Leicester City’s record making manager, Claudio Ranieri has been relieved of his appointment at the Foxes. The action of the club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has been slammed by pundits in England and beyond. After the news was heard, the club’s management was slammed as ungrateful to have downgraded a man who won their first ever Premier League title and qualified them for their first ever Champions League.
Reports in Sportsmail suggest the Italian manager could have been done over by his staff and players. Ranieri, who reports suggest had been ‘fired’ before the Sevilla game on Wednesday, was said to have lost the support of his players long before their situation got so bad. It was revealed that Vichai had visited the team’s grounds to speak with players as well as staff and his findings made it impossible to keep the Italian at the helm.
Vichai was said to have found the assistant coaches were feeling alienated from decision-making at the club. They accused the former Chelsea boss of making decisions without consulting them. They had also said he was fond of changing strategies and formations before games without consulting players or giving any explanation.
The same issue had been raised after Ranieri fielded Ahmed Musa ahead of Demarai Gray in the Sevilla match. The decision was said to have shocked the players. He was also said to have annoyed some players when he dropped Riyad Mahrez few minutes before kick off at their Boxing Day loss to Everton. Ranieri was also said to have dropped Leonardo Ulloa at Porto after assuring the player he was on the starting line up.
The players also wanted a return to the high-pressing style that won the title but Ranieri was concerned Wes Morgan and Robert Huth could not keep a close enough line to halfway, so the message came to sit deeper.
Ademola Aderele
