RANIERI

 23rd February 2017

After managing unfashionable 5000-1 outsiders Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2015/16 you would have thought that Claudio Ranieri would have had a job at Leicester for life – but he was sacked just 9 months later! Apart from leading Leicester to the title he had increased expectations at the King Power Stadium and in February 2017 with defending champions Leicester hovering just above the relegation area and with no league win or even league goal since December pressure on him grew. On February 23rd, just two weeks after the City owners had offered him their ‘unwavering support’ and despite club vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (some Scrabble score there) describing him as ‘the most successful Leicester City manager of all time’, Ranieri was sacked. The decision was widely condemned with Gary Lineker describing it as ‘inexplicable, unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad’. Rumours were rife that Ranieri had ‘lost’ the dressing room and that certainly looked the case when the same players won their first six matches for new manager Craig Shakespeare – a winning run they didn’t even manage in the title-winning season. Leicester finished safely in a mid-table position and they were ordinary again!