How long can Rodgers cling on at Leicester?
BRENDAN RODGERS faces an increasingly uncertain future heading into the international break after Leicester were beaten for the sixth consecutive game. The Foxes are rooted to the bottom after Saturday’s 6-2 defeat at Tottenham, meaning the 2-2 draw with Brentford on the opening weekend secured their only point.
Rodgers has been in situ since February 2019, winning the FA Cup in 2021, as well as sealing fifth place in consecutive seasons. But Chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha must now decide whether to hit the reset button. Beleaguered Rodgers said he understood the predicament and would respect the decision, whatever it might be. He rejected interest from clubs including Tottenham and Arsenal when things were rosier but it has been a grim 2022 at the King Power Stadium.
The former Liverpool and Celtic boss has regularly voiced his frustration at the lack of transfer activity during the summer. After regularly challenging the Big Six during Rodgers’ tenure, Leicester are in a relegation battle. Sean Dyche is out of work after leaving Burnley in the closing weeks of last season while Norwich manager Dean Smith is thought to have admirers at Leicester. If Rodgers were replaced, his successor’s first task would be to shore up a defence that has let in 22 goals this season, and 11 in the last two games, against Brighton and Spurs. Leicester’s financial position also means there is unlikely to be heavy spending in the January transfer window.
The club signed only one outfield player, Belgian defender Wout Faes for £15million, in the summer, after selling Wesley Fofana to Chelsea for about £75m. The club want to ensure they comply with Financial Fair Play rules and the accounts for the 2021-22 period are set to show significant losses.
The chairman’s decision on Rodgers’ future will also have one eye on finances. Rodgers, under contract until 2025, would command an eight-figure pay-off but it feels like it might be a welcome release for all parties if a new boss was in place when they return to face Nottingham Forest in a fortnight. James Maddison, the pick of Leicester’s team and scorer of the second goal, said it was ‘painful’ to see a manager he liked under so much ‘heat’. Defender James Justin has blamed the defence, saying: ‘The forward players are doing more than enough for us to win games and we need to come together as a group and stick together to keep clean sheets.
‘It’s a tough one to find the solution. This season, apart from the Arsenal game and this game, we’ve been pretty solid from set-pieces and we’ve just been undone by a couple today. It’s something we’ll look at in the next couple of weeks. Both of the (set-piece) goals today are preventable.’