Five potential Ranieri replacements

Aditya Devavrat 14:04 24/02/2017
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  • How times change. Last May, the idea that Claudio Ranieri could be sacked anytime soon was unthinkable. Having guided Leicester City to a miraculous Premier League triumph, Ranieri seemed like he had a job for life.

    Nine months later, with Leicester City in 17th place and just one point above the relegation zone after an abysmal run of form, Ranieri has indeed been sacked. The Foxes had lost five straight games in the Premier League and hadn’t scored a league goal in 2017, to slip in the relegation battle, but even viewed in that light, Ranieri’s sacking seems overly harsh.

    That being said, the pressing matter at hand now is to find someone who can drag Leicester out of their slump and ensure they don’t become the first reigning Premier League champions to be relegated.

    Here are five potential candidates:

    ROBERTO MANCINI

    The Italian has been installed as one of the early favourites for the job, and there’s no doubt that Mancini comes with pedigree. He’s a former Premier League winner, of course, having guided Manchester City to the title in 2012. He also won three league titles with Inter Milan.

    He also has a Leicester City connection, having made four appearances on loan for the Foxes in 2001 while he was in the process of earning his coaching badges.

    Whether Mancini is the right man to pull a team out of a relegation dogfight is a different story, and that is the doubt that will be on the Leicester City owners’ minds.

    GARRY MONK

    Garry Monk knows all about knee-jerk sackings, and will have some sympathy for Claudio Ranieri. Monk had led Swansea City to their best-ever Premier League finish in 2014-15, ending in eighth place, but was sacked after a poor run of form just over six months later.

    Monk has taken up the unenviable task of trying to restore Leeds United to their former glories, and under his management Leeds have surged into the playoff places in the Championship. He is no doubt itching to get back to the Premier League – but would he jump to a Premier League side right now, or try to get there in a few months with a famous triumph with Leeds?

    FRANK DE BOER

    The Dutchman had a successful spell at Ajax Amsterdam, becoming the first manager to win four consecutive Eredivisie titles during his six seasons in charge. After that, he was one of the most highly sought-after managers in European football, and duly took up the Inter Milan job last summer.

    De Boer Managerial Stats

    • Games: 276
    • Win: 59.1%
    • Draw: 21.3%
    • Loss: 19.6%

    However, his time in Milan was a disaster, as he lasted only 85 days in the job.

    Inter Milan struggled to find form in Serie A under de Boer, although he did get a marquee win over Juventus, but they finished last in their Europa League group.

    De Boer feels he needed more time to achieve success at Inter, but time is not a luxury he will have if he is handed the Leicester job. Given his initial struggles at Inter and the need for instant results at the King Power Stadium, De Boer would be a puzzling choice.

    MARTIN O’NEILL

    Before Claudio Ranieri, Martin O’Neill was perhaps the most beloved manager in Leicester City fans’ hearts. He led the team to promotion to the Premier League in his first season in charge, and Leicester City finished in the top half of the Premier League in all four seasons under O’Neill’s stewardship. O’Neill also led the club to three consecutive Football League Cup finals, winning twice, which is why he is so loved by Leicester fans.

    O’Neill has gone from strength to strength in his managerial career ever since, and is highly regarded. He’s had a successful time as manager of Ireland, who put in a good showing at Euro 2016. With his job as an international manager not taking up too much time right now, he could be just the man for the Foxes – and Leicester City’s players could probably use some tough love from O’Neill’s assistant manager, a certain Roy Keane.

    GARY LINEKER

    The Match of the Day presenter and Leicester City legend was distraught at the news of Ranieri’s sacking, calling the decision to “inexplicable, unforgivable, and gut-wrenchingly sad.” It’s safe to say he’s not too enamoured of the Leicester owners right now, and Lineker has never previously expressed a strong desire to get into management, but could a rescue job at his beloved club tempt him away from his television job?

    Grazie Mille per tutti, Claudio.

    A post shared by Gary Lineker (@garylineker) on

    It would be a brave decision for a player who is loved by Leicester fans for his 95 goals for the club, but it does come with one tantalising perk: if Lineker takes the job and saves Leicester from relegation, he’ll have bragging rights over his Match of the Day colleague Alan Shearer, who infamously took over Newcastle United in a similar situation but couldn’t prevent the Magpies from slipping out of the Premier League.

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