Kris Shannon’s World of Sport Ranieri’s dismissal brutal but necessary
Regardless of the size and pedigree of a club, recent history counts for little in the relentless quest for footballing success
Moments after watching Manchester United score twice in stoppage time to win the 1999 European Cup and complete a historic treble, Sir Alex Ferguson expressed a sentiment that succinctly sums up why so many are obsessed with the beautiful game.
“Football,” he said with a shake of his head. “Bloody hell.”
Those words were the first that popped into my head when learning yesterday that Leicester City had sacked Claudio Ranieri 298 days after the manager delivered a miraculous Premier League title, a firing that would be unfathomable in almost every industry but the oft- ludicrous world of football.
Many sports contain multitudes, providing peculiar narratives and unprecedented results, but none boasts a higher ceiling when it comes to stunning fans on a consistent basis.
Of course Leicester stunned the Premier League’s patriarchy to be crowned champions after beginning last season 5000- 1 outsiders.
Of course the same Leicester then gave the boot to the mastermind behind that triumph, one month since he was honoured as the Fifa world coach of the year.
How else was this fairytale feasibly going to end? With Ranieri again inspiring his charges to battle with the big boys? Maybe the Foxes securing a safely boring mid- table finish? Or at least avoiding relegation and enabling Ranieri to rebuild?
No, not in football. It makes absurdly perfect sense for Leicester, seemingly heading for the drop, to be talking about building a statue of Ranieri one minute and then demolish his legacy the next.
Although, the Italian’s dismissal should remove none of the sheen from his shining moment. And despite the laments of those mourning the loss of football’s soul — whatever that means — the move also isn’t indicative of anything other than the sport remaining a ruthless business.
Some truths: a point above the drop zone ahead of the visit of Liverpool, Leicester are in serious trouble. Clubs in serious trouble regularly employ a new manager to arrest a worrying slide. And past performance counts for nothing.
It might be sad but it’s football. Teams who were relegated from the Premier League last season lost out on the £ 100 million ($ 174m) windfall guaranteed to every club in the current campaign under the new television deal. This year will be a similar story.
As wonderfully invigorating as Leicester’s impossible dream became, their trophy counted for very little once the silverware was secured and the champagne stopped flowing.
Leicester’s owners could have left Ranieri in control for sentimental reasons, watching with their fingers crossed as he attempted to accrue enough points from his team’s final 13 games to remain in the top flight, or they could have been proactive.
Again, it’s not pretty, watching this unseemly fate greet a gregarious man who, even more than his players, captivated the sport just 12 months ago. But it’s a reality of modern sport and entirely fitting with football.
After all, Ranieri’s departure means four of the last five Premier Leaguewinning managers have been unable to survive any more than one more season at the club they piloted to glory.
Roberto Mancini, after claiming the 2011- 12 title for City, was fired in May 2013. Ferguson retired after winning the following title.
And Jose Mourinho didn’t make it to Christmas after lifting the trophy with Chelsea in 2015.
Managers — even successful ones — are afforded less time than ever before at the highest level. There is no grace period, not with profit- hungry owners demanding returns and fans almost as insistent.
And while no Leicester supporter would have been so cruel — or impudent — as to have demanded Ranieri’s exit, unfortunately his removal was probably in the Foxes’ best interests.
Football, eh? Bloody hell. Some retired athletes, such as former England striker Gary Lineker, have found an astute and entertaining voice on Twitter, commenting on their sport and the world at large.
Others, such as Magic Johnson, have retained the same approach to media they were so fond of employing in their playing days, sending into cyberspace nothing but mindless platitudes. Stating the obvious appears to have worked well for Magic, though, with the Los Angeles Lakers legend this week landing a job as president of basketball operations for his old team.
Magic also has an extensive history of saying nothing at all in his role as an analyst on ESPN, but here we assess the three tweets that must have most encouraged the Lakers to hand him the car keys.