Every Leicester City supporter was shocked and appalled by Harry Winks' petulant and aggressive behaviour. In verbally abusing Foxes fans, Winks lost all respect from most, and lost most of his respect from the rest. The Blue Army is a forgiving collective bunch - as long as the football is good. Obviously it hasn't been!
But there is no way back for the awfully mannered former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. Gary Rowett (LCFC's underwhelming current manager with one remaining game to play before exiting) inexplicably reinstated the once England international to his starting line-up in spite of the outburst, poor training, beach mentality and away game preparation concerns. Wow; nice one, Gary!
Even though more youthful and pleasant options existed for the XI or the substitute bench, Rowett started Winks regardless. Many in the fan base took this as a personal slight and consequently, and justifiably, booed the Fox throughout.
Why would Gary Rowett brush Harry Winks' disgraceful Leicester City behaviour under the rug?!
Rowett claims the 30-year-old was his only option for the base of midfield, which is a transparent fallacy with Oliver Skipp fit and Louis Page ready; the latter a far superior choice to develop going forward. Aaron Ramsey or Jordan James could have started alternatively.
"Rowett’s justification was that Winks was the only fit player for the position at the base of the midfield, and that he had to respect the league in fielding his best available line-up. Maybe that’s understandable. But there will be those that question if it was more important for Rowett to show respect to City’s fans rather than the league and not include Winks in his line-up."Leicester Mercury
Perhaps Rowett should attempt innovative techniques, such as avoiding the stifling deployment of two defensive-minded men in the middle. But no, Rowett forgave Winks and played him anyway.
The former Stoke City and Oxford United boss has been far more problematic and out-of-his-depth than many in an around King Power Stadium like to admit, irrespective of inheriting a damaged squad! He admitted to not wanting to punish Winks due to his own fleeting tenure on Filbert Way.
That decision was a quintessential cop-out from a man whose tactical rigidity is matched only by his lack of disciplinary conviction. Winks' inclusion was an affront to supporter loyalty; Rowett's justification serves as a damning indictment of his brief, lacklustre reign. The strangest element here was that Rowett also appeared to fire a cryptic shot at Winks too:
"What was most interesting was Rowett’s follow-up to his selection explanation. He said that if he’d been here long term, “certain cultural things wouldn’t happen”. Asked to elaborate, he said it’s trickier to discipline a player when he’s not going to be their boss in the future."
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