HOW FAIRY TALE TURNED SOUR

Players left confused by Ranieri’s tactical decisions Owners kept informed of dressing-room issues

FAIRY TALES aren’t meant to conclude at the Radisson Blu, East Midlands Airport. Sleek though the metallic exterior is and elegant as the reception area looks, it is a place for passing through, not living happily ever after. But it was here that the Leicester City players milled around waiting for their baggage after flying home from the 2-1 Champions League defeat in Seville. In an appropriate metaphor, they had literally flown into the eye of a storm, Doris to be precise. A precarious landing was followed by the news that the hatch for the baggage hold could not be opened because of high winds.

Players and staff were forced to hang around in the hotel lobby as officials tried to get their bags. And all the while, in an adjacent room, Jon Rudkin, Leicester’s director of football, was bringing to an end the most romantic football tale within most people’s living memory.

Claudio Ranieri was a huge part of that story, not simply in his role as a coach. His unique personality with its unrelenting warmth in a cold-hearted industry made him a perfect front man for football’s most extraordinary title win. In a brutal sporting environment, his sheer decency stands out and a similar outpouring of empathy had accompanied his departure from Chelsea in 2004.

And yet Chelsea players who talk lovingly of the man now were also aghast at the tactical changes he made in the Champions League semi-final against Monaco in 2004. ‘What the f*** was that about?’ one player texted to a friend within minutes of Chelsea having lost the first leg 3-1 against 10-man Monaco. Players were perplexed and angry with him, yet they also genuinely liked him.

Last season Ranieri joked about going from Tinkerman to Superman, but he earned his former nickname for a reason. Players do respond to his generosity and the silliness of the ‘Dilly Ding, Dilly Dong’ interjections into everyday training. But he can also struggle to communicate his ideas.

In any fairy tale, there has to be a wicked witch. At present the players have been given that role, while assistant coach Craig Shakespeare said he felt like a ‘pantomime villain’ taking over from Ranieri. And Rudkin must feel like the man who shot Bambi’s mother. But the owners should also share culpability.

Since taking over at the club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son, Aiyawatt, have enjoyed close relationships with many players and regularly take them to lunch. In theory, it sounds enlightened but it is hard for any manager to impose himself if players have direct input to the decision-makers.

And this is a strong group forged in lower leagues, most of whom were brought in by former manager Nigel Pearson. Kasper Schmeichel, Andy King and captain Wes Morgan represent the squad when issues have to be raised with the manager. Jamie Vardy’s rise in recent years also gives him enormous status in the dressing room.

Sources at the club insist that the players would never have told the owners that Ranieri needed to be sacked, and yesterday Schmeichel was adamant they had ‘no influence over the decision’ while also admitting they had regular conversations with the owners. But equally it would have been hard to hide the problems when meetings or social events did take place.

And there were clear issues. It has been said that the full extent of the dressing-room problems will never be revealed, as everyone recognises how important Ranieri was in their title win and there is no desire to badmouth him now. But even that assertion confirms how difficult the situation had become. The start to the season was mixed, with the defeat by Hull in the first game an early wake-up call, though wins against Swansea, Burnley and Crystal Palace and good Champions League form suggested this could yet to be a season to relish.

The earliest signs of discord came in November in Copenhagen in the Champions League, ironically the city where Leicester players had travelled for their famous 2015 fancy-dress Christmas party.

The back three played by Ranieri clearly had players puzzled and was abandoned after 40 minutes. Ranieri insisted they had worked on the formation in training but some players felt not enough time had been spent. When Chelsea came to the King Power in January, the back three was used again and Leicester, though hardly great, worked the system better than many clubs have against the champions-elect.

However when, at 2-0 down after an hour, they reverted to a back four, the sight of baffled players looking at the bench for further