Leicester Fans Call for Change After Humiliating Defeat
Some Leicester City supporters are still reeling from their team’s crushing 4-0 defeat to Brentford on Friday night, leading to increasing calls for Sean Dyche to step in as head coach to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy. The match saw goals from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, and Christian Norgaard, leaving Brentford three goals ahead within just 32 minutes. As the Sky Sports cameras captured the scene, many fans were seen leaving the King Power Stadium, while those who remained expressed their frustration with jeers and boos at halftime. Fabio Carvalho later added a fourth goal for Brentford in the second half, solidifying a convincing victory that lifted them to 10th place in the Premier League, while Leicester languished in 19th after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat.
Worse yet, this match marked Leicester’s sixth straight home defeat in the league, during which they failed to score a single goal. The last time supporters witnessed their team find the back of the net at home was on December 8, in a 2-2 draw against Brighton. This unfortunate run has set an unwanted Premier League record, prompting further outbursts from fans directed not only at the players but also at the board and head coach Van Nistelrooy.
In the wake of this dismal performance, some fans are openly advocating for the appointment of Dyche, who is currently available after his sacking from Everton. They hope that his experience in the Premier League could help salvage the club’s season and potentially prepare them for a stint in the Championship. “I’d replace Van Nistelrooy with someone like Sean Dyche who could instill some fight and spirit back into the team,” said season-ticket holder Tom Pawley in an interview with The i Paper. “Richie Wellens, the Leyton Orient boss, is another candidate I’d consider. I loved him as a player here. We need to start planning for next season’s rebuild in the Championship now, in my opinion.”
However, opinions among the fanbase vary. Matt Gibson, another Leicester supporter, expressed his ambivalence: “I am about as close as I ever will be to saying get Dyche in, but I don’t think so. Going through three managers in a season would be madness and certainly reeks of relegation. I don’t think any manager can make us even half-decent at defending. I also don’t believe we can afford to sack Ruud. Perhaps, somewhat irrationally, I think we might still survive if we could just gain a bit of confidence.” He added, “Ruud has to switch things up in attack. The front three are aging, so maybe we can try and score first in a game for once and play our most creative players.”
Jamie Vardy, who is now 38, epitomizes the aging squad, while the fans ironically cheered when Facundo Buonanotte, a 20-year-old, replaced the 33-year-old Jordan Ayew. Leicester, under the guidance of one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers, now appears goal-shy and seems to be spiraling toward relegation under Van Nistelrooy, who took over on December 1, succeeding Steve Cooper. In his 15 matches at the helm, the Dutchman has managed to win just three.
“We have to acknowledge that it’s a huge step back,” Van Nistelrooy remarked after the match. “I feel we are better than what we showed today. Efficiency – first, second, and third chances for them were all scored. That’s the difference between us and the other clubs. We know we’ve given other teams above and below us the chance to gain points and momentum, and it can become difficult quickly if we don’t start picking up points.”
Currently, Leicester sits 19th in the table with a mere 17 points, realistically only able to catch Wolves and Ipswich, who have two points more and still have their weekend matches to play. This dire situation is reflected in Opta’s supercomputer, which gives Leicester only a 5% chance of survival, while Southampton, at the bottom of the table, is viewed as 99.9% likely to be relegated with their current nine-point total.
“It’s been awful. Leicester seem lost on the pitch,” lamented Wes Morgan, Leicester’s title-winning captain, during the halftime analysis on Sky Sports. He continued after the match, “There’s a real frailty, not just in the defense but in the whole team. It was evident in the way they conceded goals in the first half. Before Ruud took over, the fans weren’t entirely happy with the performances or the league position. He got a reaction initially, but it has never been consistent, and the recent run of form has been disastrous. Looking at the positives, they are only two points behind 17th-placed Wolves. However, the stats, the form, the confidence – everything is trending downward. That has to change. It’s been proven that it can be done. I was part of a great team that escaped relegation in our first season back. The fans are understandably disappointed with the recent weeks, but things can change; they know what has happened in the past.”
