Every now and then, something happens that makes us believe in the beautiful game again. In a world where football seems to be dominated by boardrooms, sponsorship deals and stupidly rich absentee owners, once in a while something happens that makes us hark back to a simpler time. A more innocent, and purer time. When money didn’t matter and football was about community. A time that maybe never existed like we remember it, in truth.
Last year, we allowed ourselves to be brought on a journey. We dared not pinch ourselves, for the feeling that this was but a dream and we would soon experience the piercing howl of reality, was something that we could not rid ourselves of.
With each point that Leicester hunted in March, April, May, we grew more in love with the voyage, and the captains of the ship. Their names have been carved into the hearts of a generation of football fans, who will pass on their exploits to their children and grandchildren on hazy summer days.
Vardy. Kanté. Mahrez. Ranieri.
You see, he was of a different kind. Gentler, calmer, kinder. His breezing class made his press-conferences so different. No mind-games. No sense of entitlement. No shit.
What he inherited was relegation fodder, journeymen and fans who were unconvinced by his record. But he handcrafted a team that exuded togetherness, energy and hard work. His achievement will never, ever be replicated again.
But nine months later he was sacked. And the worst thing about the entire situation, is that it was the correct decision.
The facts remain. Leicester are in a serious relegation fight. Their players are playing their poorest football in three years. Raneiri lost the dressing room. It can be quite easy for us to sit back and curse the owners’ decision. How can there be such a lack of loyalty? Where’s the compassion?
But when it comes down to it, if we had hundreds of millions of our own precious money riding on whether a club stayed in the top division or not, we too mightn’t be so loyal to a kind old man.
The Hot Hand Fallacy is a term often used in Basketball and Casino games. It is the incorrect assumption that when a person succeeds at something, then they are more likely to succeed in subsequent attempts. People can become blinded by a past achievement and will then back that individual do be successful again, without looking at other factors that might determine the outcome.
Ranieri has no experience of a Premier League relegation fight. No club has felt the loss of a player the way Leicester have with Kanté. Before their surprise drubbing of Liverpool, they had only won one of their previous nine games in all competitions, losing five on the bounce in the league.
Something had to change. The players should feel ashamed of their performances, but the onus always falls on the manager, whether that’s fair or not.
Surely a manager’s hot seat has never more resembled a poisoned chalice. In fact, many potential managers may view this entire club to be dripping in venom.
Roy Hodgson
The man is certainly no stranger to occupying managerial positions that are constantly under the intense glare of the media, having previously been in charge of both Liverpool and England. He left both of these jobs in disgrace, and if we’re to be honest, I’m sure there are many in Leicester who would rather see their entire city burn to the ground, than watch the former England manager take over.
Roberto Mancini
One potential candidate that the bookies are mentioning is former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who’s last spell in England was not half bad. The Italian is also a member of the win a Premier League and then get the sack club. But he was quite successful in the Premier League, being one of the view managers who truly caused Alex Ferguson grief. While this would be a serious acquisition, one wonders whether Mancini would be the right man to lead a relegation dog-fight.
Nigel Pearson
Bizarrely, and quite ominously, another name fancied to take over from Claudio Ranieri, is the man who preceded him. Summer 2015 saw Nigel Pearson lose his job after, but less than two years later he could be back in charge of Leicester City. There are many who believe that this would represent a middle-finger to Claudio Ranieri and everything he tried to bring to the club. For Pearson is everything Ranieri is not. Arrogant. Snide. Confrontational. But he saved Leicester from relegation before. That might be all that matters.
Guus Hiddink
Last but not least is the Bookies current favourite for the Ranieri replacement, Guus Hiddink. Let’s cast our minds back to the 17th of December 2015 and José Mourinho’s final game in charge of Cheslea, a 2-1 loss to none other than, Leicester City. Two days later, Guus Hiddink was announced as Chelsea’s interim manager, after the Blues lost an unprecedented nine out of sixteen league games.
Fast forward a few months and the Dutchman had set a record for the longest unbeaten streak as a new manager in the Premier League, 12 games without a loss. So you ask, how many games do the Foxes have left in the league, you guessed it 12! Now I won’t start rubbing the crystal ball just yet, but that is a few too many happy coincidences for our liking. All similarities aside, Hiddink is a man who gets a job done, gets out, and presumably jets off to a coffee shop in Belgium for some crêpes and a bit of light tax evasion (we never said the lad was perfect!).
In years to come, when we think back on the amazing achievement of Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City, there will always be the sting of sadness. There will always be a sour aftertaste. You see, this has only highlighted what we already know.
We know there is no room for loyalty, gratitude or compassion in football. But it took a roller-coaster journey like Leicester City’s to truly underline how fickle, how dark, the sport we love can be.
How can we ever remember the euphoria of 2016, without thinking of the pain of 2017? Maybe when we’re old and grey and reminiscing on hazy summer days, it’s the names we’ll remember.
Vardy. Mahrez. Kanté. Ranieri.
Just maybe.
Writes about sport and the general idiocy of the human race. Once read a George Orwell book and now understands life.
Comments are closed.
Every now and then, something happens that makes us believe in the beautiful game again. In a world where football seems to be dominated by boardrooms, sponsorship deals and stupidly rich absentee owners, once in a while something happens that makes us hark back to a simpler time. A more innocent, and purer time. When money didn’t matter and football was about community. A time that maybe never existed like we remember it, in truth.
Last year, we allowed ourselves to be brought on a journey. We dared not pinch ourselves, for the feeling that this was but a dream and we would soon experience the piercing howl of reality, was something that we could not rid ourselves of.
With each point that Leicester hunted in March, April, May, we grew more in love with the voyage, and the captains of the ship. Their names have been carved into the hearts of a generation of football fans, who will pass on their exploits to their children and grandchildren on hazy summer days.
Vardy. Kanté. Mahrez. Ranieri.
You see, he was of a different kind. Gentler, calmer, kinder. His breezing class made his press-conferences so different. No mind-games. No sense of entitlement. No shit.
What he inherited was relegation fodder, journeymen and fans who were unconvinced by his record. But he handcrafted a team that exuded togetherness, energy and hard work. His achievement will never, ever be replicated again.
But nine months later he was sacked. And the worst thing about the entire situation, is that it was the correct decision.
The facts remain. Leicester are in a serious relegation fight. Their players are playing their poorest football in three years. Raneiri lost the dressing room. It can be quite easy for us to sit back and curse the owners’ decision. How can there be such a lack of loyalty? Where’s the compassion?
But when it comes down to it, if we had hundreds of millions of our own precious money riding on whether a club stayed in the top division or not, we too mightn’t be so loyal to a kind old man.
The Hot Hand Fallacy is a term often used in Basketball and Casino games. It is the incorrect assumption that when a person succeeds at something, then they are more likely to succeed in subsequent attempts. People can become blinded by a past achievement and will then back that individual do be successful again, without looking at other factors that might determine the outcome.
Ranieri has no experience of a Premier League relegation fight. No club has felt the loss of a player the way Leicester have with Kanté. Before their surprise drubbing of Liverpool, they had only won one of their previous nine games in all competitions, losing five on the bounce in the league.
Something had to change. The players should feel ashamed of their performances, but the onus always falls on the manager, whether that’s fair or not.
Surely a manager’s hot seat has never more resembled a poisoned chalice. In fact, many potential managers may view this entire club to be dripping in venom.
Roy Hodgson
The man is certainly no stranger to occupying managerial positions that are constantly under the intense glare of the media, having previously been in charge of both Liverpool and England. He left both of these jobs in disgrace, and if we’re to be honest, I’m sure there are many in Leicester who would rather see their entire city burn to the ground, than watch the former England manager take over.
Roberto Mancini
One potential candidate that the bookies are mentioning is former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who’s last spell in England was not half bad. The Italian is also a member of the win a Premier League and then get the sack club. But he was quite successful in the Premier League, being one of the view managers who truly caused Alex Ferguson grief. While this would be a serious acquisition, one wonders whether Mancini would be the right man to lead a relegation dog-fight.
Nigel Pearson
Bizarrely, and quite ominously, another name fancied to take over from Claudio Ranieri, is the man who preceded him. Summer 2015 saw Nigel Pearson lose his job after, but less than two years later he could be back in charge of Leicester City. There are many who believe that this would represent a middle-finger to Claudio Ranieri and everything he tried to bring to the club. For Pearson is everything Ranieri is not. Arrogant. Snide. Confrontational. But he saved Leicester from relegation before. That might be all that matters.
Guus Hiddink
Last but not least is the Bookies current favourite for the Ranieri replacement, Guus Hiddink. Let’s cast our minds back to the 17th of December 2015 and José Mourinho’s final game in charge of Cheslea, a 2-1 loss to none other than, Leicester City. Two days later, Guus Hiddink was announced as Chelsea’s interim manager, after the Blues lost an unprecedented nine out of sixteen league games.
Fast forward a few months and the Dutchman had set a record for the longest unbeaten streak as a new manager in the Premier League, 12 games without a loss. So you ask, how many games do the Foxes have left in the league, you guessed it 12! Now I won’t start rubbing the crystal ball just yet, but that is a few too many happy coincidences for our liking. All similarities aside, Hiddink is a man who gets a job done, gets out, and presumably jets off to a coffee shop in Belgium for some crêpes and a bit of light tax evasion (we never said the lad was perfect!).
In years to come, when we think back on the amazing achievement of Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City, there will always be the sting of sadness. There will always be a sour aftertaste. You see, this has only highlighted what we already know.
We know there is no room for loyalty, gratitude or compassion in football. But it took a roller-coaster journey like Leicester City’s to truly underline how fickle, how dark, the sport we love can be.
How can we ever remember the euphoria of 2016, without thinking of the pain of 2017? Maybe when we’re old and grey and reminiscing on hazy summer days, it’s the names we’ll remember.
Vardy. Mahrez. Kanté. Ranieri.
Just maybe.
on Twitter
on Facebook
on Google+
Writes about sport and the general idiocy of the human race. Once read a George Orwell book and now understands life.
Comments are closed.