After such a poor start to the 2022/23 season, and without a win in the Premier League, fans have lost their confidence in Brendan Rodgers. His squad have looked vulnerable, any sign of form has been shot to pieces.
There were murmurings that his position as manager was under threat after the shambolic 6-2 defeat at Tottenham last week, and it was prime time to sack him with the international window offering ample time to find a successor. However, no statement by the club was made, and Rodgers will be in charge of Monday’s derby against Nottingham Forrest.
A win on Monday would be a fantastic boost for a squad desperate for any positivity with the added bonus of leapfrogging Forest in the Premier League table. However, barring a major thrashing, it wouldn’t be enough for them to climb above West Ham in 18th. Whatever happens on Monday, City will still be in the relegation zone.
With the club in such a poor state it is no surprise to learn that the players are now losing their confidence in Rodgers and his tactics; the players are starting to the split and the relationship within the dressing room is at an all-time low. This has all been reported by the ever-reliable Rob Tanner in his Q&A column in The Athletic. When asked if the dressing room has lost faith in their manager, the Leicester City correspondent had this to say:
"This is the biggest challenge of his [Rodgers’] career now. If he could turn this around and get Leicester going again, it would be his greatest achievement. It is whether he thinks things are too far gone in terms of his relationship with some players, those who Rodgers has lost faith in and who know they are surplus to requirements. There are those inside the squad who have also lost confidence in what they are being asked to do. – Rob Tanner in The Athletic"
Who are these unsatisfied Leicester City players?
Whilst Rob hasn’t named names, it is easy to speculate on some of the players who Rodgers has lost, the biggest being Caglar Soyuncu. ‘Cags’ endured a horrific season as times last year but has done enough during his spell at LCFC to deserve a recall to the starting line up. Instead, he has only featured in the 0-0 penalty win at Stockport in the EFL Cup 0 – ironically the only clean sheet the Foxes have kept so far.
Daniel Amartey has been selected in place of the Turkish international, but he has been a shadow of his former self, making error after error in defence. Even after Fofana departed, Amartey was still selected. Now Soyuncu is fifth in contention for a starting spot behind Jonny Evans, Wout Faes, Amartey, and an out-of-position Wilfred Ndidi. There is even room to suggest that Jannik Vestergaard is ahead of him in the pecking order.
Speaking of Vestergaard, he’s another who is out of contention after a very ropey first season at the club. His form has been so bad that he’s now found himself out of the Denmark squad ahead of the Qatar World Cup with no sign he’ll be given his chance to redeem himself for the Foxes. It’d be no surprise to learn that both he and Soyuncu would be keen for a new manager at Leicester City.
Other team members who have lost their place in the Foxes squad are midfielders Papy Mendy – the AFCON winner’s turbulent time at the King Power shows no sign of easing – Dennis Praet and attacker Ayoze Perez. Praet had an on-again off-again transfer window, with the Belgian eventually deciding to stay. Praet is a really good player, but it’s clear that Rodgers simply doesn’t know how to use him.
Perez was another who Rodgers wanted to ship off in the summer, but his links to Real Sociedad resulted in nothing and now the £30million-man is facing another season of limbo in Leicestershire. Often used on the right, Perez’s best position has always been as a CAM or as a CF, but the form of James Maddison hasn’t allowed him a consecutive run of games there.
Whilst these five are the most obvious predictions, there may be far more who are having doubts over their bosses’ ability to win games. If the poor form continues, we could see more and more players join the list.
The situation feels eerily similar to that of Claudio Ranieri’s sacking in 2017, less than a season after winning the league with the Foxes. Ranieri quickly lost key leaders in the dressing room – such as Kasper Schmeichel – and the atmosphere was so bad that cult-hero Leonardo Ulloa posted on social media that he would refuse to play for the club until Ranieri was gone.
If they fail to win against Forest, then we could see similar scenes to those of 2017. What’s clear now, however, is that Rodgers is on borrowed time with no margin for error. If he can turn the form and morale around, then it would be a miracle.
That being said, it feels as if both parties would be better going their separate ways. As things stand, Rodgers’ sacking isn’t an ‘if’, it’s a ‘when’. How long the Northern Irishman can hold on for, we’ll just have to see.