Steve Earle Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 Well I agree the OP is very well written, and hard to argue with based on what we've all seen (and heard). But argue with it I will. The only thing I disagree with about the OP is the conclusion: Ranieri didn't have to go. It all depends I suppose upon your view of the world. My contrary view isn't based on nostalgia or sentiment, but is I admit rooted in morality and ethics. I've seen Leicester relegated from the top flight seven times. We've always come back, even if it has sometimes taken rather too long. Would relegation have been a life-changing, terminal event for my club? I doubt it. The new contracts so liberally strewn about last summer all have relegation clauses in them, we are told. The parachute payments give any half-sensibly run relegated team a huge advantage over other Championship teams. Would relegation have harmed the owners' financial interests? Short-term yes, long-term probably not. Ranieri did something last season that we'll never see again. Not just the greatest achievement by a Leicester manager ever, but the greatest in the history of football. Isn't that worth something? Some loyalty? Some room to fail? A chance to rebuild next season without the egos and vastly inflated pay packets currently cluttering the dressing room? Hadn't we found a manager to fill our hearts with love and pride, who could conceivably have had the 'job for life' he craved? And look at the love for our club which Ranieri, more than anyone, engendered last season. Gone, in a brutal instant. How is that going to play out, both in footballing terms (who'd take the job; who, apart from the fans, now wants Leicester to avoid the drop?) and in terms of return on investment? The damage which has been done (and I do understand as per the OP why they've done it, believe me) to our club's reputation and profile by this cruel act is profound. The owners may find out just how profound over the next few days, as a succession of managerial candidates rule themselves out of the running. As I tweeted on Thursday night, you can come back from relegation (to which we were undoubtedly headed under Claudio), but I'm not sure how you come back from this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasty1 Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 In the Guardian.... Leicester has had a world snooker champion, an X Factor winner, a Glastonbury-headlining band and a secret diary-keeper who is now, rather scarily, 49 and three-quarters. What they had never had, pre-Ranieri, was a title-winning football team and apart from one near-miss in 1963 they had never really been close since finishing runners-up to Sheffield Wednesday in 1929. That will be Ranieri’s legacy and one day the players who schemed against him, and the owners who lied and hid and barely gave the team a look-in when it came to parading the championship trophy around the pitch, might understand the sadness that comes from knowing this straight-backed, dignified man, with his twinkling eyes and imaginary bell, has not had a happier ending. Inside Gazzetta one correspondent, Alessandra Bocci, summed it up rather neatly. “The prince goes back to being a normal frog again.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thracian Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 40 minutes ago, davieG said: Why Leicester were right to sack Claudio Ranieri Martyn Cooke February 26, 2017 Leicester City Time Inc Leicester City have sacked manager Claudio Ranieri just nine months after the Italian guided The Foxes to a seemingly implausible Premier League title triumph. But the only real surprise is that there is any surprise at all regarding his departure from the club. Since being crowned champions of England in May Leicester have stumbled along from one mistake to the next and have been spiralling towards relegation since the turn of the year. The club’s transfer policy, negative attitude, poor performances, demotivated players and bizarre tactical decisions have been continuing issues that Ranieri, among others, must shoulder the responsibility for. The Italian was coveted with praise during the summer, and rightly so. Leading The Foxes to the Premier League title will be one of the great underdog sporting success stories that will forever be remembered both in Leicester and across English football. But he must also accept the criticism for his team’s performance this campaign – which will go down in the history books as one of the timidest and pathetic title-defensives in sporting history. Embed from Getty Images Setting the tone The warning signs were there for all to see during the summer. The first mistake was that Ranieri set a negative tone. He publicly admitted that he had set his Leicester City team the primary target of reaching 40 points in the Premier League and achieving safety. The Premier League title holders, the best team in English football the previous season, were hoping to avoid relegation. By setting the bar so outstandingly low Ranieri was sending a clear message to his players – “Last season was just a fluke. Do not expect to defend your title.” In one fell swoop, the best team in England surrendered their title before a ball was even kicked. Is it any wonder that the players have performed so poorly when their manager publically undermined their success the previous year? It sent out all the wrong messages. The second mistake was that Leicester decided to sell their best player, N’Golo Kante, to Chelsea. The Frenchman’s energy, enthusiasm, and technical play had been a key component of their success the previous season – and they sold him to a title rival. Why? The 25-year-old was tied down to a long-term contract and the club were under absolutely no financial pressure to sell. Ranieri needed to play hardball and keep hold of his dynamic midfielder but instead chose to take the easy option and cash in. As a comparison, can you imagine Sir Alex Ferguson responding to a title triumph by telling his squad that they needed to reach 40 points and then selling his best player to a title rival? Leicester City were the best team in England going into the new campaign and yet Ranieri was behaving like his players would be in a relegation fight. Negativity from the manager breeds negativity within the playing squad. Embed from Getty Images A timid title defence Football is a business that is all about the here-and-now. The success of the previous year is irrelevant – it is all about your team’s current form and performances. This is something that Ranieri has found out the hard way just as Jose Mourinho did in 2016. Looking at Leicester’s results so far this season it would be difficult for any observer to put forward a reasonable case for the Italian to keep his job without making reference to the previous campaign. Progress in the Champions League has helped to cover the cracks but one run in Europe would be little compensation or comfort should the club be put back a decade through relegation. The statistics are difficult to comprehend and the performances have been hard to stomach. The reigning English champions have lost 14 fixtures and have conceded 43 goals in the Premier League so far this season. They have won just five games and sit one point above the relegation zone. More importantly, their form showed no sign of improving under the guidance of Ranieri. Since the turn of the year in the top-flight The Foxes have picked up just one point, have lost their last five fixtures and have not scored a single goal. These are damning statistics that will result in any manager being sacked. Performances have been extremely poor and Ranieri has shown no sign of being able to halt the slide towards the relegation zone. There was only ever going to be one eventual outcome. However, the Italian has not helped himself. Leicester’s success last season came from continuity in team selection and tactics but this campaign Ranieri has insisted on chopping and changing the starting line-up and deploying various different formations. “If it isn’t broke don’t try and fix it”. There was no need to change a winning formula. Embed from Getty Images Poor timing So, in reality, Claudio Ranieri’s sacking comes as no surprise – Leicester were only heading in one direction under the Italian’s leadership this season – but the timing of his departure is somewhat bizarre. In mid-week Leicester demonstrated a little more spirit and quality in Spain when they travelled to Sevilla in the Champions League. The Foxes may have lost the game but the performance was much-improved and Jamie Vardy’s away goal provides them with a genuine opportunity to turn the tie around in the reverse leg in early March. Also, the transfer window is now closed, so any new manager will have to work with the current group of players and will not be able to bring in any new additions. The club has made the right decision but at the wrong time. Releasing Ranieri from his duties is a step that should have been taken in January. So what now? So Claudio Ranieri’s reign as Leicester City manager is officially over. The club and its supporters will undoubtedly be forever thankful for the contribution that the Italian made in guiding The Foxes to the Premier League title, but there is little argument that his departure is the correct decision. The Leicester hierarchy now need to be swift and decisive. A new manager needs to be brought in as soon as possible but there is little room for error – the wrong appointment would be disastrous at this stage – but there is little doubt that the club needs fresh energy, impetus, ideas, and input. Roberto Mancini and Frank de Boer have both been highlighted as early favourites and it will be interesting to see what type of character The Foxes elect to opt for. Congratulations to Claudio Ranieri for winning the Premier League. But you have no excuse for Leicester City’s timid title defence and slide towards the relegation zone. Featured Image: All Rights Reserved Alex Hannam (Alex Hannam) Solid enough but every word's been referred to on here in one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayfox26 Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 23 hours ago, Freeman's Wharfer said: I've been reading a lot about how the decision to sack Cluadio was the wrong one. A lot of pundits and supporters of other clubs slating our club and our owners. Here's why I think the decision, albeit a sad one, was the correct call. http://theposthorngallop.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/time-to-say-goodbye_25.html Arms aloft, a wave, 2,500 buoyant fans singing his name, he turns and he is gone. As Claudio Ranieri strode across the turf at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan no one in that away end, where a defeat had never felt more like victory, would have envisaged that this was Claudio’s last stand. That as planes from Seville shakily touched ground in the chaos of Storm Doris another storm was brewing; a media storm that would follow the news that Ranieri had been sacked. The decision to end the Ranieri era, a glorious and unprecedented era, was the correct one. As Leicester City fans we have had to become used to our club being global news. Of everyone wanting a piece of the big Leicester pizza pie yet only ever knowing half the recipe. As the unlikeliest of footballing stories began to unfold in late 2016, football pundits and experts scrambled and bumbled - at a loss to try and explain how this unbelievable team was doing what it was. For once, eyes that had previously been fixed on United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City were looking the wrong way. It wouldn't last, Vardy and Mahrez would dry up, they hadn't played anyone good yet. Not one of them could accurately summarise the strength of that remarkable team. Those same eyes have been caught diverted once more. They haven't seen the visible confusion of the players as Shinji Okazaki replaced Robert Huth and our final throw of the dice was to change our right back against Chelsea. They haven't travelled to Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Old Trafford to see us take a pasting because Claudio persisted with a 442 formation which just didn't work without Kante. And they haven't seen the persistence with the likes of Mahrez, Huth and Morgan who just haven't delivered this season whilst the likes of Damarai Gray and Daniel Amartey have sat, in-form, frustrated on the bench. The success of last season was built, in large part, on an incredible team spirit. Eleven players working together for each other with the whole being greater than the sum of their parts in the season of their lives. It was the kind of spirit that pulled them through on a cold Wednesday night in January at White Hart Lane for a crucial 1-0 win (several of which would follow in the run-in) and in the early part of the season had them dubbed ‘Comeback Kings’ after resurrections against Villa, Southampton and Stoke City. That spirit has ebbed away. Where players previously clapped good intentions they now point out mistakes. Riyad Mahrez, provider in chief last year, no longer seems to want to pass. The selfless work of Jamie Vardy for the team has been replaced by the kind of conserving energy, pointing and staying in shape that would never have been coached into him at Stocksbridge Park Steels or Halifax. These are the things that we, the fans that follow this team home and away, see where others don’t. The reality is that Leicester City have been dire for months. No goals in 7 league games, no away win in the league all season and defeats against the likes of Sunderland, Swansea, Burnley and Hull. That’s without mentioning a defeat to 10-man League One side Millwall in the cup. A big thing I have read is that Claudio should have been given more time, but what was going to change? He’d changed the personnel. He’d tinkered the formation. He’d not recruited in vital positions in the transfer window. He’d tried the carrot and the stick multiple times apiece to no avail. This was not the Leicester City of their first season in the Premier League who were bottom of the league but competing in matches, scoring goals and running through brick walls for their manager Nigel Pearson. I have rarely seen so many abject performances over a prolonged period of time and questions would have been asked a lot earlier in the season were it not for progress from a poor Champions League group (not one of those teams was better than lower half Premier League quality) and for allowing a somewhat inevitable hangover from the party of our lives. Claudio had been given his time. The accountability which keeps standards high had to come at some point. It’s all very well Michael Owen or Jamie Carragher wanting him to see out the season. The ‘Twittersphere’, awash with fans of other clubs who feel it’s their business or their right to judge this decision or to slate our club, seemed to think Ranieri had earned the right to take us to a level lower than that we were at when Claudio first arrived. I assume that those people would be at Bristol City away on a Tuesday night with us in The Championship next season? That they were so entitled to an opinion on the merits of Mark De Vries or Elvis Hammond? That they put money in a bucket to save the club when it was in administration? For the casual observer, relegation for Leicester would have simply been a shame. Maybe Claudio’s biggest crime was to be too nice. The outpouring of emotion about his sacking has been akin to the disgust at an elderly grandad being pushed over in the street. He always stirred the emotions Ranieri and there’s no doubting his honour, his dignity and his humility. There is, however, plenty of reason to doubt that the players still felt this warmth towards him with rumours of changed training schedules, bewilderment at team selections and falling out with popular members of backroom staff. Rightly or wrongly, Claudio had lost some of the players. Those players need to question what they have offered this season and in an ideal world they would be more accountable but you can’t sack 23 players and the way football works the manager should be culpable for poor results. Leicester's results (despite a ‘good defeat’ in Seville where, even then, they were poor for 70 minutes) showed no signs of change and they were in a downward spiral. Ranieri will be a legend forever. Our most successful manager ever and a man who told us to dream and then delivered something beyond even our wildest dreams. Some of the days of our lives are thanks to Claudio but those days couldn't be a free pass to undo the good work of those who had gone before. He leaves with both his legacy and that of his predecessors intact. As Andrea Bocelli sang on the pitch prior to our crowning glory against Everton last season, it was time to say goodbye. Fantastic post, absolutely spot on. Don't care what the media and other fans say about our club but the fans that have been slating the players and the owners need to pipe down now and move on. It was 100% the correct decision to sack him, even if it was sad to see him leave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Fox Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 20 hours ago, totbl said: Great article, sums it up perfectly. Love this bit below. It’s all very well Michael Owen or Jamie Carragher wanting him to see out the season. The ‘Twittersphere’, awash with fans of other clubs who feel it’s their business or their right to judge this decision or to slate our club, seemed to think Ranieri had earned the right to take us to a level lower than that we were at when Claudio first arrived. I assume that those people would be at Bristol City away on a Tuesday night with us in The Championship next season? That they were so entitled to an opinion on the merits of Mark De Vries or Elvis Hammond? That they put money in a bucket to save the club when it was in administration? Exactly. All the fans from other clubs saying that the romance in football is dead and that it's 'unforgivable' to sack him wouldn't be praising our nobility and loyalty if we went down this year. They'd be p*ssing themselves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totbl Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 46 minutes ago, Bourbon Fox said: Exactly. All the fans from other clubs saying that the romance in football is dead and that it's 'unforgivable' to sack him wouldn't be praising our nobility and loyalty if we went down this year. They'd be p*ssing themselves I wasted a few hours yesterday making myself angry watching reaction videos on YouTube like spencerfc and listening to Jamie carraghers whining voice saying this is where we should be if they go down so what they'll come back up again. Savage was even worse. The media seem to be punishing us for having some ambition and not being Leicester of ten years ago. It would be a great exercise to show the team what is being said about them to fire them up, I would love it if we beat them tomorrow night to show we're back again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPH Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 I think if we are all being honest with ourselves, it was the right decision. It's just that their is so much love for what he did and indeed for him as a person for how he carries himself, that the emotions of it all can cloud judgement and opinion. it hurts that it came to this and I just wish he wasn't such a bloody nice person! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPH Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 Never wrong to post this again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StriderHiryu Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 Great post. Would say one thing though, his dismissal was brutal. The owners could have done it "by mutual consent" or made him a club ambassador or similar. He didn't deserve the way it happened as it's clear he was proverbially stabbed in the back. No one comes out of this with any face other than Claudio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outfox the Fox Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 1 hour ago, MPH said: I think if we are all being honest with ourselves, it was the right decision. It's just that their is so much love for what he did and indeed for him as a person for how he carries himself, that the emotions of it all can cloud judgement and opinion. it hurts that it came to this and I just wish he wasn't such a bloody nice person! Spot on MPH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steflcfc Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 1 hour ago, MPH said: I think if we are all being honest with ourselves, it was the right decision. It's just that their is so much love for what he did and indeed for him as a person for how he carries himself, that the emotions of it all can cloud judgement and opinion. it hurts that it came to this and I just wish he wasn't such a bloody nice person! It's a real shame it has come down to this. I agree it's the man himself and the joy of last year that are clouding judgement. Take that away, The players wasn't motivated or performing, he has had enough games to make changes and it hasn't worked, losing to relegation threatened sides, no goals in 2017, no away win all season. The writing was on the wall. It's not like this season is going particularly well, if last season hadn't have happened, most would have wanted a change by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattCan Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 On 2/25/2017 at 06:22, Freeman's Wharfer said: ........... As Andrea Bocelli sang on the pitch prior to our crowning glory against Everton last season, it was time to say goodbye. Andrea Bocelli era is gone ... sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieboy Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 Quite agree, brilliant post, reflects the views of a lot of fans for a long time. I live in Cardiff and have done so for many years, but am from Leicester and have supported and followed LCFC for 65 years. Am also fed up with these media pundits and journalists criticising what has happened, it doesn't affect them as it does for us if relegation happens. I have also taken a lot of stick from my friends, who think it was terrible to sack him, many of whom don't even support Cardiff City. But I stand my ground and do get angry (although I am a placid individual) and just hope Craig Shakespeare can get them to win a few games and stay up, starting with Liverpool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunyip Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 Yet again the media shows it's two ugly faces. Did we have all this ballyhoo and hand wringing when Mourinho go the sack from chelsea after winning the title the previous season ? What is the difference ? Any club in our circumstances would have sacked the manager. Just about everyone could see Ranieri was not going to stop the slide , and we simply cannot afford to be relegated. Why is that so hard for the pundits and general media to understand. Football is a business the owners are businessmen and they took a business decision in sacking Raniri. There is no sentiment in business . If sentiment and gratitude had won the day we would without doubt have been relegated , the owners knew this and so do the majority of supporters who have seen our play this season. If nothing else we now at least have a chance, and if we do stop up all this will be forgotten and the club can move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugby Fox Stu Posted 26 February 2017 Share Posted 26 February 2017 I was so frustrated that the decision to sack Ranieri had caused such outrage in non-Leicester fans and pundits, that I actively searched for some sanity online amongst knowledgeable fans who actually care about the long term prospects of the club. The simple fact is that no change is not an option, because performances have been the worst for quite some time and relegation seemed inevitable. With this in mind I was so pleased to find this post, which accurately sums up my own thoughts. I have joined this site purely to express my agreement! I'm sure that I'm not alone in feeling slightly guilty that - having got over the shock and emotion of Claudio going - I agree that it gives us a better chance of turning around our fortunes on the pitch. Once you admit that to yourself, as the owners obviously have, it goes without saying that you must back the decision, with the short and long term interests of the club at heart. With reference to the players influence on the decision: Kasper understandably appeared to side-step the direct question about players being consulted. Reading between the lines, it appears likely that some sort of meeting did take place between players and owners. However, if the players believe that Ranieri was making it harder for them to perform well on the pitch, and they care about both the club and the team's performances as much as we the fans do, why should they lie to the owners when consulted? From experience of poor management decisions at my own work, if you have the greater good in mind then you speak up. I am very conscious of the massive effort and commitment that every player gave to the cause last year in every game. Personally, I have not perceived a lack of effort this season either - they simply haven't clicked as a team. I would expect committed players who care about the team, the fans and the club to be honest if they could clearly see that improvements could be made in the way the team was being assembled and directed. I believe that this is what they may have done. Not in an underhand, cowardly or treacherous manner, but simply giving an honest answer to questions posed to them by their employers. If this did happen, then what a difficult position to be put in, only then to be severely publicly criticized for giving an honest response that they believe to be in the best interests of the club. After such a hard week emotionally, our heroic champions deserve the best support yet from fans when they play Liverpool tomorrow night. So what if the neutrals don't love us any more - good! I wasn't comfortable with everyone liking us and wanting us to win, the same people who didnt give a damn about who our manager was when we played away at Stockport a few seasons ago. The players are under the cosh - good! Lets join them with their backs against the wall, like we have done for decades past, keep the faith, raise the roof, and show everyone why Claudio graciously declared his love for the fans as he drove away from the training ground for the last time. Why the public outrage? Ranieri is a hero to the whole country, and heroes need monsters to establish their heroic credentials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Struwwelpeter60 Posted 27 February 2017 Share Posted 27 February 2017 12 hours ago, davieG said: By setting the bar so outstandingly low Ranieri was sending a clear message to his players – “Last season was just a fluke. Do not expect to defend your title.” In one fell swoop, the best team in England surrendered their title before a ball was even kicked. Is it any wonder that the players have performed so poorly when their manager publically undermined their success the previous year? It sent out all the wrong messages. What an utter nonsense!!! Does anybody here really think, that our players are underperforming (to put it mildly) because Ranieri said at the beginning of this season the same, what he had said at the beginning of last season? In case, that you have a problem with your memory. He made that statement after we had lost 0:4 to PSG and 2:4 to Barca. He was perhaps the only realist in the club, because he didn't suffer from delusions of grandeur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Posted 27 February 2017 Share Posted 27 February 2017 On 2/25/2017 at 13:33, Ted Maul said: Very well written. Sums up my thoughts on the matter perfectly. Same, anybody who thinks differently is either heavily pi-eyed or from a different planet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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