Listening to Russell Martin’s press conference yesterday, I see his point about the criticism he’s facing. Most Leicester fans are unsure right now, but would have appreciated it if Russell Martin stayed long term. He seems like a good person with the right attitude and football perspective.
Sometimes in football we can see results of this category, the main issue in those situations is that it turns, and no repeat. With a very unfinished footballing project at Leicester at this moment, just being launched, it could take time. Certain Leicester fans, looking in the back mirror in the last 10 years, having little or no more history, their reaction is obvious and easy to understand.
Most of what we see out on the field, is a mix of different issues. The style of play is often used as a reason for everything. Blaming the style on a Saturday (0-4), not blaming it on a Tuesday (2-0), you are just looking for answers to something Harry Souttar described brilliantly. This has nothing to do with Russell Martin and his style of play. This is down to the players, as Harry Souttar said, as no one, argued about the line-up being picked, based on the game vs. Plymouth. Howell was rested, giving that job to the more experienced Wes Burns. Emil Riis was given his debut, instead of playing a more inexperienced Admir Bristric, so it made sence.
People calling for Russell Martin’s sacking after five games don’t understand football; they are just frustrated with poor results and need five wins in the next five games, to get their fix. For those who recall Martin O’Neill, he faced significant challenges early on, taking over a team that was at the top, but quickly fell out of the promotion spots, driving fans mad.
For those who remember Jimmy Bloomfield, he made Leicester one of the most exciting teams in English football, particularly from 1974 to 1977. During this period, they reached an FA Cup semi-final and held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in one match, although they lost in the replay. Bloomfield’s last two seasons saw them finish 7th and 11th. Many fans grew frustrated over lack of goals and too many draws, as Leicester had a tendency of that to happen. Fans voiced their criticisms in the newspapers, meaning that one of the best managers to ever grace this football club moved on.
We need to mention Claudio Ranieri. Many thought he was untouchable and as he was turning things around, having signed Wilfred Ndidi to help fill the gap left by N’Golo Kantè, no one had the patience. The rash decision to sack him, came as a result of a defeat away to Seville, which in itself was a major turning point, watching this as it happened. As a fan, it was disheartening to see the club not wanting to build on their successes, opting instead for a destructive cycle of firing managers. Ranieri’s experience could have laid a strong foundation for the club’s future, but instead, he was cast aside. Even at that time, certain Leicester fans showed no patience or pride, quickly turning against a great man and human being, having a struggle, regardless of who he was. Many fans believe they have the right to give their clear view, with a “kill” and “destroy” approach, whenever negativity arises, demonstrating lack of patience.
Brendan Rodgers is the next man to talk about. His first years at the club was magnificant. He turned the tide and made great success helping Leicester to two seasons, qualifiing for Europe, reaching the semi’s of the ECL, as well as bringing home the FA Cup. During his tenure as a manager at the club, Leicester sold Harry Maguire, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell for major fees. He often said that Leicester needed to invest in better players to keep their ambitions to be a contender for Champions League football, which was true, but he never understood the financial reality at the time, Leicester not being able to keep on investing without selling a major asset or two in every season to fund those transfers, just to keep up with PSR and FFP rules and regulations, even stretching it to a limit, that was seen later, in breach with those rules. This is the reality now facing clubs such as Sunderland, Newcastle and Aston Villa. They do not have the revenue and large enough fanbase and financial platform to compete with the top teams with a totally different structure and global following. Brendan Rodges is a phenomenal football coach, maybe one of the best, but he is not a clever businessman and when the club understood that Brendan Rodgers no longer had the glow and desire you need to progress inside the limits of the platform, he should have been given the choice. He demanded more money to buy more and better players, but had no idea how to offload all of the players he brought in that never got a life at this club, they possibly looked for.
Always believed in the ownership and the club’s structure, but unfortunately, Khun Top and his businesses struggled during COVID. He attempted to keep the club afloat, possibly out of naivety, with poor communication skills and misplaced trust at the beginning of the decline. Over the last four years, there has been a significant effort to restore the club’s financial stability, alongside expanding a women’s team to compete at a high level and taking over the training ground at Belvoir Drive. The opening of the new training complex at Seagrave has led to increased fixed costs due to staff employment and significant infrastructure upgrades, leaving no choice, to only be secure of Premier League long term. Without it, proper funding through the rules and regulations of PSR and FFP, no club of Leicester’s size can maintain such standards without incurring losses.
"It's really difficult for the people around me."
— BBC Leicester (@BBCLeicester) September 11, 2026
Leicester City manager Russell Martin says criticism he has received after his team's poor start to the season has been "really personal".
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Looking in the back mirror of teams like Leicester, being far from a League One outfit, but falling down into it, fans of this football club who critisize the situation at an early stage, do not really have a clear picture of it, and lack a lot of understanding and historical perspective, showing little or no realism in their approach.
Russell Martin has a major point, and he needs much more than five games to sort out this situation. Being in constant transition since coming in, basically telling everyone from day one, what will be happening and trying to build something during this major transition, will be difficult. Now that we know the outcome, things can be worked on with the people who will be here, at least until January.
Looking at what can be the scenario for a team falling down in the League One, you have to look at history. You can’t just build your picture on the idea that Leicester do not deserve to be down here, Leicester are a big club, too big for being in this situation. This is here and now, so take this into consideration.
Over the last 10 years, teams relegated down from the EFL Championship into League One have historically struggled to dominate their opening five matches, refuting the common assumption that higher-tier teams immediately outclass the division. While a few select powerhouse clubs (like Sunderland in 2018 or Ipswich Town in 2019) hit the ground running with 11–13 points, the vast majority experience what is often referred to as a “relegation hangover”.
Collective data reveals a few distinctive ways these teams adapt—or fail to adapt—in their first five fixtures:
- 1. The “Relegation Hangover”, is the NormOn average, relegated teams pick up between 5 to 8 points out of a possible 15 in their first five games.Squad Overhauls: Dropping a division forces clubs to trim their wage bills, resulting in a mass exodus of top talent. Rebuilt squads often spend the first month of the season building chemistry.Target on Their Backs: Established League One clubs view fixtures against newly relegated sides as marquee matchups, bringing higher intensity and physical game plans that catch former Championship teams off-guard.
- 2. The Financial Extremes (The Anomalies), the few teams that bucked the trend and won 3 or 4 of their opening five matches fell into two distinct categories:The Financial Juggernauts: Clubs like Sunderland, Ipswich Town, and Sheffield Wednesday maintained immense fan bases and relatively large budgets for League One, allowing them to overpower opponents early on. Parachute Payment Stability: Clubs with stable ownership structures who managed to keep a core group of Championship-level players stabilized much faster than those facing financial crises.
- 3. Immediate Financial and Administrative Crises, some teams do terribly because their relegation is accompanied by off-pitch disasters. Points Deductions: Several teams over the decade started their League One campaigns with negative points due to financial mismanagement or administration (such as Wigan Athletic, Derby County, and Reading FC). For these teams, even if they won their early games on grass, the psychological and mathematical weight of starting below zero severely hindered their opening month.The Spiral: Teams like Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers often found themselves Yo-Yoing back and forth, frequently struggling in the first few weeks before their familiarity with League One traits eventually kicked in later in autumn.
Looking at the situation, this is of course far from what we would have liked it to be. The objective Leicester fan have said, to just jump straight back up, could be a struggle, but at this early stage to pannic would be stupid. We believe and has said it earlier that Russell Martin need at least 15 games to get things settled. From then on a significant positive change in results should be seen, and if the club is in reach of a play-off position at that point, no reason to pull the trigger on him at all.
Still have all faith in this to be turned around. We believe patience is the clue, the answer and everything at this time. Leicester owners, certain parts of this fanbase and media men are often too impatient and lacking the coolness, understanding and not having the clear and total picture of the situation.
A relegation to League Two would be the obvious reason for sacking Russell Martin, but other than that, he should be given time to build what he has started. There will be transfer issues to sort out in January, and still work to do on different things, but hopefully new players brought in, and the base of what is left, can be a winning combination and a base to work from going forward.
Believe in Russell Martin, his group of staff and the players he has set out to do the job.
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