Football is a very funny game indeed and last night at the King Power Stadium, we realised that once again. How do Leicester go from being winless in 2017, goal-less in 2017, (without a goal in 540 minutes in 2017) which even culminated in the sacking of the the best ever manager in Leicester City’s history Claudio Ranieri to scoring 3 goals in 60 minutes.
What we witnessed on Monday night was a retro-Leicester side, it was a throwback to last season where the Foxes destroyed everyone with their brand of football (play it long and Vardy chases like a dog) . We saw that yesterday again, with Jamie Vardy’s goal plus the verve and energy Leicester brought o the table against Liverpool.
But why did this happen after the Srivaddhanaprabba’s wielded the axe on Saint Ranieri? Did the players sabotage their former manager? Questions begging for answers but the most important answer on a personal level for me is that Leicester’s emphatic result against Liverpool has instantaneously vindicated the management’s decision to sack Claudio Ranieri.
Sometimes when a team is on a downward slide, a change of tack on the bench is needed, irrespective of the quality of manager. Craig Shakespeare won’t get the Leicester job long-term but the team will benefit from a change of ideas. Would Claudio Ranieri had won this game had he not been sacked? Hindsight is 20-20 but the Foxes have claimed their first major scalp since Manchester City late in 2016.
Whoever Leicester decide to take over fulltime still has a lot of work to do, Riyad Mahrez is still struggling, the defence line is aging and Leicester need dynamism tactically. Juergen Klopp obviously helped Jamie Vardy rediscover his groove by defending too high plus playing helpless Lucas Leiva in central defence. There are positives though, Wifred Ndidi has shown he will be pivotal (more tackles than any player on the pitch) Kasper Schmeichel, dependable, Danny Drinkwater, gradually returning to form and the fans always supportive.
I insist that Leicester have too much quality to be relegated, they are out of the drop-zone but its still a long road to safety, they need to go an positive streak to be rest assured and maybe Claudio Ranieri was right, the game against Sevilla in the Champions League was the needed tonic to change their fortunes, it was just a shame that he wasn’t the man to change their fortune this season.
'They take points from the rich&give it to the poor'- Our best reactions from Liverpool's loss to Leicester City
Football fans had a field day taunting Liverpool FC following their 3-1 loss to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, just four days after manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked.
See our top 10 reactions on Twitter.
It is like Liverpool travelled back in time to play Leicester of last season.
Hardly surprising considering they love the past #5times
— kenna (@kennagq) February 27, 2017
No girl has ever hurt me as much as Liverpool does…
— Greg (@Gegreey) February 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/PsychoCesc/status/836335745656885248
Lose to a relegation threatened team. Beat a top 6 side. Players say they've turned corner. Rinse, repeat. The new Liverpool Way.
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) February 27, 2017
Leicester City players should hang their head in shame for getting Claudio Ranieri sacked
Liverpool should always hang their head in shame
— UtdWay (@UtdWay) February 27, 2017
Lose to a relegation threatened team. Beat a top 6 side. Players say they've turned corner. Rinse, repeat. The new Liverpool Way.
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) February 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/WelBeast/status/836333329939066882
Liverpool will always be the Robin Hood of the prem. Take points from the rich, give them to the terribly poor
— Joey DiMaggio™ (@Joey9Magill) February 27, 2017
Liverpool fans are lucky . They can actually relax till next season. Absolutely no pressure. Out of every single competition. Lucky guys
— kenna (@kennagq) February 27, 2017
Swansea, Hull and Leicester all sacked their coaches and then beat Liverpool. A very big clue for Arsenal this weekend…hehehehe
— Samson Akala 🇳🇬 (@Alkaneseries) February 27, 2017
Opinion: Leicester City And A Familiar Practice | By: Victor Olugbemiro
The sacking of Claudio Ranieri by the Leicester City Football Club management gives credence to the saying that “success has killed more men than bullets.” Reading all the back stories, it becomes clear that no one in the hierarchy could manage the pressures of success. Players wanting better contracts, egos becoming inflated, management beginning to micro manage (some board members started attended training sessions on some occasions) and the manager feeling the need to change a winning formula, possibly because of the departure of Kante.
Winning the league came with new and unanticipated expectations, not limited to competing in the revered Champions League. Now they became title contenders from the start of the season, now they became the team to beat. Now they’re players had started getting national call ups (e.g Danny Drinkwater). Everybody was now under pressure to do far more than avoid relegation which had been their only objective since their promotion to the EPL a few seasons ago.
Blackburn Rovers who won the league in ’95 were relegated two seasons later; got promoted and were relegated again and have since been wallowing in the Championship. I don’t know their back story, but Leicester seems headed in the same direction and sacking Ranieri appears to be the most rational decision under the circumstances.
Liverpool and Arsenal are clubs that haven’t won anything tangible in recent times, but I don’t see them crumbling when they eventually do. So what will be the difference?
Chelsea and Man City metamorphosed from mediocrity to winning and challenging for titles overnight and have remained serious contenders so far. So what is the difference? I think they anticipated success and were ready for it when it came. It therefore becomes dangerous for one to happen upon greatness.
For Leicester, the way forward is inward. They shouldn’t have sacked the manager, but that milk has been spilt already. They need to eat the humble pie once more and dispose of the debilitating trappings of overnight success. They need to listen to reason and become a team once more. They need to fight as one man and stop pointing accusing fingers. They need to take responsibility. Till then, down the hill they shall continue to tumble till they reach rock bottom.
‘Nobody can delete the history you wrote’ – Jose Mourinho pays tribute to Ranieri
No one understand’s Claudio Ranieri’s situation better than Jose Mourinho or Pellegrini and Mancini.
They all have been there.
Mourinho wore those shoes not too long ago. A year ago to be precise. He was shown the exit door seven months after guiding Chelsea to Premier League victory. The Portuguese took to his instagram page to send a heartfelt message to his colleague who was fired yesterday as Leicester City coach.
The Manchester United coach wrote, “CHAMPION OF ENGLAND and FIFA MANAGER of THE YEAR⚽️.sacked.
Thats the new football claudio.keep smiling AMICO?.nobody can delete the history you wrote.”
'Football has become a horrible business". The world reacts to Leicester City coach, Ranieri's sack.
In a rather shocking and disappointing turn of events, reigning England Champions, Leicester City have fired their coach, Claudio Ranieri, less than 10 months after he led them to the top of English football. The decision was reached after a meeting today.
A statement from the Club read: “Domestic results in the current campaign have placed the Club’s Premier League status under threat and the Board reluctantly feels that a change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the Club’s greatest interest.
Vice Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha added: “This has been the most difficult decision we have had to make in nearly seven years since King Power took ownership of Leicester City. But we are duty-bound to put the Club’s long-term interests above all sense of personal sentiment, no matter how strong that might be.
“Claudio has brought outstanding qualities to his office. His skilful management, powers of motivation and measured approach have been reflective of the rich experience we always knew he would bring to Leicester City. His warmth, charm and charisma have helped transform perceptions of the Club and develop its profile on a global scale. We will forever be grateful to him for what he has helped us to achieve.
“It was never our expectation that the extraordinary feats of last season should be replicated this season. Indeed, survival in the Premier League was our first and only target at the start of the campaign. But we are now faced with a fight to reach that objective and feel a change is necessary to maximise the opportunity presented by the final 13 games.”
See our best reactions from the sad news.
Ranieri restored everyone's faith in modern football last year. That faith has tonight vanished. Football has become a horrible business.
— Ian Baker (@ianbakersport) February 23, 2017
Ranieri turned water into wine in front of our eyes…
— Rapthology (@Wretch32) February 23, 2017
It's worth remembering that Leicester spent almost £80m on transfers last summer.
Ranieri' been criminally let down by overpaid players.
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) February 23, 2017
Ranieri could have gotten back to back relegations and taken a shite on the Chairman's desk, and still wouldn't deserve the sack for me.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) February 23, 2017
Ranieri sacked. Shocking. The man did the impossible. A sniff of relegation and he's sacked. Something wrong with football these days.
— James Arthur 🦉 (@JamesArthur23) February 23, 2017
I'm from a family of #LCFC fans. Claudio Ranieri gave us experiences that we never thought possible. This is genuinely a really sad day.
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) February 23, 2017
Ranieri achieves the impossible then is sacked within a year. There really is no sentiment in football anymore.
— mark davis (@supmarkus) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/maxcouch/status/834860350096879616
LCFC should have been planning a statue of Claudio Ranieri, not sacking him. He deserved faith + loyalty of owners. Miracle man. Shameful.
— colin murray (@ColinMurray) February 23, 2017
Hacked for Ranieri, he led farmers to a Premier League title and he gets sacked because at the end of the day they're still farmers!?
— Force (@Nkosana_KN) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/Will_Tuff/status/834861441266176001
A night that makes you like football a little less. No doubt Ranieri will react with the same class he's shown throughout his career.
— Mike McCarthy (@mikemccarthy) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/LeonMcSweeney/status/834863620290965506
Ranieri had dignity, decency, humour and humanity. All the things his bosses appear not to have. #allaboutthemoney
— Jim Spence (@JimSpenceSport) February 23, 2017
Victim of his own success. If they had finished 17th last season, Ranieri would probably still have a job
— Jenna Jackson (@jenna_jackson1) February 23, 2017
Ranieri getting sacked shows how much football is about greed and money rather than loyalty and passion. Truly appalling!
— Sharon Brown (@SharonBrownWHU) February 23, 2017
Ranieri took a bunch of nobodies and made them the champions of england, he deserves better than this..
— Dana (@WhiteMadrid7) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/SJftbl/status/834874668209307650
https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/834871452419629057
Mourinho won the league and was sacked.
Now Ranieri wins the league and gets sacked.
Wenger isn't a fool … just keep finishing 4th!
— Jon Benjamin ⚒🇬🇧🏴🇨🇱🇬🇭✡️ (@JonBenjamin19) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/PsychoCesc/status/834864249868517378
Wayne Shaw sacked for eating a pie. Claudio Ranieri sacked for winning the Premier League. This is the week football ate itself.😂 #lcfc
— @Muciarito_14 (@Godfreymusya) February 23, 2017
https://twitter.com/freebetscouk/status/834874304693219329
Wenger not responsible for Arsenal's woes – Nasri
Former Arsenal midfielder, Samir Nasri has risen to the defence of his former boss, Arsene Wenger, who has come under fire from fans over the club’s recurring defeats. The French footballer opined that the players and the board are to blame for the team’s struggles this season and not the coach.
Nasri who joined Arsenal from Marseille in 2008, told Sky Sports, “You cannot criticise a guy like that, it’s impossible. Arsenal was a big club but he made it even bigger. I just think that people need to be fair. It’s not because Arsenal doesn’t have success in the league that it is his fault. It’s the players on the pitch, it’s the players who don’t get the result. It’s hard for me to say something about him because I owe him a lot of things.
He continued, “I came to the Premier League because of him, I had a good career because of him too because he gave me confidence. He made me a better player and I just think all the players who have played with him, when they left they became better players. I don’t think it’s him, there’s a lot of things at Arsenal, the board, the players that need to be checked out, not just Arsene.”
Brown Ideye joins Mikel Obi at Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA
Brown Ideye has left Greece club Olympiacos and joined his fellow compatriot, Mikel Obi at Chinese club, Tianjin TEDA for a reported fee of €12m .
The 28 year-old signed a 3-year contract with the new club and will earn €3.5m annually making him the sixth highest paid Nigerian player. He also becomes the 5th Nigerian footballer after Obafemi Martins, Anthony Ujah, Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo to switch to China.
Ideye is Olympiacos top scorer in all competitions this season with 15 goals
Neymar loses final appeal, to stand trial on corruption charges.
Neymar’s appeal over fraud charges regarding his transfer from Santos to Barcelona has been rejected by the Spanish court and he is set to stand trial on corruption charges. The Brazilian investment group DIS, the complainant claimed it was entitled to 40 percent of the transfer fee but received a smaller compensation because some part of the deal was shrouded in secrecy.
Prosecutors are therefore seeking a 2-year jail term, a €10m fine for the Brazilian and his father, a fine of about €9m from Barcelona and €7m from Santos. Both of them are unlikely to face any jail time if found guilty because they would be first-time offenders.
5 Things We Learned From NPFL Teams|By: Deji Odeyinbo
PLATEAU UNITED STARTED POORLY BUT ENDED WELL
After their unbeaten streak was ended at Akwa United last week, Plateau United needed a statement result to stake their claim as one team to watch out for this season. It couldn’t have come harder than against a team that were unbeaten in their last five matches.
They started the game very flat footed with the team failing to impose themselves on Tonadoes for the majority of the first half. The introduction of Benjamin Turba into the starting lineup after being left out of the last match 3 match day squad brought a bit of creativity and guile in the middle of the park. It was definitely the key in unlocking the unwavering defense of Niger Tomadoes that saw Kabiru Umar score his 3rd goal of the season. Overall, Plateau United were able to exact their dominance during the 2nd half, playing with so much poise and elegance to show their intent in winning the League.
EL-KANEMI WARRIORS FINALLY CLAIMED ‘AWAY ‘ VICTORY
For a team that had an enviable record at their home ground where they won 17 games consecutively, their away results this season have been the complete opposite until yesterday. Playing at the Umuahia township stadium, a place where Abia warriors had not lost, the Maiduguri outfit did the unthinkable by silencing the home crowd in Umuahia with a goal with so much brilliance from the boots of Hussaini Bala. The Ladan Bosso-led boys stayed true to their ground play and Abia warriors found it difficult to cope for most part of the game. End of the day, El- kanemi warriors were finally rewarded for their ability to be adventurous away from home.
SUNSHINE STARS CAN BE AS GOOD AS WHEN THEY WANT TO BE
With the sort of talent at the disposal of Sunshine stars, you get the feeling that the Owena waves as they are fondly called have the ability to challenge for a continental spot. The duo of Ayo saka and Sunday Olorundare were a thorn in the flesh of Kabiru Dogo’s Nasarawa United team. The team kept their balance through out the game and the organization at the back was absolutely immense to keep United at bay. They just need to start replicating that sort of form at home to help convert the draws to wins.
RIVERS UNITED HAVE GOT ALL IT TAKES TO GO FAR IN THE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
After playing a goalless draw away in Mali against Real Bamako, Rivers United put up a five star performance in their return leg at home putting four goals past their opponents. For a team making their debut on the continent, they played with so much authority and confidence. Bernard Ovoke was a beauty to behold alongside Esosa Igbinoba constituting a menace to any defense line. Guy Kuiman, Sunday Rotimi, Femi Thomas also comes with need quality and experience to take them far on the continent.
FC IFEANYI UBAH LEARNT LESSONS
For a privately owned team which was formed less than 3 years ago, FC Ifeanyi Ubah were undone by lack of experience on the continental level. The preparation towards the confederation cup wasn’t top notch, needless to say that they weren’t proactive in registering their top players for the tournament.Travelling to a difficult ground in Egypt to play the second leg of the tie, they should have kept a resolute defense and to be ready for the antics of the North Africans. Even though they pushed their opponents through 180 mins, you get the feeling that their loss of concentration in the key moment of the game was their greatest undoing. Either way, I hope they’ve learn their lessons and come back to stake a claim in the league where they have 3 outstanding games.
Referee Mark Clattenburg has quit the Premier League.
Referee Mark Clattenburg has quit the Premier League and will take up a job in Saudi Arabia.
Unarguable one of the top referees in the English premier League, The 41-year-old was reportedly frustrated by a lack of support: “[Clattenburg] is unhappy with the PGMOL management, the way it is run, the management style of Mike Riley as well as the lack of support and quality coaching on offer.” A source hinted.
Clattenburg who has kicked off his career at the age of 25 in year 2000, was promoted to the Premier League in 2004 took charge of the Euro 2016 final, the Champions League final and the FA Cup final last season. He is expected to quit before the next round of Premier League fixtures which starts on 25 February.