We thought we would wait a few weeks from the end of the season before asking our match reporters for their considered thoughts, Paul Weston kicks off this series of articles..
Before the season started what were your hopes on what we could achieve?
I was not that optimistic but hoped that we would be in the top half of the table and perhaps have a really good cup run.
As the season progressed at which game did you start to fear we could be relegated?
After throwing away a two goal lead against Brentford we were so easily beaten by Southampton in the third game of the season. Compounded by Brendan Rodgers’ coded messages it then looked like it would be a tough season. I then had a negative bet with a good friend that we would be relegated. Sadly I won the bet!
Given how the season panned out, in terms of success how do you rate it out of 10?
I know it is harsh but I have to give it 0 out of 10. The season’s points tally was pathetic and for entertainment value I am struggling to remember a match I enjoyed.
What do you feel went wrong?
It is a long list but here are my thoughts:
- Top put too much trust in Rodgers and Rudkin. His father would have made more brutal decisions earlier in the season and would have made changes to his management team.
- Rodgers is not as good as a manager as he thinks he is. His tactics had become stale and boring. He never resolved our defensive weaknesses. He is good at his own PR but not as tactically astute as other managers. Rodgers should be ashamed of freezing out some players (e.g. Soyuncu, Mendy and even in part Vardy) when clearly they could have had a greater input to our season. If he was not happy with the board’s financial support for new players then he should have left earlier without a large pay off instead of leaving when it was too late to rescue the season.
- The sudden departure of Schmeichel left us badly exposed and the reasons are still a mystery. Whilst he had his faults he hated losing. Ward was simply not Premiership standard and weakened our defence.
- If Rudkin is in fact in charge of recruitment he was badly misguided in his signings. He and his back up team clearly are not good enough and were also duped by Rodgers recommendations (Vestergaard- really?)
- Top should have had a replacement manager ready before we parted company with Rodgers. Two winnable games were wasted with Sadler and Stowell in charge.
- The players realised only too late that relegation was on the cards. Only then did we really roll up our sleeves to scrap (Newcastle match).
- The players selected and trained by Rodgers are good technically but had a soft centre. There was no strong tough tackling midfield.
- Rodgers was supposed to be good at man management, but I cannot think of one player whose performance improved last season under his leadership. Too many injuries which seemed to take an age to recover from. Is our sports science team up to the task?
LCFC managers and some LCFC fans had differing views on the effort some of the players were putting in, what are your thoughts?
I think the physical effort was usually there, but the mental effort fell short. We were a goal down many times early in the game and there never seemed to be a belief that the game could be rescued. We often played well when we were 3-0 or 4-0 down when the game was lost. I am not convinced that our players’ fitness was as good as some of our competitors either. We were a soft touch.
What were your views on the signings made during last season?
In summary completely underwhelming. After the long drawn out Fofana saga we limped on. Faes has promise but at the moment is prone to errors and his positioning sense is poor.
Souttar, signed later, might do well in the championship but is slow on the turn.
Kristiansen, signed later, is energetic but gets out of position too often and needs guidance.
Smithies- no idea.
Tete was a huge disappointment. He rarely beat his man and was knocked off the ball too easily. His defensive work was very poor.
Which player do you think made the most progress last season and why?
It is really harsh but I am struggling to select anyone from the squad who progressed last season. Dewsbury-Hall started well but then fell into the malaise affecting the whole team. Iversen late in the season showed promise but then, in comparison with Ward, that was not too difficult to achieve.
Which players did you think underperformed the most last season and why?
The whole team should hang their heads in shame on their underperformance. It is a complete mismanagement that so many players were going to be out of contract at the same time so it is hardly surprising that it felt at times that they were not playing for the shirt. Foxes never quit used to be our motto- if only!
Soumare is a complete enigma. I have no idea why but he continued to be selected in place of Mendy by our various managers during the season but to me he is too slow, gets out of position and contributes nothing positive. Ndidi’s drop in performance since injury was also very sad.
With a number of injuries, which players injury do you think had the most detrimental effect on our season?
Evans was injured for far too long and often and his marshalling of the defence was missed. He looks to be too injury prone for the future.
Ricardo’s marauding down the wing was also missed. Again after his frequent injuries one starts to wonder whether he will get back to his best.
Moving onto next season
What is your initial reaction to the appointment of ??? as our new manager?
As I write this there has been a deafening silence about the manager appointment. A complete rebuild is needed and the transfer window is about to open. A new manager needs to be in place now otherwise it will be a chaotic start to the season especially with the ill-judged Asian tournament so close to the first match.
Of all the names mentioned Scott Parker seems to be the best fit to get us out of the Championship. Please not Steven Gerrard or Dean Smith.
It has been made clear the club needs to move out a number of players, who do you feel is essential that we retain?
I would keep Dewsbury-Hall and as a future captain to build around. If Justin is fit again he would be a real asset and is useful in different positions. Iheanacho is a good link up player, scores goals and could do well in the Championship.
There will therefore be a number of new signings, however what do you feel the squad lacked last season and needs adding?
Two strong tackling midfield players.
A good quality goalkeeper.
Would you be looking to add some experience to a fairly youthful squad or would you continue bringing in younger players and develop them?
We need players experienced in the Championship irrespective of age. Most importantly make sure that the length of their contracts are planned for the future.
If you had a chance for a word in the owner’s ears, which player(s) would you be advising to sign?
Keep George Hirst and do not sell him or loan out to Ipswich Town.
What are your expectations and fears for next season?
I think it could be an underwhelming season. I fear that we will appoint our manager too late and therefore miss the benefit of the transfer window. Players such as Maddison, Barnes, Castagne will leave and we will be playing catch up throughout the season. If this happens we could struggle to stay in the Championship.
Any other observation you would like to make?
Top needs to assess the performance of his management team and not be afraid to make changes. Better communication with the supporters is needed to re-energise our club after such a disappointing season. Relegation could have been avoided but complacency had set in.
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation.