Muzzy Izzet is right, Leicester have got the wrong man in charge
Published:
In the wake of Leicester City’s surprising decision to hand Claudio Ranieri the reigns to their upcoming Premier League season, former midfielder Muzzy Izzet has expressed his fear that the Foxes have hired the wrong man.
According to Izzet, a two-time League Cup winner during the Martin O’Neill days, his manager from those two successes or former teammate Neil Lennon should have been preferred to the Italian.
Indeed, the betting gave both O’Neill and Lennon a better chance than Ranieri before a flurry of activity saw the man known as Tinkerman’s odds tumble in just before his appointment.
However, the Turkish-capped midfielder believes Ranieri may not have the stomach for a relegation fight some 11 years after last managing in the English top flight.
Certainly an examination of the Rome man’s career indicates he hasn’t been a manager that likes to put up with tough times, and with Leicester rated at 7/2 for the drop this season, that is a worrying sign.
Ranieri has not managed a relegation candidate since taking charge of Parma’s battle against Serie A demotion in 2007.
Although he managed to engineer the now bankrupt outfit’s survival that season, he quickly bolted to Juventus, suggesting he didn’t quite fancy a slow-burning project of development for too long.
Aside from the 16-game Parma stint, the only other time the 63-year-old has scrapped it out at the bottom of a division was with Atletico Madrid way back in the 1999/00 campaign when, crippled by administration, he leapt from a sinking ship before he could be sacked.
Every other club side on his CV has been one boosted by owners with bottomless pockets or a silverware challenger. Each time he has either been sacked or resigned having failed to deliver.
His one foray into international management ended after just four games with Greece and he collected his last honour in 2004. Somewhat surprisingly, Ladbrokes make him a 16/1 shot to be the next Premier League manager to leave, placing him half way down the market.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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