After finishing eighth in the Premier League in 2022 and reaching the Conference League semi-finals, then manager Brendan Rodgers warned the club needed to alter their expectations.<\/p>\n
Covid had a big impact on King Power – the duty-free retailer owned by Vichai – as airline travel halted.<\/p>\n
The ripples were still being felt and, after an eight-game winless start to 2022-23, Rodgers said Leicester needed to focus on reaching 40 points.<\/p>\n
It was a stark contrast to previous declarations from the former Liverpool<\/a> boss, who spoke frequently about disrupting the established order in the Premier League. <\/p>\n Leicester came close to doing it, missing out on the Champions League on the final day of successive seasons in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n Under Rodgers they also won the FA Cup – beating Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea<\/a> – but the decline quickly took hold amid a lack of quality investment.<\/p>\n So while Leicester tried to stay still, they ended up tumbling backwards.<\/p>\n They still boasted a team including internationals such as Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans but Rodgers was dismissed in April 2023 with the club in the bottom three. Former Aston Villa<\/a> and Norwich boss Dean Smith came in but was unable to save them.<\/p>\n In the thee years since Rodgers left, Leicester have had seven managers, with sources questioning the decision-making as the Foxes have lurched from style to style with no identity.<\/p>\n They went from Smith to Enzo Maresca, who at least took them to the Championship title in 2024, to Steve Cooper – after a failed move for Graham Potter – to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who won just five of his 27 games. <\/p>\n Marti Cifuentes was appointed in July – Van Nistelrooy finally sacked once Leicester entered a new financial year – and was expected to pick up the pieces with the same damaged squad.<\/p>\n Cifuentes had them 14th – six points from the play-offs – when he was axed in January.<\/a><\/p>\n That decision looks worse the more time passes, and there were internal frustrations over the delay in replacing him, with former Foxes defender Gary Rowett eventually appointed 24 days later – having been sacked by relegation rivals Oxford in December. <\/p>\n