the start of next season on the basis that it’s a bit mad to sack a manager for taking us into Europe in the same way I’d not sack a manager for scraping promotion. Even though Europa qualification would be a relative success, I‘d not be able to overlook the loss of a 15 point lead to 5th. It’s final written warning stuff. My patience would be very thin. Again, I’d want to see a clear understanding of what has gone wrong in 2020 and a clear plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again. He’d be out at the first sign of the plodding rubbish we’ve seen this calendar year.

If we miss out on Europe altogether then he ought to be sacked at the final whistle after the United game, before he even has the chance to reach the dressing room. That sort of collapse would be unforgiveable.

All of that is me being generous in comparison to how I felt on Sunday night. I don’t care about what our pre-season expectations were. The context matters.

That “we’re Leicester City” (and I do take the point - we’re never likely to be one of the big boys and I’m fine with that) makes it even worse in my opinion. These opportunities are very rare indeed. We have qualified for Europe only four times in our history. Just once through league performance. We don’t know when the chance will come again. We might be playing at Oakwell and Ashton Gate on piss wet Tuesday nights before we get another crack.

 

[Payne74]

I feel like there's been lots of this type of comment in this thread, and I find it bizarre.

No matter how much you can question Brendan for recent performances, he's not Ian Holloway putting Harry Worley in as a central midfielder...

Brendan hasn't made random, bizarre tactical decisions or selections with no logic behind them. Sure, you can disagree with bringing Nacho off at half time against Bournemouth (which I did too, even in the match thread), but you could still see his logic behind it whether you agree with it or not.

But Brendan isn't playing players out of position, he's not making bizarre selection choices that suggest he has no clue what he's doing. He's fitting in the best players he has available for the system we want to play.

I don't think he's particularly making different changes now to what he was doing when things were going well.

So can we stop suggesting he's some brainless oaf who picks players at random?

Just another example of hysterical fans trying to make out the issue we're facing are much bigger than they are. Same with all the "lost the dressing room" bollocks - it gets rumoured every time we start to decline in form now. I suspect it did happen under Ranieri - but I can't imagine it's happened everytime since. I think it's more just that they have a mentality when they get into a slump that they then struggle to get out of.

I think Playing Mark Albrighton a right winger as a left wingback is a player being played out of position.

 

[M17TT C]

So we're all really excited for this one then?

 

[Fox Fan]

Reality is, we're not ready for the CL. We will get royally Homer-ed in that competition. We need Europa League next season and a much better recruitment drive to build a squad worthy of the training ground etc. We keep with this management team and back them and build. Longevity is the key. I believe we have the right management team in place, but people are going to need to be patient.

There was a fairly well pedaled line earlier in the season that this squad, was technically better than the 15/16 season title winning one. Given that side made it to the CL quarter final with almost no positive recruitment and the loss of Kante, I don't see why we couldn't put up a good fight in the CL next season.

What is becoming clearer and clearer is that we need a fairly major recruitment drive in the summer and that's a bit risky. For the first time in years, and especially if we make the CL, we probably need to add 6-7 quality players to the squad. That is bound to upset the balance. However another narrative frequently rolled out is that BR is an amazing man manager - personally I haven't seen that to be true. So the question for me is; do we trust him to mould a squad (of which we'll have players still hanging around here in 4-5 years time) and oversee the signings of several new players in the summer.

For me I'm not sure.