With good coaching and good signings I am sure we still have a chance of avoiding relegation.
That said, do we totally focus on trying to retain Premier status or do we have one eye on what will be needed next season if the worse was to happen.
Is Ranieri likely to be our manager if we go down ?
Our squad has always suffered from multiple changes before the season starts and we take months to get going.
Do we try and assemble a squad now that will still largely be in place at the start of next season.
Taking large numbers of players on loan hinders the above.
Most of our Championship players are no where near good enough in the Premier but very good in the championship so will the likes of KMac, Johansen and Betts still be with us if we get relegated ?
Have the likes of Seri and Anguissa got clauses in their contracts should we get relegated like, reduced salary, sell on clauses such as minimum sale value and release clauses, could they play in the championship or do we try and offload now if we get the right offer ? Could these players keep us up ?
Do we recruit in January for Premeir only or for potential relegation and a massive push to come straight back up. We know that the longer you are down there the more difficult it is too return.
I am not waiving the white flag, just asking some important strategic questions. Of course we will do all we can to retain our status but do we have a fall back strategy running alongside ?
I think we have to accept that if we go down won't bounce straight back up, because without Mitrovic, Sessegnon and Schurrle the attack has to be completely redesigned. Staying up is the priority for 2018/19, and if we go down 2019/20 is a rebuilding year.
Sometimes the talk on this site is a little over the top, people comment about relegation like we are 10 points adrift, but there are only a couple of points between the bottom 6 or so teams. Now of course it will be a strong challenge, but I am sure we are up for it.
I will not write us off until and IF the points make it impossible to stay.
:clap_hands:
Quote from: alfie on December 11, 2018, 11:37:10 AM
Sometimes the talk on this site is a little over the top, people comment about relegation like we are 10 points adrift, but there are only a couple of points between the bottom 6 or so teams. Now of course it will be a strong challenge, but I am sure we are up for it.
I will not write us off until and IF the points make it impossible to stay.
:clap_hands:
I agree we are within striking distance of safety and if Ranieri can keep it that way, or better, until the half way point of the season then we may see a renaissance. Absolutely agree that you do not write things off until you know there is no way back.
At least four players coming in January, apparently Khan snr wants us to stay up at all cost
Quote from: The Rational Fan on December 11, 2018, 11:31:11 AM
I think we have to accept that we wont bounce straight back up, because without Mitrovic, Sessegnon and Schurrle the attack has to be completely redesigned.
Then there's all the players on loan. I can understand why it was a good strategy to get out of the Championship but with our late transfer activity in the summer it has proved disastrous. We still rely too much on loans IMO, most of which we will have no chance of signing unless they are so poor that their parent club won't want them back. We could face a MASSIVE rebuild if we are relegated. And even if we're not relegated we'll still probably have to replace most or all of our current loans.
Quote from: HillingdonFFC on December 11, 2018, 11:54:36 AM
At least four players coming in January, apparently Khan snr wants us to stay up at all cost
That's excellent news!!!
Quote from: HillingdonFFC on December 11, 2018, 11:54:36 AM
At least four players coming in January, apparently Khan snr wants us to stay up at all cost
How do we know what Tony Khan is buying at least four players?
Quote from: HillingdonFFC on December 11, 2018, 11:54:36 AM
At least four players coming in January, apparently Khan snr wants us to stay up at all cost
and so do I
Quote from: The Rational Fan on December 11, 2018, 12:25:35 PM
Quote from: HillingdonFFC on December 11, 2018, 11:54:36 AM
At least four players coming in January, apparently Khan snr wants us to stay up at all cost
How do we know what Tony Khan is buying at least four players?
I hope Tony Khan is just buying Christmas presents, and leaving the signing and targeting and purchasing of players to an experienced professional.
When Ranieri wants a player that Tony Khan's stats don't rate we will see the test. Well actually we won't see it at all, we will have no idea at all. Rather like everything else that goes on behind the scenes. Does anyone know for sure that Slav did not say to Tony, hey go get me Anguissa at any cost because he is the defensive midfielder I need to replace KMac ?
Quote from: FulhamStu on December 11, 2018, 01:54:39 PM
When Ranieri wants a player that Tony Khan's stats don't rate we will see the test. Well actually we won't see it at all, we will have no idea at all. Rather like everything else that goes on behind the scenes. Does anyone know for sure that Slav did not say to Tony, hey go get me Anguissa at any cost because he is the defensive midfielder I need to replace KMac ?
Unfornately, Tony Khan cannot to buy the premier league player with the worst statstics that has had 10 appearances, cause he already owns him Stefan Johnson. According to statstics, Tony Khan needs sell Stefan Johansen and buy Raheem Sterling. Of course, we need to find a another club that believes statistics are rubbish to sell Stefan Johansen to.
I am sure all clubs in the bottom half have a plan in place, just in case the unthinkable happens. We get loads of tv games in USA and having seen other bottom 6 teams play, for the most part, they all look a bit rubbish. Lets hope Fulham is less rubbish than them.
I was at the Leicester game. They are top half (I think) and second half they were rubbish too. We wuz robbed.
Next 4 games are critical, all winnable games but West Ham is a bit of a worry. Fingers crossed. 049:gif
Up until now I have been crossing my fingers all season until it has made me cross, and it's done Fulham no good whatsoever.
So I have stopped wearing my favourite under pants, no longer avoid walking under ladders, by the way a pot of paint fell on my head when I tried it the other day.
I have thrown my favourite rabbits foot out the window, and I can tell you the rabbit did not like it one bit.
Also I am deliberately crossing the paths of black cats, and I have just completed breaking every mirror in the house.
Because it just doesn't work, only old fashioned commitment, application, workrate, passion and desire are acceptable, and the right kind of players who will run through a brick wall and come out fighting on the other side for the Manager and the club, and we need them ASAP in the next Window, because currently our cupboard is bare and lacking enough of the ingredients to battle our way out of this predicament we find ourselves in.
I found this part of an article on Leicesters Championship season interesting given everyone wants the manager to have his own players...
"Robert Huth's loan deal from Stoke City had been turned into a permanent move, and Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki had joined from Schalke and Mainz respectively. Steve Walsh, the club's joint assistant manager and head of recruitment, was busy chasing another target that was far from straightforward but would turn into one of the best Premier League signings of the summer.
N'Golo Kanté was the player's name, and Ranieri – as he would later admit – did not know much about him. Ranieri was far from alone in that respect – plenty of other Premier League managers have since questioned how he slipped under their radar – but Walsh and his recruitment team had done their homework. David Mills, Leicester's senior scouting coordinator, had been to see Kanté play for Caen, and clips and statistics were put together to highlight the midfielder's talent.
Ranieri, however, still needed convincing about the player's physique. A few months down the line, on the back of some superb performances from the Frenchman, Ranieri recalled how Walsh would constantly badger him during pre-season, saying: "Kanté, Kanté, Kanté!" In the end Ranieri was won over, Leicester handed over £5.6m and the rest is history. High quality on the pitch and low maintenance off it, Kanté drives a Mini and lives a simple life that involves tackling and smiling; occasionally both at the same time. He has been a revelation and everybody at Leicester loves him"
Quote from: alfie on December 11, 2018, 11:37:10 AM
Sometimes the talk on this site is a little over the top, people comment about relegation like we are 10 points adrift, but there are only a couple of points between the bottom 6 or so teams. Now of course it will be a strong challenge, but I am sure we are up for it.
I will not write us off until and IF the points make it impossible to stay.
:clap_hands:
You are absolutely right to say it i far too early to write us off. However we are so poor that relegation is a real threat and a bit of contingency planning may not be a bad idea. to remind you last time under the same stewardship they simply sold the whole team and left us floundering for two seasons.
Quote from: FulhamStu on December 11, 2018, 01:54:39 PM
When Ranieri wants a player that Tony Khan's stats don't rate we will see the test. Well actually we won't see it at all, we will have no idea at all. Rather like everything else that goes on behind the scenes. Does anyone know for sure that Slav did not say to Tony, hey go get me Anguissa at any cost because he is the defensive midfielder I need to replace KMac ?
Absolutely agree with the logic you express, FulhamStu, but the medium to longer term give aways for me are always the appearance of a successful team, getting promising results, demonstrating superior skills, and actually predicting big time achievements well before a season is ending. There are always smiles when something is eventually won, and all the arguments can be put to one side and forgotten, .... until they repeat once more when a new campaign begins. Jokanovic insisted on distancing himself from both Kline and Khan once he knew what the situation was, but he couldn't divorce himself completely because he was part of the marriage between the on the pitch operation and the behind the scenes administration. It didn't work out for Jokanovic. We will see how Ranieri deals with matters over the next several weeks and we will perhaps be able to fathom out which of the Khans has the bigger say so over who comes in, or not, as the case may be. But we will still be guessing.
Quote from: The Rational Fan on December 11, 2018, 02:24:44 PM
Quote from: FulhamStu on December 11, 2018, 01:54:39 PM
When Ranieri wants a player that Tony Khan's stats don't rate we will see the test. Well actually we won't see it at all, we will have no idea at all. Rather like everything else that goes on behind the scenes. Does anyone know for sure that Slav did not say to Tony, hey go get me Anguissa at any cost because he is the defensive midfielder I need to replace KMac ?
Unfornately, Tony Khan cannot to buy the premier league player with the worst statstics that has had 10 appearances, cause he already owns him Stefan Johnson. According to statstics, Tony Khan needs sell Stefan Johansen and buy Raheem Sterling. Of course, we need to find a another club that believes statistics are rubbish to sell Stefan Johansen to.
I think you will find that almost all clubs use Stats. We give it more attention because the owners son leads it. I have no issue with stats being part of the process at all. I question more the quality of the scouts who watch these future signings. Do they know what they are doing ?
We have now to make every effort possible to stay up, getting promoted again next season would be almost impossible.
If we use our established methods to buy 4 new players in the January window we will be lucky to get one good enough for the premier league. Essential that we buy only players that Ranieri wants to buy.
Let's hope, for once, we have people lined up to sign the day the window opens.
Quote from: JoelH5 on December 11, 2018, 09:26:02 PM
Let's hope, for once, we have people lined up to sign the day the window opens.
precisely
Quote from: JoelH5 on December 11, 2018, 09:26:02 PM
Let's hope, for once, we have people lined up to sign the day the window opens.
Ideally, we should play all the new signings against Arsenal and Oldham before we have to pick the team for the super important Burnley Game.
Quote from: The Rational Fan on December 12, 2018, 12:26:07 AM
Quote from: JoelH5 on December 11, 2018, 09:26:02 PM
Let's hope, for once, we have people lined up to sign the day the window opens.
Ideally, we should play all the new signings against Arsenal and Oldham before we have to pick the team for the super important Burnley Game.
and what happens if we lose all three.
