MARTIN SAMUEL: As useful as he was last season, it is doubtful there will ever be a statue to Leonardo Ulloa at the King Power Stadium. That is what separates him from Claudio Ranieri.  Ulloa did some good things as Leicester won the title. He converted a last minute penalty to snatch a draw against West Ham; he filled in for Jamie Vardy and scored twice in the 4-0 win over Swansea that put Leicester on the brink; he got the only goal of the game against Norwich on February 27.  Even so, of Ulloa’s 29 league appearances last season, only seven were starts – the same number as Ritchie De Laet. He was a squad man; not the main man. ...read

MARTIN SAMUEL: As job applications go, the career of chief executive Katrien Meire at Charlton Athletic does not scream grand aptitude for football governance. Her club have been relegated and their supporters — ‘customers’ as she once called them — are in open revolt. Such is the bad feeling that a wall of security has been needed to separate her from the locals on occasions. Matches have been disrupted by protests, and after the final home game at The Valley last season, the Football League presented champions Burnley with a blow-up trophy more suited to a child’s party, for fear that an official ceremony might be interrupted by fans demonstrating against Charlton’s owners, having dropped into League One. And yet, as we know, the FA are under huge external pressure to get a woman in. Any woman, really. ...read