Leicester City head coach Brendan Rodgers remains under scrutiny. As part of this, the gaffer has had to deal with supposed spurious news fabricated by the media.
10 games played, five points gained, a single win, two draws. Abysmal performance to say the least. The King Power club remain rock bottom of the Premier League heading into their fixture against Leeds United on Thursday evening.
With such a poor commencement to the season, it is only natural the Northern Irish head coach would be under immense pressure and scrutiny externally. However, thus far the board have continued to back the manager.
Nevertheless, with scrutiny comes stories. Some false truths, some blatant lies, but all mostly fabricated to fit a narrative. This is just what the media does, outlets are Populist and crisis-oriented by their commercialised nature. Rodgers has had his say recently.
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers slams fake news
As part of the build up to Leicester v Leeds, Rodgers had some comments to make regarding a false story constructed about a behind closed doors press conference. It had been reported that the gaffer ‘stormed out’ when asked about the pressure he is under and in relation to his pay packet.
Obviously, a lot of supporters would have sympathised with the storming out when you start bringing his pay into the equation and talking about how difficult it might be to sack the manager. However, this is not true. As reported by LeicestershireLive, here is what Rodgers had to retort.
"“I’ve never stormed out of anything. I’ve never done that… It’s just unfortunate that there’s a narrative there. Because we’re not doing so well there needs to be substance to that”"
Firstly, it is important to note what actually happened. The boss was taking questions when the time ran out, this was a protracted question by the journalist and would have been the final question anyway. A press officer finished the presser before Rodgers could mount and adequate reply.
What the Populist media like to do is to construct a crisis framing and then interpret everything within that light to portray both an interesting story and a major story. It is all framing and narrative. A fabricated mistruth by a journalist: as Rodgers says, they need a substance to their framing.
"“Whatever you say when you’re towards the bottom of the league, it will never be right. That is the nature. When you are winning everything seems great, when you are losing you talk rubbish”"
Secondly, irrespective of what is actually said, once that crisis frame is constructed, everything will be seen in that light: the Foxes’ boss will be seen as either a man under immense pressure from fans and above, or he will be seen as a delusional failure. It is the nature of the Populist media.
To be fair, the primary construction of this pressure comes from ourselves: supporters. We too consistently decry when the manager makes a misstep or we do not perceive either an awareness of the issues or a passion to tackle them. That is what Rodgers seeks to tone down.
"“I’ve always tried to stay calm and stay composed in the situation, even though it is a difficult one… It doesn’t mean I don’t care, I’m as passionate as anyone. I think I have showed that in my time here”"
To be honest, the King Power club have seen both the best and worst of the gaffer in terms of passion. When the team are consistently winning, things are going well, the boss can instill a continuing mentality and belief in the team. However, when things are not going well, it seems to be the opposite: unmanageable.
Nevertheless, it is right to say the boss has been calm; if at times a little too calm for our liking. When failing, the fans want to see a gaffer bursting down the touchline to celebrate goals, and giving poor performers the hair dryer treatment on the touchline. The media knows this.
So, what does the Populist media do with this you ask? They identify themselves with you – the supporters – frame it as an upset, delusional, impassioned manager preparing to leave, and lie about every facet they can. On top of that, were Rodgers to appear passionate, they would see it as the last throes of anger from a failing manager rather than as passion.
What Rodgers needs now is to stabilise the ship, ignore the narrative, then push on and get some refreshment in January. A new goalkeeper and a new midfielder could do wonders, and I would suggest a new defender will become essential.