Fosse Friday - 5 July 2024: KDH, PSR and LSF
This week's update is applying for the role of Official Statement Writer
The good
Disabled football supporters are often marginalised by the football authorities, the clubs they support and even (or perhaps especially) non-disabled football fans.
Terrible or non-existent facilities, convoluted ticket-buying processes, being unable to see or follow live games because of people walking in front of them for ninety minutes… it’s therefore excellent to see Leicester City FC have achieved Disability Confident Leader status.
In a huge departure, Leicester City have successfully sold TWO players for money. One was Lewis Brunt, a player some fans of a certain vintage (e.g. this writer) always wanted to call Chris to the point they (e.g. I) may have had to quickly Google exactly what his first name was. Anyway, good luck to him at (opens other tab again)… Wrexham.
As for the other one…
The bad
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been sold to Chelsea for £30million.
It’s increasingly difficult to know whether that’s a good fee in these days of unknown Academy players being sold for similar amounts. It’s also difficult to say exactly how proven KDH is at the top level (3 goals and 4 assists in 59 games). And it’s especially difficult to tell what impact it will have on our fortunes for the season ahead until we know what The Great Vision has lined up by way of a replacement.
Either way, the news has been greeted negatively by the majority of fans. As much as anything, it’s never nice when a popular Academy product leaves the club.
The daft
Guess who’s back, back again. Guess who’s back, tell a friend.
That’s right, it’s time to set those ‘days since the last official statement issued by Leicester City Football Club’ counters back to zero.
On July 5th, 2023, the words “LCFC Statement” appeared like a bolt of lightning on the official site, as the club said that yes, we did get told off by the Competition and Markets Authority for fixing the price of our own shirts.
Yesterday, on July 4th 2024, the club - implausibly - issued its 9th “LCFC Statement” in the year since that first appearance. This time to say that yes, the Premier League independent commission has told us to eat dirt in our challenge to their authority.
“An independent Commission has dismissed a challenge by Leicester City FC that it has no jurisdiction to consider an alleged breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs).”
That challenge is the one where we’re trying to argue that neither the Premier League nor the Football League has the jurisdiction to charge us for financial crimes. It’s going well!
The club is appealing, obviously. At least the statement typewriter is busy.
Hot goss
Hot off the press - an hour before we hit Send… versatile 31-year-old attacker Bobby De Cordova-Reid on a free from Fulham - our second signing after the much-reported Michael Golding from Chelsea.
Caleb Okoli - a centre-back from Atalanta who’s just about to turn 23 and a transfer that’s as good as done, allegedly. The one position we’re really stacked in is centre-back, so does this mean Steve Cooper will be playing three at the back?
Or does it mean an exit for either Wout Faes, fresh from a not-terrible performance at the Euros, or Harry Souttar, who’s spent the best part of 12 months twiddling his thumbs?
And what does it mean for Ben Nelson’s prospects? Stay tuned to find out…
Is Wilfred Ndidi making a triumphant return to Leicester or manifesting a triumphant reunion with the Brend? We’re not sure yet, although there are whispers his agent has dispelled talk of going to Celtic. It seems more likely (according to the oracle that is John Percy) that he’ll be back in blue next season and if so, we’re going to need a triumphant return to the Wilf of a few years back at Premier League level.
Paraguayan left winger Ramon Sosa, currently at the Copa América, sounds and looks exciting. South American signings always feel a little like a long shot, but then the last time we were promoted to the Premier League we signed a couple of half-decent Argentinians…
The latest Euros star to be linked with the club is Timi Elsnik. Elsnik started all four games in midfield for Slovenia, bagging an assist for his side’s opener against Serbia. Those gritty underdog Slovenes managed to hang on for four consecutive draws against superior opposition, so at least he’s got some practice at the sort of thing we’ll need next season.
Some of the linked names this summer bring home our current status more than others. But then it depends how you refer to them. You could feel disappointed by the prospect of 33-year-old ex-Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite, fresh off a season in the Spanish second division. Or you could succumb to one clickbait headline that screamed: “Imagine him & Fatawu: Leicester keen on signing ex-Messi teammate”. After all, he did score 22 goals in the Spanish second division.
Talking of exciting, how about L'Équipe putting us in the (quite tall) frame to sign 6 foot 5 Moroccan international Amir Richardson? If you can wade through the ads, the Leicester Mercury went into more detail about Richardson thanks to Jordan Blackwell.
Thing we learned
Leicester City Women are trying to bring former loanee Ruby Mace back to the club. Holding midfielder Mace made a huge impact during her loan spell and would be a really exciting permanent addition. So this is a little bit The Good and a little bit Hot Goss. But it’s mainly something we’ve learned as it demonstrates there’s something actually happening behind the scenes.
There’s been very little news on the manager front since The Guardian reported possible interest in Amandine Miquel a couple of weeks ago. Funny to think she wouldn’t even be the first Miquel to grace Filbert Way.
Anything else?
On Saturday evening, Victoria Park will echo to a familiar Leicester refrain - well, two actually. There will be Kasabian, and there will, presumably, be a Kaiser Chiefs performance of I Predict A Riot. To everyone who’s heading along, enjoy…
One last thing…
Are you part of the super-prepared brigade who have already got their Christmas plans locked down? No? Fear not, there’s a newly listed LCFC Christmas card with Jock Wallace as Santa that you can purchase and send to that special Foxes fan in your life who would cherish this gem from 1979.
This week on TFW
“What made Martin O’Neill and Nigel Pearson not just successful but popular, even idolised, by us fans? It was, I submit, because they read the club right. They got the thinking right possibly before the first ball was kicked in anger.”
Reading the club: The initial signs show Steve Cooper ‘gets’ Leicester City
“In lieu of excitement, I started searching for positives and I keep circling back to June 2008, a month after relegation that season meant we found ourselves in our lowest ever league position.
That month we hired Nigel Pearson and it felt like things were starting to change. We’re not quite there yet with Cooper, but the two feel more similar.”
Passion and honesty: Why Steve Cooper puts me in mind of a former Foxes manager
“At that age, around 15 to 18, everything you feel is the most important and intense thing. After making that decision to like football again I threw myself into it. Every day after school was spent watching football, playing FIFA, trawling the FoxesTalk forum and wondering when Astrit Ajdarevic was going to hit his stride.”
My first Leicester City years: A late run for League One glory
“Points deduction looming, ticket prices rocketing, unpopular new manager appointed, fan favourite departed - the narrative at Leicester City is veering wildly off the course the club thinks it’s set.”
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s departure leaves a gap in the Leicester midfield - and the narrative
Brilliant as usual