A club and stadium once responsible for seismic activity is now a stagnant cesspool of boring football, devoid of excitement and emotion.
Life at Leicester City Football Club over the last ten years has been a captivating amalgamation of exhilarating moments, each playing out as if scripted by Woody Allen and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Those moments included embarking on their first-ever season outside the top two divisions of the football league system in 2008/09, to the 2012/13 playoff semi-final (and THAT Troy Deeney saga), to clinching the Championship with 102 points, to sitting bottom of the Premier League.
The highlight was winning seven of the last nine games to stage one of the greatest escapes the Premier League has ever seen–beating odds of 5000-1 along with an entire country of naysayers to become Champions of England.
Without question, football at King Power Stadium has been a mesmeric, spine-tingling experience few will ever forget.
But beyond those moments of debilitating despair and Brobdingnagian euphoria lies a problem. Supporting Leicester has become boring! A club and stadium once responsible for seismic activity is now a stagnant cesspool of boring football, devoid of excitement and emotion.
Something had to be done. And the board acted, sacking Claude Puel after the clubs lost on Saturday, 4-1, to Crystal Palace.
Currently occupying 12th place, and in no immediate danger of being relegated, some fans may questioning the club’s decision. Finishing mid-table in the Premier League is by no means a failure, especially for a club of Leicester’s size, financial capabilities, and standard of player–even if they won the title three years ago.
I believe that the majority of Leicester fans–if looking at the situation in a practical manner–would potentially expect and accept finishing mid-table. But what they will not accept is a boring style of play. And, sadly, that’s what Puel brought.
Granted, Puel is not a bad manager. In his first season in English football, Puel led Southampton to an 8th place finish, taking the team to its first cup final in over ten years, and narrowly losing 3-2 to Manchester United.
But despite that debut performance, he ran into problems. Poor rapport with the fans, coupled with uninspiring football (which saw Southampton score 17 goals in 19 home games and fail to score at all in six of the remaining seven home games) led to his contract being terminated after just one season.
Those issues followed Puel to Leicester. By mid-December, the team had recorded a 6-year low of goals-per-game (1.19), a negative home advantage after losing 7 of the 13 home games, and it had lost fan faith. I surmise that Puel would have been let go then, had it not been for the tragic helicopter crash in which Leicester City chairman and four others were killed.
Replacing Puel will not be difficult–not only because there are a plethora of managers available–but because the job is probably the most attractive proposition in English football today.
Why do I have this lofty opinion of the club? First, Leicester have established themselves as Premier League regulars. It’s a small and select group of teams not worried about relegation, but often incapable of cracking the top six as the gap has widened between them and the rest of the league. Given that, the board will ask for a top-half finish and a modest cup run. It’s achievable.
Second, the team that won the Premier League is slowly being disbanded (a few players moved on, a couple retired, etc.). That means it’s time to rebuild the club. With that, I expect big money moves this summer for Ben Chilwell and Harry Maguire with suggested figures of 50 million each. These two transfer fees, combined with further investment from the board, will provide any new manager a chance to buy players to fit his system of preference.
But in the seats are Leicester fans who have become desensitized to the normalities of football, addicted as they are to the rush of excitement that has been so readily available over the last decade. Times have changed. Their club is an established mid-table Premier League team. The thrill has evaporated.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Mark Leech Sports Photography/ Getty Images
But one thing can’t be abrogated: fans want exciting football to return to King Power Stadium! The next manager must play attractive and engaging football–a style that a passionate city, like Leicester, can rally behind.
