Top

[Nickaj]

Obviously the last few months have been both difficult and disappointing and, like everyone else, I had hoped that Top could just pick up the reins after the loss of his father so that things at the club would just carry on as near normal as would be possible in the circumstances.

That obviously hasn't been the case but I for one am still prepared to cut Top some slack. Some of us will have experience of the turmoil within familiies following a sudden bereavement and where there is a shareholding to be redistributed, family ties to be maintained and ongoing businesses which continue to need to be managed - large, highly successful, geographically spread businesses at that.

It is disappointing and it hasn't been ideal but, in addition to facing up to the loss of his father as I've said, I don't think we can know or understand all that Top has had to contend with so yes, I'm still prepared to have some understanding of his situation and as they say, cut him some slack

[ARM1968]

The now does not diminish or even tarnish what has been achieved. Under Vichai we have over achieved as a team and seen the best ever days as Leicester fans. That is set in stone. 
 

However the decline since Top was forced to take the helm has been equally spectacular. He has been fighting on several fronts. King Power has been hit very hard by Covid and lost significant value. I think his eye has not really been on the LCFC ball, which is no excuse. He seems to have relied upon those in the LCFC hierarchy to do their jobs and see things through. Unfortunately they have proven ill equipped for the task and really quite inept. A root and branch restructuring would seem to be required. These well paid fools have steered the ship into rocks they could clearly see. 
 

Whether Top has the minerals for the fight that is needed I don’t know. Certainly he needs more capable people around him. Business is tough and not really a place of emotion. Sadly football combines both and the balance needed is difficult to maintain. 
 

If he wishes to retain the club then it needs a better structure internally and some more capable people in charge. People who are not afraid to stand up and make big calls or demand more from those working for them. If he cannot commit the resources and time this will require due to other pressing commitments, then he needs to sell. These are the only two options. It is not just about the team manager and never really was. 

[OriginalRobboFOX]

4 hours ago, LCFCJohn said:

What is the guy above criticism because of what has happened previously?

 

Vichai’s legacy is absolutely set it stone and nothing will change that.

 

Since he tragically passed, we can now see that a slow decline has been in place that has now sped up and leaves us where we are now.

 

Nobody is questioning Top the man, or Top the second in command through the years Vichai was with us.

 

However, he is doing a terrible job now and that cannot be sugarcoated. Hopefully he turns it around or sells up if he can’t to preserve his own legacy.

“Terrible Job” I’m not sure if people remember life under the stewardship of people like George, Elsom, Pierpoint, Mansaric etc. they appointed presided over managers such as Taylor, Levein, Holloway et al and saw us through some of the darkest times we have ever seen. 
 

“Terrible Job” is such a hyped phrase to describe Tops stewardship of our club amongst his other business interests in a remarkably difficult economy currently. He has loads of considerations around FFP which is beyond his control - we can never offset losses the way big 6 teams do and unfortunately decisions to retain management with the clubs finances and stability in consideration versus results in my opinion are beyond his control. 

[LCFCJohn]

6 minutes ago, OriginalRobboFOX said:

“Terrible Job” I’m not sure if people remember life under the stewardship of people like George, Elsom, Pierpoint, Mansaric etc. they appointed presided over managers such as Taylor, Levein, Holloway et al and saw us through some of the darkest times we have ever seen. 
 

“Terrible Job” is such a hyped phrase to describe Tops stewardship of our club amongst his other business interests in a remarkably difficult economy currently. He has loads of considerations around FFP which is beyond his control - we can never offset losses the way big 6 teams do and unfortunately decisions to retain management with the clubs finances and stability in consideration versus results in my opinion are beyond his control. 

Maybe an overly harsh word to use, fair enough.

 

However, I do not compare with previous owners. Each should be judged on their own merits and performance and not given a free pass without being scrutinised because others 20 years ago did a worse job. 
 

If terrible is an overly harsh description, the club is most definitely being run as poorly as it has for an awfully long time. 

[5waller5]

1 hour ago, Daggers said:

Exhibit D: the concept of manoeuvring a barge or large oil tanker at sea

 You don’t need to manoeuvre it, just keep it pointing in the right direction.

[adejo92]

51 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

I'm not saying his made no mistakes, but just we don't know who was pulling the strings in the past.

 

It's just a lazy assumption that it's just because the Boss isn't here.

Like I say, it's probably just coincidence that everything has gone south since Top took the reins.

 

We'll leave it there.

[Fox92]

10 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

Like I say, it's probably just coincidence that everything has gone south since Top took the reins.

 

We'll leave it there.

We finished top 6 twice and won the FA Cup and Community Shield since Vichai died.

 

We were in a relegation battle three times when Vichai was still alive although I'm not counting 14/15 as we were a newly promoted team. (Under Ranieri 16/17, Shakespeare 17/18 we would have gone down without manager changes).

 

Top's issue was sticking with Rodgers for too long, but I wouldn't say it's "gone south" since he took the reins. People may rejoice over Rodgers sacking but it's too late.

Edited 6 April 2023 by Fox92

[Gamble92]

2 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

We finished top 6 twice and won the FA Cup and Community Shield since Vichai died.

 

We were in a relegation battle three times when Vichai was still alive although I'm not counting 14/15 as we were a newly promoted team. (Under Ranieri 16/17, Shakespeare 17/18 we would have gone down without manager changes).

 

Top's issue was sticking with Rodgers for too long, but I wouldn't say it's "gone south" since he took the reins. People may rejoice over Rodgers sacking but it's too late.

This this this.

 

Been tired of explaining this to people who are nothing to do with our club. It's another one of those narratives pushed by pundits along with all of Brendan's

[Claudio Fannieri]

I have refrained from commenting and criticising Top too much as I wanted my thoughts to be considered and not reactionary. 
 

I actually see a lot of similarities between Tops and Vichais stewardships, after we won the league, we significantly lost our way, almost like the success clouded our decision

making and we somewhat lost our way for a couple of years, with poor recruitment and loyalty to players and staff who had reached their shelf life. 
 

Since winning the FA Cup we have lost our way again, however up to that point Top had actually been very progressive in his vision, securing Rodgers was excellent and our recruitment and model was the envy of the league. 
 

What is apparent with the family since they have taken us over, is their loyalty and decision making after a significant success can be tainted and leads to a period of complacency and a significant drop off in results. 
 

Now the decision to cut ties with Rodgers has finally been made, albeit a few months too late, regardless of whatever division we end up in I think we will see another focused rebuild of the club to get us back on the right track. 

[JimmyC74]

5 minutes ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

I have refrained from commenting and criticising Top too much as I wanted my thoughts to be considered and not reactionary. 
 

I actually see a lot of similarities between Tops and Vichais stewardships, after we won the league, we significantly lost our way, almost like the success clouded our decision

making and we somewhat lost our way for a couple of years, with poor recruitment and loyalty to players and staff who had reached their shelf life. 
 

Since winning the FA Cup we have lost our way again, however up to that point Top had actually been very progressive in his vision, securing Rodgers was excellent and our recruitment and model was the envy of the league. 
 

What is apparent with the family since they have taken us over, is their loyalty and decision making after a significant success can be tainted and leads to a period of complacency and a significant drop off in results. 
 

Now the decision to cut ties with Rodgers has finally been made, albeit a few months too late, regardless of whatever division we end up in I think we will see another focused rebuild of the club to get us back on the right track. 

Agree with your points around complacency following success and the need to rebuild. I think though we need to see the likes of Rudders replaced if we are to see lessons truly having been learned

[Simoken]

21 minutes ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

I have refrained from commenting and criticising Top too much as I wanted my thoughts to be considered and not reactionary. 
 

I actually see a lot of similarities between Tops and Vichais stewardships, after we won the league, we significantly lost our way, almost like the success clouded our decision

making and we somewhat lost our way for a couple of years, with poor recruitment and loyalty to players and staff who had reached their shelf life. 
 

Since winning the FA Cup we have lost our way again, however up to that point Top had actually been very progressive in his vision, securing Rodgers was excellent and our recruitment and model was the envy of the league. 
 

What is apparent with the family since they have taken us over, is their loyalty and decision making after a significant success can be tainted and leads to a period of complacency and a significant drop off in results. 
 

Now the decision to cut ties with Rodgers has finally been made, albeit a few months too late, regardless of whatever division we end up in I think we will see another focused rebuild of the club to get us back on the right track. 

As much as i appreciate these owners and what  they have done since bringing us to the PL all those years ago, the amount of sentiment and excuses/forgiveness they receive no longer outweighs the bad anymore, we need to stop giving them a golden ticket whenever something bad happens. Let me list these ongoing issues that we still linger. Commercially we have barely progressed in 8 years weve been in the PL we are still dependant on selling our best players, We are not self sustainable and miles off it, so all this future bollocks talk from top about the ultimate goal of being a self funded club is just pure waffle talk, they been saying it for years, 'oh but he paid off £200m' thats noit good news at all! hes poorer for it, covering the messy management of the club. Recycling managers, repeating offences. You all know im all for Rodgers but the club should of backed him! 'oh but the club had no money to spend' and yet they just paid off that £200m debt'.. doesnt add up to me and i still feel if BR got backed properly to recycle the dross of players that are out of countract i dont think wed be in this mess. Too much respect given to players aswell, the albrighton contract wtf was the point in that... I could go on with all the mismanagement the club has made, and yet all people wanted to point fingers at is Rodgers lol. open your eyes people.

Edited 6 April 2023 by Simoken

[whetstonefox]

Nothing we probably don’t already know but I have a work colleague who knows a LCFC director, he has said the reality of the situation of going down has finally gripped the club and it is really is panic stations which means panic decisions will be made. 
 

I believe him as he also said the same guy went through why Tottenham (my colleagues team) will never gamble to win the league which sort of deflated him and why it makes sense the business model they follow. 
 

Not sure i can understand why it has taken so long for the penny to drop, talking about falling asleep at the wheel!

[JamesWelshFox]

[JamesWelshFox]

Things must change. A player with 2 years left on a contract gets offered a new deal. He signs or he gets sold. We cannot keep spending millions and then letting it walk out the door for free. It is no way to run any business. Sure we would like to keep our best players but if their commitment to the club isn't there then they have to go for the best price we can get, because we cannot afford to carry a player who is losing interest, paying their salary for 2 years and then watch them leave for free, and have to try and replace them spending more millions again. Madness.

[SK3Blue]

Too much sentiment, hanging onto Vardy, Morgan etc longer than they needed to. Giving Rodgers more than 9 lives to sort things and not lining anyone up despite the inevitable.

Vichai was a generous but ruthless businessman. Top is inept, clueless and has treated the club as a toy that hes barely been interested in since taking over.

[PAPA LAZAROU]

On 06/04/2023 at 11:08, OriginalRobboFOX said:

“Terrible Job” I’m not sure if people remember life under the stewardship of people like George, Elsom, Pierpoint, Mansaric etc. they appointed presided over managers such as Taylor, Levein, Holloway et al and saw us through some of the darkest times we have ever seen. 
 

“Terrible Job” is such a hyped phrase to describe Tops stewardship of our club amongst his other business interests in a remarkably difficult economy currently. He has loads of considerations around FFP which is beyond his control - we can never offset losses the way big 6 teams do and unfortunately decisions to retain management with the clubs finances and stability in consideration versus results in my opinion are beyond his control. 

Not beyond his control, I'm afraid. The buck stops with the owner. If those below him are failing to do their job then he is a failure for tolerating them. As a businessman, he should know that. Although it is not fair to compare him to his father we all know that his father would never have gotten into this situation in the first place.

 

Of course, we all understand the emotional loss of losing his father in such circumstances, it must have been and still is heartbreaking to him, but life and business go on.  What has happened to our club is a pure case of those under him not applying due diligence to their respective roles and not advising him of the dire consequences of persevering with Rodgers. If we could all see where it was leading I'm damn sure they could. The club in my opinion needs selling and a clear out of all those who let the club and us down.

[The Doctor]

On 06/04/2023 at 11:18, adejo92 said:

Like I say, it's probably just coincidence that everything has gone south since Top took the reins.

 

We'll leave it there.

it probably is tbh, king powers business is tourism, and that's been devastated by COVID. unsurprisingly, his focus will not have entirely been on Leicester and he'll have put trust in Rudkin in particular as DoF to manage footballing operations - a position he was appointed to under vichai and trust that vichai would also likely have put in him. obviously, Rudkin has screwed the pooch, and the judgement for Top is on whether he recognises that and restructures in the summer to move Rudkin away from a role with any actual responsibilities and gets a DoF in.

[Strokes]

Going into the second match in a relegation scrap without a manager just shows how inept the hierarchy at this club is. You can’t run a top level football club in such a reactionary manner. Top needs to find a new team to run us or sell up.

[cruzFOX]

You know what I can’t wait for next season and the new introduction of the govt enforced  fans charter. This is something that is badly missing in our game.

 

regarding our club we (foxes trust reps) will now be able to sit down with the board and ask the tough questions and demand answers. We’ve been in the dark for too long suffering in silence and having to speculate what the hell is going on behind the scenes while absolute chaos unravels on the pitch. No more hiding for Susan and rudkin. They have to face the fans and respond to our questions when stupid stuff keeps happening. Just imagine if only we had that this season.

[Dames]

If he appoints Marsch as manager he no longer deserves to run this football club. Completely and utterly irresponsible leadership over the past 2 years. Get him gone. 

[Mr Weller 2]

Moan, moan….he doesn’t deserve the fans after investing a mere 1/2 billion…moan, moan….not a patch on his dad despite us winning the FACup…moan, moan…if he wants to retain the club he must spend limitless amounts of his own money…moan, moan…we deserve better than these owners despite being the envy of fans everywhere…moan, moan, I want us to be the best etc etc

[STUHILL]

Making a lot of mistakes, and is learning the hard way how fast things can collapse if you get multiple decisions wrong. 

 

Feels like it may be pure luck if we manage to avoid relegation this season, and if we do, it gives him another chance to make some big changes and start getting things right. Replacing Rudkin should be his first move, and then finding a Manager who can oversee a huge rebuild with as much investment as Top can muster. 

 

I think his biggest failing, was keeping faith in Rodgers for far too long. Maybe he has learned an important lesson in that regard. Bloody hope so anyway! 

[Unabomber]

Just now, Mr Weller 2 said:

Moan, moan….he doesn’t deserve the fans after investing a mere 1/2 billion…moan, moan….not a patch on his dad despite us winning the FACup…moan, moan…if he wants to retain the club he must spend limitless amounts of his own money…moan, moan…we deserve better than these owners despite being the envy of fans everywhere…moan, moan, I want us to be the best etc etc

Surely people have the right to identify and criticise their current failings whilst still respecting previous achievements?

[Mr Weller 2]

6 minutes ago, Unabomber said:

Surely people have the right to identify and criticise their current failings whilst still respecting previous achievements?

Having the right and being right are two different things 

[Unabomber]

3 minutes ago, Mr Weller 2 said:

Having the right and being right are two different things 

But there are current failings? Look at the state of our position on and off the pitch.