Leicester City

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Leicester boss Enzo Maresca says he will rotate his side for tonight's trip to Millwall as he looks to manage a run of three games in seven days against relegation-threatened sides.

The Foxes returned to the Championship summit with Saturday's win over Birmingham and will face Plymouth on Friday as the title race reaches its climax.

Maresca has a near fully-fit squad at his disposal with youngsters Tom Cannon and Ben Nelson both pushing to be available after being sidelined at the weekend.

"Yeah, absolutely, for sure we’re going to make rotation," Maresca said in his pre-match news conference.

"We have three games in one week. It’s not easy. We’re going to make some rotation for sure. We’re going to try to manage a bit the energy."

Millwall themselves are just two points above the drop zone and the Italian manager is well aware of the threat posed clubs fighting for survival.

"Until the end, for us but for all the clubs, every game is important because every team is playing for some target," he added.

"When you are playing to survive, it’s always a boost. We need to be ready for Tuesday, it will be a battle for sure, with long balls and second balls.

"If we are not ready, we can struggle."

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Brian Clough once said: "We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass." These days you could swap "paper" for "Fifa".

I was not very good at it. I would often run the ball out of play or pass the ball to the opposing keeper instead of shooting.

Well, Mads Hermansen had one of those moments against Birmingham City at the weekend, gifting them an equaliser.

However, Enzo Maresca apparently told him at half-time if he changed his style of play because of that mistake he would be substituted.

We soon heard the cries of, "well, we shouldn’t play it out from the back" and, "we aren't Manchester City so why are we playing the Pep way?"

But this is not a modern day phenomenon.

"Chris Wood nets bizarre goal for Leicester" was the headline; 2 November 2013 was the date. Leicester beating Watford 3-0 was the game.

Wood scored when an attempted clearance from Hornets goalkeeper Manuel Almunia struck him flush in the face and rebounded into the empty net.

I could not even have done that on Fifa! So you see, mistakes in football have always happened, it is just we can laugh when it is for the opposing team.

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

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Stoke City's on loan goalkeeper Daniel Iversen says he doesn't know where his future lies beyond this season.

The Danish stopper, who moved across from Leicester City in January, has made 14 appearances for Steven Schumacher's side.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Iversen said he'd asked Leicester if he could leave the club last summer:

"I thought I should go [in the summer] and that's not happened from the Leicester side, I don't know why, I was disappointed.

"I tried to get a loan and I got a no, tried to get sold and got a no, so it was a bit frustrating from my side."

Although his future is unknown, the 26-year-old who has started the last eight games for Stoke says his priority is keeping the club in the Championship:

"In the summer I will try to leave again and see if something happens, but I don't know where it's going to be. My focus is just to play here and help the team survive"

Would you like to keep Daniel Iversen next season? Let us know your thoughts here.

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Ipswich Town, Leeds United and Leicester City are separated by two points at the top of the Championship - which teams will "hold their nerve" in the closing weeks of the season to win promotion to the Premier League?

The top two have six games remaining, while the third-placed Foxes have what could prove to be a pivotal game in hand on their title rivals.

Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff told the BBC's 72+ podcast: "You've still got three [contenders] that are so difficult to call in terms of who will get over the line to be the top two. And also the team who doesn't, what impact that will have for them going into the play-offs."

Cambridge striker Lyle Taylor added: "I feel Ipswich are in a really strong position - they've got points on the board. Leicester have a game in hand, which will come into play. I do feel like Leicester have possibly got the upper hand.

"We haven't seen a title race like this in years in the Championship and this is going to go right down to the wire because Ipswich just never, ever die.

"Who is going to hold their nerve? Who has got the most experience, or will the youthful exuberance of an Ipswich side carry them over the line? I can't see past Leicester - that's my view."

McAnuff continued: "If I was those three teams, I would want Leeds' run-in, for sure.

"The energy, feeling and belief is with Ipswich and Leeds at the moment. I look at Leicester's fixtures and the next three are massive. If they can beat Birmingham, Millwall and Plymouth - all teams at the wrong end of the table - the psychological impact then comes back around to what it looks like for those last three or four games."

Listen to the full podcast, including an interview with Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, on BBC Sounds

Leicester are in a situation where they might be docked points and it is concerning.

You could see they had financial difficulties last season, yet they were trying to sign a lot of people whilst going down into the Championship. That is what surprised me.

You can not ignore the background noise as a player because you are wondering what is going to happen and what your future is.

They will be questioning whether they can still get promoted and if they will be allowed to play in the Premier League.

When I was at Portsmouth, we were told the night before a game that the club is no more. Points do not even come into practise when a club is finished whilst still being in the Premier League.

Every day I dealt with the administrators and it was a very sad time, with all the staff and players wondering if they were going to get paid.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are some more of your views after Leicester City published their latest accounts for the 2022-23 season:

Stew: FFP feels like it has been set up to stop 'smaller' clubs from competing. How can you budget properly when the financial rewards are so vast? A team like Leicester, striving for European football, ended up instead being relegated. You have to spend to compete. When your revenue isn’t as expected, you still have to pay those wages.

Wayne: It was and is the 'perfect storm'. Every element adding up to a free fall. Things could also get a lot worse if we don't get promoted. We flew so high. Id' still much rather have experienced this past 12 years or so than mediocrity. I hope Top will deal with the areas that need addressing, and we can trust him.

David: Key point for me is the double whammy of Brendan Rodgers. First, he was oblivious to the defensive and set-piece problems that caused the failures and our demise, and then the cost of removing him and his staff. Always overpriced and overrated.

Sandra: I am horrified by the losses. Is this down to Khun Top's young age and lack of experience? I don't think we would have seen the huge losses under Khun Vichai's leadership. I think it's time Whelan, and probably Ruskin, stand down to eb replaced by people who can keep a proper check on the finances.

Jamie: Genuinely disgraceful management of the club from Top and the board. Years of giving massive wages to average players was always going to come back to bite. We could all see it happening. Pair that with Rodgers and co running it into the ground and we deserve everything we get. Time for King Power to sell and give us our club back.

PC: The club knows the rules. Whether you agree or disagree, this is gross mismanagement of funds. I hope those responsible on the financial side are punished accordingly.

Want to find out the potential reasons behind Leicester City's reported loss of £89.7m for the 2022-23 season?

The When You're Smiling podcast featuring Owynn, Pipes, Kieran Maguire and Iain Wright debates the potential consequences and reasoning behind the financial losses at King Power Stadium.

Listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds here

We asked for your views after Leicester City published their latest accounts for the 2022-23 season.

The results came after the Foxes were charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaking financial regulations.

Here are some of your responses:

Nathan: Inept leadership from the top down. An invisible CEO and director of football, and total disconnect with the fans. Overpaid players who don't seem to care too much as long as they get their money. More in a week than most of us earn in a decade. A mess. Sailing blindly towards that iceberg.

Warren: How can this take more than a year, since they were relegated, to get a resolution on what LCFC's fine/points deduction is going to be? If they go up this season, surely that is unfair on other teams fighting for promotion and then they'll probably go down again due to a points deduction. It needs sorting before the season ends, surely?

Jon: What a shocking set of results. The writing was on the wall at least two years ago when it was obvious that a number of players would be out of contract simultaneously at the end of the 2022-23 season. Without either selling players at an appropriate distance from the expiry of their contract, or stopping recruitment, the club was in trouble.

Anthony: Leicester are going to get walloped with a points deduction. £89.7m loss despite £74.5m in sales.

Ben: It isn’t fair considering the big seven can spend lots of money and comfortably stay the right side of the line. Everton, Forest now us. They need to change the rules otherwise there is no chance of any other side threatening them and it makes it boring. Really unfair rule and needs changing.

Barry: I don't understand how Whelan or Rudkin still have jobs. Upmost incompetence and we deserve a stern points deduction. I don't know if I've ever been this disappointed in my club.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin
BBC Radio Leicester reporter

Leicester City have put their £89.7m loss down to three key issues.

First was the drop in Premier League prize money - falling from eighth to 18th in the table in the space of 12 months. That drop off resulted in the club's relegation from the top flight, but also a drop of around £30-35m in prize money revenue.

There's also the lack of European football, after the club failed to qualify the previous season. Plus, a clear message on the significant and "costly" price to move Brendan Rodgers and his backroom staff out of the club 12 months ago.

It is a jaw-dropping amount of cash for a football club to lose. It is the result of Leicester trying to bridge the gap to the Premier League's top six – and failing in their recruitment of personnel and performance on the pitch.

For me, what is most significant is the amount of money clearly being spent on wages. Despite a near £75m profit in player trading, they still find themselves the best part of £90m in the red.

The Foxes have become a club that are known for handing out generous contracts and looking after players and their agents. But, here we see how badly it has affected the financial state of the club – with a huge wage bill resulting in relegation rather than pushing them on.

• Send your views on the club's finances here

Leicester City have published their latest accounts for the 2022-23 season.

It comes after the Foxes were charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaking financial regulations.

The 2015-16 Premier League winners are currently third in the Championship - two points behind leaders Ipswich Town and one point behind Leeds United in second - as they continue to push for promotion back to the top flight.

How are you feeling, Foxes fans? Did you expect this outcome from the financial results?

And do you think this news will affect the end of the season?

Let us know your thoughts here

Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been discussing how important it was for the Foxes to get back to winning ways against Norwich City, after losing their lead at the top of the Championship table, on the latest When You're Smiling podcast.

Goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Stephy Mavididi and Jamie Vardy saw Enzo Maresca's side come from behind to grab all three points and record just their second win in seven Championship matches.

"We were all feeling the pressure. I think Enzo [Maresca] was because it had got to that stage in the season where everything had been going really right for him," said Piper.

"He would have been so confident. We were 17 points clear at one point and that was the gap that we had. We were sort of reeled back in and then you couldn't even buy a win over these past couple of months.

"He is not an experienced manager but his players stepped up for him. I don't think it was a vintage performance, but they stepped up.

"They dug in, when the pressure was probably the highest it has been this season, and they got the job done.

"That was such an important win to hopefully change this flow that has happened over the past six or so weeks."

Piper also praised Dewsbury-Hall's performance against the Canaries: "Him getting into that inside-left position really caused Norwich a lot of problems. He had the confidence out there.

"He was front-footed, getting on the ball in certain areas and his passing was neat and tidy. He delivered a couple of wicked balls into the Norwich penalty area.

"He was the driving force and personality and that was important from him."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Leicester City were crucified on Good Friday. Our promotion hopes were resurrected on Easter Monday.

What a difference four days make and, to pinch a saying from north London, what a very 'Leicestery' weekend.

Perform badly against a team essentially playing for nothing and on paper we should beat.

Play a team off the park who are fighting to stay in the play-off places and were second going into this game on form for the past five played. Yes, Norwich City are not the best away from home, but you could say Leicester have been better away.

All these stats and form were turned on their head. Three points was the aim and the performance did not matter. But we got both.

After going 1-0 down I expected Norwich to come at us, but in fairness we controlled the game.

There is a lot going on around Leicester City at the moment, but perform like this for the rest of the season and Leeds United and Ipswich Town fans may be thinking they have celebrated our demise and downfall too soon.

As someone once said: "It's a funny old game."

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

Image source, PA Media

The Championship resumes on Friday and with most teams having eight matches to play, the race for automatic promotion could hardly be closer.

Only one point separates leaders Leeds United, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, and while fourth-placed Southampton may be eight points adrift of third spot, they have games in hand on the sides above them.

Before Friday's match against Bristol City, Leicester supporter Amie Wilson told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think everyone was expecting a blip - it just happens that Leicester's has come at the most crucial time.

"It was such a good start under the new manager with a completely different style of play and we were winning every game. The performances have still been there - it's just been that stuff is not going for us. I think the international break came at the perfect time for Leicester.

"Even with all of the off-field stuff [being charged by the Premier League for alleged breaches of financial rules], it's given the team the time to reset and go again for the last nine games."

Listen to live commentary of Bristol City v Leicester City from 12:30 GMT on BBC Radio Leicester

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Leicester boss Enzo Maresca says his side's Championship promotion rivals will push them "until the end".

The Foxes go into Friday's trip to Bristol City second on goal difference behind Leeds, having played a game fewer than the Whites.

"Before, we were playing to win games and we continue that," Maresca said. "We have one game in hand. At the moment, the goal difference is for Leeds. Because of the amount of games in a short period, you don’t have time to look at the table. You just have to win games.

“I’ve been involved in football for 25 years - the mentality is not to win the league with 10 or 15 points more than second. I respect Leeds, I respect Southampton, I respect Ipswich.

"I know that until the end, they are going to be there with us. What they [players] have done is something incredible. Winning 19 of 23 in the first half of the season is something not normal.

"In Leeds' last 12 games they have won 11 and drawn one. Fantastic. They deserve to be where they are now. With us."

Since their last match, Leicester have been charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of financial rules, but Maresca says it is his job to make sure any possible points deduction, if they are promoted, does not affect his players.

"It is also my duty to try to convince them of that [not to waste energy]," he added.

"Probably some of them didn’t even know about it. I have said many times, the noise is outside, not inside.

"Even thinking about when we lost games, there were many noises about that. But inside there is no noise. These things are normal, so the noise is outside."