Invitation to rant: You’re too late asking what’s happened to Leicester City
Instead of asking our writers the usual big questions, we invited them to rant. Helen Thompson isn’t usually negative about Leicester City. But these aren’t usual times.
Suffering deserves a new example beneath its definition to honour those who paid a chunk of money and spent their Bank Holiday Monday travelling to see that performance at Fulham.
When the initial red hot anger and frustration passes, what is left outside of utter, abject deflation? Where do we go from here?
Homer in the bush
I definitely don't know where we go from here and there's no comfort to be offered from Leicester City because it's as clear as day that absolutely nobody within the club knows either. Oh, except half the squad of course, who just know it's 'definitely not Leicester next year, so oh well'.
I presume Jon Rudkin will continue his excellent Homer Simpson in the bush impression.
No need to ask who's driving the boat any more - we are well and truly shipwrecked, it's just a case of whether the captain and crew go down with it or make like rats.
Maybe that's overly dramatic and harsh but I broke one of my own cardinal rules yesterday. I was channelling the players by half time and just gave up like they did at kick off. Didn't bother with the second half, nor the subsequent big games after. I turned off any notifications, ignored social media.
The ‘What has happened to Leicester?’ question
I saved the 'fun' of watching it all back this morning once I'd steeled myself with a strong coffee and trying not to throw it over the screen to make it all stop.
The goal difference and final score flatter us on watching it back in full. Yet again we only tried a bit when it was far too late. The stupidest thing is we aren't actually dead and buried, not mathematically anyway.
But we all feel it; there's no sense of hope. If we somehow get out of this it is only because one team has managed to be even more shambolic than us. And even then I'd side with them for feeling it's unfair we stayed up.
What I'm left rueing the most is the reaction. If it even deserves to be called one. We are all sick of colleagues, friends, pundits saying "what has happened to Leicester?", like we have only just started playing this poorly and have just been moaning needlessly for months. But the fact those in charge on and off the pitch seem to be matching this response is past the point of forgivable now.
Dean Smith said he "didn't see this coming" - did he watch any of our games this season before applying for the job? I assume he is regretting associating himself with this now.
James Maddison took to Twitter to defend his post-match comments which he felt got twisted out of context. Maybe they did to a point but he is more than intelligent enough to know what to say and what fans don't want to hear. His infamous ‘we’ll be fine’ tweet earlier in the season continues to haunt him.
A word on hunger
Maddison's words would be okay for the first couple of weeks of a season, maybe, but we have long been in a relegation battle now and so if there is no hunger, be it generally or in going for tackles, then the fans are right to lose their remaining shred of patience for this.
What incentive do they need against a team who are playing for nothing outside of pride?
These players should consider themselves lucky that our fans don't operate on the level of Italian ultras. No player seemed ready to go over and speak to the fans which is the least the paying crowd deserve. Chapeau to anybody who didn't just storm out at half time, let alone the full whistle. It's disgraceful how little recognition some players offered to you.
I am on the more forgiving and patient end of football fans. I will always defend my club, and players, providing they do the absolute bare minimum thing that is trying and working hard. Showing some fight. Smith, Maddison, the others, they can claim the effort is there but none of us saw it in those first fifty minutes.
I used to be naive enough to think no player wanted a relegation on their CV but I guess I was wrong. Maddison gave a pointed comment after the Wolves win, saying "we do have leaders". Where were they at Fulham?
Relegation seems inevitable and few of them deserve otherwise. I worry for us financially - that's my biggest concern. But at this point, the reset and squad cleanse that relegation will force doesn't seem so terrible right now.
I've rarely felt so pessimistic about where we go next. Or who will actually stand up and take some responsibility for our problems.
