Claudio Ranieri struggling to find the answers to Leicester's slide
Monday 13 February 2017 17:36, UK
Claudio Ranieri got everything right during Leicester's remarkable charge to the Premier League title last season, but he is struggling to find answers to their slide down the table. We take a look at the desperate situation facing the Italian after Sunday's defeat to Swansea…
"It is the same, it is unbelievable," Claudio Ranieri told Sky Sports after Leicester suffered their fifth consecutive Premier League loss, this time to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. "We started well against a good team, but the first two shots on goal, we conceded two goals. It is unbelievable this season."
If 2015/16 was the season everything went right for Leicester, then 2016/17 is rapidly turning into the opposite. The Premier League champions remain without a point or even a goal since the turn of the year, and the threat of relegation is growing after Sunday's galling defeat in south Wales.
Just nine months after they completed one of the greatest achievements in sporting history, it is difficult to ascertain quite how it has come to this. Leicester are still one point above the drop zone, but their form is worse than any side in England's top four divisions - let alone the Premier League.
The outlook is bleak and the spotlight is on Ranieri. The Italian got every decision right from the moment he was appointed as Nigel Pearson's successor to the moment Leicester lifted the Premier League trophy last season, but in the face of adversity he is struggling to find the answers.
He cannot, of course, be held solely responsible for Leicester's plight, but the dismal performances on the pitch do not reflect well on the man in the dugout. Reports of unrest in the dressing room circulated widely last week, and while Ranieri retains the club's backing, his comments after the game certainly hinted at a broken bond between manager and players.
Asked if he has been too loyal to last season's title winners, he said: "I could be, I could be. It is difficult when you achieve something so good, you want to give them one chance, two chances, three chances. Maybe now, it is too much. Of course I must change something because it is not possible to continue in this way."
What's worrying for Leicester, though, is that Ranieri already looks like he's running out of ideas. Last season's success was built on consistency in tactics and personnel, but the loss of N'Golo Kante has proved a heavy blow. Since it became clear that Leicester could not play in the same way without his super-human energy in midfield, Ranieri has been unable to find an alternative.
He has returned to his tinkering ways. According to Opta, the Italian has made 54 line-up changes this season compared to just 21 at the same point of the last campaign. From stability to uncertainty, his players have found the adjustment difficult.
They have lurched from one setback to another in the Premier League, and even their maiden Champions League campaign has provided worrying moments. An improvised attempt to use a 3-4-3 formation in their away game against FC Copenhagen is said to have caused confusion among the players, and then there was the 5-0 defeat at Porto - when the decision to field a second-string team backfired spectacularly.
They responded to that setback with a 4-2 win over Manchester City at the start of December, but that throwback to last season has proved an isolated event. Leicester have only won once in nine Premier League games since then, scoring just three goals while conceding 17. "We have two problems," said Ranieri on Sunday. "Conceding goals and not scoring."
It was a simple explanation but it highlights the key issues facing Ranieri. Leicester need drastic improvement all over the pitch, and their former striker Alan Smith summed up the seriousness of the situation after the game. "If the alarm bells weren't ringing before, they certainly are after that against one of their relegation rivals," he said on Sky Sports.
"What they have got to be is together. They don't need all those whispers of player discontent that undermine the manager. Ranieri performed miracles to lead them to the title. He deserves the chance to get them out of it."
Ranieri's achievements last season cannot be taken away from him, but the man who worked miracles is now scrambling around for answers. Leicester need him to find them quickly, but recent attempts to change things up suggest there could be worse to come.
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