Defending champs Leicester seeking an upbeat final act
It might be pushing it a bit, but the story of Leicester City this season contains many elements of a Shakespeare tragedy and not simply because the current caretaker manager happens to be a certain Craig Shakespeare. The new boss will no doubt be hoping that all the recent panic about Leicester was “Much Ado About Nothing”.
His predecessor, Claudio Ranieri, had all the characteristics of a Shakespearean tragic-hero, full of noble qualities and charm, but with flaws that led to vulnerability and his ultimate downfall. And he was not without comedic qualities, another essential ingredient. Of course there was not a Thai factor in the Bard’s time.
Nobody can have been more relieved last Monday night than Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to see his team show flashes of last season’s form as they went on to demolish Liverpool 3-1 for a vital victory at the King Power stadium.
It was a small but vital step in justifying what must have been an extremely difficult decision to pull the plug on an internationally acclaimed hero a few days earlier. It was their first League victory since New Year’s Eve and their first league goals of 2017.
This does not mean to say that it’s problem solved — there are still 12 matches to go and every one of them will be tough, including a six-pointer today at home against improving relegation rivals Hull City. However, it must have been a great boost for Foxes fans to see Jamie Vardy regaining his sharpness and confidence with two well-taken goals.
The Thai owners have understandably come under heavy criticism for the manner of Ranieri’s departure, although significantly they have not suffered too much flak from Foxes fans.
Leicester supporters appear to have adopted a pragmatic attitude, acknowledging the tremendous feat Ranieri achieved with his modest team last season, but accepting that maybe it’s time to move on. After all, they have watched their team perform in wretched fashion most of the season and this was all under Ranieri.
There was a terrific atmosphere at the King Power stadium on Monday and all credit goes to the Foxes fans. You would not have guessed that the home side were third from bottom when the match started.
The Thai owners had been put in an unenviable position as regards what to do with Ranieri. They fell into the trap of announcing just a few weeks before that Ranieri had the “full support of the board”, hollow words that invariably precede a sacking.
If it had not been for his fantastic achievement the previous season Ranieri would have been long gone. Also, he was not your standard manager — virtually everyone liked him as a person. He is unquestionably a decent man with the personality of everybody’s favourite uncle. Doing anything against him inevitably felt like a stab in the back.
As the website Football 365 put it: “Picturing Ranieri’s face when he received the news he had been sacked is enough to make you call your mum and tell her you love her.”
Ranieri’s departure seems to have split the football world. There has not been such an emotional reaction to a sacking since the days when Newcastle cruelly booted out Sir Bobby Robson in 2004 after just four games of the season.
The Thai owners of Leicester have received their fair share of vitriol, being called “snakes” by some critics and accusing them of only thinking in business terms.
But unfortunately, that’s what football has become and relegation is bad business. If they had hung on to Ranieri to the bitter end and relegation followed they would have been accused of failing to react to the situation. Most Leicester fans would prefer watching their team in the Premier League next season rather than the Championship,
Among the most vehement critics was former England and Leicester star Gary Linker, who ironically had criticised Ranieri’s original appointment back in 2015. Lineker called the sacking “inexplicable, unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad”. Lineker was speaking from the heart and no one would dispute that the sacking was sad.
Many other football personalities shared Lineker’s views. It was generally felt to be shabby treatment of someone who had spearheaded the biggest upset in modern day football.
Just why Leicester struggled so much this season has been analysed time and again. On the pitch, the zest and enthusiasm of the previous campaign was not there. This was understandable to a certain extent. For players who had begun the previous season as relegation favourites and ended it as champions by a clear 10 points, motivation for the following season was always going to be a problem.
The affect of losing N’ Golo Kante to Chelsea also cannot be overstated. Kante dominated the midfield during his time at Leicester and more importantly protected the defence which has looked very shaky without him.
As early as October captain Wes Morgan warned: “We miss Kante… He was fantastic for us last season.” Both Morgan and Robert Huth have looked very vulnerable without the Frenchman in front of them
Towards the end of the Liverpool game the Foxes fans were in full voice, chanting “We’re staying up!” If they perform in the same manner for the rest of the season they certainly have a very good chance of achieving that.
After the success against Liverpool, it looks like Shakespeare — or “Shakes” as the players call him — could even be in charge for the remainder of the season. In the words of the Bard, he will definitely be hoping it’s a case of “All’s Well That Ends Well”.