Conor Coady has stated that the issues which have seen Leicester City get off to a torrid start to their League One campaign run deeper than the players and manager.
The Foxes have had little to shout about in their opening stretch of matches, which has seen the club win just once, at home to Plymouth Argyle, and that poor form has led to reports that manager Russell Martin may already be given the sack.
Coady Offers Solution To Leicester Woes
One former player has tried to diagnose the issues at hand at the King Power, with Conor Coady delivering his verdict as to what is wrong at the club in an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The 33-year-old played for City across two years prior to his move to Wrexham, during which he gained promotion under Enzo Maresca before their relegation the following season.
Now retired and coaching the England youth setup, Coady claimed that the problems with Leicester may lie further than just the on-field issues.
“I just think it’s deeper. It’s got to be deeper. It can’t just be now ‘Oh the manager’s not good enough, and the players aren’t’, it’s got to run deeper than what we’re doing, because it’s been going on for too many years now.
“Everyone will sit there and go, ‘ The players aren’t good enough; they haven’t been good enough’ and rightly so, because they haven’t been good enough and I was there. I felt it.
“I wasn’t good enough when I was there. But there’s got to be a deeper issue and I was thinking about this before we come on Chappers [Mark Chapman]. Over the years what gave Leicester real success and it was that kind of feeling of going to that ground and thinking it’s going to be the hardest game in the world.
“That’s what I used to feel when I went there, when you had Jamie Vardy up front, James Maddison behind, you had Tielemans, you had Ndidi, even going back to Wes Morgan being at centre-back with Robert Huth.
“It was one of the hardest games you’re going to have in a season, and I just feel that that identity has been lost over the years.”
Coady Backs Martin Amid Pressure
Another topic of discussion for the ex-Foxes centre-back was manager Russell Martin, who, according to TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey, is already under consideration for the sack after their woeful 4-0 loss to Oxford United last weekend.
That game saw the fanbase in the East Midlands sour on the Brighton-born boss, with several chants criticising his tactical approach as well as booing ringing out across the King Power throughout the match.
No decision has been reached yet, with the former Rangers head still scheduled to lead the team into their next match against promotion challengers Stockport County at Edgeley Park.
However, Coady is hopeful that Martin will be afforded more time to try and turn things around, adding:
“They’ve decided to bring Russell in, so you decided to tie your flag to the mast and go, ‘We are going to go with this’ because this is a way that has got to have time to improve.
“If they’re going to make a decision after four or five games, there was no point in bringing Russell in because that’s not the sort of manager he is.”
Where Do Leicester Go From Here?
Conor Coady has given an honest assessment of Leicester City, and his point that the issues are much further down in the club’s core than many people think is correct.
However, that is unlikely to change many’s opinions on Russell Martin, with fans inside the stadium already souring on his tenure after just a month of competitive fixtures.
It is the point on the club’s identity that may offer the perfect solution, as creating an intimidating atmosphere and a highly physical squad was the approach which brought the club success, and it is straying too far from that which may have been one reason for the decline in performances.
Whether Martin’s tactical approach is conducive to that is another question, though, with his preferred method of possession retention the complete opposite of the approaches both Brendan Rodgers and Claudio Ranieri brought to the club during their trophy-winning campaigns.
As proven by two of last season’s League One playoff teams in Bradford City and Stevenage, becoming a more physical, aerially focused side has brought them right into promotion contention, but whether the current Foxes boss, or even his potential successor can bring that change around may be a longer-term rebuild, something the club might not have the time for amid this poor start.
