How do you know we are no nearer to appointing a replacement than we were 2 weeks ago? The reason the odds are wildly swinging around is because the owners are playing this extremely close to their chest, not because they have no idea who they want.

A short list was drawn up 2 weeks ago, a panel of 5 are involved at LCFC. We are interested in MON, we have sounded Hiddink out for a supervisory role (he doesn't want to come) and according to the media we have made contact with Bielsas representatives on Friday.

I don't like the period of uncertainty that sacking NP has created and the appointment needs to happen next week but it's wrong to suggest we're no nearer to making an appointment.

A short list was drawn up 2 weeks ago, a panel of 5 are involved at LCFC. We are interested in MON, we have sounded Hiddink out for a supervisory role (he doesn't want to come) and according to the media we have made contact with Bielsas representatives on Friday.
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Morning Blackstarr. This is complete speculation, just as my original posting is.

I am sure we all want the same thing - a decent appointment and soon - but I am not encouraged by the speculation to date which suggests we have little in the way of a plan.

It depends what media reports you believe. Speculation from the daily star and then info from Rob Dorsett for example, who has very good links with the club, are two different things.

The above info regarding the short list, MON and the panel of 5 has come from Rob Dorsett who has very trusted sources at the club. I can't think of a single piece of info he's got wrong, despite being given abuse by Leicester fans for breaking the NP sack gate story in Feb.

How likely do you think it is that the owners are sitting there after 2 weeks having not even drawn up a short list of candidates?

Hopefully unlikely BS, but that is not what I said.

The longer this goes on the more unsettling it will be and the potentially greater impact on our season ahead. Two weeks should have been long enough to identify a short list, approach the targeted candidates and make a selection.

It has been reported previously that there are no other football club managerial vacancies in the UK at present so it isn't a case of having to spar with other teams to get our man.

I can claim absolutely zero inside knowledge and maybe the silence from within the club is simply fuelling my paranoia, but I stand by the concerns expressed in the penultimate paragraph of my OP. This cannot continue much longer without damaging our prospects.

FFS you were talking about the short list process as if it wasn't happening. Well that's how it comes across to me in your OP.

Also, "according to the media and the bookies we appear no closer to knowing who we want let alone approaching them and appointing them."

This isn't the case at all. We know that MON is on the short list and one of the preferred options of the owners as it's been reported by every major media outlet.

I've been as concerned as you over the timing of this and some of the potential names but I would rather we take longer to get the right person in than opt for Neil Lennon for eg

Sometimes in business the worst decision is no decision; better to make one and move on than prevaricate. I'm not saying we are at that stage yet but we are moving towards it.

For the sake of argument, would you rather we appoint Neil Lennon now or still have no-one appointed in 2 weeks time?

Purely hypothetical of course, but we are now less than 4 weeks until the Sunderland game.

I'd rather we were still looking for the right candidate in 2 weeks time (although I acknowledge it would be concerning) than appoint the wrong candidate which results in a Peter Taylor like scenario because we need someone there.

I'm not saying we have all the time in the world, we certainly don't, but its incorrect to suggest the owners don't have a clue (about who they want) just because the bookies don't know.

Shakey and co are running pre-season training and doing the prep work. Transfer targets previously identified are still being worked on according to media reports (Kante and Austin last week).

No one is happy about the situation, I think the owners have put themselves in a very tough spot, but we'll be less happy if we get the wrong bloke in.

This is their biggest decision to date. I'm pleased its not been done in 3 days

Thats the problem with the media with no other managerial vacancies they just have us to speculate on.

Take as long as you want as long as we get the right man for the job.

"How likely do you think it is that the owners are sitting there after 2 weeks having not even drawn up a short list of candidates?"

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I'm sure they have; the question is whether any of them are realistic. If not then they might as well have been sitting there with a blank piece of paper and picking their noses for the best part of a fortnight.


"Take as long as you want as long as we get the right man for the job."

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If this had happened right at the end of the season I would have agreed with you, but the season is now 4 weeks away, the squad has no direction as to how it's supposed to be preparing itself (aside from getting fit) and there's still a gaping hole in the centre of our midfield. The last time we had one of those we went down to League 1.

I appreciate that these things don't happen straight away, but we have to get moving on this in order to give the new manager - whoever he is - a chance to impart some influence on the squad. No more messing around: Either bring in someone by the end of the week or go and get Neil Lennon.

Jesus Dunge you're starting to sound like me...!

Agreed.....its a concern but its almost being made out on here that the owners had Klopp, Guardiola and Ancelotti on their shortlist and are now scratching their heads wondering what to do.

Rather than not knowing which direction turn (which the OP intimates), the fact is they are playing their cards very close to their chest. We know MON is on their shortlist from very good sources. I wouldn't think he is an unrealistic target for the club surely?

This is a pivotal decision for the club. Get it wrong (e.g Peter Taylor) and it destroys everything they have worked to build. Neil Lennon could come in this week, decide to play 4-5-1 every game, sign Emile Heskey and take us to the championship.

Unlikely example I know, but I would rather we had someone starting next week that ensures we stay in the division and build for the future, than someone who will sign the next Carlton Palmer to fill our midfield gap.

I've certainly expressed my concerns on here and don't think NP should have gone, but now that he is I want the right man in charge.

"its almost being made out on here that the owners had Klopp, Guardiola and Ancelotti on their shortlist and are now scratching their heads wondering what to do."

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Actually BlackStarr, that's precisely the kind of thing that worries me - at least to a degree. Remember how we got Cambiasso last summer: We kept on asking and asking until eventually he decided to come. I fear they might have thought the same tactic might work again on someone like Klopp, then realised it didn't and now they've lost a week or so in fruitless pursuit of people who were never going to come. They never had much time to begin with, but now it seems we're still identifying new targets? That doesn't sound like a cohesive strategy to me.

Regarding MON, one thing I haven't heard is whether he would actually want to come. He's always said in the past that he'd never go back, so is he a realistic candidate? Maybe, although he's also a candidate that worries me as I fear he's a manager on the down rather than a manager on the up.

My main concern is that we're approaching a point where it becomes almost irrelevant who the new manager is - to the point where we could bring in someone really good but they're behind everyone else and they can't shape the squad as they want/need. This isn't like the Championship where you can just get over a bad start; last year was remarkable precisely because it was the exception to the rule. There comes a time when waiting and showing patience is no longer playing the long, smart game - the educated gamble if you like - and becomes the false safe option from people who have become too afraid to make a decision. For me, the time is fast approaching when, if we can't find a genuine, proven quality coach, the best option would be to take a gamble on someone who does have (probably several) question marks over them but would at least be given a proper chance to succeed.

I suspect Dunge highlights the concerns of many on this board.

Yes, getting the right person is important, but time is running short for a new appointment to fully assess, or build any sort of rapport with the existing squad, and/or make any additions of his own, before the season starts. The first friendly is a week tomorrow, Sunderland game in 4 weeks.

The ongoing delay can't be good for the morale of the players either. Where we had the chance to hit the new season with momentum, it's beginning to look as though we'll be on the back foot from the off.

Maybe it's just the hideous weather today that's making my glass half empty.

In normal interview procedure you would interview all candidates. Select one offer them the job.
Accept or decline ? I would suggest there has been a
Couple who have declined hence the delay.
Frustratingly we shall perhaps never know the true situation.

".....but now it seems we're still identifying new targets? That doesn't sound like a cohesive strategy to me."

Yes but theres a clear difference between the shortlist of names the owners have drawn up and whats being reported in the media. As an example MON sounded like a new approach to us on Friday, but the owners had identified him (according to sources) from the outset.

"My main concern is that we're approaching a point where it becomes almost irrelevant who the new manager is"

Don't agree. If you bring Peter Taylor in at the start of pre-season, mid way through or during the season itself, he's still Peter Taylor. Manager ins and outs happen throughout the season and people like Pulis, Allardyce etc have come in, with other peoples squads, and achieved results.

Granted its certainly not ideal at the moment and will of course have an impact, but there is still enough time for a new manager to assess the squad, work on new formations and bring in players by Aug 31st. If it can be done halfway through a season successfully, it can be done halfway through pre-season.

"For me, the time is fast approaching when, if we can't find a genuine, proven quality coach, the best option would be to take a gamble on someone who does have (probably several) question marks over them"

Absolutely no way. Shakey and Walsh are still there. The players have got continuity and while not ideal, they will be drilling them to play the formations Pearson approved last season. The team isn't going to fall apart, many of the staff that worked on formations and tactics are still there.

We're not at crisis point yet

And all this is coming from a pessimist!

I still thing we are panicking we have a squad we have coaches we know what works and lets just get the right man in even if and i hope not we start the season without one.

We're not at crisis point yet, but we're approaching it. And if we're poking our heads up like startled meerkats for people like Marcelo Bielsa, that concerns me. How does the conversation go? "Ooh, I didn't know he was available. Shall we chase him now instead?" Maybe they're not flailing around like this, but the lack of activity makes me wonder.

The Peter Taylor signing wasn't made on the basis of knowing what would follow. It was, as pretty much all managerial appointments are, a gamble. Ultimately and unfortunately, it was a gamble that failed. If we tried a similar gamble again, there's still no guarantee either way. But at least that manager has time to identify transfer targets - one or two key players that will fill a role that he considers essential. Otherwise, whoever is signed has the squad that he has (along with that hole in midfield) and only has the option to motivate them and maybe haul in the odd loan until January. At this point, you might as well bring in Sean Dyche for his apparent motivational qualities. And nobody wants to see that happen!

comment by Vulpes (U6011)
posted 40 minutes ago

The ongoing delay can't be good for the morale of the players either.
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Agreed, they look absolutely miserable....

https://twitter.com/OfficialFOXES/status/620297532678103041

"Otherwise, whoever is signed has the squad that he has (along with that hole in midfield) and only has the option to motivate them and maybe haul in the odd loan until January."

Dunge - thats what happens when you sack your manager. Whoever comes in, even if its Klopp, will largely have to work with the squad he has. The only way to avoid this would have been to sack Pearson in May giving the new man time to bring in a new team if he saw fit, but a complete overhaul is not really sensible.

Agreed on transfer targets but the club are proceeding with targets identified by Steve Walsh. Steve Walsh is the chief scout who has been responsible for bringing in the likes of Mahrez and co. While he is still at the club then its sensible to continue to bring in targets he has identified.

90% of the time when a manager is appointed he has to work with what he has, because the majority of appointments happen OUTSIDE of pre-season and the transfer window. Get the right person in and he can motivate an under-performing side and then build it in his own image.

"And if we're poking our heads up like startled meerkats for people like Marcelo Bielsa, that concerns me. How does the conversation go? "Ooh, I didn't know he was available. Shall we chase him now instead?"

Where have you got this idea from? Is it because the Mirror have reported we've switched targets?

Again - a clear difference between what the media report, when they find out and what the owners are actually doing. Perhaps Bielsa isn't on their list at all. Perhaps he is. Perhaps he always was. Perhaps they have been frustrated with attempts for MON and now have to turn elsewhere - that happens in football.

Lets not start jumping to conclusions and make out that somehow the owners are scouring wikipedia because the options have run out

*thats often what happens when you sack your manager

Dunge - sorry just to add, Peter Schmeichel is a great example of what you are referring to earlier. Because we are struggling to get the right person appointed this week, would it be sensible to opt for Schmeichel for the sake of having a manager?

I mean he wants the job apparently, no compensation and is available immediately. Granted we shouldnt delay in making an appointment but equally there are clear dangers of just getting anyone in place

Of course we don't want Peter Schmeichel! There are several reasonable candidates who we could get before going for a crazy appointment like that. He's not at all an example of what I was referring to and it'd be just as ridiculous as you, I or Preki being offered the job.

Granted that most appointments happen at what could be described as a non-ideal time, but the squad in question have usually had a pre-season of some sort of direction; they at least have a plan to work to that a new manager can come in and adapt. The players will know right now though, that any such plan is up in the air. They'll know a new appointment is on his way at some point and it's this uncertainty that affects players. What exactly are Walsh and Shakespeare to do? They get the players trained up, playing and practising certain things, yet those players will know that shortly someone will come in and might tell them that everything they're doing is wrong. Not only that, but the fact that a new manager would have to adapt to the squad to get success rather than putting his stamp on it changes the nature of the role. He'd have to go through half a season working with what he's got, rather than 10/12 games or so, by which point you can be a long way down the table in the Premier League. It becomes a major handicap and I don't want us to fall into that trap.

As regards Bielsa, I don't know whether he's coming or not and this is probably just more media speculation. But the club's stalling adds the likelihood that there isn't a solid plan in place - or at least it's taken them a long time to formulate one.

"Granted that most appointments happen at what could be described as a non-ideal time, but the squad in question have usually had a pre-season of some sort of direction; they at least have a plan to work to that a new manager can come in and adapt"

Why does having a pre-season under a manger that gets the sack later in the year make an ounce of difference? Most of these appointments happen mid-season, which is my main point. Any manager coming into a club in these circumstances (Pulis with West Brom, Pardew with Palace), come in with a totally different philosophy.

Its not as if the players turn round and say "hang on a minute, we cant play your formation because we've been practicing ours all through pre-season". Players have to be professional enough to adapt and if you get the right manager in place to communicate his philosophies they can do, even during a season when you don't have the luxury of a 'pre-season' to implement what you want to.

Should we make an appointment next Monday - thats still 3 weeks with the squad before a game is played to drill them into a different style of play. It can be done, it has been done. Halfway through the season. With success.

"What exactly are Walsh and Shakespeare to do? They get the players trained up, playing and practising certain things, yet those players will know that shortly someone will come in and might tell them that everything they're doing is wrong"

Wrong. Why would it be wrong? Just because a manager comes in with a different philosophy, it doesnt mean he scraps everything thats been done by the current staff. Bielsa for example loves the high pressing game. Well thats suits the way Vardy plays for example and the way Pearson started utilising the players during our final run in. We stopped giving people so much time and space in our half.

We have a group of very good sports scientists and fitness coaches. Don't underestimate this. A manager won't have to come in and sort out the fitness of the squad (there are examples of where this had to be done) which is a very good part of what pre-seaon is about.

"But the club's stalling adds the likelihood that there isn't a solid plan in place "

What stalling? This is just perception based on the bookies not having a clue. How do you know a panel of 5 didn't get together and say "right - here is our shortlist, we need a candidate in place by 24th July latest. Our preference is x and y - if we cant get them then here is plan B"

We wouldn't know about any plans or stalling or changing of plans because the owners have decided not to lay everything out in the open. You can see the dangers of doing that - e.g. Cambiasso who we almost missed out on when his agent decided to leak the transfer and get a number of other clubs involved.

BS
Agreed, they look absolutely miserable....
https://twitter.com/OfficialFOXES/status/620297532678103041
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These clearly must be recycled old photos, what you can't see is NP, out of shot at the back, bullying them all into smiling for the camera

(You'd think the club would at least get them decent bikes)