Leicester City

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans:

Simon: Just when you think things can't get worse, they get worse! The decision to sack Steve Cooper and replace him with a relatively novice manager, was pure gross incompetence.

Neil: This game was the summary of four years of financial mismanagement by Jon Rudkin and the board at LCFC. Years of poor recruitment and bad decision-making, crippling the club with debt and awful deadwood players on long-term deals. We need a change at the top and the owner needs to make a decision and sack the people responsible for this utter mess.

Ian: Once again, tactically naïve and we concede straight after half time. Players don't look happy and chants of 'you don't know what you're doing!' Unfortunately, for me, that's my belief done and dusted. We can talk about 'the great escape' year, but that relied on guts, determination and fight. I don't see those things now. Too passive, not enough quality. It was good while it all lasted. It will be a long while before we taste it again.

James: You don't know what you're doing. Sack the Board. Get out of our club. You know it is desperate times when the happy-clappy fanbase turn against the hierarchy. Baffling subs, puzzling starting XI, mixed with some disorganised chaos. All the goodwill of the Christmas season for Ruud has now well and truly expired. The freefall continues, exponentially.

Fulham fans:

Robert: It appears to be a comfortable win, but you have to wonder, do we practice shooting during training? We only managed two efforts on target against one of the worst teams in the league. A clean sheet is nice after the defensive errors at West Ham.

Will: Great to get back to winning ways, not only for the confidence of the team but for Smith Rowe. An overdue goal from him really helps his confidence. I think he has the ability to create out of nothing and we need that.

David: After a poor-ish first half the goal ignited the game. We didn't look like losing it from then on. If we'd taken our chances it could easily have been three or four-nil. Berge was impressive coming back from injury, if only we'd had him at West Ham. Bring on the Red Devils next week.

Ben: Pretty solid, albeit Leicester weren't great. Great for Smith Rowe to get another goal. Hopefully it will boost his confidence. Very controlled midfield performance, and most importantly an elusive clean sheet! Bring on the tougher run!

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Former Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt says "mood, confidence, morale and belief" have all disappeared at the club and it has now turned "ugly" following defeat to Fulham.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast after the club's latest home defeat, Fryatt was asked how damaging he thought the loss was and said: "Very - pure and simple.

"Leicester needed a minimum of three points, you don't achieve that on Wednesday [against Crystal Palace] and that game was built up as if it was the biggest game in years - it didn't materialise that way.

"This one had to be even bigger and then nothing from this - and it didn't look likely after 10 minutes. Now you've gone from a minimum of three points to no points and mood, confidence, morale belief has all of a sudden evaporated and it turned ugly.

"I don't want to go on about the negatives but it felt ominous and it's going to take a lot to change that and obviously the results and performances in both second halves of really important games weren't there."

It is now seven straight Premier League losses for Leicester, and Fryatt added: "Something has to change - can you get others into the building to lift the ones around? It's really difficult, you have to manage it and stick together - these are the hard times.

"We mention characters and leadership, this is where it has to come to the fore, it needed to start today, but next game has to be like that - you're running out of games and now looking on others [dropping points] so early on.

"At some point you've got to win yourself."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Watch highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 0-2 Liverpool

• Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Listen to post match analysis of Leicester's defeat to Fulham from former Foxes' striker Matty Fryatt and hear reaction from Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Leicester City defender James Justin talking to Premier League Productions after the loss: "It is frustrating. It has been a shocking run from us. We're trying to do everything to change it but nothing seems to be working. We are deflated. We'll have a couple of days off and then regroup and see where we can improve."

On fans booing: "They pay their money to watch their club and we're not doing the club any good at the moment. They can boo if they want to be honest. They are entitled to do that. It doesn't help anything I don't think, but we're the ones getting them there at the minute so we need to do something to change that."

On what is going wrong: "To put our finger on it is hard to be honest. We just got caught at the start of the second half and we've done that a few times recently to be honest. We tried to do a professional job, particularly in the first half, but to go out in the second half and concede from a nothing throw in is really disappointing and something we need to look at.

"When we take a step back and analyse the game we'll see what we did well after their goal and see if we can build on that and improve, but at the end of the day we've conceded another two goals and not scored so something obviously has to spark in the group and staff to get us going.

"Anyone with eyes who looks at the league table can see we're struggling with form at the moment. It is up to us within the building and training ground every day to do something and get out of this rut that we're in. We need to be better but the Premier League is difficult and you need to take every game as it comes and just play the match in front of you."

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Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy talking to Sky Sports after today's defeat: "We deserved to be beat, Fulham were the better team. It was disappointing in all aspects of the game. We weren't good enough in all aspects. This is the first game I've felt like this. In the other games I felt there was enough aspects to get a result and today there wasn't.

"We have time to reflect. There is no need to be positive today. We need to think about the performance and the behaviours and how to bring this forward. These are the biggest questions we need to ask as a group of coaches, me as the manager and as a group of players. We have time to move forward after those reflections.

"It is up to us as players and me as a manager to bring this forward. It is clear we need to bring hope back for the fans and that starts with us. It is our responsibility to work on and do better and move on from there."

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

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"You don't know what you're doing."

The Leicester fans made their feelings known towards manager Ruud van Nistelrooy when he substituted attacker Bilal el Khannouss in the second half despite being a goal down.

Four minutes later, Leicester conceded again and were well on their way to their seventh Premier League on the spin.

Like Wednesday's loss to Crystal Palace, Leicester started the game in promising fashion but it quickly diminished as they lost the grip on the match and it looked like a matter of time before Fulham broke the deadlock.

That is exactly what Marco Silva's side did in the second half and the Foxes never looked like getting back in the game once Emile Smith Rowe scored.

A stadium with empty seats from kick-off then started turning on the manager with loud jeers sounding all around the King Power.

With an xG of just 0.48 at full-time, Leicester are extremely lacking when attacking and Jamie Vardy was hugely isolated once again.

The Foxes have failed to score in five of their last seven games after netting five times in Van Nistelrooy's opening two games in charge.

Leicester remain rooted in the bottom three with just 14 points on the board.

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Leicester City have lost seven consecutive league games for only the fourth time in their history, also doing so in April 2001 (a run of eight), September 1990 and January 1932.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester's performance

What did you make of Fulham's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are five Premier League fixtures on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action.

• Newcastle v Bournemouth (12:30)

• Brentford v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Leicester v Fulham

• West Ham v Crystal Palace

• Arsenal v Aston Villa (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

'Foxes never quit' is Leicester's motto, but it is starting to look like they have done.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's side are on a run of six straight league defeats and are in desperate trouble.

I was too generous to them in my prediction before they played Crystal Palace on Wednesday because I thought they would score, but Palace won that one very comfortably in the end.

It's not a surprise to see Leicester struggling now because I think it's a case where they have been a mess all season.

There are people out there who will think this has been coming, because they sacked Steve Cooper and then seemed to give Van Nistelrooy the job off the back of two wins against them with Manchester United.

He was a great player who had his managerial apprenticeship with PSV, and I admired the job he did with United too, so this situation is not on him - he just inherited this team.

It is always a struggle for promoted teams, but there seemed to be a different expectation from Leicester fans because of their recent history, and a belief they would stay up easily then kick on.

The Premier League does not work like that, and they have found that out.

Fulham are not on a great run either, although they come into this game off the back of a lot of draws rather than defeats.

I thought Marco Silva's side deserved something out of their defeat to West Ham on Tuesday, and they won't slip up again - I can see Leicester scoring, because they are due a goal, but Fulham will have too much quality for them.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Earlier, we asked you who scored Leicester's first Premier League goal of the 2024-25 season.

The answer is Jamie Vardy, who netted in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham on 19 August.

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New Leicester signing Woyo Coulibaly has "honed his skills in the highest school of the defensive arts", says Football Italia writer Giancarlo Rinaldi.

Earlier this week, Coulibaly signed from Serie A side Parma and Rinali told the latest When You're Smiling podcast from BBC Radio Leicester that Foxes fans can have confidence in their new full-back.

"He is a versatile player - mainly quite an adventurous attacking right back," Rinaldi said. "He can play left-back and slotted in there on numerous occasions. He even played right-wing!

"He won't score a lot of goals from wing-back or even necessarily set up a lot. But Parma were a very good counter-attacking team and he was an important element in that, especially the promotion campaign.

"He's kicked on this season and looked pretty good in Serie A. He did a good job on Milan's Rafa Leao and got the man-of-the-match award. He's certainly honed his skills in the highest school of the defensive arts."

Leicester fans have told this page all season that Ruud van Nistelrooy's side are light in full-back areas so Coulibaly will offer welcome competition in that part of the pitch.

"He strikes me as quite a thoughtful, thinking player," Rinaldi said. "When he signed for Parma for Enzo Maresca, he was keen to go there because he knew that was great defenders were made. He had offers from Ligue 1 sides but went to Italy's second tier to develop himself.

"In the past, he said one of his idols is Joao Cancelo. He's a different physique but he likes to get forward. He looked good in Serie A and was probably right for a move to a bigger side."

Van Nistelrooy said he hopes Coulibaly can be involved in some capacity on Saturday for their game against Fulham, and said the 25-year-old is "in the prime of his career".

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy feels the fight for Premier League survival will go down to the final game of the season but "the belief" to stay up is "definitely still there".

The Foxes' defeat to Crystal Palace on Wednesday was their sixth successive loss in the league and they remain second from bottom.

"We want to be out of the situation come May," said Van Nistelrooy. "We also know we are in a position with three or four teams that are close together and they are also dropping points.

"That makes the situation possible, but it is up to us to start collecting points. Performances are something you can build on but we are all fed up of that.

"From the first day I joined, I spoke about it going right to the last day this battle. You have hopes, we could surprise and get more results to get us out of the situation early, so in that sense it is disappointing that didn't happen.

"There is an amount of patience required, for a six-week start of a collaboration between me and the players, the club, and to believe that in this path good performances will turn into points.

"The belief is there, definitely. With the remaining games and how close the bottom five teams is together, there is possibilities, but we have to start collecting points."

Leicester travel to Bournemouth for the final game of the season, but will also face relegation rivals Ipswich and Southampton in the final four games.

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This will be the 12th Premier League meeting between Leicester and Fulham.

It is the most played fixture in the competition where at least one of the sides was in their first season after promotion in every single meeting.

Who scored Leicester's first Premier League goal of the 2024-25 season?

Answer will be revealed at 17:00 GMT

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Hear from Owynn Palmer-Atkin, former Foxes striker Matty Fryatt and the BBC's John Bennett as they discuss new signing Woyo Coulibaly and preview Saturday's home game with Fulham.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Ruud van Nistelrooy knows he needs time at Leicester - but acknowledges he does not have that luxury.

The Foxes boss is "fed up" talking about positive performances without points after their 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

It was a sixth straight defeat in the Premier League and left them in the bottom three before Saturday's visit of Fulham.

Van Nistelrooy, who has only been at the club for seven weeks, remains relaxed and confident in his squad's ambition to survive and they are only two points away from the safety line.

Yet the natives are restless at King Power Stadium, frustrated with the lack of results but also the running of the club, with director of football Jon Rudkin in the firing line from fans again on Wednesday.

Van Nistelrooy said: "It's the belief, it's the part in me that after seven weeks there's patience required - although there is no time - and how close the bottom five teams are together. There are possibilities but we have to pick up points.

"Every game there is the pressure to perform, whether you are up in the league or down in the league. Every team is doing their utmost to do so.

"There is no pressure adding up, it just shifts from game to game, you play them one at a time. That pressure doesn't add up, every game you perform. That cycle, I'm used to."

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• New signing Woyo Coulibaly did not train with the team on Thursday while the paperwork regarding his transfer from Parma was finalised, but Van Nistelrooy is hopeful he may be involved in some capacity against Fulham.

• Van Nistelrooy said of Coulibaly: "He's a strong, powerful player and very good in one-v-one situations defensively. He's good on the ball and he has a physical profile that suits the Premier League. He's also at an age where he's in the prime of his career, so we have high hopes for him to do well for us."

• On the prospect of more signings in January: "We're working on every possibility. I'm very happy with this one [Coulibaly -, he's a very good option for us and also for the future of the club. Hopefully we can add some more."

• On positives despite a run of six straight Premier League defeats: "It's a matter of getting those good performances into points and that's the target because we know where we are in the league. Only points can get us out of that situation. we know that every game we don't collect [points] is one game gone and that makes it more difficult."

• He added: "Performances are something you can build on, but we're all fed up with that and want points."

• On lifting the players after another loss: "We want to show what we're about, and I want to show what I'm about, to deal with disappointments. Sir Bobby [Robson] always said: 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'. That's something I thought about this morning - let's be tough and show the same passion, commitment, spirit and belief that we can do it on Saturday."

• Van Nistelrooy described Fulham as a "well-organised team" that are "very well managed" and added it will be a "fantastic challenge to compete with them".

Follow Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Leicester and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans:

James: First half was decent with good chances, but so we were wasteful and the build-up all too slow to really hurt the opposition. Second half? May as well have just given the win to Palace with so little of note to report.

Gerry: It is difficult to know what goes through the minds of the players in such games? Lack of confidence or belief in their abilities? We need to move the ball forward more, passing it back creates that negativity we need to rid of and that would create more chances and utilise players like Jamie Vardy.

Steve: Same old problems continue to bring us down. No clue how to mark in defence and too slow all over the pitch, plus zero control in midfield. Embarassingly easy for Palace.

Matt: You can't expect to survive with home defeats by teams in and around the relegation zone. Big damage was done losing 3-0 to Wolves and last night's loss sadly further damages our survival hopes. The squad is not at the level - not directly their fault but poor recruitment over previous years has come to fruition.

Crystal Palace fans:

Paul: Palace got the job done, but I am worried that Eberechi Eze wasn't as influential as he should be. He seemed to pause too long on the ball and was not instinctive enough. There were lot of misplaced passes. A shame about Trevoh Chalobah but our defense is still mean though.

Stanis: Another hard-fought win against the teams around us, which has been the Palace way ever since we got promoted. Ismaila Sarr and Will Hughes put in another great shift. The free-flowing football from the end of last season will return once Adam Wharton is back match fit.

Jerry: A poor start by Palace who gave the ball away too easily and helped make Leicester look the better side in the first half. I'm guessing Glasner spoke his mind at half-time and they improved and looked dangerous on the break. A hard-working three points and hopefully less pressure on the team for their next match at West Ham.

Leslie: A thoroughly deserved win. Not pretty but the defence was controlled in excellent fashion. Maxence Lacroix was exceptional.

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Ruud van Nistelrooy, speaking to BBC Radio Leicester after home defeat against Crystal Palace: "The levels dropped in the second half. I did not see that coming. The momentum changed. Our levels dropped too much.

"Palace were better and more aggressive. We were not as aggressive as we were in the first half. After the first goal, we had to re-adjust and recover. We got back on our feet, but you have to take them chances.

"It's a huge opportunity missed. We were all so focused on today. It's a massive disappointment.

"These are the moments you have to take advantage of. Every game you do not do that, it makes it more difficult.

"To get the best out of this team, we have to play in a certain way. You cannot say let's play 4-5-1 and try and not to lose. We have a squad that is creative, and needs to play. But we have to try and prevent all the goals we concede."

Did you know?

Leicester City have lost each of their last six Premier League games in succession, their longest run in the competition since September 2022. The Foxes last endured a longer top-flight losing streak between March and April 2001 (eight defeats).

Watch highlights and analysis from eight midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

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