The fairytale is over: Why a cloud still hangs over Claudio Ranieri and Leicester

[Ted Maul]

Ranieri's second season followed a very familiar pattern throughout his career- the vast majority of his managerial reigns went tits up at similar points.

 

He'll be rightly remembered as a legend for that first season though.

[Guest MattP]

45 minutes ago, Dickov22 said:

Just like he behaved when Birch nearly died. Pearson immediately got a train down to the hospital from Sheffield to see him. Ranieri didn’t visit at all. Aloof. 

We don't know the circumstances behind their personal lives though or the relationship they shared with Birch.

 

Ranieri is often in Rome looking after his mother - which is a bit more of a logistical problem than Sheffield. 

 

I've worked with people I wouldn't walk around the corner to see in hospital. 

[Babylon]

He's been going with some strange angles recently has Percy.

[Stadt]

I think the point is that the article clarifys why he was sacked and dispels some of the myths about him. We’re a bit obsessed with press conferences here

[smr]

I absolutely love Claudio. But to give you a sense of the atmosphere between him and the players in the second season... Andy King goes to a butchers in Leicestershire, I won't say where, and the butcher was telling my Dad that Andy had said that one day he was sitting in the canteen at the training ground and Claudio came through the door, walked straight past him and just blanked him, didn't look at him or say a word. 

 

It's notable because Andy King thought it was worth saying to his butcher, but it gives you an idea of what the atmosphere and relationship was probably like I think, between the players and Claudio.

[Sooper Steve's shin]

11 hours ago, The whole world smiles said:

Couldn't disagree more. We played a 3 5 2 for the winning run of the great escape season Claudio instantly changed it to a deep lying Italian 4 4 2. He sold Nugent (who Pearson played every week), benched ulloa and made vardy and okazaki the main men. He showed faith in Drinkwater and Albrighton who had limited opportunitys the season before. 

He also sent Pearson fave De Laet on loan and brought in Simpson who had pretty much been frozen out under pearson.

 

Now you may have not liked ranieri for whatever reason. You may feel that he was fortunate with the players and level of expectation he inherited (probably fair). But to try and re-write history and deny he had any contribution is just plain wrong on a factual level. His tactics, expectation management and experience were absolutely vital in winning the league.

 

Let not forget just months before Pearson was telling Leicester fans to fook of and die, strangling palace players, and calling reporters ostriches. If you think he would have took the mass media frenzy the accompanied our title run in his stride (if he could have even got us close to that stage) you are again sadly mistaken. 

100%. You could also add that Ranieri had to deal with the loss of the previous season’s player of the year (Cambiasso), plus his more refined defensive tactics were pretty obvious. We stopped shipping easy/late goals and went on that run of 1-0 wins. Game management was head and shoulders above Pearson. 

 

I’m firmly in the camp that everything combined beautifully to us winning the league, including the groundwork put in over the seasons leading up to it. A relatively young side grew together through promotion, the Great Escape and everything else. Players, coaches and recruiting team all seemed to peak together. 

 

Ranieri might not have saved us in 14/15 and Pearson would not have won the league in 15/16.