23 Feb 2017 20:22:57
Not United related, but Ranieri being sacked by Leicester just shows how fickle football has become. And also how managers take the fall while the players seem to get a free pass for poor performance and complacency.
Leicester, without Kante, are struggling. But they are also in a more 'real' position than last year. Last year was a one off. One of the greatest stories ever in sport, let alone football - and one which may never be repeated.
Such a shame it has ended this way.
23 Feb 2017 20:43:53
Shocking TBH Betty. Sad day for football if you ask me. He achieved the impossible and I really do hope they get relegated because they have lacked class and respect. I understand it is a results based industry but as you said the Leicester players are playing at their true level. I wish Claudio all the best as he is a lovely man with charism and honesty.
All the best Claudio.
23 Feb 2017 20:56:12
As much as I love the guy, I can see why the board acted the way it has. The club avoiding relegation, with all the financial problems that would come with it, has to be their number one priority. Such a shame it's ended this way. Yes been a fine addition to the EPL, on both occasions.
23 Feb 2017 21:01:26
Yeah I agree mate. I actually thought they might bet relegated this season (scalp, European footy, lack of hunger and Kante leaving), but they have really stopped playing for the manager now and the board have dipped their hands in their pockets. Some really poor signings and that grit has gone - just shows how crucial one player can be as well. If any other team in the top 6 had signed Kante I think they would be running away with the league this season.
Fickle sport, I'm not surprised they have acted because getting relegated will be a killer for them, but very very sad. Loyalty dies another death, players ought to be ashamed of themselves as well.
23 Feb 2017 21:08:06
Poor decision. I hope they go down, the players are a disgrace. They won the League and seem to have taken their foot off the gas, they are getting what they deserve,
23 Feb 2017 21:12:48
Strange timing there appeared to be no lack of fight last night. They must have a plan and have somebody earmarked to replace him. I can't think who that might be. Tough job for whoever goes in.
23 Feb 2017 21:15:36
Just a foot note that's the 3 managers who won the 3 major trophies in England last year all fired within months of their success.
23 Feb 2017 21:29:04
Interesting fact ken. It seems that the team that has won the league the last few years has normally had a weak defence of the title. I agree with AJH I hope Leicester go down as the players have downed tools. Everyone can bang on about kante and the players not truly being as good as they think. But it is quite clear to see that the players are working about 10% as hard as last year. You can excuse lack of ability but it is inexcusable to lack effort and hard work. I suppose the owners can't sack the whole squad so the scapegoat in these situations are normally the manager. Look at mourinho at Chelsea.
23 Feb 2017 21:34:01
Rumours are Mancini. That will be fireworks. Interesting fact about him is that he in every season in management he has reached at least the semi-final of the domestic cup competition in each country he has managed. Cup specialist but unsure whether he is the right fit. Talk of Pearson to return which would be laughable. But I suppose stranger things have happened.
23 Feb 2017 23:42:02
The argument could be made that Ranieri did little more than ride the wave that started under Pearson at the end of the previous season. He may have been the perfect manager to do that but that he was not the right man to deal with the inevitable let down from the euphoria. I was expecting them to struggle to make the top half, but this collapse seems quite beyond Ranieri's ability to rectify.
I'm finding it hard to feel too sorry for a manager who, on the back of a sketchy overall record - including presiding over Greece's loss to the Faroe Islands - has received far more in payoffs in the last 10 years than any of us will earn in 2 lifetimes. It's the fans I feel sorry for, although at least they will always be buoyed by last year's dream come true.
Leicester City have made the right choice.
24 Feb 2017 01:16:09
What exactly are they supposed to do betty8, they haven't sacked him for for not achieving an unrealistic target but rather because he is on verge of getting them relegated.
He should have replaced his octogenarian cb's he hasn't, he should have changed his system from a 442 now with kante gone he hasn't. Most of his signings have flopped. Also they topped their cl group and performed quite well against sevilla so they aren't as bad as league suggests, if 1 player takes foot off the pedal its his fault if the whole team does it manager is to blame.
{Ed001's Note - right, so were you saying that back when Fergie took charge? When the United board stepped in and told the players that they would support the manager instead of the players and stood by Fergie to rebuild.
By the way, Ranieri does not have full control of transfers there, so there is more to blame than him for being stuck with the defenders etc. He wanted new defenders, they got him one who flopped. Also not sure why you think the system should have been changed when it has been changed a number of times but the players just don't put in enough effort to make it work.}
24 Feb 2017 04:09:06
different situations ed, in today's world most managers don't last if they get their teams relegated same for ranieri, also if the transfers weren't to his likings he should have put a foot down and forced those responsible, he won the damn epl, you are not telling me he couldn't force the owners to spend on the back of that.
They seem to raise the game in cl, so they aren't as bad as the league position suggests, as i said if 1 guy doesn't put the effort its his fault but if most can't do that it is the manager's fault, he is there to manage them afterall, also it is cheaper and easier to replace a manager than the whole team. If the new manager too fails you can blame the players not that i am acquitting them from the blame but they are less responsible than the manager in this case.
{Ed001's Note - how is it different situations? A bunch of players who are not performing for off field reasons and poor attitude is exactly what faced Ferguson. Sorry but you are simply wrong here and failing to understand what is happening there.
Sorry but you have no clue what you are talking about. Who was he going to replace them with, when they had no recruitment head to sign them? Do you forget that Walsh walked out on them? They were signing purely players that had been wanted by Walsh the previous season and Slimani, who was a player Ranieri chose and got. Also, you do not force owners to buy anyone, you have to find players willing to come. That was the issue.
You are talking about what is cheaper and easier, but again that could have been said about what happened with Fergie when he joined. Could have easily got rid of him and kept the underperforming players, but the club realised that the problem was with the players, not the manager. It is not about what is cheaper and easier, it is about what is best for the club's long term future. Now they have pandered to a bunch of pampered, overpaid brats, who will only be a step away from another strop and most only have a year or two left in them anyway. Vardy, for instance, feels he has made it, so is no longer going all out each week to prove himself. He is never going to reach the heights of last season again because of his own failings. Morgan and Huth are past their best. Really only Mahrez and Drinkwater have time on their sides.}
24 Feb 2017 09:05:37
Sorry for the late reply ed, i don't know much about the first utd side fergie had to takeon, heck i wasn't even born then. But this leicester team won the league under the same manager, utd on the other hand were much more like liverpool team of present a big name but that's all, players weren't good enough or had attitude issues and other such issues, that was a long term job where eventually fergie was expected to win trophies, ranieri winning the epl is great but it was not the target given to him, his job was to keep leicester in pl hopefully as a mid table club which he has failed this season.
Again i don't think he is alone to blame, but if you and i could see the impact kante was having for leicester, ranieri being his manager should have seen the same and what it would mean to the team when they lose him. Steve walsh from what i have heard was very instrumental to leicester but again ranieri should have forced the leicester management to appoint a competent replacement quickly, now i don't know how a football club is run but from what little work in big corporations i have done, if i need a position filled so as for me to do my job i would damn sure make sure that the guys above me know of this and make them fill that position otherwise it is my neck on the block.
About likes of vardy, now ofcourse one couldn't have predicted vardy completely losing steam but was it really unforeseeable that a 29 year old who has had a grand total of 1 great season in his whole career may not hit the same heights again.
About their team i think zeiler schmeichel mahrez and maybe mendy are decent, fuchs and simpson and others are good enough for a midtable team. Though they do need to replace the cb's and may be need another good striker and they will have a team that should atleast on paper finish 10-12.
24 Feb 2017 10:10:18
I hate to say it ed😊😊 but I couldn't agree with you more on this one. Feeling dirty again? 😊.
24 Feb 2017 12:08:49
Top reply ed agree with all you have said. Ken, ed get a room haha.
25 Feb 2017 09:05:58
It's always the players, but it's up to the manager to get the best out of them. Ranieri is failing to do so. Is it going to change next week if he stays? Is he the sort of hard nosed manager that's required to impose that sort of attitude adjustment on the players? Clearly not. He seems like a really charming guy, but is that enough.
The situation at Leicester in 2016 is completely different to the one confronting Ferguson when he took over at United.
At LC the manager has to work within a fraction of the budget and, despite last season's freak title, the main goal is to stay in the Premier League and continue to enjoy the benefits of doing so. The stakes weren't as high back in 1986 when gate money as opposed to broadcasting and commercial revenue was the cornerstone of the financial picture.
United could afford to give SAF time as long as they filled the ground week in week out. And since the goal was not to be mediocre but to get back to winning titles, they could also give him the leeway to get rid of the dead wood and rebuild.
LC don't have that luxury. The manager has to get the best out of them now. And, sad as it is, would you put your faith in a manager who, when the chips were down in his previous job, presided over a loss to the Faroe Islands.