Russell Martin’s Leicester City got absolutely thumped 4-0 by Oxford United at the King Power Stadium, pushing them to a dismal 17th place in League One with only one win from their first five league matches. This isn’t what anyone expected from a club trying to get back to the Championship immediately after being relegated last season, and pundit Aaron McLean didn’t pull any punches, calling it a “sackable performance.”
The Foxes’ Early Season Nightmare is Real
McLean laid out the brutal truth about what’s going down at Leicester. He said it’s been tough for Russell Martin coming into a club that’s seen a “constant decline” and “huge turnover of players” over the last couple of seasons. The biggest challenge? It’s all about changing the “environment and the mindset of the players.” This is Leicester, a club of significant magnitude, and being 17th in League One after five games is just “unacceptable.” The pressure is immense, and while McLean believes Martin is “the right man for the job” and hopes he’s “given the time to be able to turn things around,” he admits it’s going to take longer than Martin would like. You’ve got to wonder how long the club can sit at 17th before bigger changes happen.
Stoke Finds Its Footing, Millwall Keeps Us Guessing
Across the league, other teams are showing a bit more fire. Stoke City, after a rocky start, just dropped a 4-0 bomb on Charlton at the bet365, lifting them into mid-table. McLean called it a “brilliant result” against a “high-flying Charlton” team that could have gone top of the league. That’s a serious “statement of intent,” and it marks back-to-back wins for Stoke, with the first coming against Norwich. He’s hyped about their summer recruitment, specifically calling Ethan Galbraith a “brilliant signing,” and hopes they can “continue to build and start to fulfil some of the promise” everyone’s been waiting for.
Then there’s Alex Neil’s Millwall, truly one of the most unpredictable clubs out there. After five games, they’ve got three wins and two losses, including an “emphatic 4-0 victory” over Bolton at The Den where two late red cards flew. McLean pointed out Millwall “never seem to draw” and it’s “all or nothing” for them. They had a “brilliant start,” then hit “back-to-back defeats,” but they’re “very much back on the horse today after a magnificent performance.” He fully expects them to be “in the shake up at the end of the season.”
So, while Stoke and Millwall show flashes of what they can be, the big question mark hangs over Leicester. Can Martin turn this ship around, or is that ‘sackable performance’ just the beginning? The rest of the season will be telling.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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