Fact or Fiction: Were Leicester right to sack Claudio Ranieri?
Leicester City’s decision to sack Claudio Ranieri was understandably made with a heavy heart. The Italian guided the Foxes to the unlikeliest of unlikely title wins last term, however a 2-1 Champions League loss to Sevilla proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Premier League champions. “Yesterday my dream died,” Ranieri said the day after the news was confirmed in what was indeed a sad end to the fairytale. However, as back-to-back Premier League wins suggests, the choice - while difficult - was understandable.
Leicester were faltering beyond belief in what was one of the poorest defences of a Premier League title since its 1992 inception. At the time of Ranieri’s sacking, the Foxes were one point above the relegation zone and were on a run of five successive league defeats. In the modern game, there is no room for sentiment, with results more important for a team than how a fan favourite has fared, which proved to be the case for the experienced Italian manager. Considering the vast financial windfall that comes with remaining in the Premier League following the most recent TV deal, there is more pressure than ever on managers to secure the teams’ top-flight status.
With three points from 13 away league games and 20 points in total, Ranieri’s sacking - as disheartening as it was - was the right move by the owners. The players required the shot in the arm needed to haul themselves up the table and with rumours of discontent in the dressing room spreading like wildfire, the obvious scapegoat was always going to be Ranieri. Back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Hull under Craig Shakespeare has moved the team away from danger, five points above the drop zone, which only reinforces Leicester’s decision to call time on the 65-year-old’s time at the King Power Stadium.
Both victories highlighted the contrast in style Leicester are capable of, with the 3-1 win over Liverpool a throwback to the previous counter attacking style that earned success last term. Leicester mustered just 30.7% possession against the Reds, yet secured a crucial three points with consummate ease. The players looked rejuvenated, with striker and man of the match Jamie Vardy back to his best to put the Liverpool backline to the sword. Saturday’s 3-1 win, though, showed that, when they are forced to retain possession, they are capable of securing victory, with 49.5% possession well above their season average (43.5%).
The victory over Hull put light between themselves and the bottom three as Leicester look to get their season back on track. Shakespeare’s appointment in the interim has evidently had the positive effect required to ensure the Foxes are plying their trade in England’s top tier next term. Not only is the fact they have recorded six points from his two games a clear indicator of the rapid improvements the team has made following Shakespeare’s promotion, you only have to look at the stats behind the team in those matches to see that the team is playing better.
Under Ranieri, Leicester averaged 16.2 tackles per game this season, that a huge drop from 22.9 in the Premier League last term. While much of that can be down to N’Golo Kante’s departure, that Ranieri couldn’t motivate his players to routinely hassle the opposition pointed to a wider issue within the squad. Shakespeare, though, has done what his predecessor failed to do and coax out the necessary performances from the personnel at his disposal. Indeed, tackles per game have risen to 26.5 and while it’s a small sample size, he’s evidently having the desired effect on the squad.
The impact of January arrival Wilfred Ndidi has played a huge part in that figure rising, with his average of 4.3 tackles per game better than any Leicester player and helping return a WhoScored rating of 7.20. He was brought in at the turn of the year to help ease the loss of Kante and he’s beginning to show just why Leicester quickly confirmed his signature. His nine tackles in the win over Liverpool is one of the better returns in a Premier League match this season as he continues to go from strength to strength.
His effective shielding of the defence allows for those further forward to express themselves as Vardy did so excellently against Liverpool, while Riyad Mahrez was on hand to turn in a showing similar to the one that earned him the PFA Player of the Year award last year on Saturday’s welcome of Hull. The Algerian bagged his first goal from open play of the campaign when the Tigers made the trip to the King Power Stadium with a strike befitting of his 2015/16 showings. Vardy and Mahrez, two players who excelled under Ranieri last term, have perhaps come under the most criticism in the wake of the Italian’s sacking considering the upturn in form from the duo in recent weeks.
To dub them traitors or mercenaries, however, is wide of the mark. Yes, the players underperformed this season and their title defence was a shambles to say the least, but it was up to Ranieri to ensure the players perform to a specific standard and it’s here where the Italian faltered this term. He’s been in the game long enough to know the pressures that come with football managing and while the players aren’t absolved of the blame, the fact is Ranieri failed at his job and was sacked because the team were plummeting towards relegation.
Was it tragic considering his exploits last term? Yes. Was it the right move for the Leicester board to take? Well, if two wins from two under Shakespeare is anything to go by, then absolutely. The aim now is to pick up as many points from their remaining 11 Premier League games as possible in order to secure their top-flight safety. Victory at West Ham in their next league game would undoubtedly put to rest all the naysayers who widely criticised Leicester in the wake of Ranieri’s somewhat inevitable departure.
