Leicester City's Blue Army fan base does not collectively blame Gary Rowett for the disastrous season. Nor was the former Foxes player particularly criticised or disliked after arguably failing in his mammoth task to save the East Midlands outfit from the fate of England's third-tier.
As a matter of fact, the once Millwall, Oxford United and Stoke City manager actually did something of note at King Power Stadium, whilst simultaneously failing: improving the defence. Ultimately that slight but significant amendment didn't get the Foxes anywhere.
Yet Rowett, certainly a likeable footballing person on the surface, can definitely claim that he wasn't the main problem, he did kind of solve one glaring issue. However, he was not the appropriate solution on Filbert Way either: more of an approachable, acceptable, inexpensive option for a sinking ship.
A caretaker asked to plug a breach with a thimble. He managed to stem the inward flow of drowning goals, but the vessel's fundamental lack of buoyancy remained unaddressed.
Rowett was merely a temporary captain presiding over a slow descent into the abyss. Rearranging the deckchairs of a back four while the hull remained fundamentally compromised.
A good man, or somebody with low self-esteem overly concerned with public perception?
​In spite of seemingly being a nice guy, Rowett also had an insecure and totally conscious public-facing, rather unpalatable side as well. He was reportedly overly concerned with ex-LCFC gaffer Enzo Maresca being in the stands for the current boss's primary City game. This odd preoccupation hinted at a fragility beneath the stoic exterior.
A lack of tactical depth or comprehension at Leicester City
Rowett appeared to make selections and awkward tactical decisions he assumed would be fitting, nonconfrontational, or widely accepted; a sycophantic approach that came at the direct detriment of progress and solidity. He was a managerial dichotomy: struggling to balance the allure of contemporaneousness, whilst old-fashioned tactics pulled relentlessly at his tracksuit. When is Fox Leisure set to be announced, incidentally?!
Fundamentally, the 52-year-old is a poor coach for contemporary times; he is conflicted and specifically unsuitable for Leicester. These conflicting methods were most obvious in the disenchanting return to the hybrid zonal marking system - a hallmark of Brendan Rodgers' ridiculously counterproductive downfall.
Zones are conspicuous in their redundancy: even elite sides struggle with such complexity and kinetic stagnation. To impose the entirely flawed methodology upon a demoralised and mediocre squad was an act of tactical hubris. Man-to-man, or even a full zone, are clearly preferable systems.
Inswinging and short corner routines poorly mimicked Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. Only serving to stifle the LE2 team's aerial potency and threat. Levels!
Rowett forgets that football fashion changes quicker than clothing. But, if the big boys do it, so be it! Paradoxical imitation.
Claiming Jannik Vestergaard was a viable striker option was this writer's final straw. Originality score: 2/10.
"There aren’t any obvious options in those areas.He’s [Vestergaard] certainly one who can give us something different just for 10 or 15 minutes at the end of a game. "Rowett - FoL
Requesting centre backs be totally no-nonsense by kicking balls anywhere far (the abject, Sunday league clearance paradox) was hard to watch. Naturally, the now-fashionable long-throw was introduced and wastefully executed with distinction. Cop-out.
This managerial experiment was a paradoxical coaching attempt to suit a perceived contemporary style. Rather than an authentic attempt to win at all costs with the personnel at hand. Survival at Oxford possibly inflated, along with distorting, Rowett's own consciousness.
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