Of a club we’ve become. From Premier League top 6 to relegation with the 7th highest wage bill in the PL due to not spending a penny to avoid getting charged … and getting charged anyway.
Today’s news is hardly a surprise and further evidence it needed that the club is not in safe hands right now. Far from it. It’s an unholy mess that continues to unravel with the each passing decision. Like the one to fail to comply with the PLs request to submit audited accounts to be reviewed on the basis we are now a championship club, followed by an incredibly stupidly worded statement of defiance this evening. Doesn’t Susan Whelan understand that this is only going to make the penalty worse if we get promoted? Look at Everton for goodness sake
Worse still - they may get far worse from the EFL should they fail to get promoted. That could happen because they’ve gone for the wrong manager that is clearly running out of ideas at the wrong time. When you don’t change things at the top - then the mistakes will keep happening
Trust True Blue and to a lesser extent Mersey to protect the board and lay the blame at Rodgers door. Did Rodgers look after the transfer budget or am I missing something? Was he responsible for negotiating player wages and letting £120m of talent walk out the door for nothing? Obviously not.
He was responsible for one thing - results. And he failed. Breaching the PLa profit and sustainability rules is NOTHING to do with Rodgers and suggesting otherwise is laughable. Had we sacked Rodgers after 2 games that season - we would still have been charged today. He didn’t put pressure on the board to do anything - he simply threw his toys out the pram when the board realised what a catastrophic financial mess they made
I’m tired of some of our fans. Really tired of them. When are they going to get it? When we’re in league 2? This isn’t just a one of mistake. It’s a catalogue of mistakes that continues - today’s statement is the latest in a series of ill thought out moves, another example being the hiring of Maresca in the first place. Wake up and smell the coffee people. We need the King Power to pack up and move on.
What a shambles
posted on 22/3/24
comment by thorneyfox (U5061)
posted 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
Really cant believe Rudkin is still in a job.
Top has placed too much faith in those around him and i believe he has been let down badly and is not strong enough to make the real tough decisions, unlike his father.(who quite frankly would never have let this happen)
Beginning to wonder if Rudkin has some type of hold over Top.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Either he does or Top is just clueless.
posted on 22/3/24
Excellent article, spot on https://www.thefosseway.net/viewpoint/leicester-city-ffp-psr-ffs-leicester-are-reaping-what-we-sowed
TB's reaction - Meh, it's not blaming Bodgers.
posted on 22/3/24
Really good article and thanks for sharing Nuneaton. TB is so blinded by his own obsession with Rodgers that he can’t entertain any opinions that don’t fit that narrative.
Mersey straddles a delicate balance between ‘our owners are brilliant’ and ‘they’ve made some massive mistakes’ without really wanting to face facts that the mistakes haven’t stopped, but they continue.
It’s a sorry state of affairs and this is just the beginning
posted on 23/3/24
One thing that is evident from our tale is it is an illustration of how difficult it is for 'smaller' clubs to break into the 'top six' oligopoly on a consistent basis. The FFP system, however well meaning in its initial and ongoing claimed intentions, appears to be in reality entrenching the existing incumbents in their lofty position. Even Newcastle with all the wealth behind them are finding it difficult to maintain last year's excellence, being merely in 10th at present.
I might argue that maintaining the fine balance between spending as allowed under FFP and performing consistently well in the EPL is impossible in the long term for 'smaller' clubs, it requires near-perfect management of player acquiisition, disposal, contracts and salaries, something we are now all too aware of at our club unfortunately. There are other examples of clubs performing exceptionally well then falling away but it just wouldn't be Leicester unless we showcased the biggest achievement and mightiest fall!
I always thought that the first priority in any season was to get to '40 points' - and got criticised for my perceived negativity as we had now supposedly grown beyond struggling in the EPL and were established feasting at the European top table of the league with the big boys. Unfortunately my concerns came to fruition last season as the management and Brendan set the scene for our downfall.
It will only be a matter of time I suspect before the current overperforming darlings of the EPL, Brighton, make some catastrophic errors and drop into relegation trouble.
Although Newcastle are probably ahead of their programme for advancement in the EPL, FFP seems to have hamstrung their efforts this year - I wonder if it had been in place earlier would it have affected the meteoric rise of Man City? I suspect the answer is yes.
posted on 23/3/24
I don’t disagree Nuneaton. The rules are completely skewed against smaller clubs trying to compete. But the way we’ve behaved towards them is shameful in my opinion. We’ve broken our business model, knowing what the consequences could be, then slammed the breaks on transfer dealings which in part led to our relegation and have since attempted to dodge the fallout by playing the EFL and the PL off against each other
Technically we are probably right in terms of challenging the timing of the charges - but either way it’s only delaying the inevitable consequences of trying to cheat an admittedly rigged system. We’re an embarrassment
posted on 23/3/24
It's absolutely not a good look when the club's response to any difficulty is to reach for their QC! However justified they feel in challenging what they may consider to be flaws/loopholes in the system it is not likely to end well for us, we appear to be squirming on the end of a large and very nasty hook.
It is a really unwelcome diversion for Enzo, the team and supporters at a critical point in the season; hopefully we will all pull together to at least achieve promotion - the consequences of failure would be to leave us at the mercy of an unforgiving EFL. Not that being at the mercy of an unforgiving EPL is a much more desirable prospect. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place!
I'm thoroughly depressing myself writing this, considering switching from to which is definitely not what I was hoping for this season!
posted on 23/3/24
Duh! KC of course!
posted on 26/3/24
Great article from the Mercury which I’d encourage Mersey and TB to take a read of.
“Leicester City may have hoped, in responding bullishly to the Premier League and EFL’s actions against them, to create a siege mentality that supercharged the club’s bid for promotion.
They’re railing against the system. They’re a crusader for all wronged clubs. They’re not going to succumb without a fight. That is how they framed the charge for an alleged breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules and the transfer embargo placed on them last week.
They may have hoped supporters would buy into that stance and join them in their battle. It didn’t work. There is little sympathy for the club. Many fans have instead questioned the running of the club and how badly they were managed to have allegedly broken the rules and yet still been relegated anyway.
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It’s not that there are not legitimate concerns about the regulations and how they may favour the most famous clubs, protecting them from ambitious sides attempting to disrupt the top order. And the club’s point over the premature nature of the EFL embargo, handed out with three months to go in the financial year, feels a fair one.
But it also seems like City’s fight is one of technicalities and timing. The injustice isn’t strong enough to direct the full force of fan rage towards the governing bodies. These are fans who know about the transfer failures, the high wage expenditure and the inability to offload players that have combined to put City in this predicament. Plenty of clubs of a similar size to City have managed to follow the rules and stay in the Premier League, even qualifying for Europe.
There are the contradictions too. The club said they “would prefer the (legal) proceedings to be in public, so its supporters and the wider world can be informed about the important issues of football governance that will be considered”. And yet the very limited communication from the hierarchy with supporters over the past few years suggests fans being informed is far from one of their priorities.
That City claim to be representing all clubs when they were reportedly seeking financial compensation against Everton when they were first charged also feels like a contradiction. It’s not a good look.
While the possible bid to create a siege mentality has not paid off, Enzo Maresca and his players will likely still get a strong backing when the Championship resumes this Friday. The manager has built up plenty of goodwill and the bond between the players and supporters is excellent, having recovered considerably since relegation.
And they need that support. City begin the run-in in a high-pressure situation. Not only do they have potential points penalties hanging over them if the allegations are proven, but they’ve fallen from top spot for the first time in six months. The gap to third has closed considerably and promotion is far from the certainty it seemed only seven or eight weeks ago.
To not get promoted this season would be an even greater disaster now. The squad would likely be dismantled this summer, and further adapting to a Championship revenue as well as ensuring the financial rules aren’t at risk of being broken again would be a tough task. That's even if the registration embargo is lifted. Promotion next season would be a much more difficult challenge.”
posted on 26/3/24
By the way have you noticed how quiet it is on here things everything started falling apart? Almost like a couple of very optimistic posters have gone into hiding
posted on 26/3/24
I've seen some comments where fans think the authorities are to blame.
Notwithstanding that, however much the club are in the right about the timing, their action to reach for the lawyers is not likely to serve us well in the medium term if we are indeed guilty of breaches of FFP.
It is indeed relatively quiet on here