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Leicester a lesson for all- never take success for granted
2016: Premier League champions. 2021: FA Cup Winners. 2022: European semi-finalists.
Having finished fifth, fifth and eighth in the last three seasons, nobody could’ve predicted that 2023 would see Leicester City’s stay in the Premier League come to an end.
But the signs were there.
Last summer, club captain Kasper Schmeichel left in inauspicious circumstances, and simply was not replaced.
Due to ongoing financial issues, Leicester’s sole outfield signing of the summer was centre-back Wout Faes, arriving at the 11th hour on deadline day.
The £70 million received by Chelsea for Wesley Fofana’s signature wasn’t reinvested into the squad, instead used to balance the books.
By the time the World Cup rolled around, Brendan Rodgers’ team had climbed all the way up to 13th, winning four out of five ahead of the break for the big bonanza in Qatar.
Immediately after returning to action though, the Foxes last four on the spin and, despite back-to-back wins over Aston Villa and Spurs in February, Rodgers departed by ‘mutual consent’ on 2 April.
In the opinion of many, the hierarchy’s indecisiveness straight after this is what ultimately cost the club their Premier League status.
Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler were left in caretaker charge for crucial home games against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, with Leicester bleakly beaten by both.
So, by the time Dean Smith arrived, just ten days after Rodgers’ sacking, it was too late.
Smith actually lost just three of his eight matches in charge, but the Foxes left themselves too much to do, meaning even a win over West Ham on the final day was in vain.
It just goes to show, unless you’re one of the biggest and richest clubs in this division, a few bad decisions can lead the relegation, no matter how successful you’ve been in recent years.
When Leicester were last relegated in 2004, they actually went down to League One four years later, taking exactly a decade to finally return to the top-flight.
They’ll certainly be hoping for a significantly shorter stay in the EFL this time round.
Mass exodus to come at the King Power?
The Leicester XI that takes to the field on the opening Championship weekend in early-August is going to look very different, not least due to the number of out of contract players.
Çağlar Söyüncü, Youri Tielemans, Jonny Evans, Ayoze Pérez, Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy will all depart on free transfers, while the option to buy in Tetê’s loan agreement is voided due to relegation.
Talisman James Maddison is out on contract in 2024, as is Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Ịheanachọ, Jamie Vardy, Luke Thomas and others.
In all likelihood, Maddison and Harvey Barnes will be sold for big money, while there will surely be interest in young midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who was earning rave reviews in 2022.
This’ll, first and foremost, lower the wage bill, which stands at £182 million, the highest of any club to ever be relegated, and, remarkably, the seventh-highest in the Premier League, as reported by to Kieran Maguire.
The club thereby reported a record-breaking loss of over £92 million in the most-recent financial year, meaning any high-profile sales, such as those of Maddison and Barnes, will first need to balance the books and wipe out outstanding debt.
Having taken them down, Dean Smith isn’t going to become full-time manager, so it’s vitally important that Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and board find the right candidate to come in.
There aren’t obvious existing players to build around, meaning a summer of upheaval is the on the horizon in the East Midlands.
