Leicester’s current predicament, Part 2: Fifteen mistakes made by Foxes bosses | OneFootball

Foxes’ fans are unhappy. The main target is not, as is usually the case, the manager – although patience with Ruud van Nistelrooy is wearing thin – but the club’s hierarchy, the Director of Football John Rudkin, the Chief Executive Susan Whelan and even the owner Khun Top. Writing for The Fosse Way web site, Dave Bevan speaks for many Leicester fans when he opines that ‘sadly, this is a terrible football team representing a terribly run football club'.

In the second of a two-part post, we list 15 mistakes that have been made in recent years. These mistakes, I would argue, have made a challenging financial position infinitely worse.

1. Leicester’s board let the integration that had served them so well during the Pearson and Ranieri eras fall into disrepair as Brendan Rodgers was given more control. For instance, the increasing number of injuries endured by players in the relegation season coincided with, and is probably partly caused by, the re-organisation of the medical department and the release of Dave Rennie, the long-time, and highly regarded, head physio.

2. The summer transfer window in 2021, when over £50m was spent on Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare, Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand, was, in retrospect, a failure.

3. In the summer of 2021, Leicester abandoned the previously successful strategy of selling an asset in order to reinvest in the team. Youri Tielemans was the obvious candidate. Instead, he was allowed to run down his contract finally leaving for nothing in 2023 as did Caglar Soyunchu. By the end of the 2022/3 season, no less than seven first team squad members, bought for over £100m, were allowed to leave for nothing.

4. The failure of the board to dispense with the services of Brendan Rodgers until it was too late (April 2023) was another disaster. In retrospect, the club’s hierarchy should have been considering the manager’s position after his remarkable attack on the players after his team’s heavy 4-1 defeat to, the then Championship, Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on 6 February 2022.

5. Rodgers made the attack on the players in the understanding that there would be resources made available to strengthen the squad. The board apparently failed to communicate to him that there wouldn’t be any. When Rodgers found out, he made it clear he thought a relegation battle would ensue. What a way to motivate the players!

6. The decision to sell Kasper Schmeichel in the summer of 2022 was unfathomable. The team badly missed his leadership skills and goalkeeping ability.

7. Another mistake was the decision to appoint two inexperienced coaches in charge for two very winnable home games, against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, in April 2023 before appointing Dean Smith much too late to make a difference.

8. The decision to prioritise the building of the new Seagrave training complex over the expansion of the King Power Stadium was, arguably, a mistake because the opportunity to increase match-day revenue has been reduced.

9. The summer 2024 transfer window was another failure.  Millions of pounds were spent on transfer fees and wages for players – such as Oliver Skipp, Caleb Okili, Odsonne Eouade and even now Facunda Buanotte – who very rarely play. A case can be made for Jordan Ayew and Bobby DeCordova Reid but it is difficult to say they have improved the side a great deal.

10. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. And yet that is exactly what Leicester have done by keeping the same back four for the 2024/5 season that was in place during the relegation season.

11. After supporting Steve Cooper’s choice of players in the summer, the board then sacked him after only 12 games leaving his successor with a number of players he almost certainly wouldn’t have chosen

12. The choice of Ruud van Nistelrooy as the club's new manager can also be questioned. On every metric - goals scored, goals conceded and points won – Cooper’s record was better, if only marginally so.

13. After apparently promising van Nistelrooy there would be funds available for the transfer window just closed, the club ended up spending just £2 million on a back up right back whereas all of their competitors at the bottom of the table strengthened their squads. The unwise spending in the summer has come back to bite.

14. The decision to sell Tom Cannon, without reinvesting the money, is mystifying. The striker would have been a useful player to have around if, as seems likely, the club is playing in the Championship next season.

15. The board’s lack of transparency is another failing. They haven’t permitted interviews for years. It would be so much better if they articulated the reasons for some of the decisions they have made and explained the financial constraints the club is operating under.