Leicester City's hunt for a permanent successor to Marti Cifuentes has devolved from what should have been a swiftly structured pursuit into a disastrous mess. As the Foxes drift deeper into the EFL Championship mire, the pitiful hierarchical quest for a new figurehead remains on a ghost ship: drifting aimlessly without a captain or a compass.
The managerial search has become an uncertain and imprudent game of blindfolded darts. The board throw names at a moving board, hoping for a bullseye while the house burns down around them.
Andy King's ransom
A major part of the problem is that City don't have funds, or cannot spend anything or much, on a head coach. For club legend Andy King, the situation is a conundrum between a rock and a hard place. A man with LCFC blood in his veins, King is tasked with steadying a sinking ship he never asked to command. Yet his loyalty prevents him from jumping overboard while the club he loves faces an existential crisis.
A brutalist Premier League structure
This LE2 crisis was catalysed by a brutal six-point Profit and Sustainability punishment that has transformed a season of woe and regret into one of genuine relegation fear. Plunged to 22nd in the table, the East Coast are no longer looking at the play-offs: they are staring into the abyss of League One.
Leicester City lists
Despite the gravity of the situation, the bookmakers and media have produced an exhaustive list of generally unlikely, unlikeable or dislikeable candidates. From the "Alpine Klopp" Ralph Hasenhuttl, to the pragmatism yet arguably unimaginative Gary Rowett and the failed idealism of Russell Martin - the names vary wildly in philosophy and cost.
However, the reality is biting: City are so financially shackled that they cannot even pay compensation fees to extract gaffers currently under contract, even at lowly and modest clubs. It is a paralysis born of astoundingly poor management on Filbert Way from Top (Srivaddhanaprabha) to bottom.
Andy King's revelation provides no alleviation
The most damning indictment came from King himself, no less. Following the latest collapse, the decorated former Fox admitted that the dreadful contemporary King Power ownership has failed to communicate any inroads over a new installation.
"Asked if there was an update, he said: “Nope. I’m sorry to keep letting you guys down about that. It’s not a question for me. I can’t answer you on that... Then asked if there had been any explanation over the delay to appoint a new boss, King said: “No, nothing like that. "Leicester Mercury (subscription)
As a matter of fact, King says no progress has occurred whatsoever. The silence from the boardroom isn't just deafening: it is a possibly dereliction of duty from Khun Top and director of football Jon Rudkin.