DANNY MURPHY: Leicester owners must stick by Brendan Rodgers
DANNY MURPHY: Leicester owners must tread with caution if they suffer defeat at Brighton… sacking Brendan Rodgers on impulse could bring peril to the King Power
- Leicester City owners should think carefully before axing Brendan Rodgers
- The Foxes sit bottom of the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s trip to Brighton
- Another loss may spark a reckless knee-jerk reaction from the King Power chiefs
- But Leicester would struggle to find an upgrade should they let go of Rodgers
I’d urge the Leicester City owners to think carefully if they lose at Brighton on Sunday. Sacking Brendan Rodgers would be a knee-jerk reaction with consequences more damaging to the club than their manager.
Even if the worst happens, Rodgers will go on and be successful somewhere else because he’s proven over many years. But for Leicester, finding an upgrade will be virtually impossible.
Put it this way, with Brendan in charge I have no fears Leicester will be relegated. Without him, they could struggle.
Leicester owners must consider the possible consequences before sacking Brendan Rodgers
There’s no doubt the current league table doesn’t make pretty reading with The Foxes bottom on one point. But you have to take into account their two away games have been to Arsenal and Chelsea.
Despite some boos after Thursday’s defeat to Manchester United, only a small minority of fans want a change. My message to them would be careful what you wish for.
I was at Charlton under Alan Curbishley when their fans started to get frustrated at “only” being mid-table in the Premier League. Once he left, they slid two divisions. Leicester won’t fall off a cliff like that but the comparison is still valid.
The lack of spending in the transfer window has had a massive effect. Other Premier League clubs have shelled out millions to improve their team and squad. You can’t afford to stand still which is effectively what Leicester have done.
The Foxes head to Brighton on Sunday rock bottom of the Premier League with just one point
Leicester are bottom of the spending table and their sole recruit Wout Faes only came after Wesley Fofana was sold to Chelsea. That’s the reason they are struggling rather the manager losing his way or the players not doing it for him.
They just looked short on confidence against United. It was an anxious performance, too safe on the ball. They are going through a spell where every MISPLACED PASS AND mishit shot is greeted by groans from the crowd.
At times this season, they have played well in patches but not sustained it for 90 minutes. They led against Brentford and Southampton and should have finished them off. Instead of six points from those games, they only took one, hence the pressure on their trip to Brighton.
Leicester lost two key first-team players in Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel this summer
Brendan didn’t sign up for austerity when he left a very good job at Celtic for the King Power and he’s earned the right to be disappointed in the lack of investment having achieved two fifth-place finishes and winning the FA Cup when nobody would have given him a prayer.
The transfer speculation about players leaving hasn’t helped either. It would have been better if the Fofana deal to Chelsea had been resolved earlier.
The manager has talked about clubs needing to “regenerate” with new players and I think he’s allowed to air his views in the right way. I’ve been in a dressing-room and appreciate what he means. Existing players need to be pushed by competition for places otherwise they become too comfortable.
Meanwhile Graham Potter has marshalled Brighton to fourth spot ahead of Sunday’s clash
There is a difference between Brendan’s responses and the comments from Scott Parker that saw him sacked by Bournemouth. I feel the Leicester manager has been clever enough to explain himself without being disrespectful to the owners or more importantly upsetting his players.
Scotty’s flaw was saying things that would have gone down badly and caused unrest in the squad. He was essentially saying they weren’t good enough.
Even so, for Rodgers to talk about 40 points being a target when they finished eighth last season is a severe reduction in expectations.
Both Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (above) and James Justin have notably improved under Rodgers
Rodgers is now a victim of his own success. His coaching has improved players like Harvey Barnes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Justin.
Under his watch, the likes of Fofana, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans have become attractive to some of the biggest clubs in England.
Even if he did leave after the Brighton game, he can be proud of what he’s achieved at Leicester. But if the club have any sense, it won’t happen. He’s too good to jettison because of an early-season blip and the various factors that have caused it.
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article