'The cheque book must be opened in January'
- Published
Well, the honeymoon period ended with a mere whimper this week as Ruud van Nistelrooy suffered the first defeat of his tenure.
Leicester were up against it going into the game with the midfield trio of Boubakary Soumare, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks all missing though injury or suspension and, if our owners needed any convincing that the cheque book must be opened in January, then this was the performance that sealed it.
Replacements in Oliver Skipp and Hamza Choudhury fell well below the level required and the loss through injury of keeper Mads Hermansen at half-time saw a rusty Danny Ward bleed three goals in his opening 15 minutes.
Strength in depth is a huge problem as we head into the Christmas fixtures and it is something that has needed addressing for a while. Many argued that we had a Premier League squad in the Championship last season, but the reality is there is a lack of the quality needed to survive this unforgiving league.
PSR will of course be on the minds of the owners, with the EFL noose waiting should we get relegated. But many fans believe the approach should be to stay up, whatever it costs, to ensure survival and we will deal with PSR issues down the line.
Our season will not be defined by a loss at St James' Park, but it may well be defined by the point salvaged against Brighton last week, the win over West Ham or even the result of this Sunday's huge home fixture against Wolves.
The timing of the sacking of Gary O'Neil could not have been worse, but we can only hope that we have most of our starting XI back and that any potential new manager bounce for Wolves is delayed.
It will be a spectacle for sure, as the two worst defensive teams in the league go toe to toe.
Find more from Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external
