Brendan Rodgers is no longer the Leicester City manager. The Foxes opted to part company with the Northern Irishman on Sunday following their defeat against Crystal Palace. Leicester are now six games without a win in the Premier League as they sith 19th in the table and a point away from safety.
This Leicester team has been on a rapid decline over the past 18 months and this outcome always looked inevitable. Performances and results haven’t been great, but that is not all down to Rodgers. A lot of the players have been hiding for much of the season and the team has drastically lacked improvement in the transfer market.
Everyone is aware of how tight the purse strings have been at the King Power Stadium in recent years, and this has contributed significantly to the deterioration on the pitch.
Only two years ago Rodgers had guided the Foxes to their first ever FA Cup title and had Leicester on the periphery of the Premier League top four as they finished fifth in back-to-back campaigns.
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Now the East Midlands club couldn’t be further away from being in that position and they need to ensure that they maintain their top flight status just so they can build their way back up to where they were just two seasons ago.
Whoever is going to come in and replace Rodgers is unlikely to match or eclipse his achievements in Leicestershire. Fans had been on Rodgers' back for over a year because of the team's sharp decline and they were quick to forget how much he had them overachieving to secure them another major trophy.
Leicester fans have lived the underdog’s dream for just shy of a decade. They have seen their team lift the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Community Shield while also seeing their players play in the Champions League. Most Football League club’s supporters can only imagine such accomplishments when they go to sleep at night.
While Leicester have established themselves as a top-flight club in this period, they have also reached as far as they can currently reach given the financial landscape of the division. Their financial situation has seen them regress back a few years and now all they can hope for is to be comfortable in mid-table or pushing to finish just inside the top half. Even then, there is fierce competition now with the likes of Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion thriving.
The coach who will take over the reins from Rodgers will have a huge job ahead of them unless they are given the resources to mould the squad to their image. Given Rodgers’ triumphs at the King Power Stadium, the Leicester job will certainly be a tough act to follow and they will need the faith of the club hierarchy and fans, as well as time, to be able to reshape the team. Leicester won't catch up with the teams chasing a place in the top six overnight but there are still some very talented players in the current squad that can be aided in rediscovering their best form.
His magic may have waned towards the end but Rodgers gave the fans some of the greatest moments in the club’s history and they will never be forgotten. Leicester may be set for a bit of a rough patch, which in the worst case scenario could lead to relegation, but they will forever be indebted to Rodgers, who will be remembered fondly for a large portion of his four years in the dugout.
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