comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
I’m not 100% aligned there 99. Outlets recruitment strategy was held in high regard only very recently with top European teams coming to understand what we do.
We had a strategy to let players go when we have a replacement. Maguire upgraded to Fofana. Ndidi in for Kante. Justin and Castagne when Chilwell left (lol, Chilwell). All whilst holding on to key players.
We never replaced Mahrez but otherwise I think we’ve done well.
Where it went wrong was last summer for me. We built an expensive squad of highly paid players on top of the first team to compete in Europe. And we either recruited duds in Vestergaard, or players that Rodgers just failed to integrate like Daka and Soumare.
Daka looks a top player, but like Vardy, in a Rodgers team he’s pointless. Vardy managed to somehow take his 1 chance every other game the last couple of seasons but that was never going to last.
So this issue was that our squad quickly became bloated with unhappy players. Then Rodgers started to isolate some of them. Then Rodgers started to drop good players to make a point. Then he changed tactics that didn’t suit Maddison, Vardy or Ndidi. 3 players you could argue are our most influential on form.
So for me, that summer of recruitment and then Rodgers’ handling of the situation has accelerated everything. But to me it feels quick, like something went on that broke a strong squad.
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Not sure if you meant Rudkin rather than the word outlet but if you did then you’re placing way too much success on his shoulders. And who are these top European teams recently coming to understand what we were doing? Not sure where you’ve heard that?
We built a very very good reputation for strong recruitment built on data analysis, that was nearly 10 years ago and a system Walsh and Pearson put in place along with the sports science. The sports science techniques were certainly looked at by other clubs. I wouldn’t credit Rudkin on the recruitment or signing individual players if that’s what you’re referring to - it’s not his remit and never has been.
You’re right when you talk about selling assets and replacing them well, but that’s not what building a team is about. We did indeed upgrade the likes of Maguire to Fofana but meanwhile other areas of the squad were beginning to look threadbare and we missed out on CL partly because we didn’t invest in the areas required (strength in depth in wide positions for example).
So in my mind, because of the strength of our recruitment team, which is still very good, we’ve been plugging holes effectively. Losing a key asset and investing in a new one. What we’ve not been doing is planning for a major squad refresh which was needed some time ago. We not done enough basically
On top of that Rudkin made a serious strategic error by appointing Lee Congerton (on BRs recommendation) as head of recruitment two years ago. That’s where everything started to unravel and that’s what saw the worst recruitment drive in the clubs recent history last summer leading to, as you correctly say, a bloated squad of average highly paid players.
On top of that Rudkin has failed badly on the contracts side - a huge part of his remit. The wages paid to Rodgers, the extended contracts to aging players we needed to move on and most seriously - the failure to move on players coming to the end of their contracts meaning the club lose valuable assets for nothing
comment by For Fox Sake (U4263)
posted 35 minutes ago
Hi all.
I agree with the constructive criticism of those at the top of the club, but in the main because they have not managed expectations.
TBF to Top, his reported wealth has dropped from £4.5bn to £1.5bn because of the effect of covid on the hospitality industry. King Power's business is underpinned by duty free shops and hotels in Thailand - all of which will have suffered catastrophic and unexpected losses due to the pandemic. I know Vishai was a great man and businessman but I don't think even he could have managed much better than Top.
Where Top, Whelan and Rudkin have erred in my opinion, is that they have not come out late last year or early this year and told everyone (and I include Rodgers and the team in that) that we need to be braced for some tough times, that they have suffered terrible losses in their core businesses, and whilst they will never abandon LCFC we are going to have to pull together and operate in a vastly different way. That would have managed everyone's expectations and maybe instigated a Dunkirk spirit to see us through the bad times.
Top is clearly not the massively experienced businessman his Dad was, but he's a loyal, dedicated and honest owner who I have every confidence will do his best to deliver the wishes of the fans and his father.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don’t disagree with this but would go further and say that the hit to the finances would have been made more manageable but better decision making. After Covid, why were we splashing money we clearly didn’t have to chase european football - pushing the club to the brink of FFP. If they had come out and as you say, explained the situation to the fans, I’m sure we would have understood
Top financially is still worth a lot more than the owner of Forest for example, but for whatever reason he isn’t able to invest anymore in the club at this time. For me, he needs to seek external investment for the club to be able to keep pushing on with retaining its position in the PL (which means investment in the playing squad) and expanding the stadium. If he doesn’t have the money to do both then he needs to either get that investment or make some very difficult choices.
The way the club is being run right now (bigger losses than United ffs!), we’re going to have the best stadium the championship has ever seen
Sorry Mersey I have a habit of sounding like I’m dismissing what others are saying when responding - wouldn’t come across like that face to face!! You could be absolutely right on Rudkin, it’s just my personal take that the man’s a clown - I could of course be totally wrong
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posted on 19/9/22
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
I’m not 100% aligned there 99. Outlets recruitment strategy was held in high regard only very recently with top European teams coming to understand what we do.
We had a strategy to let players go when we have a replacement. Maguire upgraded to Fofana. Ndidi in for Kante. Justin and Castagne when Chilwell left (lol, Chilwell). All whilst holding on to key players.
We never replaced Mahrez but otherwise I think we’ve done well.
Where it went wrong was last summer for me. We built an expensive squad of highly paid players on top of the first team to compete in Europe. And we either recruited duds in Vestergaard, or players that Rodgers just failed to integrate like Daka and Soumare.
Daka looks a top player, but like Vardy, in a Rodgers team he’s pointless. Vardy managed to somehow take his 1 chance every other game the last couple of seasons but that was never going to last.
So this issue was that our squad quickly became bloated with unhappy players. Then Rodgers started to isolate some of them. Then Rodgers started to drop good players to make a point. Then he changed tactics that didn’t suit Maddison, Vardy or Ndidi. 3 players you could argue are our most influential on form.
So for me, that summer of recruitment and then Rodgers’ handling of the situation has accelerated everything. But to me it feels quick, like something went on that broke a strong squad.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure if you meant Rudkin rather than the word outlet but if you did then you’re placing way too much success on his shoulders. And who are these top European teams recently coming to understand what we were doing? Not sure where you’ve heard that?
We built a very very good reputation for strong recruitment built on data analysis, that was nearly 10 years ago and a system Walsh and Pearson put in place along with the sports science. The sports science techniques were certainly looked at by other clubs. I wouldn’t credit Rudkin on the recruitment or signing individual players if that’s what you’re referring to - it’s not his remit and never has been.
You’re right when you talk about selling assets and replacing them well, but that’s not what building a team is about. We did indeed upgrade the likes of Maguire to Fofana but meanwhile other areas of the squad were beginning to look threadbare and we missed out on CL partly because we didn’t invest in the areas required (strength in depth in wide positions for example).
So in my mind, because of the strength of our recruitment team, which is still very good, we’ve been plugging holes effectively. Losing a key asset and investing in a new one. What we’ve not been doing is planning for a major squad refresh which was needed some time ago. We not done enough basically
On top of that Rudkin made a serious strategic error by appointing Lee Congerton (on BRs recommendation) as head of recruitment two years ago. That’s where everything started to unravel and that’s what saw the worst recruitment drive in the clubs recent history last summer leading to, as you correctly say, a bloated squad of average highly paid players.
On top of that Rudkin has failed badly on the contracts side - a huge part of his remit. The wages paid to Rodgers, the extended contracts to aging players we needed to move on and most seriously - the failure to move on players coming to the end of their contracts meaning the club lose valuable assets for nothing
posted on 19/9/22
comment by For Fox Sake (U4263)
posted 35 minutes ago
Hi all.
I agree with the constructive criticism of those at the top of the club, but in the main because they have not managed expectations.
TBF to Top, his reported wealth has dropped from £4.5bn to £1.5bn because of the effect of covid on the hospitality industry. King Power's business is underpinned by duty free shops and hotels in Thailand - all of which will have suffered catastrophic and unexpected losses due to the pandemic. I know Vishai was a great man and businessman but I don't think even he could have managed much better than Top.
Where Top, Whelan and Rudkin have erred in my opinion, is that they have not come out late last year or early this year and told everyone (and I include Rodgers and the team in that) that we need to be braced for some tough times, that they have suffered terrible losses in their core businesses, and whilst they will never abandon LCFC we are going to have to pull together and operate in a vastly different way. That would have managed everyone's expectations and maybe instigated a Dunkirk spirit to see us through the bad times.
Top is clearly not the massively experienced businessman his Dad was, but he's a loyal, dedicated and honest owner who I have every confidence will do his best to deliver the wishes of the fans and his father.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don’t disagree with this but would go further and say that the hit to the finances would have been made more manageable but better decision making. After Covid, why were we splashing money we clearly didn’t have to chase european football - pushing the club to the brink of FFP. If they had come out and as you say, explained the situation to the fans, I’m sure we would have understood
Top financially is still worth a lot more than the owner of Forest for example, but for whatever reason he isn’t able to invest anymore in the club at this time. For me, he needs to seek external investment for the club to be able to keep pushing on with retaining its position in the PL (which means investment in the playing squad) and expanding the stadium. If he doesn’t have the money to do both then he needs to either get that investment or make some very difficult choices.
The way the club is being run right now (bigger losses than United ffs!), we’re going to have the best stadium the championship has ever seen
posted on 20/9/22
Sorry Mersey I have a habit of sounding like I’m dismissing what others are saying when responding - wouldn’t come across like that face to face!! You could be absolutely right on Rudkin, it’s just my personal take that the man’s a clown - I could of course be totally wrong
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