Raineri - “we will be relegated if we do not sign a leader”

[The Rational Fan]

Tony Khan seems committed to spending as much money as FFP rules allows, but TK needs to invest that money more wisely. Wise investment is needs to invest in players that we can use next year. Burnley and Cardiff could easily get 10 points ahead of Fulham (or 2 points behind us) in the next 9 days, leaving us chasing Southampton and Newcastle (who will both spend big before 31st Jan if required) for one survival spot. TK has to build a squad for next season now, maybe that squad is one that can win the Championship next year rather stay up this year. I'd tell beat Burnley and draw with Tottenham then you can spend big.

[toshes mate]

So ranieri who said he was happy with the purchasing policy and thought the squad were good enough when he joined now confirms he was wrong on both counts. He is having to speak publicly that the squad is inadequate and as such the previous incumbent shoulld not have be en held to account so dramatically.....

I know a couple of my 'fans' will say i am having a go at the club again, but they are wrong, i am having a go at the very flawed purchasing policy and blaming slava for what was not his fault but that of the ridiculous failings of the purchases. Ranieri too was not entirely honest OR was a bad judge when arrived saying he was content with the squad and the purchasing policy.... because he claimed to have seen us enough to know he could turn it round, now he says he needs players in the plural and a leader.

Interesting.

I believe Ranieri's whole Fulham related plot line would be a brilliant basis for one of those TV optician adverts.  Should have gone to ... but clearly didn't ....

[The Rational Fan]

I wonder if the under 28's policy has some weakness in terms of obtaining players with leadership skills. I really think its better to buy old players until our club is an established Premier League side, cause their cheap, willing and good. We need top players with 17 EPL games left in them before their body falls apart, that other players will listen to cause they have done it before. We may not be able to attract quality players at their peak, but if a player has half a season left no better team to end your career as a HERO.

[hongkongfulham]

I think the problem is while the squad has the requisite talent, the desire isn't there as a team. Its too easy to go missing in a game with no repercussion or players getting called out it seems. I think that is what he wants in his leader. Someone who has been there and done it, keeps a high standard and won't put up with anyone skipping a shift. Easy to see we don't have that at the moment... Chambers looks the most hungry on the pitch and the geezers on loan!

[Bassey the warrior]

He's right but he shouldn't be saying it in public. This is classic Mourinho tactics and it eventually leads to the squad hating him. Maybe he is genuinely frustrated or feels let down, but try to stay professional Claudio.

[Forever Fulham]

I'm quite offended by this latest comment from him.  Excuse mongering.  And wrong.  Will his white knight leader enable teammates to play harder, track back more quickly, pass more effectively, get in better position to receive passes throughout the game, make quicker decisions on the pitch, play with more guts and determination?   No, no, no, no, no, no, and no.  Maybe a natural leader can solve some personality quirks of others, get others to hold selfishness or sullen behaviour in check, be more of a teammate in attitude.  That's all fine and admirable, but not nearly as important as other qualities you look for in position players. 

He's starting to get on my nerves.  The Oldham match comments about giving certain players a chance, and how they failed their opportunity--that really frosted me.  He put an odd combination of players on the pitch, some of whom hadn't been playing, didn't belong next to other players, and frankly made a mess of things against a lesser talented team that at least had gelled as a unit and played their starters.  And he blames the final result on those that had been riding the bench of late until this one game?  Not fair.  Not right.  And disappointing.  Scapegoating. 

Is Ranieri a leader?  I'm starting to think no.   

[ron]

To draw a Titanic analogy, it seems as if the board are wrestling over the wheel on the bridge, while CR is busy rearranging the deckchairs.

[Fulham 442]

And we all know what happened to the Titanic.  Sadly I think that is our fate and we should be looking to next season in the Championship.  We need to build a team that is not only capable of promotion but capable of competing in the EPL and therefore staying up.  We were ill prepared for our promotion in terms of personnel and TK rushing about buying players willy nilly like a kid let loose in a sweetshop hasn't helped us at all.  What do we do with them all when we get relegated?  The ones we want to keep will leave and we will be stuck with the rest!

[Nero]

But sure Preparing to Fail will just lead to that, if you can you can, if you can't your right

[aaronmcguigan]

I wonder if the under 28's policy has some weakness in terms of obtaining players with leadership skills. I really think its better to buy old players until our club is an established Premier League side, cause their cheap, willing and good. We need top players with 17 EPL games left in them before their body falls apart, that other players will listen to cause they have done it before. We may not be able to attract quality players at their peak, but if a player has half a season left no better team to end your career as a HERO.

Being a hero is a great way to encourage players to come to us, something David Wagner has openly said he's looking for

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11740/11603740/david-wagner-says-a-new-huddersfield-signing-can-become-a-hero

[jarv]

Good comments NOSE.

Wishful thinking but.... Perhaps we can get Roy back, doing well at Palace with very limited talent. As a by the way, Slav should not be criticised imo. Didn't he just provide the best 2 seasons of attacking football in a decade.? Probably since Roy left. 049:gif

[Holders]

Good comments NOSE.

Wishful thinking but.... Perhaps we can get Roy back, doing well at Palace with very limited talent. As a by the way, Slav should not be criticised imo. Didn't he just provide the best 2 seasons of attacking football in a decade.? Probably since Roy left. 049:gif

Since before Roy, the best since Tigana.

[nose returns]

What I like about Ranieri is that what he says can be taken fairly literally, and most of the time you will be right. I don't think there is any other meaning that what he's saying that simply we have a good team, but not very experienced players in the premier league.

Just to repeat, when he joined he said he had watched fulham often and actually quite a lot of people confirm they saw him at matches at the cottage, why not?
And when he joined he said the squad was good enough and he knew what needed to be done.
now he says the squad isn't good enough and is undermining the captain before the biggest game of the season so far.

I for one am mighty unimpressed with all of this, but to be fair I did not think he was the correct appointment and all he is doing is reinforcing my original opinion.

[Deeping_white]

What I like about Ranieri is that what he says can be taken fairly literally, and most of the time you will be right. I don't think there is any other meaning that what he's saying that simply we have a good team, but not very experienced players in the premier league.

Just to repeat, when he joined he said he had watched fulham often and actually quite a lot of people confirm they saw him at matches at the cottage, why not?
And when he joined he said the squad was good enough and he knew what needed to be done.
now he says the squad isn't good enough and is undermining the captain before the biggest game of the season so far.

I for one am mighty unimpressed with all of this, but to be fair I did not think he was the correct appointment and all he is doing is reinforcing my original opinion.

Perhaps the players he'd identified as leaders aren't as good at leading as he'd envisaged before joining? Bearing in mind he only had the same perspective as us before he became manager, you can only make a comment from what you can see, exactly as you're doing seeing as you have no idea about what goes on behind closed doors. Maybe now he's decided he needs someone to come in with a different edge to them compared to what he currently has and that's the point he's making. He's stuck with a captain who couldn't inspire confidence in anyone if he tried and relied on KMac to lead the team, who from an overall morale standpoint he can't strip the captaincy from mid season. You know what you're getting from someone like Cahill, who if paired with Mawson would lead to two strong characters at the heart of the team and probably addresses one of the bigger issues we face which is why he wants that leader figure in the team.

[Holders]

Mullery came in and supplanted Lloyd, who was pretty uninspirational. Since then we've had the likes of Adams, Morgan and Murphy. I don't think that Lee Clark was ever captain but he gets a mention as well.

Ideally, you'd have leaders in each part of the pitch - defence, midfield and attack.

[midlandwhites]

We have a leader -KMac ...sitting in the stands ...Dilly dong !

[alfie]

We have a leader -KMac ...sitting in the stands ...Dilly dong !

Trouble is the game will be going on around him