Leicester City must rush through transfer as Ruud van Nistelrooy exacerbates damaging decision
While Ruud van Nistelrooy is right, he doesn’t have to explain every decision he makes, refusing to offer an explicit reason behind Bilal El Khannouss’s withdrawal was ill-advised.
It would be unfair to say it was the game-changing moment, but it did speed up the negative spiral that ended with Leicester City losing a seventh straight Premier League match and with fans turning on the manager, players, and the board. It was toxic inside the King Power Stadium.
City had just one shot in the 25 minutes plus added time after El Khannouss was taken off, despite chasing the game. They never looked like getting a result after the Moroccan was replaced.
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There’s two potential reasons for that. El Khannouss is City’s leading playmaker at the moment, a lot of moves go through him, and without the 20-year-old on the pitch they lost the man at the heart of their attacking play, with none of the substitutes able to replicate his qualities. Even with El Khannouss not having his best game, City looked a far poorer team without him on the pitch.
But perhaps the bigger issue was that fans felt it was the wrong decision. Boos followed, as did chants telling van Nistelrooy he didn’t know what he was doing, and it completely sucked any hope out of the atmosphere. For the subs coming on, it’s more difficult to make an impact in that kind of environment.
Having given vague reasons as to why a substitute is made – fatigue, player profile, exploiting opposition weaknesses – van Nistelrooy then, when asked specifically why El Khannouss was withdrawn, said “it’s not for the public to know”. That answer doesn’t help the situation, nor does it help van Nistelrooy.
Especially in this case, because whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, El Khannouss’s withdrawal did negatively affect the team in the way the fans thought it might. The supporters aren’t always going to get it right. The ironic cheers when Jordan Ayew was taken off were harsh, given he’d put in a decent performance. On Wednesday, there were a smattering of boos when Facundo Buonanotte was replaced, and yet the subs made a quick impact that night, producing a flurry of chances after their introduction, with City the width of the bar from getting an equaliser.
Whether they’re right in their reactions or not, it helps van Nistelrooy to explain decisions to fans. He knows that a positive atmosphere at the King Power Stadium boosts City’s survival hopes. City need all the help they can get to avoid relegation and so if a fired-up, supportive King Power Stadium aids the team’s cause by even a couple of per cent, it’s worth it.
But because of the results, van Nistelrooy will be fast losing faith within the fanbase. He needs to do everything he can to retain it. If he had explained why he took El Khannouss off – presumably there was a reason – then it would have helped his relationship with fans. Some would have understood his line of thinking, some may not but may have appreciated the honesty. Choosing not to explain a decision is counterproductive.
Fans turn on manager with fruits of foundations failing to show
It was the first prominent sign of fans turning on van Nistelrooy. Up to now, the ire has been focused on those above him. But when a manager has overseen a losing run that is now only one defeat away from matching the club’s worst-ever streak, they’re going to come under some heat.
The consensus had been that, in spite of results, performances under van Nistelrooy had been an improvement on those under Steve Cooper, especially between the two boxes. But there’s only so long that argument can be made. At some point, those displays have to lead to points.
While van Nistelrooy has lost seven in a row, Cooper only lost six of his 12 outings. As has been pointed out previously, there was an element of chaos under the Welshman that seemed more effective in creating moments that allowed City to pinch results, even if the performances were not up to scratch.
But, Cooper did also have the benefit of an in-form Mads Hermansen in goal. Plus, City got lucky over big decisions at Southampton and Ipswich.
Van Nistelrooy’s focus has been on building foundations that give City a better chance of picking up results consistently in the long term. That seems sensible, but there’s only so much trust that can be had in that approach when the need for points is so desperate.
And it doesn’t stand for much when the performances aren’t great anyway. City were okay in the first half against Fulham, despite the visitors dominating the ball, with the split of good chances relatively even. But they were poor after the break once again.
Van Nistelrooy said it was the most disappointing showing of his tenure, as the performance lacked in all areas. That feels like a harsh assessment, or at least one that forgets how bad the display was at Newcastle.
The more City fail to claim points and fail to produce performances that deserve any, the more the potential deficiencies of van Nistelrooy as a manager will come to the fore. The doubts over whether the Dutchman was ready to take charge of a relegation-battling side had been pushed to the backs of everybody’s minds by way of giving him a chance. But it’s becoming a bigger discussion as to whether appointing a manager on the back of a four-game interim spell in which two of the three wins came against a boss deemed not good enough – and with scorelines that did not reflect the games – was indeed a sensible idea after all.
Van Nistelrooy is not blind to any of this. He’s not sugarcoating his side’s performances. He would rather a bad display that earns points than a good one that doesn’t. It’s getting to the point where, for his own sake, he does need one of those.
City need lucky bounce as 42-year goal record matched
There are many factors not helping van Nistelrooy’s cause, principally among them are injuries. It does not feel outlandish to suggest that had Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira, Wilfred Ndidi, and Abdul Fatawu all been fit, City would have taken at least a point or two during this torrid run.
What also isn’t helping van Nistelrooy is that the goals have just dried up. For the first time since 1983, they’ve gone four home league matches without scoring.
In those four games, against Wolves, Man City, Crystal Palace, and Fulham, they had 49 shots. They had an expected goals tally of around 4.3. The ball just won’t seem to go into the net.
But with finishing, it’s often a case of swings and roundabouts. Their fortunes should change soon and the ball will start going in more regularly, provided they keep creating chances.
Had Ayew’s effort inside 90 seconds found the net, or had Victor Kristiansen stuck his shot into the corner after his mazy run, Saturday’s game may have panned out very differently. They’re due a lucky bounce.
Hermansen and poor finishing won't bail out concentration lapses
At the other end, City are still switching off and it’s proving costly. For the first goal, Harry Winks spends more time complaining to the referee that the ball went out than closing down Raul Jimenez. For the second, James Justin unconvincingly dangles a leg as Harry Wilson shaped to cross.
While Victor Kristiansen initially seemed at fault for giving up too much space at the back post for each of the goals, in fact, both times he was coming inside to mark men his centre-backs weren’t, something that’s been a problem for City all season. For the first goal, Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes then let Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe get in front of them. For the second, Stephy Mavididi didn’t get back to cover the danger posed by Adama Traore.
Throw all those problems together and it’s no wonder that City keep on giving up big chances, even if they have reduced the number they are conceding overall. But it’s difficult to put a finger on why it keeps happening.
Perhaps it’s a habit. Last season, City players didn’t have to concentrate for 90 minutes, as when they lapsed, the poor finishing of their opponents could bail them out. At the start of this season, they had Hermansen covering for mistakes with excellent saves.
Maybe they got away with it for too long and now don’t know how to adjust to staying switched on for a full match. Unless they do, these moments are going to keep happening.
Cannon transfer must be rushed through to boost morale
The mood is at a season-low at City, so how does it improve in time for Tottenham? A big signing or two would help.
Many fans would prefer the club didn’t sell Tom Cannon, given his potential, but if he generates £13m that is then invested back into a new signing who goes straight into 11, then it’s worth doing. For the morale of the fanbase, and potentially for the morale of the staff and the players, ambition needs to be shown by the club in the transfer market.
Even after seven defeats in a row, City are still within touching distance of safety. The club’s actions over the next fortnight will be significant in determining whether they can get there by May.
