In the third of our series of articles written by our match reporters, Chris Griffin gives his views…
Before the season started what were your hopes on what we could achieve?
Top 8 finish. Good cup runs.
As the season progressed at which game did you start to fear we could be relegated?
Forest away following a dispirited home performance against Newcastle. A lacklustre performance against not only local rivals but relegation rivals. One team cared: the other didn’t.
Given how the season panned out, in terms of success how do you rate it out of 10?
0/10. No question. For players of that quality to be relegated is totally unacceptable a mere two years after winning the FA Cup. Apologies for the sense of entitlement in that comment.
What do you feel went wrong?
It is multi-layered.
- From a distance it does look as if those charged with running the club were too slow to realise what a parlous state we were in. Sometimes a new face is needed to freshen thinking and re charge batteries. But action regarding the manager post was delayed and when action did come little thought seemed to have been given to what/who comes next. Therefore we had the Sadler/Stowell team in charge of two winnable games which we lost. Dean Smith and crew brought some improvement but it was too little too late.
- Lack of quality recruitment over the summer and in January.
- The injury to Evans and the departure of Schmeichel led to a leadership vacuum.
- Some inexplicable lack of form from some players – Ndidi and Tielemans for example.
- Some puzzling selections. Why was Mendy an afterthought? Soyuncu: regardless of the impression he may/may not have been giving in training, when he came in at the end of the season he provided the defensive authority we had been missing. Why did it take so long to bring in Iversen? Vardy not starting every game and not getting the service he needs when he was picked also a frustration.
- Some bad luck with injuries.
LCFC managers and some LCFC fans had differing views on the effort some of the players were putting in, what are your thoughts?
We looked off the pace when out of possession. As the relegation battles intensified, I was always struck by how hard rival teams were working when they did not have the ball – pressing their opponents and closing them down. Our efforts in these aspects of our games were not good enough.
There are also questions about levels of concentration. We were within minutes if not seconds of taking a point both home to Villa and away to Palace, yet still conceded late goals to finish up with nothing. Hindsight is easy but win those points and we stay up.
What were your views on the signings made during last season?
Souttar will do well. Was outstanding in the game at Newcastle.
Kristensen one for the future. Needs to adapt to pace of football over here. A spell in the Championship should help him.
Faes has pace and courage but his positioning is not always secure.
Tete: one good game at Villa. After that disappointing.
Which player do you think made the most progress last season and why?
Not a lot of choice. Iversen the only candidate.
Which players did you think underperformed the most last season and why?
Ndidi and Tielemans suffered loss of form. Soumare and Daka did not adapt to premier league pace.
With a number of injuries, which players injury do you think had the most detrimental effect on our season?
Evans definitely. Suspect we would have kept more clean sheets and the team’s efforts when not in possession would have been better had he played in more games.
Moving onto next season
What is your initial reaction to the appointment of Enzo Maresca as our new manager?
If he gets us pressing like Manchester City then it is a very encouraging appointment. But he will have to adapt to working with players who do not have the elite skills the payers at the Etihad possessed.
It has been made clear the club needs to move out a number of players, who do you feel is essential that we retain?
KDH, Evans, Ricardo, Barnes, JV, Justin, Iheanacho.
There will therefore by a number of new signings, however what do you feel the squad lacked last season and needs adding?
Same old song. Where is the Mahrez replacement?
If Barnes leaves we will need a goal scoring left winger.
Two midfield box-to-box number 8s.
A no 10 to replace Maddison – I’m assuming he’s leaving.
Would you be looking to add some experience to a fairly youthful squad or would you continue bringing in younger players and develop them?
A good question. The pace and derring-do of young players would be welcome but some Championship experience is necessary, especially to make sure we are seeing games out and we are shaping up as hard to beat in away games – so some experience essential.
If you had a chance for a word in the owner’s ears, which player(s) would you be advising to sign?
Successful Championship experience. For example:
Jerry Yates (Blackpool) has been linked to us. He is a proven Championship striker.
The striker at Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres, would be good but hard to see his club selling to us and he may attract EPL interest as well.
What are your expectations and fears for next season?
Probably more accurate to talk about hopes – coming back up. But hard to predict till we have finished transfer business. What is concerning is the club’s financial situation. It held us back from strengthening this time last year – and that has probably meant we lose even more income through not avoiding the drop.
Any other observation you would like to make?
A mere two years ago we were hailed as an example of how a smaller sized club should be managed – not just on the pitch but off the pitch too. Now that mantle has passed on to Brighton. We need to get it back.
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.