The Leicester City Thread (merged)

[kupest]

There are few things irritating about them, one how they punt it and run and secondly the fucking clappers their fans have adopted, they do it even when the other team scores. I don't see them repeating this years success to next year, teams will start figuring them out.

 

[Pam]

May they fuck off now. I am utterly bored of it.

 

[Phelan's Pace]

To be fair if they were competing in the 2012 season it would already be impossible for them to win it. So instantly you can make an argument for the standards slipping, they'd even have to win their last 10 games to win it in the 2014 season. The teams they've been up against this year have been at their worst for quite a while, only Spurs and them are overachieving in this league, just 2 teams which says something. I'm also not buying this financial resources bollocks anymore, yes having money helps but every single team in the premier league has money nowadays, its not like it use to be with just the top 4 having the finances. Just look at the teams who spent the most in January; Stoke, Everton, Norwich, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Watford, Sunderland, I think 10 years ago this would have been quite something but I think we'll see more teams being able to challenge from out of nowhere in years to come.

The finances thing isn't bollocks though. We are players at 20m, 30m and even 2 in the 50m bracket ahead of Leicester. Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and united the same in the main. I'm no Leicester expert at what they've spent but I know it's nothing near even the mid table clubs I would hazard a guess at. If they did the unthinkable and beat those big spending mid table teams and of course the teams who spend huge sums of money to the title, I can't see it being repeated or topped again, even with the bigger money coming in.


As for the 'I'm utterly bored of it' comment from the other poster, what's that about? I'd rather see Leicester doing this one off campaign of pushing for the title than the usual suspects, us excluded of course. Ideal for me is City first and Leicester finishing 2nd. Hope they do it.

 

[MCFC1993]

The finances thing isn't bollocks though. We are players at 20m, 30m and even 2 in the 50m bracket ahead of Leicester. Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and united the same in the main. I'm no Leicester expert at what they've spent but I know it's nothing near even the mid table clubs I would hazard a guess at. If they did the unthinkable and beat those big spending mid table teams and of course the teams who spend huge sums of money to the title, I can't see it being repeated or topped again, even with the bigger money coming in.


As for the 'I'm utterly bored of it' comment from the other poster, what's that about? I'd rather see Leicester doing this one off campaign of pushing for the title than the usual suspects, us excluded of course. Ideal for me is City first and Leicester finishing 2nd. Hope they do it.

In Leicester's circumstances though its not about what they've spent but what they have the ability to spend. On top of the stupid money clubs already get from the tv deal (which is about to significantly rise), Leicesters owner is worth £2.2bn ($3bn), the 10th richest owner in the league, he has a helicopter land on the pitch after every game to pick him up, he's certainly not a pauper.

The players they signed have just been good deals from good scouting, however they have still spent money. Just because a player costs £20m doesn't mean he's better than a £10m player, if anything a £10m premium is added on any transfer deal city make. 20 years ago maybe even just 10 years ago a relegation threatened team wouldn't be able to spend, Okazaki £8.25m, Kante £6.75m, Inler £5.25m, Benalouane £5.25m, Amartey £4.95m, Gray £3.83m (figures taken from tranfermarkt), thats £33m on 6 players and 4 players totalling nearly £20m have barely even kicked a ball for them this season. Then going back to last Ulloa £7.59m, Kramaric £6.75m another £15m worth of players to have barely been involved this season. Don't get me wrong they've picked up some great cheap deal too, Vardy, Mahrez, Huth and even Kante has proved value for money but that only because they've been in a position to take that risk. Being in the champions league next year with this £100m TV deal they're definitely going to be buying these £20m players. In the 2011/12 season when they were in the Championship they spent £14m, each club on average receives £2m from TV money in the Championship even with sponsorships they'd have still been in the red.

So although they don't spend the money of the top clubs they can still spend enough to compete and this will continue to be a theme from now on. Just look at other 'lesser' clubs in the league:
(all figure rounded from transfermarkt)
Van Dijk to Southampton - nearly £12m
Clasie to Southampton - £9m
Paloschi to relegation threatened Swansea - £7m
Imbula to Stoke - £18m
Shaqiri to Stoke - £13m
Cabaye to C Palace - £10m
Wickham! to C Palace - £7.5m
Niasse to Everton - £13m
Funes Mori to Everton - £10m
Payet to West Ham - £11m
Ogbonna to West Ham - £8m
Antonio to West Ham - £7m
Rondon to West Brom - £13m
Chester to West Brom - £8m
Wijnaldum to Newcastle - £15m
Mitrovic to Newcastle - £14m
Thauvin to Newcastle £14m
Shelvey to relegation threatened Newcastle - £12m
Townsend to relegation threatened Newcastle - £12m
Mbemba to Newcastle - £9m

In fact i'll stop there with Newcastle being a great example of teams falling through the net at either side of the table, money spent does not dictate league position entirely which is why I don't like the financial argument. Money obviously helps as you can keep spending it until it works much like our rise to the top but it isn't the be all. Arguably our 2 best players are Kompany £6m and Joe Hart less than £1m, so player value should not always dictate a teams league position. Don't get me wrong its amazing what they have done but I don't like the financial argument supporting them. Its down to good coaching, tactics and scouting.

 

[SWP's back]

It's pure hyperbole. The media are queuing up to describe as 'biggest shock in the history of sport'. Utter nonsense. In footballing terms, and this is only from my relatively short memory, how about Forest winning the league then back to back European Cups? Or Denmark winning the Euros after not even qualifying? Or Greece winning the Euros? I'm sure there are tons from the boxing and horse racing world's etc, etc.

I wouldn't say any of them would be a greater shock than Leicester winning a 38 game league with 1/15th of the budget and being a 5000-1 shot.

 

[bobmcfc]

May they fuck off now. I am utterly bored of it.

Some of the fans on talksport last night before their game were acting abit "dipperesque" it was a tad cringey. I know they want to win the league but they were acting like the already had. Abit of humility isn't too much to ask for

 

[Phelan's Pace]

In Leicester's circumstances though its not about what they've spent but what they have the ability to spend. On top of the stupid money clubs already get from the tv deal (which is about to significantly rise), Leicesters owner is worth £2.2bn ($3bn), the 10th richest owner in the league, he has a helicopter land on the pitch after every game to pick him up, he's certainly not a pauper.

The players they signed have just been good deals from good scouting, however they have still spent money. Just because a player costs £20m doesn't mean he's better than a £10m player, if anything a £10m premium is added on any transfer deal city make. 20 years ago maybe even just 10 years ago a relegation threatened team wouldn't be able to spend, Okazaki £8.25m, Kante £6.75m, Inler £5.25m, Benalouane £5.25m, Amartey £4.95m, Gray £3.83m (figures taken from tranfermarkt), thats £33m on 6 players and 4 players totalling nearly £20m have barely even kicked a ball for them this season. Then going back to last Ulloa £7.59m, Kramaric £6.75m another £15m worth of players to have barely been involved this season. Don't get me wrong they've picked up some great cheap deal too, Vardy, Mahrez, Huth and even Kante has prooved value for money but that only because they've been in a position to take that risk. Being in the champions league next year with this £100m TV deal they're definitely going to be buying these £20m players. In the 2011/12 season when they were in the Championship they spent £14m, each club on average receives £2m from TV money in the Championship even with sponsorships they'd have still been in the red.

So although they don't spend the money of the top clubs they can still spend enough to compete and this will continue to be a theme from now on. Just look at other 'lesser' clubs in the league:
(all figure rounded from transfermarkt)
Van Dijk to Southampton - nearly £12m
Clasie to Southampton - £9m
Paloschi to relegation threatened Swansea - £7m
Imbula to Stoke - £18m
Shaqiri to Stoke - £13m
Cabaye to C Palace - £10m
Wickham! to C Palace - £7.5m
Niasse to Everton - £13m
Funes Mori to Everton - £10m
Payet to West Ham - £11m
Ogbonna to West Ham - £8m
Antonio to West Ham - £7m
Rondon to West Brom - £13m
Chester to West Brom - £8m
Wijnaldum to Newcastle - £15m
Mitrovic to Newcastle - £14m
Thauvin to Newcastle £14m
Shelvey to relegation threatened Newcastle - £12m
Townsend to relegation threatened Newcastle - £12m
Mbemba to Newcastle - £9m

In fact i'll stop there with Newcastle being a great example of teams falling through the net at either side of the table, money spent does not dictate league position entirely which is why I don't like the financial argument. Money obviously helps as you can keep spending it until it works much like our rise to the top but it isn't the be all. Arguably our 2 best players are Kompany £6m and Joe Hart less than £1m, so player value should not always dictate a teams league position. Don't get me wrong its amazing what they have done but I don't like the financial argument supporting them. Its down to good coaching, tactics and scouting.

Quality analysis. The money they've spent, as you rightly say, enables them to compete. Looking at the quality of player and the relatively average cost, I'd expect them to be competing for 10th, 11th or at best and which would be a shock, the Europa spot. To see that calibre of player competing with and in more than a few games now, dominating the clubs with world class players, I would put their achievement, if it came off, as one of if not the biggest shock in modern football. As you also say, down to the coaching.

 

[Phelan's Pace]

Some of the fans on talksport last night before their game were acting abit "dipperesque" it was a tad cringey. I know they want to win the league but they were acting like the already had. Abit of humility isn't too much to ask for

I heard that. I took that as tongue in cheek. All aimed at mickey Quinn previously saying they wouldn't do it.

 

[MCFC1993]

Quality analysis. The money they've spent, as you rightly say, enables them to compete. Looking at the quality of player and the relatively average cost, I'd expect them to be competing for 10th, 11th or at best and which would be a shock, the Europa spot. To see that calibre of player competing with and in more than a few games now, dominating the clubs with world class players, I would put their achievement, if it came off, as one of if not the biggest shock in modern football. As you also say, down to the coaching.

Yeah I agree, on paper in terms of player quality and money available mid-table with an outside chance at Europa League should be their current position, if anything they massively underperformed last year given their resources available, kind of like the Arsenal of the bottom-half refusing to spend money and hoping that would be good enough. This years they learned from that and now for them to be competing in the champions league next year, and challenging the title this year, that is amazing. However now every team has money available to them, theres a possibility that if a team gets scouting and player & coach recruitment right then they too could be challenging for champions league spots. Leicester will find that if they want a 'big' quality player next year they'll suddenly find theres a champions league club tax added to that players price and probably gone are the days where they pick up players for value (unless they fall back down the table again next year).

 

[super_city_si]

If they do it then a big congratulations and enjoy the hell out of it.