Vardy & Co are missing in action
LEICESTER LEGEND FRANK McLINTOCK SLAMS RANIERI’S STRUGGLING STARS
JAMIE VARDY has been accused of “disappearing” in Leicester’s woeful title defence, which has left the club a point above the drop zone.
Leicester legend Frank McLintock, who played for and managed the Foxes, says he cannot remember a single highlight from Vardy’s miserable season in which he has scored only five Premier League goals.
Now England striker Vardy, who last scored on December 10 with his hat-trick against Manchester City, faces the axe after manager Claudio Ranieri vented his fury following Sunday’s defeat at Swansea which left them in 17th place.
McLintock fears big wages may have taken away the hunger from the scrapper who made his way from non-League football.
Vardy celebrated his £13million new deal last year by splashing out on a £168,000 Bentley Continental with a personalised number plate. McLintock, below, said: “We’ve hardly seen Vardy this season. He has disappeared.
“He has played a lot but has given us no great memories or great goals. It’s confusing.”
McLintock does not like the “look-at-me” car he purchased or the egotistical number plate, saying: “Oh my God, that’s not a good sign at all.
“The people who fail are the ones who get carried away. You just can’t afford to get carried away because if you do, you get bitten on the bum.
“I’m sure Ranieri would not be happy about him buying the car with a personalised number plate. I’d be disappointed if I was his manager and found out he’d done that.
“When you’re getting paid around £100,000 a week after earning £10,000 a week, it can affect your thinking. Other players at other clubs drive Lamborghinis and have three cars, so Vardy is not the only one. But maybe they have not come from non-League football and had such a meteoric rise in such a quick time. If you’re in it for the money, it can affect you. If you’re not, you want to play well until you retire.
“I did that until I was 37, I kept my standards up.
“Of course, it is a possibility Vardy has been affected by the money and is resting on his laurels. But I don’t know, he may not be like that.”
McLintock, who also skippered Arsenal to the Double, is just as concerned about the poor displays of Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, skipper Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. He said: “The loss of form is a puzzle.
“Mahrez was brilliant and so was Drinkwater. So many players hit top form last season and to win the title was phenomenal. Everyone expected them to finish eighth or ninth this season, not to be in a relegation fight. I never thought they’d drop as far as they have. A lot depends on the individuals in a title defence. If you think you’re better than you really are, it can lead to problems.
“All of a sudden you have a few bad defeats at the start of the season and your confidence goes.
“It’s also another year on for the two central defenders, Morgan and Huth. When you are 33 and 32, it gets harder and harder.”
Former Scottish defender McLintock, 77, played for Leicester between 1956 and 1964 and left as manager in 1978, just before they were relegated to the old Second Division.
He fears they could go down again this season.
“It’s a distinct possibility they’ll get relegated if they don’t turn the corner soon,” he said. “They need to pull their fingers out.
“All the players may be trying their best and it’s not a blame thing because Ranieri is the only one who knows. He will know who’s not giving their best. It would be a terrible tragedy if they went down.”