When watching the current iteration of Leicester City football club, it is hard to comprehend the outfit’s trajectory over the last few years. Without doubt, it has been one of the most successful periods in the club’s history. Regardless, understanding how the same team has gone from fighting for the Champions League to fighting relegation is challenging indeed.
A fanbase divided
To understand Leicester City’s fall from grace, one only needs to scroll through Leicester City Twitter to understand the club’s problems. At the best of times, Twitter is extremely reactionary, with there being meltdown or euphoria after every win or loss. Nevertheless, the current state of affairs has brought Leicester fans together in discontent.
Despite the discontent, there remains a stark divide between the ‘Facebook’ Leicester City fans and the ‘Twitter’ Leicester City fans. One measure of this divide is the consensus on Brendan Rodgers. Until recently, Leicester City Facebook were largely supportive of the Foxes boss, despite the failings that have plagued the last two years of his reign. On the other hand, LCFC Twitter has largely been ‘Rodgers-out’ for the best part of 18 months.
One would suggest this illustrates the generational divide that has increasingly riven the fanbase, with both sides often taking aim at each other for various reasons. The older fans, having seen the club at its lowest point, have a wider perspective on the club’s struggles but have been accused by younger fans of accepting mediocrity. Attempts to mix the two opinions on Twitter often has led to factions and endless arguments.
Conversely, the younger fanbase, having grown up with success, are much more demanding of it. After all, without ambition, there is no progress. Nevertheless, sense would suggest a balance of the two perspectives is necessary.
Leicester City are a team in crisis
Leicester City are set to enter game week 27 just three points above 20th position in the Premier League, something that fans thought they had left behind after the club’s recent success. Nevertheless, the club is where it is, and one Twitter account superbly sums up the key issues faced by the club currently.
Time for a thread as I'm fed up of how little heat anybody at LCFC ever seems to be in for the embarrassing toss being served up. A manager who is a fraud. A director of football who is out of his depth. An owner who is too loyal / naive to see either of these problems.
— DT (@1884DT) March 5, 2023
Whilst the blame cannot be apportioned to one person, the role of Jon Rudkin has certainly played a part in the club’s recent demise, as is highlighted by 1884DT’s thread. As director of football, Rudkin has been responsible for the shambolic management of player contracts, culminating in the current situation where the east Midlanders have seven players out of contract this summer (including Tête).
The fact that former stars such as Caglar Soyuncu are set to leave for free is nothing but diabolical. Granted, the value of players such as ‘Cags’ has dropped for various reasons outside of Rudkin’s control, but he could well have commanded a fee of at least £10-15m if sold last summer. For a player who was not long ago in the Premier League team of the year, it seems ludicrous a once £50m player is walking away via the Bosman ruling.
Youri Tielemans is another example of the management’s delusion when it comes to squad management. What should have been done was to sell the Belgian when his stock was high, and when it was clear he would not agree to sign a new deal. Instead, the club decided to persist with negotiating a new deal for two years when it was clear he had no interest in signing one. Now, Tielemans, the record signing, will leave for free, meaning he will have to be replaced with an already limited budget.
This then leads into the next summer, where players such as Wilfried Ndidi and star man James Maddison will also walk away for free if their contracts are not renewed. With regards to Maddison, the club’s predicament makes it very unlikely that he will want to sign a new contract, therefore he is likely to be sold as the most valuable ‘asset’ this summer. Even so, the fact his contract has run down suggests that the club will not be getting his market value and other clubs will likely play hard-ball due to knowledge of LCFC’s predicament.
Finally, a word must be said about Rudkin’s offering of contracts to certain players. The fact that players such as Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand were given nearly £80,000 a week contracts is criminal. His mismanagement has also led to the wage bill spiralling out of control, to the point where the club’s wage bill is comfortably the seventh highest in the division.
It also must be added that the club itself is increasingly making a mockery of its ‘well-run’ reputation. Posting £92.5m losses is never a great look in itself, but the small things such as ID checks at away games really do add up. For a club that has traditionally been renowned for its fan engagement, Leicester City seem to be doing all they can to throw away this good reputation.
Brendan Rodgers out?
Last, but certainly not least, is the quandary that is Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman recently celebrated his fourth anniversary at the club but is facing increasing hostility from a disillusioned fanbase. After bringing the club to great success, things have steadily regressed under the 50-year-old’s recent tenure, to the point where the club is in a worse position than when Brendan took over.
Ignoring the issues of Brendan’s personality, the injury crisis is one topic to highlight. It seems ironic that since Brendan fired Dave Rennie in 2020, the Leicestershire side have run up a horrific list of muscular injuries. Such an issue do go back to Rodgers, given that Leicester City used to have such a good injury record. The firing of Rennie for another of Brendan’s appointments, therefore, is another blot in his copybook.
Furthermore, the regression of key players is also mystifying. Some of these such as Ricardo Pereira were admittedly due to injury. Even so, Brendan Rodgers inherited one of the most talented Leicester squads ever and whilst he did bring success, he is also accountable for its ruin. Players such as Wilfried Ndidi and Caglar Soyuncu look like shadows of their former selves. The extent to which Brendan is directly responsible is up for debate, nevertheless, he must take some share of the blame, especially for the latter.
As mentioned in the Twitter thread, Khun Top, for all his merits, is not the ruthless man his father was. If he was, it is likely that Rodgers would have gone before this season’s first international break. Nevertheless, the fact that Brendan Rodgers is still at LCFC brings us to the uncomfortable reality; that sacking him may now be too late. After all, what manager of any quality would want to come to a relegation-threatened and frankly mediocre side?
Whilst there is the alternative of appointing an interim coach, such a policy is unlikely to happen and also not guaranteed to succeed. Therefore, fans must hope that there is enough quality and spirit within this side to pull clear of this debacle, though recent performances do not inspire any degree of confidence.
At the end of the day, it may come down to there being three worse teams, as opposed to Leicester City’s own merits. Such a decline highlights how fortunes outside the top six can change in a heartbeat. All it took for the Foxes was one season of failed recruitment, exacerbated by financial mismanagement. Without wanting to look too far ahead, a final-day clash against fellow strugglers West Ham already looks ominous.