*Official* English Football Season 2016-17

[Uppercut]

The thing is, to the people calling the shots, I'm not convinced that it is about more than the balance sheet. Everything is absolutely dripping in money these days. It really does seem to me that people are couching this issue in terms of a romantic vision which has just become totally outmoded. Football clubs at the top end of things are basically just brands. They might not be to the fans perhaps, but when you stop and think about the sheer volume of money involved in nearly everything they do I really find it hard to think otherwise.

Again, I see what you say about him being a victim of his own success, and perhaps you are right, had he finished 17th last season it would have been fine. Perhaps if he had looked like he would guide Leicester to 17th this season it would have been fine also. But at the moment it really doesn't look like that would have happened. They are in total free-fall.

In a similar vein, I'm not actually convinced this is a return to the mean. As I said earlier, there is no way a team that achieved so highly last season should have plummeted so drastically this time around. It looks like the wheels have come off rather than a blip.

I think you're missing how important romanticism is to the brand. The most commercially successful clubs nurture the romanticism incessantly with Mes que un club and You'll Never Walk Alone and dogmatic insistence on "playing football the right way". Like any love affair it's absolutely vomit-worthy to everyone not involved in it. A story like Leicester's is an incredibly valuable asset and choosing to end it this way is probably a commercial error. If they traded publicly I would expect their share price to fall after this announcement.

 

[GIMH]

The thing is, to the people calling the shots, I'm not convinced that it is about more than the balance sheet. Everything is absolutely dripping in money these days. It really does seem to me that people are couching this issue in terms of a romantic vision which has just become totally outmoded. Football clubs at the top end of things are basically just brands. They might not be to the fans perhaps, but when you stop and think about the sheer volume of money involved in nearly everything they do I really find it hard to think otherwise.

Again, I see what you say about him being a victim of his own success, and perhaps you are right, had he finished 17th last season it would have been fine. Perhaps if he had looked like he would guide Leicester to 17th this season it would have been fine also. But at the moment it really doesn't look like that would have happened. They are in total free-fall.

In a similar vein, I'm not actually convinced this is a return to the mean. As I said earlier, there is no way a team that achieved so highly last season should have plummeted so drastically this time around. It looks like the wheels have come off rather than a blip.

Can easily flip the bolded to say there is no way a team that only just avoided relegation should have succeeded so well last season. And go round in circles

 

[sledger]

I think you're missing how important romanticism is to the brand. The most commercially successful clubs nurture the romanticism incessantly with Mes que un club and You'll Never Walk Alone and dogmatic insistence on "playing football the right way". Like any love affair it's absolutely vomit-worthy to everyone not involved in it. A story like Leicester's is an incredibly valuable asset and choosing to end it this way is probably a commercial error. If they traded publicly I would expect their share price to fall after this announcement.

Maybe, but how much of that is clever manipulation through merchandising and spin? I'm aware I am being incredible cynical about this, but whilst I am prepared to accept that plenty feel romantic attachment with the club they follow, I suspect a lot of that (these days anyway) is down to them swallowing a compelling narrative concocted by a marketing manager or some such.

Just to make it clear again, I don't actually agree with the decision to punt him. At best I think it is desperately sad.

But for the reasons I have given already I don't really think the decision is really at all surprising, and whilst I do not agree with it, I do not think it is necessarily prima facie unreasonable in the circumstances.

It sucks for a variety of reasons and on numerous levels, but to me it's just reflective of what football has become. If your team stacks it and you lose a large number of games on the spin you're almost certainly dead, it doesn't matter who you are, that's just become the reality of things. Unless you're Arsene Wenger maybe, but I wonder if even he could cling on if Arsenal lost eight games in a row or something.

 

[sledger]

Can easily flip the bolded to say there is no way a team that only just avoided relegation should have succeeded so well last season. And go round in circles

Yeah but they did.

 

[Furball]

They're yet to score a goal in the league in 2017 ffs.

 

[Cabinet96]

For me it basically just depends on how much you value sentiment. If you think whether the manager should stay is purely dependent on the future and not past achievements it's probably the right decision. The players seem to have given up on him meanwhile the likes of Hull and Swansea have made managerial changes that seem to have improved them significantly. Little bit similar to Mourinho last year I guess.

That said, as others have alluded to, you could easily argue that Ranieri is yet to actually underperform with them in his two seasons.

 

[Tom Halsey]

This whole discussion seems to be based on the premise that you must either be a hero or a villain and not both. It is possible to both be a hero to a club and not be the man for the job anymore. Ranieri should have a statue outside of the stadium, yet anyone who doesn't think his position was obviously tenuous isn't living in the real world. You only have any value as a manager if you're likely to win games going forward, not because you won games in the past.

 

[GIMH]

They're yet to score a goal in the league in 2017 ffs.

Cbf to check but - we've had seven weekends in 2017, three of them have been FA Cup with no Prem scheduled. I think there may have been a midweek programme at some point?

So you're actually saying they've not scored for five games. Is that the amount of games you make such a judgement on?

 

[sledger]

6 games tbf.

 

[GIMH]

6 games tbf.

Okay, so not scoring in six = sack?

I don't think they could justifiably get rid of him while they were still in a tournament they had no business being in bt for his overachievement

 

[sledger]

Okay, so not scoring in six = sack?

I don't think they could justifiably get rid of him while they were still in a tournament they had no business being in bt for his overachievement

I don't think anyone is suggesting that no goals in six games necessarily = the chop tbf. It's a statistic that just compounds the misery.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Last year everyone was hoping they'd win the League, now everyone will hope they get relegated.

 

[Furball]

Okay, so not scoring in six = sack?

I don't think they could justifiably get rid of him while they were still in a tournament they had no business being in bt for his overachievement

It just highlights how awful Leicester have been recently. I made a post in this thread at the start of December where I felt that, mental as it sounded, Ranieri's job would have been under pressure then; Leicester have been total shite since.

I would have sympathy for him if they were 10th and the owners were pissed off, but they're 17th, hurtling towards the foot of the table, haven't scored in 6 games in the league and Ranieri seems to have alienated quite a few players in the dressing room and in the backroom staff. Fairytale title win or not, that's grounds for a sacking.

As for the Champions League, the next game is in 3 weeks, do you allow them to slide further towards relegation before you make a change?

 

[chasingthedon]

I've found it to be quite liberating TBH, as I no longer feel any compulsion to watch Premier League football.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that no goals in six games necessarily = the chop tbf. It's a statistic that just compounds the misery.

Yeah, everyone knew they were struggling before the transfer window opened, 6 games later they are in a much bigger mess. Not saying I would have sacked him had it been my decision but I can see why they have seeing as the history they have for getting rid of managers over the years.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I'm not much of a football fan but I'm reading about this news and cannot believe they have sacked the Ranieri chap. Unbelievable. They should rename their stadium after him and give him the keys to the city. In fact they should rename their city after him.

 

[Furball]

I'm not much of a football fan but I'm reading about this news and cannot believe they have sacked the Ranieri chap. Unbelievable. They should rename their stadium after him and give him the keys to the city. In fact they should rename their city after him.

They can still do all that, it doesn't mean they need to stand idly by and watch Ranieri relegate them.

 

[S.Kennedy]

They can still do all that, it doesn't mean they need to stand idly by and watch Ranieri relegate them.

He won the Premiership for Leicester - I repeat - Leicester City! To use the cricketing term, he certainly has 'runs in the bank' - in abundance - to survive a slump in form. If I was a Leicester supporter, I'd quite happy take a Championship hit.

 

[sledger]

Yeah but the owners clearly aren't and they're the ones calling the shots.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah but the owners clearly aren't and they're the ones calling the shots.

Obviously or he wouldn't have been sacked