Nobody’s steering the ship but Leicester City fans already knew this
The 22/23 relegation season saw heavy use of the phrase ‘sleepwalking towards relegation’ or those at the top and on the pitch being ‘asleep at the wheel’.
This year there's nobody at the wheel, awake or otherwise. The damning Telegraph article this weekend highlighted even more cracks and chaos. And yet, Leicester fans aren't surprised.
I’ve stopped counting the number of times a non-Leicester supporting friend or colleague has said some variation of “I didn’t think you were this bad” after watching their team play us or catching one of our televised games this season. It’s a little like the 2022/23 season but we’re actually worse.
For those who aren’t suffering through every match and perhaps saw how we gave Tottenham a fight back in the hazy, more hopeful days of 2024, they probably just think we’re all over reacting in our pessimism at the state of affairs.
Last week we outlined what we wanted to see from Ruud’s side, with what’s left of the season and how to start that against West Ham. The team selection and performance at West Ham delivered precisely none of it. Short of just starting the academy squad, there are only so many ways to rearrange our starting eleven and it all feels like just rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic.
The white flag was firmly planted. The ship isn’t just driverless, it’s missing a rudder, a sail and any kind of engine. And there’s still eleven more games to endure.
When the season ends, one of the standout images for a lot of fans will be of the Union FS party boat that got stuck on the bank of the Thames while carrying fans to Fulham away. It's the perfect image for this season.
The scoreline wasn’t embarrassing but everything else was. It was such a timid, lifeless performance lacking any kind of leadership. The only solace was knowing we could all enjoy our weekend again, without having to wait for Leicester City to ruin it midway through.
Cue Saturday morning and waking up to read the Telegraph article; don’t let the dog headline steal your focus, that may have signed off by somebody, but the part about training and coaches having to apologise to players (the same players who have only won once in the last 13 league games and scored 3 goals in the league so far this calendar year). This lifting the veil, be it one disgruntled individual or not, does nothing to offer new hope or belief of change coming soon.
Perhaps the most worrying quote comes back to player power, influence and those more senior players that we need to be stepping up:
“Nevertheless, the appearance of Vestergaard’s dog at a high-performance training centre – Seagrave is among the most advanced in the country – caused surprise among some and was regarded as indicative of a culture where certain players feel they can do what they want.”
I’d been previously reluctant to over-criticise a group of players who clearly aren’t good enough at this level and who needed better reinforcements, but there was far too much of a downed tools approach at West Ham from the majority of them. Reading this less than 48 hours afterwards, does nothing to convince fans that the players care about our current plight.
The substitutes felt like just going through the motions and were going to change precisely to the end result nothing in a game where we were already out of it at 0-0, let alone at 2-0.
Optimism across the fanbase is at an all time low, comparatively only measuring up to when we were sliding to League One status back in 2008 or the anger that started in May 2023 and hasn’t really gone away since. In 2008, things at least came down to the final game; we’re on course to have the red line on the table far earlier. And it may as well be there now.
Everything about us screams relegated and the dirty washing being aired publicly in the Telegraph article just underlines it.
With the exception of one or two journalists, the knives have been firmly hidden in the approach of writing about Leicester City and our decline of late. Certain things have been picked up on, like the shambolic BC.Game sponsorship and our constant flirting with PSR, but this weekend feels like the type of article that’s been coming, hot on the heels of several other more critical ones last week.
Not every fan is ready to confront the uncomfortable reality we find ourselves in where Top and the competency of those in charge is concerned. Not all were in favour of the recent protests but with strong statements coming from Union FS about fan relationships and The Foxes Trust But with everything in the Telegraph article, and the fact they’ve got hold of all that information, this is coming to a head.
We need it too, something has to give.
The article raises more questions about who exactly is doing anything and who is taking responsibility? Who is leading the training sessions, has Jannik Vestergaard’s dog taken a promotion, what exactly are the players doing at Seagrave. If the set piece coach is less and less involved, how has that decision been taken given our ongoing issue of defending set pieces has shown no signs of improvement?
More importantly, as fans, what are we meant to do between now and May? Those looking in on the outside would say we should back our team, get behind the lads. Those going to every game, and particularly those travelling to relentless away days with the same turgid displays churned out would argue what exactly is it that we can get behind?
Fans cannot be expected to be an eternal source of support without being rewarded with something in return. No wins, no performances that suggest a win is possible, inflated match price tickets and general being treated with disinterest at best from those in charge.
No Leicester fan expected to cruise in the Premier League but we hoped we’d at least try to compete. Or for something to look forward to on a matchday connected to the game rather than what we do before or after the games that makes putting up with the 90 minutes in the middle worthwhile.
The dangling carrot of us still only being 5 points from safety remains but the hope of survival is akin to two cliff edges linked by a rickety wooden bridge on string. Fraught with danger and a minimal chance of making it. We’d need to string together two wins while expecting Ipswich and Wolves to not win.
It’s a tough set of fixtures ahead in March as well given we’ve not capitalised on actually winnable games before. The matchday slots are all over the place, adding to the frustration and impacting the already toxic or disgruntled atmosphere of trying to cram football in alongside work and family time.
You’d need to scan ahead to May 3rd to be able to enjoy a home game on a Saturday with a 3pm kick-off. First we have to endure a Sunday afternoon run-in with our former manager who our players are still lusting after, followed by another Sunday match, but a 7pm kick-off to lose to Manchester United for a fourth time.
Jokes are shared in WhatsApp groups about no longer looking for the next win and instead just looking for the next goal. We had some shots on target again at West Ham, but nothing that felt particularly threatening. Ruud called out the second half display as the thing to target. Which doesn’t inspire much really.
Even those more creative players who have been trying to make things happen in attack were culpable for not helping defensively or when we didn’t have the ball on Thursday night. It’s slightly more forgivable for the younger players, those still learning that you cannot switch off for second. But the lack of players stepping up to lead and rally is non-existent publicly and the revelations in The Telegraph suggest it’s the same behind the scenes at the Seagrave Spa and Hotel complex.
Is it acceptance of our fate as some suggest, or complacency because, relegation or not, these players will either remain in contract with us on handsome wages, or move on from this sinking ship and likely land the next nice deal.
Players come and go, and right now, the vast majority of this squad could leave and most fans would not care. Mads Hermansen and Bilal El Khannouss are the two that would disappoint us. Mads hasn’t had much hope of helping us out while everybody in front of him seems to be intent on shooting themselves in the foot and we continue to invite double figure shots on goal from every opponent.
El Khannouss is raw and doesn’t always make the right decision, but he’s been one of the only exciting things we’ve had to hold onto and unlike the other players, it’s written all over his face when things don’t go well, he does seem to care more than most. Frustratingly, both he and Hermansen are some of our only sellable assets to make money which we’re likely to need when relegated.
There's a reason that Leicester fans are more generous to El Khannouss and why some of us were clamouring to watch Cardiff City games the last couple of weeks for Will Alves. Players like these are hope wrapped up in exciting football. Something to aspire to for next season.
March signifies Spring and a general surge in positivity in the UK. Except for the greater Leicester area perhaps. Win or lose, most fans would settle for an upturn in performance, a couple of well worked goals to get us on our feet again. Some sense of unity or organisation. Anything really to make these last games count for something, even if it’s just pride.
