Claudio Ranieri was derided as the “Tinkerman” when he was Chelsea’s coach in Roman Abramovich’s first year as owner. Few remember him as the coach who brought in John Terry, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, and William Gallas, so instrumental to their future success.
Ranieri’s arrival at Leicester City, a blue collar club nurtured under the hard nosed Nigel Pearson was greeted with hostility. Pearson might have worn out his welcome with the club’s owners who fired him being too combative and his son’s extracurricular activities in their own country. But he was still immensely popular with the ranks and file and now even more so with last season’s miraculous escape.
Ranieri’s problem is he will forever be tainted with the birth of financial doping, the Abramovich years which saw astronomical sums being paid to buy a title. A war chest of $200m paid out to acquire the best players. The gauche Abramovich wanted instantaneous results which Ranieri was unable to provide him. He was replaced by Mourinho. In short, Ranieri is as welcome as a bankster given Leicester’s by the boots ethos.
None of that matters if Leicester wins. The Foxes and Riyad Mahrez ran riot against the Mackems. Sunderland did mount a late charge but it was too late. Leicester City have shown they know how to win when the chips are down. But it is a different proposition when you create some tailwind this early. It remains to be seen if Mahrez, Ritchie De Laet, Robert Huth, Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki, and Marc Albrighton can keep up the momentum.