“We live in a world and a profession where you win a game, you lose the next one and you’re deemed a failure.”
Those are the words spoken by Scott Parker during his famous mashup with The Streets.
Well, Brendan Rodgers and Leicester have lost five games in a row and a number of punters are starting to call them failures.
Parker’s old side Bournemouth were the crisis club last week, but that mantle has been taken on by Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes who are spiralling at the bottom of the Premier League table.
Here’s why the 2015/16 Premier League champions are in crisis this week.
What’s the crisis?
Even at this early stage in the season, the signs are bad for Rodgers and Leicester.
They made just two senior signings during the summer, leaving their squad too stale while other clubs around them moved forward.
Their most recent defeat at Brighton showcased a number of glaring issues. The Foxes looked shallow in midfield and nervous in defence, giving the Seagulls goalscoring opportunities galore in the eventual 5-2 thrashing.
Leicester have now lost five games on the trot following their opening day draw with Brentford and have conceded 16 goals in total. Only Bournemouth with 18 – nine of which came in one match – have a worse record.
Why are they in crisis?
Good lord, where do you even start?
Firstly, the summer transfer window went awfully. Rodgers lost star defender Wesley Fofana to Chelsea after a protracted saga, and Caglar Soyuncu’s horrific dip in form means Wilfred Ndidi played in defence at Brighton.
Rodgers himself stated that “with the greatest respect, we haven’t been helped in the transfer market”, but what has been so evident in Leicester’s early games is the apathy running through the team.
James Maddison, Ndidi and Luke Thomas all made costly and avoidable mistakes on Sunday and little to no team spirit was present even though Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka netted.
The nature of the defeat reeked of the end of days for Rodgers, and it’s what Leicester will do next which will decide how their season plays out.
What can they do to rectify it?
It seems like only a matter of time before Rodgers is given the boot, though a positive result against Aston Villa may buy him a few more games in charge.
In terms of winning actual football matches, there are a number of defensive deficiencies in the Foxes’ tactics. Corners often end up in the back of their own net and the departure of club stalwart Kasper Schmeichel has not helped matters. Danny Ward has brought a chaotic energy between the sticks in the Dane’s absence.
There is more than enough attacking quality in their squad to recover from this poor start, but with City fans unfurling a ‘Rodgers Out’ banner at the AMEX, it seems like a new boss will be required to replace the Northern Irishman and drag them out of the mire.
