28 Feb 2017 06:30:07
Ok, so 16 days of rest and then you lose to Leicester. Lose to a team that hasn't scored a goal in 2017. Lose to a team that had only 4 days of prep. Lose to a team that doesn't even have a manager.
Both Southampton A and B teams lost this week.
28 Feb 2017 06:50:50
On the flip side, that performance just highlights how Leicester players had stopped playing for Ranieri. Barry and co seemed very pleased with themselves after the match, and claimed that the good performance was inspired by all the criticism towards them following Ranieri's sacking.
To me, it just underlines what a selfish, pampered bunch players are these days. They have too much power and are basically given a free pass to down tools.
Isn't it strange how they can up their game, and more to the point, their effort, to prove everyone wrong over some completely justified criticism - yet they can't do the same when relegation is becoming a very real threat?
No doubt Mr. Barry and co will be very pleased with themselves this morning. Two victories for them in less then a week - one on the pitch and one off it.
28 Feb 2017 08:02:01
How does auto correct change Vardy to Barry?
Mr. Vardy!
Mr. Vardy!
Mr. Vardy!
28 Feb 2017 08:16:20
Betty you almost caught me off guard there. I was just beginning to wonder when did Gareth Barry join the foxes. :D
Could this be a reaction to the CR sacking? I mean we have always seen such results for teams who have had their managers sacked. But I do get your point and totally support CR in this mess. Players should take the blame and be ashamed. I saw someone post a pic on Twitter where a bunch of snakes were together and the caption read "Leicester players celebrating"
28 Feb 2017 08:30:25
I know this is not a popular opinion but how are Leicester players wrong in what they said, post his sacking ranieri has been turned into a jesus figure who led single handedly led Leicester to the title while players are the judas, but that is while forgetting that ranieri for all his last year miracle is not a great manager, he has been a mediocre manager most of his career, getting sacked and mostly winning nothing wherever he went. Also look at their form, prior to yesterday their last pl victory came against westham on 31st December, now one could say the players downed their tools after that. But look at their record prior to that they won a game against city on 10th December but try finding the earlier victory and it came in october, they have been poor for a long time not just now.
Did the players down their tools then itself or is it the manager to blame for failing to adequately replace kante and an aging defence, tbf to him according to ed001 there were multiple people responsible for the situation not just the manager. But he has to be held atleast a bit responsible for that, the players seem up for the cl yet don't turnup for pl, what is the manager doing then, he is there to motivate them isn't he. What i don't get is how ranieri is the first name on everyone's list of people responsible for the title but he isn't apportioned any blame for failures. This is a guy who has made more in severance packages he received for being inept at his job than most people do keeping their job and doing it well.
{Ed001's Note - erm Ranieri is far from mediocre, he took Chelsea into contention in the league before Abramovich arrived with the huge funds. Mourinho himself has acknowledged Ranieri's pivotal role in all Chelsea's later success. He has shown himself to be an excellent manager everywhere except with the national job of Greece, which was damn near impossible.}
28 Feb 2017 08:57:58
CSM - of course there are 2 sides to every story, and we all had different opinions too.
But my point is more about the effort and desire that the Leicester players showed last night compared to the rest of the season.
Prior to last night the players have shown absolutely no fight or desire - except in the CL, surprise surprise. If the threat of relegation isn't enough the gee them up a bit, then how come the manager being sacked is?
Its just my view, but these situations just highlight how much power the players have now. Apart from letting their manager down, they are letting themselves down.
Worst of all, they are letting the fans down.
Ultimately, someone has to be held accountable - and it is always the manager, while the sulking babies on the pitch get a free pass.
28 Feb 2017 09:06:57
While Greece was a bad job to take beaten by Faroe islands is bit too low to fall, also hè did spend money at Chelsea even before abromovic getting likes of lampard, pettit and gallas he actually spent more money in prior 2 summer windows than either liverpool or blackburn the teams who finished just below chelsea when they got cl.
Also after managing likes of roma, napoli, Juventus, Chelsea, valencia and athletico, inter his trophies are a bunch of lower league titles won with smaller teams, a coppa Italia won on batistuta's back and a coppa del Rey. That is not much to call him a great manager.
{Ed001's Note - spending money does not guarantee success. You have to spend it well, and you really can't argue with the signing of Lampard, for instance.
Sorry but the list is just a bunch of names with no context. Chelsea were just a cup team, a small team desperately trying to make a name for themselves, before Abramovich. Valencia are always behind Barca and Madrid, the Rafa period was a blip, similar to Ranieri's Leicester title triumph or Fergie's time at Aberdeen and not indicative of the club's level.
Atletico are a club that have used financial doping in recent years to get to where they are. It is no slight on him to not win anything with them. Roma, Napoli and Juventus I have no idea what state they were in when he took them over, so I have no context to judge his time with them on.}
28 Feb 2017 09:12:20
I am not giving the players a free pass betty, if stuff about Schmeichel and vardy leading a revolt to get ranieri sacked is true, i would want the new manager to get rid of those 2 arseholes and lay down the marker but painting them as villians while poor old ranieri plays martyr is unfair to me.
28 Feb 2017 10:01:52
Sounds to me the players got too big for their boots after last years success, Ranieri was the scapegoat. Feel sorry for Ranieri personally.
28 Feb 2017 10:29:42
CSM, so what your saying then is we shouldn't villanise the players who have conspired to get a man fired but should instead lay the blame at the door of the man who has been fired?
Ranieri can't be blamed for his best player jumping ship.
Also if the players are refusing to put the required effort in then I fail to see why that is Ranieri's fault.
The players especially Kasper and Vardy have had their heads inflate to such proportions that they have had to have all the doorways widened at the Walker stadium to accomidate them.
What they have done is totally shameful, and if Leicester get relegated this season then it will be the players fault and theirs alone.
As a side note I would like to see a managers transfer window introduced only allowing managers to change clubs in the summer and not mid season.
Maybe that way players would know that they can't get a manager sacked mid season, and they have to keep playing for him until the seasons end.
28 Feb 2017 11:14:23
Shappy the players didn't conspire in August they have done so in feb but problems were visible since august, his sacking wasn't because leicester had cl or europa hopes but because relegation became a real possibility, yes kante jumped ship but he did not leave for free leicester got a decent sum for him, they wasted it on puchases that have badly flopped is it vardy and Schmeichel's fault, the 2 cb's huth n morgan have been around since the jurassic era is it the players fault they weren't replaced adequately. Vardy a guy who was playing non league 4 years ago and has had 1 great season in his entire career that too at 28 does not fire as he did last season, is that hugely surprising.
Their whole up for cl but not for pl routine has been going since first group stage match, symptoms problems whatever you call them were visible very early what was ranieri doing isn't that his job or do the players do the managing part too.
Again i am not saying it is only the manager's fault, remember moyes and a few utd players making a similar mess, no one blames the players alone in that situation moyes shares the blame, that is all i am saying, there are always 2 sides to the coin. Right now everyone seems to forget Ranieri's incompetence and focus only on player's back stabbing.
28 Feb 2017 12:32:30
CSM, how do you know that the players only conspired in Feb?
Last night they played their best game since last season. I don't think the players have been playing for the manager all season, they certainly haven't been putting in the same work rate and effort as they did last night. There has been rumours and whispers all season that the players weren't happy about some changes Ranieri made.
Maybe last week it all came to a head and the players decided to go above Ranieri's head or rather behind his back but they haven't been playing for him all season.
28 Feb 2017 12:32:42
So you blame him for not replacing kante but then say the kante money was wasted in trying to replace kante. To be honest I think ndidi will prove a good buy.
28 Feb 2017 13:56:22
Shappy if they did down the tools dince early part of the season and as you say some changes Ranieri introduced were not accepted then isn't it as much the manager's fault, how do players who under you against all odds managed to win the biggest trophy they were competing for suddenly turn on you.
Mort i am saying they failed to replace kante adequately and add to that none of the other signings that were added have worked.
28 Feb 2017 14:52:13
The players suddenly thought they were bigger than the manager and could dictate what they wanted to do.
I believe several of the changes Ranieri made were to compensate for things like competing in the UCL, something they didn't do last season. Also I believe he tried to make a couple of tactical tweaks to compensate the lose of Kante.
As for replacements for out going players and squad improvement Ed001 has stated Ranieri's hands we're tied. Effectively he had to work with what he had, if the players inflated ego's couldn't take it then that isn't the managers fault.
28 Feb 2017 16:01:18
That's part of the transfer market though. Players can look brilliant on videos. Scours can do write ups that make a player sound fantastic. But then they don't settle, miss home, don't like the food, weather. Whatever. We've seen enough signings flop over the years. Is that necessarily the managers fault?
28 Feb 2017 17:56:53
Mort who do you think most blame for signing fellaini or depay/ darmian/ schweinsteiger, i will even give you a hint those 2 individuals were sacked by the club.
Again shappy in the end manager is responsible for the signings unless owners decide not to spend which wasn't the case. Yes walsh left but ranieri still had 1 month after walsh left where transfer window was open and a replacement could have been found and transfers could have been arranged whatever the issues i refuse to believe that 1 month isn't enough to get atleast some decent signings in. I don't think they even signed a cb in the window.
Also he spent money on likes of slimani and musa ndidi mendy and none have had a decent impact. So he wasn't exactly working with just the same players. Again shappy players and a majority of them suddenly don't turn on their manager. If the trophy had inflated a few idiots ranieri should have handled the situation got rid of the biggest culprits isn't that part of his job.
No one can get along with everybody but if you manage to pisss off most of the players you can't say it is only their fault and not his. Also if they manage to avoid relegation the owner's decision will be vindicated as then he was the problem not them. We will see what happens at the end of the season won't we.
28 Feb 2017 20:36:37
Best performance since last season? City, anyone?