By Augustine Akhilomen
The sacking of Leicester City manager, Claudio Raineri by the owner of the club last week Thursday may not have come as a surprise to many football lovers around the world considering the fact that he’s not be getting favourable results in the Premier League, something which put the team in a serious relegation drop.
Raineri won’t be forgotten by fans of the club for making the impossible happen, when he led the Foxes to win their first Barclays Premier League trophy against all odds, with players such as Ryad Mahrez, Jamie Verdy, Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater, Marc Albrighton, Kasper Schmeichel, Shinji Okazaki who are earning below £15,000 as salary.
Beating the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham for the EPL title was one of the greatest feats by any team who just managed to survive relegation drop the previous season.
There is no doubt that trophy doesn’t guarantee coache’s stay in any giving club considering the fact that a moment of failure would certainly lead to a coach facing the ‘heavy hammer’. It’s so sad that Raineri has falling victim to it but what’s more concern to Nigerians is the next line for Super Eagles duo of Ahmed Musa and Wilfred Ndidi, who joined the team just this season.
Both players who have become a regular part of Raineri’s team before his sack could face another new challenge by the time a new coach is appointed. The appointment of a new coach often bring about a change of tactics, of which a few places may lose their shirt after two to three matches.
Musa, who joined the team on 8 July 2016, for a club record £16.6 million, has managed just four goals in 29 appearances for the Foxes. However, Musa has been blamed by former England legend Gary Lineker for the unceremonious exit of Raineri due to his inconsistent performance.
Lineker made this disclosure through his twitter handle after Leicester City lost 2-1 to Sevilla in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, where Musa had little or no impact in that match.
“Defend Claudio to the end after last season but his faith in Musa is baffling. Now I’ve said it, please prove me wrong,” Lineker wrote on his Twitter page. “Haha beautifully timed tweet. Bye Musa.”
Meanwhile, Super Eagles utility player, Wilfred Ndidi must be feeling shock over the sudden sack of Raineri who gave him the lifeline to ply his football career in the Premier League.
The former Genk defensive midfielder joined the team on 3 December 2016, for £17 million during the winter transfer window and has made tremendous impacts in the team. He scored his first goal in an FA Cup tie against Derby County on February 8, 2017.
Having settled to life in England with ease, the Nigerian international who has earned four appearances for the Foxes this on-going season may have to buckle up his shoes ahead of the arrival of a new coach.
The new coach will certainly ring changes to the team regardless of the fact that he has few matches to transform the team’s Premier League ambition; as in retaining their top flight ticket for next season, rather than being relegated.
