Johnny Musicworks

For those of us depending on comments on here for news some of the comments can be a little confusing.

Could be Nigel’s bosses are holding on to see who we may lose. Nigel indicating that we wouldn’t have much time to replace anyone going is perhaps him saying “if it happens I may bring Mr Grumpy back.”

With some he won’t be popular even if form does pick up

3-0 down after 31 mins so might need a few shots on target

I feel the same. He is not the sort who will sign up for another 3 years and then leave after one. After losing several friends recently I would not be surprised if he has already decided not to renew and to get started on his bucket list. I wouldn’t blame him at all and it might suit all parties.

Indeed we have but it’s not unreasonable to assume that our Plan B (With Scott gone) possibly included a maximum amount to be given to Nige from the £25m for one possibly 2 decent players to replace him. Then McCrorie and Conway suddenly need replacing so Plan B becomes Plan C and 4 needed for the same amount unless we can trade another 1 for another 2.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see us trade to get what we need. Pring is an obvious contender, maybe speculation is based on something. If that happens 4/5 incomings maybe. Nige knows this could be his last season if we don’t kick on and losing Scott, McCrorie, Conway and no Atkinson leaves us looking lightweight and doesn’t help his cause, which is why he is probably only now considering loans. Unfortunately Anis and Cornick have not delivered as yet and Knight and Roberts may need time. Only Dickie looks comfortable out of our recent signings. It’s not a great situation just now.

So OTIB’s season seems to be over in August.

Only team losing in the Championship at half time

An absolute joy to see how Scott has developed his game, given us some great memories and made us a nice wedge on leaving. His contribution to this club and its future has been immense. He has inspired so many in our academy that can follow in his footsteps and really put our academy on the map. Nothing whatsoever to feel bitter about. The boy has earned the right to progress his career.. I Would have loved to have seen him lead us to the promised land but it was not not to be.

James Piercy saying they understand it is £25m plus appearance based add-ons which would be quite a deal !

The money from Scott will never guarantee that we don’t have to sell other players. Every player goes at the right price. What it does mean is the financial pressures (that often force sales) will not pressure us in the coming seasons. As I recall Brentford had a few big money exits as they built towards promotion. Other good young talent will undoubtedly move on in order to possibly achieve that. It’s not a fast build but if we stick to our new model then it will be much more likely. Selling a player that cost nothing for up to £25 million is great business. At last the Lansdowns seem to be putting the football side of the business on a sound footing with the appointments of Pearson, Tinnion and Alexander. Whatever the criticism’s over the years (many well justified) then they should at least be applauded for the way the whole club, stadium and structure are now becoming Premier League ready or maybe to the more cynical then attractive to potential buyers. Either way we are on the up.

I tend to think that the plan A (If Scott stayed) and plan B (if not)was a bit of a smokescreen. We knew that it would always be plan B but didn’t want to go public with it. The purchases in January and recently are getting plan B in place so we didn’t pay over the odds for replacements. I’m not saying that we won’t fund another player now but I reckon plan B going forward meant holding on to Pring, Conway, Bell etc, at least for this season and having some financial clout if necessary in January for a push.

I’m just taking it as a friendly ‘zip it’ as he shouldn’t be making announcements before the club announce it.

Hopefully due back just after the window closes !

I think that the reference to being a manager rather than a head coach is interesting. Most teams probably employ the latter as short term appointments (which realistically most turn out to be) and are purely about getting a team to get results asap. I suspect in years to come and irrespective of whether Pearsons team is successful or not people will look back at his tenure as a transformational period for the club where being a manager had a great effect on the future of the club. Arguably his last stay at Leicester could be so described. The time will come where we once again need more of a head coach than a manager because the hard part of managing will have been done.

Not having seen any of the games yet it’s good to hear people’s opinions on the likes of Knight-Lebel and Araoye in particular compared with players such as Low and Towler who have been moved on. Is it fair to say that aside from natural skill and physicality it’s maybe more about the ability to play 90 minutes with a consistent intensity. We hear a lot of talk about the high press but it sounds like it’s more about pressing in all areas all the time and some players however skilful just can’t do that. That would fit in more with Tinnions comments a few months back about the qualities our potential targets need to possess.

Mods Is it possible to install some kind of pun filter so that those of us that find them excruciating can put them on ignore?

I think that many might have said the likes of Coventry, Millwall and Luton lacked top-end Championship quality at the start of last season. Don’t underestimate the strength of a good well organised solid squad that have a great work ethic.

It seems the club has played an absolute blinder so far. We have I think set a price a bit above his current worth so if we do lose him we will be adequately compensated. Having said that Alex is 19 and progressing rapidly and his worth if he stays (unlikely I know) will I believe well exceed £25m by the end of the season (barring serious injury). He is such an extraordinary talent that there is no way his value will depreciate. If he stays and we don’t challenge then he will go in January to one of any number of desperate clubs. If we have a successful season then many more clubs will be in the queue so there will be a bidding war. Simply put £25m now or £30m plus next summer.

A fair point so maybe not agreed but possibly not refused as yet either whilst we talk to other parties.

It will be interesting to see how this ramps up in the next few days. This £20m plus add-ons could be a goer or will we hang on to see if any of the bigger fish come in. Have we put a price out there where we will just accept an offer or was it just a starting figure ? By now I imagine we know the level of interest and whether we should play the slow game and wait for a feeding frenzy or just do a quick deal. That could depend if our plan B includes a specific target that would be otherwise unattainable. Either way it’s livening up a rather dull weekend for some of us.

Presumably with the incentive to earn a better/longer deal if he follows in the Bell/Conway footsteps this season.

Can’t see why Alex wouldn’t want to wait and see if a bigger club come in. It’s still early days in the window so unless his agent has indicated that nobody else is going to come in then why not wait for a potentially bigger opportunity. Time is on his side !