Claudio Ranieri- another Premier League managerial victim.

Claudio Ranieri- another Premier League managerial victim

When he picked up the national newspapers this morning, Claudio Ranieri could have been forgiven for thinking that somebody had fatally stabbed him in the back. The latest Premier League managerial sacking almost feels as though we've been here a thousand times before. The sword of Damocles has fallen on a wonderful Italian gentleman who captured our hearts and won legions of admirers.

When Ranieri lifted the Premier League trophy with Leicester City in the Foxes last game of the season at a rain soaked King Power Stadium it seemed as though the world was, quite literally, Ranieri's oyster or maybe that should be a tasty spaghetti bolognaise. Maybe he should have known about the job description that comes with being a Premier League manager because recognition and appreciation are the last of such considerations on a chairman's mind. Maybe a chairman, some would have you believe, gets all of his priorities completely wrong.

 If things go ever so slightly awry and misshapen and the results go against you on a regular basis you would be well advised to pack your bags, accept your P45 and just head for the exit. Quite clearly football is a dreadfully unforgiving industry and if you don't give the fans what they crave then you have to accept the consequences of your actions.

Football management, as we know, should come with a regulation Government health warning and as Ranieri may have learnt to his cost, the game is completely lacking in sentiment or, possibly tact. There may well come a time when football managers will have to take out a hefty insurance scheme if indeed they are treated shabbily or abominably.

Leicester currently sit a point above the relegation zone and are therefore in the most perilous of all states. This could be considered as a rash over- reaction on Leicester's part but the fact remains that today's chairman could be seen as being trigger happy or even, dare I say it, paranoid. Of course Leicester's current plight has to be taken seriously but when a decent, principled man does his utmost to lift a hitherto middle of the road, unfashionable club to the rarefied heights of the Premier League title then something rotten must be eating away at the very fabric of the Premier League.

This is quite clearly a terrible error of judgment and you have to feel deeply sorry for a pleasant and well mannered man who was just trying to do a job that somehow seemed to get away from him. Ranieri was always amusing and deeply courteous at press conferences but the fact is that humour and politeness don't win trophies and nor do they prove anything to anybody. What the Leicester board were demanding from Ranieri was, at the very least, a top four finish in the Premier League and the guarantee of an FA Cup Final victory. And this is the thin dividing line between failure and success.

Sadly though neither will come to pass so the scapegoat is Ranieri, Ranieri, quite regrettably, has to take the rap for such tactical and technical incompetence. Or so we were led to believe. He is the one who, according to those in the know, has to be accused of naivety and careless ineptitude at all levels. Leicester have, quite obviously, been a pale shadow of the team who conquered all last season and comparisons with Blackburn Rovers fall from grace after falling into the Championship having won the Premier League the season before are patently obvious.

When Ranieri was Chelsea manager the Russian oligarch and multi billionaire Roman Abramovich was issuing orders from the warm security of the directors box. Chelsea's dramatic evolution into a powerful, well equipped and formidable Premier League side was a startling revelation. Sadly Ranieri was never allowed enough time to see the fruition of his labours. Instead he was unceremoniously dumped into the builders skip and the sack followed. But as we now know we should never act in haste for fear of repenting at leisure.

It'll come as no surprise at all to learn that this the latest managerial casualty is simply another depressing chapter in a familiar book. Aston Villa fans have more or less resigned themselves to Doug Ellis, an allegedly ruthless and domineering chairman. Ellis, so his critics would have us  believe, is a distant and autocratic figure who just sacks managers for fun without ever thinking of or consulting anybody. But then I couldn't possibly comment.

Tommy Docherty, the former Manchester United boss once said that he'd had more clubs than Jack Nicholas and maybe he thought loyalty was some old fashioned quality that no longer existed. The late and much missed Brian Clough once believed that he preferred his chairman to be in front of him rather than behind him. But then Cloughie was just being delightfully honest.

The truth is though that Claudio Ranieri is temporarily out of a job and Leicester may come to regret their decision. Football was horrified by the suddenness and abruptness of Ranieri's exit. They will look at their list of managerial successors, weigh up their options and then realise the error of their ways. Claudio Ranieri has decency, exemplary managerial pedigree and the most engaging manner. If Leicester do learn from what may seem a dreadful rashness then Claudio Ranieri will deservedly find gainful employment sooner rather than later. Football needs to come its senses sooner rather than later.