Former top-flight footballer for Coventry City, Portsmouth, AC Milan, AS Monaco, Rangers, Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United and Hull City, Mark Hateley has some advice for one of his old clubs. And you cannot blame the retired professional for citing Leicester City Football Club as a cautionary footballing tale, at all.
Only one decade ago, the Foxes were the exact opposite: the ultimate inspirational sporting story. How times, and people, change!
Frank Lampard has done wonders at Coventry Building Society Arena. The Sky Blues are now a Premier League outfit; naturally, their fans wasted no time in rubbing that fact in to the opposing fan base, not to mention LCFC's momentous relegations.
​However, Hateley's warning and insight is slightly more prudent and respectful. The 64-year-old used a predatory analogy to highlight how Cov' may be "munched up" unless Lampard is backed in the transfer market to compete.
A failed Leicester City comparison
While his metaphors evoke the primal ruthlessness of the English top flight, what Hateley failed to note is that Leicester's excessive spending and delusions (as well as illusions) of grandeur were major elements of their downfall. The Foxes did not succumb to a lack of ambition, but rather to the toxic cocktail of over-extension and the hubristic belief that their seat at the high table was undeniably permanent.
"You’ve got to get fully behind him [Lampard].Hateley - Coventry Observer
“You’ve got to give him a budget that will be eye-watering to the owners. Coventry are going into a league full of piranhas and crocodiles who will munch you up if you’re not careful.
“You’ve got to be careful because you can end up like Leicester. You get that bounce, then you get your legs pulled from underneath you and you’re fighting away.
“Coventry have got to put their trust in him [Lampard]. Coventry probably need six to 10 players and the start is critical."
Lampard finds himself at a precarious crossroads where the euphoria of promotion meets the cold, financial reality of survival and stability. To avoid the fate of their Midlands rivals, the Sky Blues must balance Hateley's demand for competitive investment with a sobriety that King Power famously abandoned.
The English elite do indeed dine in a shark-infested sea, but as history suggests, the most dangerous threat to a rising club is often the weight of its own golden anchors. Foxes won't be surprised, nor upset, if the other City blow it!
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