I was thinking after watching Leicester demolish another team and take another step to claiming the title, what should they do after this season? They'll have a good bit of cash to spend but what should they do with it? Personally I'd leave the first team untouched as they've more then earned that and spend the transfer money on cherry picked talented youngsters who would be content to take a back seat and get minutes when they can. But then there's the temptation to splash a lot of money on some undoubted top quality. Doesn't seem like it would be good for team chemistry to drop anyone but they are going to be in the Champions League and they'll need quality cover.
If they become champions then the thing to take from this is the sheer romance of a home town team doing it without any big money outlay and the coming together of a bunch of players who have just gelled in a way that can only be dreamed about by managers. I just cannot see them doing a Forest as football has changed so much. The points you make about kicking on from there are well made but winning that title could be a bit of poisoned chalice since they will be expected to be there or thereabouts this time next year, but with the added ECL games and more signings to beef up the squad the harmony could be diluted somewhat. No matter what they will never match the finance of the big boys who have players on loan all over the world which is something Leics cannot sustain. My son was a big MUFC supporter who gave up match days and Euro travel and as a result he is saving about six thousand quid a year on matches and travel. That is what awaits successful team supporters.
Vardy might be going to Man u as ' the chosen one' will have £300m to spend apparently, and they will be linked with about 200 top players in the summer, so I would not mind Rashford on loan !, he should go to Arsenal though they need a striker.
They will buy young. Look at Gray who they bought from B'ham, A top quality player and happy to come on as a sub. Their problem will be the ECL as its a lot more games, They have kept their side mostly injury free this season and that will be their problem with the extra games. Get the right young kids who they can mould into their way of doing things and they will be ok. I can see them holding on to most of their top players, That is where the money will be spent, big contracts for their big players like Vardy. Footballers think about 1 thing and that's cash, if they can match the wages they will be fine, lets face it their owners can afford it too.
... pretty complete summary above lads as far as I can see ... we have some good young talent coming through from the development squad too mind... Demi Gray's cameo performance yesterday was superb ... if you didn't see it he gets the ball in his own half and there are 5 white shirts around him ... does the lot then when he gets to the by-line looks up and picks out Andy king at the back post ... move ends in the 4th goal ... at £3.5 m the kid looks almost as good a bargain as Kante at £6.5m ... but obviously not as much of a bargain as the newly elected EPL Players Player, Riyad Mahrez for £400k ... £400k ffs! ... have to keep pinching myself at that ... Memphis Dupuy for £25 m anyone?
I reckon they'll suffer some injuries next season and struggle. Their back 4 have hardly changed all season. Theire dm pairing of Drinkwater and Kante has hardly changed all season. Only takes 2 or 3 of them to get injured and they're in the ****. Everyone says "Vardy will be a big miss" - sorry but I think they'd have been more unsettled if Morgan or Huth or Kante had been out for a few games. Having to compete in the CL as well (guaranteed qualification for groups I believe if they finish top 3?) will give them a big problem. No cups this season and the PL has been their only competition and they've had no injuries. That rarely, if ever, happens two season in a row.
Demi Gray looks a cracking young player. Mahrez too - although Man Utd bought a player with top level experience and quality and Leicester bought a player who could easily have been the next Gareth Hall (look him up) - you've been, at times, great to watch, at other times, awful to watch. Had a fair bit of luck too which every club needs but you deserve to be top of the league., I hope you win it - but I truly hope that, going into the last game, Spurs can still catch you - as they are playing Newcastle and we need them to need to win!!
The EPL isn't a league where you can stand still, you have to continually improve the squad. They don't have the biggest of squads anyway so in the event of any injuries they'll struggle, they simply have to buy well and improve.
Big games up this weekend mate, Spurs are away to Chelsea (MNF) and Leicester are away to United. If Leicester win and Spurs don't (assuming Spurs win tonight vs WBA) then it's mathematically over, Leicester are champions. If Leicester lose and Spurs win, the gap's down to two points (again, assuming Spurs win tonight). I fancy us to win for what it's worth.
Massive mate - I think Spurs will turn over WBA tonight - West Brom are already on the beach (and their fans are starting to sound their displeasure at Pulis!) - just wish we had them to play again - without that bloody keeper though! I would like Leicester to win it for the fairytale - I hear all of the pundits on the radio saying "It will be a fairytale if spurs win it too as the last time was 1960 whatever!" - what utter ****e - if Spurs, who have spent over £150m on mainly dross, win the league over Leicester there is no fairytale! plus I don;t like Spurs as mey ex girlfriend supports them and she's a cheating bitch!
Do you mean buy players to go straight into the first team? If so then why change a winning formula? They will need to pad the squad with quality but there's a cap on the level of player they could get that would be happy to keep the bench warm.
... we have been fortunate with injuries and suspensions no doubt ... but we also have excellent training and medical facilities at the club ... yes we will have to grow the squad and we will .... but other fans probably don't realise the depth we already have ... our development squad went out of the FA Youth cup at the semi-final stage last season to Man City ... and included players like Ben Chilwell and Joe Dodoo - the former, a left-back, is the current England U20 captain and the latter scored 3 goals on full debut in the Capital One cup against Bury and another when we beat a full stregth West Ham side in the next round ... there are several similarly good prospects in that youth side ... We have Andrej Kramaric out on loan at Hoffenheim where is goals look like they might well have saved them from relegation from the Bundesliga top flight - he remains our club record signing and will be well suited to a European campaign ... In terms of Centre halves - yes Wes and Huth have been superb and injury free ... but we have already signed Daniel Amartey from Copenhagen and he has looked very classy in his cameos (came on in the last quarter at yours) and can play either as a central defender or right back - big guy - but very quick ... We are rumoured to be in for Dragovic (fellow Austrian team mate of Fuchs) a central defender much in demand and also for Ahmed Musa of CSKA Moscow - who we bid £18m for in the transfer window - and have now gne back for with a £23 m bid (that's his release clause) ... Yes it is going to be tough ... but I expect us to make some damn good signings with the lure of Champions League football (we are now guaranteed second place at least and automatic entry to the CL group stages) ... our owners are also prepared to pay top dollar wages ... We already have the best squad I've ever seen at the club in 45 years of active support ... next season's squad will undoubtedly be better ... Very exciting time to be a Leicester City and tbh ... I'm still pinching myself that this season is really happening and I won't wake up to find us fighting a relegation battle as has been the norm for most of our top flight history ...
... depends which West Brom turns up ... if Pulis gets them wound up they will be horrible to play against ... they can be very physical, targeting the 'flair' players for rough house treatment and they can also be dangerous with Berahino, Rondon and Sessegnon ... (I'd love us to sign Sessegnon for next season) ... then there is Gradner's free kicks ...
True, I'm just interested in whether you'll be after players to go into the first team or not. And if not then will it be take a chance on young talent and cheaper players you think will fit or will you buy a couple of big names and try to give them enough game time to keep them happy.
It was almost a perfect post until that bit in bold. Great to see a club buy young players, mix it up with their own academy product and fetch in a bit of class from abroad, it's a perfect recipe for a great squad in my opinion. As for your squad being 'better', it's hard to say. I think you'll keep Vardy but I think Kante will be off and probably Mahrez, they can get CL football and will be offered it by a lot of clubs. Without those two, I think your squad will be considerably weaker, even if you manage to get huge money for both. You can try and kid yourself that you'll keep them all, like Spurs fans did with Modric and Bale, but it only makes it much harder when realism kicks in. These players will probably be offered the chance to go somewhere next season and win the CL, not just compete in it.
Where to start - think about what you're saying? Our U21 squad is close to winning the league - yet probably 1 of them might be good enough to move into a first team berth (Not including Pickford and Watmore who already have) Ben Clark was england captain at every level up to U20's - he's now playing non-league I think (he was at Sunderland all that time) You;re saying a loanee may help to keep someone up? What good is him helping to keep someone up when your team are fighting at the top? The lad who came on against us looked OK against our tired legs. I'm not trying to wind you up but using all of the references you have is downright silly - the U20's and development squads are probably level with league 2 with the U21's being around league 1 standard sides with an occasional stand out performer. Being Fuchs team mate doesn't mean he's as good as Fuchs either. I think it's great what you;'ve done this season but I reckon you'll finish lower mid-table at best next as injuries will play a key role Edit: The fact that you are really wanting Sessegnon tells me your squad will be weaker next season! I think he has undoubted ability but he only does it one in 10 if you're lucky!
... Franceso Totti? ... some press sources linking Ranieri's relationship with him at Roma with a 'swan song' at Leicester ... in all honesty, if Ranieri stays true to character I'd expect a few established players but more younger players with potential who will just love to be involved in some way, shape or form .. Ranieri has an incredible track record of identifying, acquiring and / or developing young talent ... John Terry, Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele at Chelsea, Gianfranco Zola at Napoli, Anthony Martial at Monaco (yes that was Ranieri) ... the acquisition of Demarai Gray is evidence that his thought are still very much focused on such dynamics ...
