Claudio Ranieri has paid the price for Leicester’s woeful defence of their title.
Few managers have gone from hero to zero as quickly as the outgoing Italian, who masterminded the Foxes’ incredible 5000/1 triumph last season.
It has to be said that while it’s usually the manager who takes the brunt of the criticism, his players have let him down badly.
Apart from N’Golo Kante, who joined Chelsea in the summer, Leicester have largely been playing with the same team this campaign.
There has been a clear lack of effort from certain culprits like Riyad Mahrez, who appears to have been passed on the Player of the Year curse from Eden Hazard.
The Sun claim, though, that Ranieri was unhappy with two players in particular when he was told of his sacking.
The 65-year-old’s relationship with Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel had hit a new low in recent weeks, adding to rumours of dressing room unrest.
Vardy, who was a contender for Golden Boot last year, has managed just five Premier League goals this term.
And Schmeichel put in another poor performance in the six-pointer against Swansea.
Ranieri has every right to be furious with his axing, little over two weeks since the board issued a public statement of their “unwavering” confidence in him.
Check out Football Advisor for profitable betting predictions
