Seemed worthy of its own thread.
He's stubbornly stuck to the guys that won him the title. He lost one of the most important players in the league. Do you fire a guy that did what he did less than a year removed from his triumph?
Ranieri sacked
- Thread starter SocrManiac
- Start date
Seemed worthy of its own thread.
He's stubbornly stuck to the guys that won him the title. He lost one of the most important players in the league. Do you fire a guy that did what he did less than a year removed from his triumph?
Big EPL match coming up against Liverpool on Monday... this tells me they're definitely prioritizing the three points there over progressing to the round of 8.
That doesn't seem... entirely prudent, but I guess there's no real easy decision given their current position.
That doesn't seem... entirely prudent, but I guess there's no real easy decision given their current position.
It sounded like he had identified his somewhat sentimental team selection as a root cause and was planning to move on from it. I don't own a team so my opinion is useless, but I'd have at least given him a few more weeks to follow through.
Seems a shame after pulling off a miracle just 9 months ago, but teams had figured out tactics against them this year and were no longer pushing up the field so much, allowing Leicester to counter-attack so brutally last year. This year teams were giving them more space and Leicester was doing nothing with it. Add to that the loss of Kante and it seems they got solved.
At least they reached glory last year. Claudio will always have that.
At least they reached glory last year. Claudio will always have that.
It's easy to MMQB, but if they had been able to pull off signing Adrien Silva from Sporting they would have had an adequate replacement for Kante, but that deal (Along with the completed signing of Slimani) went right to the wire. They also should have let Vardy walk over to Arsenal. They are now overpaying him to be their 2005 Kevin Millar. Slimani was a freight train last year, but his season has never gotten going because of injuries.
Wow, that's cold. Leicester City 2015-16 was one of the greatest professional sports stories of all time, anywhere, and Ranieri seemed like the perfect manager ... and a truly good guy, to boot.
But so much of the above posts are right -- From top to bottom, Premier League teams seem to have figured Leicester out. Let them possess, and there will be no counterstrike. There's been exactly one match (Manchester City) this season where Leicester looked/played like they did last year -- and I think that was more a matter of Pep's hubris enabling them, than any adjustment LC made. I still watch a majority of Leicester's games; every week I keep hoping to see last year's magic rekindled, and every week it fails to happen.
I like to think that, if relegation weren't a factor, Ranieri would stay. Somebody who leads you to a championship -- especially after a 130-year drought -- deserves a season or two to take a victory lap. Now they'll need to pull a Great Escape for the second time in three years. Do they bring back Nigel Pearson?
Two straight seasons the Premier League's defending champs sacked their manager the following season.
But so much of the above posts are right -- From top to bottom, Premier League teams seem to have figured Leicester out. Let them possess, and there will be no counterstrike. There's been exactly one match (Manchester City) this season where Leicester looked/played like they did last year -- and I think that was more a matter of Pep's hubris enabling them, than any adjustment LC made. I still watch a majority of Leicester's games; every week I keep hoping to see last year's magic rekindled, and every week it fails to happen.
I like to think that, if relegation weren't a factor, Ranieri would stay. Somebody who leads you to a championship -- especially after a 130-year drought -- deserves a season or two to take a victory lap. Now they'll need to pull a Great Escape for the second time in three years. Do they bring back Nigel Pearson?
Two straight seasons the Premier League's defending champs sacked their manager the following season.
I think it's a misnomer to assume that teams flipped a switch heading into this season and figured them out. The counterattacking style was unlocked last year. Teams started dropping back and Leicester had to pick them apart. They struggled but did succeed.
It's far more down to Huth, Morgan, Drinkwater, and Kante. While Huth and Morgan are shades of their former selves, Kante's departure also hamstrung Drinkwater. The two played off each other beautifully last year, switching off anchor and roaming duties with an uncanny understanding. The team has essentially lost its entire spine and it shows.
It's far more down to Huth, Morgan, Drinkwater, and Kante. While Huth and Morgan are shades of their former selves, Kante's departure also hamstrung Drinkwater. The two played off each other beautifully last year, switching off anchor and roaming duties with an uncanny understanding. The team has essentially lost its entire spine and it shows.
Its a difficult decision. Should the owners have loyalty to the man when they are now in a relegation battle? Reports coming out that a few players went to the board and said they weren't happy. They should suck it up and follow the man but if the players don't want to and the result is being relegated what can you do?
common theme for Chelsea and LC during title defense seasons was that they both returned most of the previous season's lineup
in LCFC's case, Musa and Silmani additions did not help
in LCFC's case, Musa and Silmani additions did not help
I was not happy with the club's decision to sack Claudio. And this, of course, was only one match. But wow -- that was a Leicester side with all of the mojo of last season. At this moment, it's hard to imagine that Ranieri hadn't lost the players.
Any chance they'll ease up on the managerial hunt for a week or two, and try to ride this wave with Craig Shakespeare, Morgan Magic (Joe, not Wes) style?
Any chance they'll ease up on the managerial hunt for a week or two, and try to ride this wave with Craig Shakespeare, Morgan Magic (Joe, not Wes) style?
There's always stuff going on in the background we're not privy to, but the consistent message we seem to hear is that a group of players was very dissatisfied. Watching Vardy last night, in particular... That wasn't the same guy. I have no idea what things were like behind closed doors, but it looks to me like some guys were bottling it.
never a fan of teams where players mail it in and the manager gets all the blame...LCFC is now in the same bucket as last season's Chelsea
Eh, Leicester's always going to punish teams that play the high-line defense like Liverpool did yesterday; the Foxes did the same to Man City earlier this season. I'd give it more than a game before deciding if the players just gave up on Claudio.
One thing I did read is that Claudio got them away from the pressing style they played last year because he was worried about the lack of speed from Huth and Morgan in back. They couldn't figure a way to win without that pressing style and they certainly did press yesterday. We'll see.
One dilemma they're not going to escape is that whatever their results through the end of the season, someone in the club is going to look awful. If they play better going forward, then the players will be ripped for not playing well for Claudio. If they don't and end up getting relegated, then the club's going to be ripped for dismissing Claudio when clearly the talent wasn't there after the loss of Kante and the aging of the back line.
One thing I did read is that Claudio got them away from the pressing style they played last year because he was worried about the lack of speed from Huth and Morgan in back. They couldn't figure a way to win without that pressing style and they certainly did press yesterday. We'll see.
One dilemma they're not going to escape is that whatever their results through the end of the season, someone in the club is going to look awful. If they play better going forward, then the players will be ripped for not playing well for Claudio. If they don't and end up getting relegated, then the club's going to be ripped for dismissing Claudio when clearly the talent wasn't there after the loss of Kante and the aging of the back line.
Yeah, Vardy's first goal and his near-goal minutes later started with Liverpool's defensive line basically at midfield. Newsflash: Vardy is the fastest guy on the pitch. You give him space to run into and he's going to outrun you every time, sometimes with humiliating results. I found Klopp's tactics uncharacteristically bizarre. At least for the first half; Liverpool covered their asses a bit more after halftime and had a better ratio of chances thereafter.
Drinkwater's cannon of a golazo had nothing to do with tactics, of course - jesus christ if that wasn't worthy of Steven Gerrard. And the cross to Vardy's header was more of a failure of LFC's RB to close down (and some bad luck marking on the inside) than giving up a counterattack. Have to agree with SocrManiac though, Vardy played like a man possessed. So much for people calling him toast.
Drinkwater's cannon of a golazo had nothing to do with tactics, of course - jesus christ if that wasn't worthy of Steven Gerrard. And the cross to Vardy's header was more of a failure of LFC's RB to close down (and some bad luck marking on the inside) than giving up a counterattack. Have to agree with SocrManiac though, Vardy played like a man possessed. So much for people calling him toast.
I would argue this is already true. A team needs more to compete both in UCL and domestically. Either just flame out in UCL, but compete domestically like Tottenham. Or you end up in LCFC's relegation battle.