Does anybody know what happened to Lesta Gangsta? I know some didn't always agree, but I really appreciated his posts, and enjoyed reading the debates... Shame to have lost a good poster! This board should be getting busier!!!
I recollect that he was last active on the board after the Arsenal game ...when, if you recall, he had lots to say about our first defeat by more than 2 goals in the Prem etc and how he saw that as proof that Pearson's work was being undermined by Ranieri and that he feared the worse for the rest of the season ... and so on .... We then went to Norwich where Ranieri made some tactical changes, the team put in a very disciplined performance defensively, we won the game and then embarked on the impressive run that now has us sitting where we are ... I don't recall him posting from that point.onwards.. I don't think it is in Gangsta's character to concede a debate or admit to any flaws in his opinions ... and once it became obvious that Ranieri was actually moving the club forward rather than plummeting us to disaster, Gangsta appears to have found it easier (preferable) just to to walk away from the board rather than concede that he might have been mistaken in his judgement of Ranieri etc ... a shame because it is the differences in opinion and willingness to debate that is the lifeblood of any football forum. He has also chosen, rather sadly, to exclude himself from sharing in the euphoria that the rest of us have had on here, celebrating the events of this incredible season in the club's history. . Gangsta was closest to Proud - so it might be that Proud has heard from him privately since his last public postings?...
But no matter how wrong we may have been about Ranieri, this is, without doubt, the best-tasting humble pie I have ever eaten...
I think the bigger issue was that a good few of us were prepared to give Ranieri the benefit of the doubt from the start rather than jumping on the negative media bandwagon ... those individuals (myself for one) tended to have been the ones who had previously been critical of certain aspects of Nigel Pearson's tenure ... and were therefore the ones that Gangsta tended to clash with most given his views on Nigel Pearson ... I suspect he found it somewhat irritating / difficult to accept - that the optimism (or perhaps lack of pessimism) from those individuals appears to have been well judged - at least to date ... Just my view of course ...
Gangsta like me had our doubts about Ranieri and they was justified. Ranieri has got very little wrong since coming in but that doesnt change the fact at the time of his appointment he was deemed a risk I was the first to admit I was wrong about Ranieri and fairplay to him but any supporter like Gangsta is entitled to have doubts and air them
Any appointment is a risk, but less so when you bring in someone of Ranieri's ilk. Go for a young up coming manager that too would be deemed a risk.
.. I'd disagree that the doubts were justified .. the only real blot on Ranieri 's C V was his time with the Greek National team .. indeed the whole point that those of us 'optimistic' about his appointment were making was that there really was no justification for the media negativity surrounding his appointment ... agree with everything else in your post.
I think most Leicester fans would have been happy to have seen Lenny appointed for 'romantic' reasons ... certainly I would have. But ex-players are not always a success ... olde fans like me will remember the disastrous period with Frank McLintock in charge Claudio Ranieri coming into the picture was something of a surprise and out of left field ...... I've always been a bit of a cynic where 'football experts' are concerned, so decided to examine his CV myself and also spoke to a few Chelsea fans as well as looking at general comments from Chelsea supporters on various fan's forums ... The CV was singularly impressive ... the only real negative was his time as Greek National Manager ... but who on earth could have made a success of that job? - not llike you can improve the team with transfers... I don't recall seeing / hearing a single negative from Chelsea fans ... their warm affection and respect for the bloke spoke volumes for me ... certainly outweighed the irrational doom mongerers and nay sayers of the national media etc ...and who was better placed to judge? The resentment from some Leicester fans, whilst equally irrational (to some extent), was at least understandable in terms of loyalty to Nigel Pearson - some almost seeming to blame Ranieri personally for Pearson's departure and obstinately refusing to give him any credit for our early season success ... ... in contrast I personally was just gobsmacked by what I was witnessing from the first game ... the transformation in Vardy, Drinkwater and Mahrez was spectacular ... Vardy and Drinks had been peripheral figures under NP ... Mahrez enigmatically had flitted in and out of the team ... Readily admit that I would not have started Vardy against Sunderland ... it is inconceivable that he wouldn't be in my starting XI now ... No question now that Ranieri WAS the right man for the job .. so was it Rocket Science or did the owners merely appont the man with the best track record and the most impressive CV? ... you can probably guess my thoughts on it
Impressive CVs mean very little. Aside from Monaco (where it'd have been a massive underachievement to have finished below 2nd) and Chelsea which was 12 years ago, he hadn't had any relative success and his most recent appointment was a total disaster. Lesta wasn't "wrong" to have the doubts that he did.
Now I'll have to disagre with you on the CV point ... I've been managing people for over 25 years and CVs play a crucial role in recruitment .. admittedly they are not conclusive ... but they are indicative of experience, capability and historic acheivement ... The most 'recent appointment' was the Greek National Team ... that's like trying to compare a diver with a synchronized swimmer ... The list of the clubs that Ranieri has managed is of the highest order - he has also done it in every major league in Europe ... His record for bringing through talent was also exceptional ... and surely is beyond refute now? No relative success?> .. so how are measuring that? ... survival in the top flight? ... if you are saying that he has no relative success because he didn't win a title then I'm afraid I'd disagree ... he has finished runner-up to teams with excellent managers and better financial clout in his managerial history ... to me that is relative success - and European football ... Arsdene Wenger has made a career out of such 'relative success' for many years ... There are lways risks with every appointment ... and of course people are entitled to have doubts ...it certainly is not wrong to have doubts and I have never once commented otherwise ... but there needs to be some perspective ... what evidence was there for thinking that Ranieri's appointment meant certain relegation? ... frankly, there never was any .. not in terms of his managerial history - he has more or less made every club he has been at be 'competitive' for honours rather than battling relegation. ... ...
I'd argue that Football is totally different to any other profession and that you wouldn't ignore someone's work for a decade because of something s/he did in 2004. When I say relative success I mean bettering the club's expectations. Success isn't finishing mid table when you're at Inter Milan. It's being in the latter stages of the Champions League and winning Serie A. The only real success (when you look at budgets and club expectations) story for him was finishing 2nd to the invincibles. I don't think anybody felt that Ranieri's appointment meant "certain relegation" but I think many people saw it as a sideways step from Pearson. Which many felt would result in similar or worse results as a result of a huge dampening to the club's spirit (not a bad prediction but it's been proven wrong). Not to mention we'd had our fingers burnt by Sven Goran-Eriksson. Who had a far, far superior CV and was as media savvy and friendly as Ranieri. It was easy to see similarities.
... and I'd argue that football being totally different is a bit of a myth ... if I got 2 CVs across my desk one for J Mourinho and one for S Allardyce ... I know which I'd go for (if the finances stacked up) ... it's the same with players to a degree ... 'football' CVs are just more publicly visible .. Ranieri's 'relative success' is what made him an attractive proposition for all of those top clubs that hired him ...he invariably improved each from where he had taken over ... the reputation (CV) built in doing it is what kept getting him top jobs - similarly it's why Hiddink, Advocaat, Benitez and Mourinho are constantly courted for top jobs ..... Can't disagree on Sven .. although he had already become something of a mercenary ... character wise the two men are quite different.
Well yeah, obviously you'd go for Mourinho. Because he was recent success. Would you go for Kevin Keegan over Sam Allardyce? Keegan has a more impressive CV. I'd say (with regards to the bit I have made bold) that Ranieri's failure to secure relative success resulted in the sack at every club he's been at barring Chelsea and Monaco. I just think it was a bit unwise to be overconfident with Ranieri's signing. The club was seemingly in an unhappy place and, to all but a few, we needed stability and Ranieri didn't look like providing it.
The only negative comment I got from Chelski fans was his substitutions in the Champions league against Monaco (?) but like my mate said... If it had come off he'd have been the new messiah and Jos'e at the bridge might never of happened !
No - I'd go for Mourinho because he has a proven track record for what I would want - more than Sam would - I would not have appointed Roberto Di Matteo after his 'recent success' back in 2010 for instance .. a great acheivement but not a proven track record. Mourinho has now been sacked twice by Chelsea despite being the most successful manager of modern terms ... that is one area wher football does differ from other jobs perhaps ... Benitez has just been sacked despite only being 4 points from the top of the league ...by definition there will always be 19 failures in a season in the Prem league - because only one team can win it - but there won't be 19 sackings ... Now I would argue with your last point - wherever Ranieri has been appointed he has brought stability ... I would say improvement - and laid solid foundations for the future ... the owners had a blue print for the 'next step' for their club - and their judgement has proven to be spot on.
... yes ... I must admit there were a couple of those ... but I remember one guy also admitting that if he'd kept it more conservative and still gone out they'd all have complained about him not being bold enough to 'go for it' ...
