Sport
What’s next for Leicester City?
In the end, Leicester City had no real choice but to sack Brendan Rodgers. The Foxes have been dragged down into the bottom three in the Premier League table with relegation from the top flight now a very genuine possibility. A new manager bounce might be the only thing that can guide them away from danger.
Leicester City have lost five of their last six league games, drawing the other one. Saturday’s defeat to Crystal Palace, who made a managerial change during the international break, proved to be the final straw for the decision makers at the King Power Stadium. They acted now before it was too late.
Rafael Benitez was the early favourite to take over, although Graham Potter’s sacking at Chelsea has presented Leicester City with another option. Ralph Hassenhutl, Steven Gerrard and Ange Postecoglou have also been mentioned in relation to the vacancy at the club and an appointment is expected to be made soon.
Right now, avoiding the drop is Leicester City’s only concern. With this in mind, Benitez might be the best possible appointment with the Spaniard known for his ability to organise teams and stop them conceding goals – only Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest have conceded more goals in the Premier League this season than the Foxes.
However, Leicester City have more to worry about than just relegation. Even if they manage to stay in the Premier League this season, there are concerning signs at the King Power Stadium. This is a team in need of a rebuild and there might not be the funds in place for that to happen. This could be the start of a difficult period.
The warning signs were there when Kasper Schmeichel was allowed to leave last summer without a replacement for the Danish goalkeeper found. This thrust Danny Ward into a position he didn’t warrant, but more importantly highlighted the lack of a recruitment strategy. Leicester City have failed to evolve their squad.
Jamie Vardy is a club legend, but there has been no succession plan to replace the striker. Jonny Evans is still considered a key part of the Leicester City defence despite being 35. Rodgers frequently pointed out the difficulty experienced by the club in bringing in new players and that issue still lingers now that the Northern Irishman is gone.
Under Rodgers, Leicester City punched above their weight. Rodgers will regret not taking the club into the Champions League during his time in charge, but it was an achievement in itself that the Foxes were in contention for a top four finish. Rodgers also won an FA Cup as manager there. He got the most out of Leicester’s resources.
This success, however, was underpinned by strong recruitment. The signing of players like Harry Maguire, Youri Tielemens, James Justin and James Maddison exemplified this, but Leicester failed to maintain this hit rate. Recent additions like Patson Daka, Jannik Vestergaard and Boubakary Soumare haven’t been as successful.
Finding the right manager is important for Leicester City, but wider changes are needed at the King Power Stadium to get the club back on an upward trajectory. The likes of Brentford and Brighton have surprised the Foxes as examples of small Premier League clubs with good models that allow them to succeed beyond their means.
Rodgers should be remembered for what he achieved at Leicester City rather than how things spiralled for him this season. His demeanour across the campaign suggested he was well aware of the issues at the club and knew he lacked the tools to fix them. Leicester need a new manager who can stop those issues from growing bigger.
