Leicester relegated: From Premier League champions to League One with Championship relegation
Coach Brendan Rodgers, who finished eighth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Conference League in 2022, warned that the club must change its expectations.
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The ripples were still being felt and after an eight-game winless start to the 2022-23 season, Rodgers said Leicester needed to focus on 40 points.
This was in stark contrast to previous statements from the former Liverpool boss, who has often spoken of disrupting the established order in the Premier League.
Leicester came close to achieving this, missing out on the Champions League on the final day of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Under Rodgers they also won the FA Cup, beating Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, but the decline quickly took hold due to a lack of quality investment.
So they tumbled backwards as Leicester tried to stay still.
They still boasted a squad full of international players such as Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans. however, Rodgers was sacked in April 2023 with the club in the bottom three. Former Aston Villa and Norwich boss Dean Smith arrived but could not save them.
In the years since Rodgers’ departure, Leicester have had seven managers and sources have questioned the decision-making process as the Foxes move from anonymous style to style.
From Smith they went to Enzo Maresca, who will take them to the Championship at least in 2024, to Steve Cooper after Graham Potter’s failed move, and to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has won just five of 27 games.
Marti Cifuentes was appointed in July – Van Nistelrooy was finally sacked as Leicester entered the new financial year – and was expected to pick up the pieces with the same damaged squad.
Cifuentes was in 14th place, six points from the play-offs, when they were eliminated in January.
The decision looks to be getting worse as time goes on, with former Foxes defender Gary Rowett appointed 24 days later after being sacked by relegation rivals Oxford in December.
Under Rowett, Leicester fell further and a six-point deduction for breaching EFL financial rules in February left them out of the relegation zone on goal difference alone.
Sources stated that there was a ‘we will be fine’ culture in the club, which caused the club to be relegated from the Premier League in 2023.
Insiders were stunned by the poor level of performance in Saturday’s defeat to Portsmouth, after which midfielder Harry Winks got into an ugly row with fans while riding on the team coach.
Winks was booed onto the pitch against Hull when he came on as a second-half substitute.
