What do you think Claudio did wrong?

[STUHILL]

Not sure if we will ever find out who was ultimately responsible for our last two shambolic transfer windows. If it was mainly Claudio though.. then he deserves to be sacked just on those!

 

Such a huge opportunity missed in the summer, when our stock was the highest it would ever be. The signings, but more so the lack of.. are inexcusable.

 

Other than that, I can forgive him for sticking with the same starting 11 and formation for a number of months, due to it being so spectacularly successful last season, but to keep playing the same team week in, week out, when it was so obvious how poorly they were performing, is also inexcusable. Not starting Gray is just mind boggling.

 

Gutted how this all ended for him though, but I'm sure he will look back, expecially over the two transfer windows and his reluctance to make changes, and have big regrets!

 

Players still must take most of the blame though. To perform like they did last season, and be backed so heavily by the Manager, even when underperforming, is completely unacceptable and I hope many of them will be moved on in the summer, and we can start a rebuild around our younger, more talented players. 

 

 

[erlee]

it 's been mentioned CR is not in charge of players xfer,, somehow i doubt it

 

i think he has  fair chunk of decision making

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/12/27/claudio-ranieri-handed-30m-transfer-pot-keep-leicester-city/

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/character-is-important-in-the-search-for-new-players/story-30065209-detail/story.html

 

whether his choices gets bought/sold is another matter. i mean he could tell the owner - hey stop buying people who i don;'t need.

So, WHo bought all the duds?

 

i def. think Slimani was bought by CR with some consultation with Mahrez

[CosbehFox]

6 hours ago, erlee said:

it 's been mentioned CR is not in charge of players xfer,, somehow i doubt it

 

i think he has  fair chunk of decision making

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/12/27/claudio-ranieri-handed-30m-transfer-pot-keep-leicester-city/

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/character-is-important-in-the-search-for-new-players/story-30065209-detail/story.html

 

whether his choices gets bought/sold is another matter. i mean he could tell the owner - hey stop buying people who i don;'t need.

So, WHo bought all the duds?

 

i def. think Slimani was bought by CR with some consultation with Mahrez

Still think if Ranieri even didn't have control over transfers, he should have fought more to keep Walsh in the summer given he found him the perfect midfielder last summer. 

[Struwwelpeter60]

9 hours ago, erlee said:

whether his choices gets bought/sold is another matter.

It isn't just "another matter". It is the all important one.

In the end, the people, who control the money, also

control the transfer business. Ranieri, who was not

a member of the Board, had no influence on money

matters. He was in no position to decide, how much

money LCFC would offer for a player. It was not up

to him to decide, how much money per week a player

would get.

Jon Rudkin, who is a member of the Board, is the

guy who negotiates with the clubs, the agents and the

players and who, in the end, signs the contracts.

Not the manager.

 

But, hey, it is so much easier to put all the blame for

our dismal transfer policy on someone, who is no

longer part of the "family".

[st albans fox]

Whatever he did wrong in charge, he has done everything right since he got the tin tack!

 

rumours now that he has donated quite a chunk of his pay off to the foxes foundation 

[Gerard]

I actually though us kicking on in terms of quality was quite an easy job.

 

We had top quality players in Mahrez, Kante and Vardy.

Excellent players in Drinkwater and Schmeichel.

 

The likes of Simpson, Albrighton and Okazaki did brilliantly for us but were never more than lower table PL players at best.

 

Money to spend and a reputation as high as it's ever been I thought we'd sign three or four top quality players to compliment our half a team of similar players.

 

Kante left which is fair enough as we couldn't keep him but the signings we made you could argue not one of them improved the team which was our big mistake. Ranieri has also indicated he's a dinosaur in today's game by thinking he knows better than experts in their field like psychologists and sport scientists.

[Donut]

1 minute ago, Gerard said:

I actually though us kicking on in terms of quality was quite an easy job.

 

We had top quality players in Mahrez, Kante and Vardy.

Excellent players in Drinkwater and Schmeichel.

 

The likes of Simpson, Albrighton and Okazaki did brilliantly for us but were never more than lower table PL players at best.

 

Money to spend and a reputation as high as it's ever been I thought we'd sign three or four top quality players to compliment our half a team of similar players.

 

Kante left which is fair enough as we couldn't keep him but the signings we made you could argue not one of them improved the team which was our big mistake. Ranieri has also indicated he's a dinosaur in today's game by thinking he knows better than experts in their field like psychologists and sport scientists.

Kicking a team like Leicester City on is never easy. Because we are Leicester City.

 

Look how many top players move purely for clubs with big reputations and money. Champions league isnt a draw for them, theyd still move. Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Ibra, Kante, players moving to China, Payets big moves etc.

 

Still dont think the signings are bad players either to be honest. Been put into a struggling team whilst trying to adapt to new football culture with some, new style etc. Ranieri has been responsbile for bringing in 3 absolutely top quality players imo, Slimani when fit is excellent, Ndidi and Gray look to have fantastic potential.

 

Ranieri aint no dinosaur either. He was way ahead of the game in the principles of squad rotation, and he had his own sports scientists here so not sure why youd think he was a dinosaur. Because hes old perhaps? i dont know.

[HybridFox]

His transfers in were poor but the media seem to miss the players he let go too.

And no I'm not talking about N'Golo Kante. That was effectively out of his hands with the release clause.

 

But the players who couldn't get into the team last year due to our consistent XI, but would have been definite regulars this season! 

 

Gokhan Inler was brought in to replace Cambiasso. Yes Drinky and Kante were undroppable last season but this year he would have slotted right in.

 

Liam Moore would have done a hell of a lot better than Huth or Morgan. And Ritchie De Laet was a better back up then Luis Hernandez for sure.

 

Hamer undermined yet again in goal by the need to buy the underwhelming Zieler.

 

 

[Mint23]

The main thing he did wrong was winning the league! He was brought in to keep us in the premier league but accidentally went and won it, now he's been sacked without us ever dropping into the bottom 3 under his leadership, he's basically the ultimate victim of his own success. 

[foxinsocks]

what did the roman do for us?

[FoxyPalace.com]

He had 1 target to keep us in the Premier League.

 

If he had stayed we would be going down without a fight.

 

If we were mid table things would be hunky dory. 

[st albans fox]

3 minutes ago, foxinsocks said:

what did the roman do for us?

The sewers are better since he came 

[ARTY_FOX]

He stopped the pressing and fast counter attack's in groups for one or two go forward why the midfield and defense pass it around half way. 

 

Made baffling subs at crucial times where last season his game management was phenomenal. 

[Sly]

A lot has gone wrong but to be Fair, the rub of the green that we had last year has also gone.

 

1. Kante was irreplaceable. We signed Mendy who got injured against Arsenal but I'm not convinced he's ever been fit. We should have moved to another CM earlier but maybe we thought he'd recover quicker.

 

2. Centre backs. With Kante in front of them, they've looked exposed. Morgan has played too much football and ultimately a major issue that isn't mentioned is this years rule change on grappling. Both were destined to struggle. Should have been replaced. I believe Amartey was the option but Mendys injury put a spanner in the works.

 

3. Tactics. Chop, change, repeat etc .... why have Slimani then not play wingers that cross? Or have fullbacks that overlay to cross? 

 

4. Centre mid - we need a water carrier. Drinkwater has looked lost without a playing sat next to him to cover the ground. Drinkwater hasn't been able to work further upfield and looked even more lost without Amartey. 

 

5. Forwards - Vardy is an efficient player but Slimani isn't his foil. They don't work / close together but can't drop off either as Slimani isn't as mobile. Vardy will convert chances, he just hasn't had the opportunity to do so.

 

6. Ulloa - used to sure up the defence last season. Not used the same way this year.

 

7. Musa - poor signing. I believe he was a Vardy replacement  but vardy didnt leave.

[StriderHiryu]

You could probably write an essay on this and it would be both an interesting and depressing read. Ultimately it's because he was too nice and didn't stamp his authority on the club and players. 

 

Succesful managers like Alex Ferguson and Eddie Jones say that complacency is the one thing you can't let happen in sports but we did just that. Though Fergie has made mistakes in the past (Stan comes to mind) there was so much he did right. United signed big players even after a successful campaign to keep players from resting on their laurels. He'd make it very clear he was in charge and no one was above the law. Look how he treated Rooney in his last season or the way he got rid of Keane. 

 

The sad thing is that you'd think the manager wouldn't have to do it. Last season at times it felt like there was a real family spirit in the club and everyone was chipping in. But cars and contracts, etc likely started to upset the balance. The players got too big for their boots but Claudio couldn't keep them in check. 

[foxinsocks]

Not ruthless enough

 

Allowing players to carry on with the same flaws every week.... maybe he did tell them.... maybe they didnt do it... but the team were getting worse

[Thracian]

He did so many things wrong it's baffling. They've all been mentioned but when I just ran a personal tally it added up to over a dozen separate things, some of which could easily be sub-divided. He's welcome to a statue for last season but I'm the least regretful that he's gone. Pity a few others haven't been asked to follow him.    

[mozartfox]

Biggest mistake was not sorting out the back 4. Lack of pace at CB and LB will always be exploited in the PL and CL..  We needed two younger pacey CB's that can play the all out. Hoofing it back to the opposition at every conceivable opportunity puts pressure on an aging and very slow back line.. As it stands now we would need 3 Kante's to make our usual back 4 look capable of keeping a clean sheet.. If Shakespeare persists where CR left off, then he needs to go to.

[Thracian]

2 hours ago, Donut said:

 

Still dont think the signings are bad players either to be honest. Been put into a struggling team whilst trying to adapt to new football culture with some, new style etc. Ranieri has been responsbile for bringing in 3 absolutely top quality players imo, Slimani when fit is excellent, Ndidi and Gray look to have fantastic potential.

 

Ranieri aint no dinosaur either. He was way ahead of the game in the principles of squad rotation, and he had his own sports scientists here so not sure why youd think he was a dinosaur. Because hes old perhaps? i dont know.

I'm older than Ranieri but it wouldn't excuse myself making he mistakes he's made this season.

 

The "not bad" signings you mention should never have got near our team til they were ready and I don't know how that could ever have been in some cases because they had serious weaknesses I've already detailed in previous comments.

 

As for Slimani he's no use if he's not fit or when the AFCON Cup takes his attention for weeks - and then some more while he recovers. The same applies in terms of usefulness to other AFCON players. They're no use to us for a big enough period to cost us our Premiership status - as I mentioned at the time.

 

And how could Ranieri be "ahead of the game" with squad rotation given we've kept losing and the rotating players hardly excelled? Our only focus should have been picking the strongest team for the next match. Our squad shouldn't have had any prominent weaknesses from the off but, in fact, the shortcomings were glaring as became ever more apparent as the season progressed.      

 

As for the individual players you mention, Slimani is dangerous at times but limited, Ndidi is promising and Gray is still a relative novice who we all hope might improve enough to do his skills justice. "Potential",  fantastic or not, counts for next-to-nothing until its realised.      

[smr]

22 hours ago, boobagab said:

Ranieri was tactically stubborn.

 

Last year, Leicester adopted very inefficient tactics which relied on route-one football. With the loss of Kante, Leicester was unable to counter-attack as effectively because they had no one who could recover the ball (interceptions, tackles, clearances) and bring the ball up. So in essence, you had Mahrez dropping deeper than he did last year to try to win the ball and start counters on his own. Vardy was being pocketed by CBs who prepared for those over the top balls. The one savior really was Slimani (Leicester earns double the points when he's in the squad) because he could knockdown balls and flick them on to Vardy. Even then, Slimani became neutralized at times by aggressive defensive midfielders (Romeu, Cappoue) who kept him from picking up the ball from deep. Gray was a bit of an X factor because the opposing teams never really focused on taking him out of the game as much as they did with the other attackers. They gave Gray loads of space to run onto and impart his influence in the match. Gray has looked great but as a young player, he sometimes gets caught making the wrong decisions.  The most dangerous part about Gray are his long shots but I think most EPL-level keepers are okay with limiting Gray to those opportunities. 

 

Ranieri failed to adapt. The counter-attacking tactics of last season weren't suiting the players at all. Kante was one of the three gears (along with Vardy and Mahrez) that made the attack work like clockwork but with his absence, it fell apart. That is not to say Kante was the sole reason. Had Mahrez or Vardy gone, there would've been issues finding last season's form as well. 

 

The midfielders that were tasked with replacing Kante were Andy King, Daniel Amartey, Napalys Mendy, and Wilfried Ndidi.

 

Andy King is a tireless worker but he was more of an attack-minded midfielder. Daniel Amartey is an okay passer, decent at zonal marking and good at closing down but he's not a ball winner. We have yet to see much of Mendy due to injury but he's more of a holding midfielder that's a great distributor. Wilfried Ndidi is an immense talent at age 20, and has all the ability to become a Michael Essien type midfielde, but he's still not tactically astute enough to be plugged into the starting XI and replicate Kante's positioning and awareness. 

 

Ranieri didn't chose tactics that suited his players. He forced players to adopt tactics that didn't bring out their strengths and highlighted their weaknesses. He stood with the 4-4-2 formation even though it didn't work. He tried different combinations of players using that formation and it always failed - including against 10 man Milwall. 

 

The most telling part are just the statistics Leicester has posted. They have an England international in Danny Drinkwater in the midfield and invested close to 40 million pounds on their midfield (Amartey, Ndidi, Mendy). Despite that, they have posted a paltry pass completion under 70%. Their possession stats aren't much better. They are not playing to the ability of the players. A team pass completion under 70% is what's expected from Championship level players. These aren't Championship level players anymore especially considering the investment. This team is capable of playing with the ball. The amount of balls they lose needlessly due to the negative tactics Ranieri employed put the defense under more pressure to suppress the constant attacks. It's too much to expect from a CB pairing that's over 30 years old. Which brings us to another problem, Ranieri has tinkered with attackers but has kept the under-performers in the backline unscathed. There's just so much wrong with this team and it was in free fall. It needed a new philosophy. 

1 post, Susan, that you?

[Thracian]

 

Maybe he should have watched his back! 

 

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2017/02/25/leicester-city-snakes-met-with-owners-four-times-key-man-finally-breaks-team-silence/

 

If true, the report about the alleged Rudkin meeting would raise various questions.  

 

For instance, at whose instigation was the meeting called and why?  Was it something the owners asked for?  

 

Was Ranieri made aware of the meeting?

 

Which players attended and was that voluntarily or by invitation.

 

If by invitation - on what basis were players chosen and, if not,  who chose to  attend? ,  

[Bunyip]

On 25/02/2017 at 18:32, FoxinNotts said:

Too loyal to the players that are underperforming.

 

To stubborn to 4-4-2 away from home.

 

To proud to admit Musa is basically shite.

 

IF he had any hand in transfers, then he needs to accept his part in the abject failure of our transfer policy in the last two windows.

Perhaps he was too loyal to the players in particular Huth and Morgan. But then again who did he have to take their place ? Our downfall was having no class players to take over from either of those two. He must have known that they were at the end of their career and would not be able to replicate last seasons performances , yet did nothing in the transfer market ( I don't even want to mention that Spanish flop )

[Dan LCFC]

Ultimately he dismantled the fundamentals that made us successful, bit by bit. He had to go. No doubt about it for me.

[FoxinNotts]

18 minutes ago, Bunyip said:

Perhaps he was too loyal to the players in particular Huth and Morgan. But then again who did he have to take their place ? Our downfall was having no class players to take over from either of those two. He must have known that they were at the end of their career and would not be able to replicate last seasons performances , yet did nothing in the transfer market ( I don't even want to mention that Spanish flop )

Agree. The downfall in not having replacements is partly down to Claudio. He should have been banging the door down asking for new, quality defenders.

[oxtonfox]

1. Oversaw/advised on too many risky signings in summer with NO PREMIERSHIP EXPERIENCE

2. Except for Wilfred Ndidi, a very poor January transfer window, again NO PREMIERSHIP SIGNINGs that will condemn us.  

3. Didn't appear to set new targets/ambitions for the team at the beginning of the season. 40 points!

4. Resorted to last season's tactics and methods when 19 other teams have moved on 

5. Remained too loyal to poor performing and players for too long 

6. Took too much flak himself for poor performances of team, almost too honourable 

7. Has not worked on team fitness/workrate this season meaning we had lost intensity

8. Had no alternative answers when we have slumped in last 7 weeks.