Leicester City’s fall: From fairytale to factions

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Everyone inside the King Power Stadium knew relegation was inevitable even before Leicester City’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on April 20 provided confirmation.

The club’s neck had been on the block for weeks, if not months.

Leicester’s fight (or lack of) for survival is over, but the inquest into what could become the worst season in the club’s history has already begun.

Only when it is complete can the healing process begin — but even then, it is a process that will take time because Leicester is a broken and divided club.

The squad needs overhauling, the future of manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is uncertain, the board is disconnected from a large section of supporters and there is a divide on what action is required.

It seems a remarkable place for the club to find themselves. Leicester shocked the world when they were favourites for relegation in their second season back in the top flight and 5,000-1 outsiders for the title in 2016, only to go on to claim it by 10 clear points.

It was an achievement that sparked five years of unprecedented success, including three European campaigns and an unforgettable day at Wembley when they ended the club’s 137-year wait to lift the FA Cup. As well as the unrest, the exit of the talisman for those heroics, Jamie Vardy, marks the end of an era.

But fast forward to today and Leicester fans want answers, and many want change. The extent of the latter is open to debate.

The Athletic looks at how far the club has fallen from the fairytale title win in 2016 and what needs to change now.

The period since King Power International took over the club in 2010 has been the most successful and eventful in the club’s history.

Before home games, montages are shown on the big screens, reminding everyone of the special times. But those memories seem to evoke different emotions among fans now after a second relegation in three years.

Two diehard Leicester fans, Jason Bourne and Ian Stringer, who are both broadcasters, certainly had different takes during a discussion on social media last week.

For Stringer, after the reminders of the unprecedented great times — that seem even more out of this world looking back now — Leicester are heading back to their traditional state of bouncing between the top two divisions. This makes him even more appreciative of the previous decade.

Bourne, however, sees those images as reminders of what has been lost over the past three years and how the club’s management has allowed an incredible opportunity to be squandered.

The pre-match video. A monument to everything that’s been thrown away.

— Jason Bourne 📻 🦊 (@JasonBourne1986) April 20, 2025

The exchange between the pair sums up how a lot of fans feel, many torn between gratefulness for what has been achieved, but also anger at how far the club has been allowed to slide.

What happens next could determine how quickly the club heal and how much unity will go into a challenging Championship season, on and off the pitch. Some huge decisions have to be made.

Arguably, the biggest question that needs answering is whether chairman and owner Aiyawatt ‘Khun Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha has the appetite and passion to carry on and rebuild Leicester.

He lost his father, Khun Vichai, in tragic circumstances when the club owner and inspiration behind the title win died, along with four others, in a helicopter crash outside the stadium after a home game against West Ham United in 2018.

The youngest of four siblings, Khun Top was 33 when his father died and since then, he has been thrust into the main role at both King Power International and Leicester. He has contended with the damage Covid-19 did to the global travel industry that King Power relies on as an international tourism company, while also starting a young family.

There have been rumours that other interested parties are willing to buy Leicester, but King Power and Khun Top have not publicly demonstrated interest in selling. The emotional attachment to the club is strong. The statue of Khun Top’s father stands outside Filbert Way, a memorial garden is situated on the land behind the south-east corner of the ground where Khun Vichai died and the club’s charitable foundation bears his name.

Khun Top with his late father Khun Vichai, left, celebrating the 2016 title (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Every success has been celebrated with pride in his homeland as a victory for the Thai people as well as ‘Thai-owned’ Leicester City. Khun Top regularly entertains dignitaries from Thailand at home games.

King Power has also invested significantly in the club and has converted £420million ($314m) of loans into shares, effectively wiping out any debt the club has to the parent company.

Khun Top rarely speaks publicly beyond his matchday magazine notes, but a well-timed public statement of commitment could help.

While many fans have called for a change in the dugout as well as ownership, the main focus of their ire is the board of directors.

Director of football Jon Rudkin is the man most hold accountable for the recent poor recruitment record. Players have been allowed to leave on free transfers after running down their contracts and spiralling wages have taken the club over the 100 per cent of wages to revenue threshold, integral to meeting PSR.

Chief executive Susan Whelan has also been targeted and even Khun Top and King Power International have not been spared criticism.

Some fans want a complete clearout and a change in owner, despite the unprecedented success and the significant investment. But for many, that is going too far. The mistakes that have been made are unquestionable, but many feel a new owner would create more uncertainty.

After 10 years as director of football, Rudkin is the main target of the demands for accountability. But Khun Top and his father before him have relied on and trusted Rudkin. Despite the increasing protests, it seems unlikely Khun Top would sacrifice Rudkin.

It is clear that, seven years after the loss of Khun Vichai, the decision-making process at the top of the club, which in terms of the football side is now controlled by just Khun Top and Rudkin, needs support, fresh blood and a new vision that can install a consistent strategy for how the club can move forward.

A reshuffle could be an option to create an opportunity for such an appointment. It may not appease all the dissenting voices, but it could make a small difference.

The manager

Van Nistelrooy’s record since taking over from Steve Cooper does not make for pretty reading.

He has overseen 21 league games with two wins, two draws and 17 losses, including nine consecutive home league defeats in which his side have failed to score — an English record.

Van Nistelrooy has been seeking talks with the club and said before the defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers that he had expressed to the club’s hierarchy what he feels needs to be done to prepare the club for a promotion challenge in the Championship next season.

“I know what my plan is to bring the club back, but I am waiting on alignment,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “The quicker the better for the football club.”

In normal circumstances, the Dutchman’s disastrous record would make his position untenable, but the ruthlessness with which Cooper was dispatched after just 12 games of this season has been absent.

Unlike Southampton, who promptly dispatched their second manager of this season, Ivan Juric, immediately after relegation was confirmed, there has been a hesitancy about making a change.

Van Nistelrooy is respected by the upper management for his integrity and dignity with the way he has conducted himself as the season has spiralled out of control. There is also an understanding that he inherited a difficult situation, and a squad that includes £80million of Cooper’s summer signings.

Van Nistelrooy has spoken about working towards next season and looking to introduce young players, in the knowledge that this failing squad will be broken up.

Jeremy Monga, 15, and Jake Evans, 16, have recently been given debuts and will be involved in pre-season.

Van Nistelrooy gave Monga, 15, his debut this season (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)

Van Nistelrooy forged his coaching experience working with young players at PSV in the Netherlands, and that might convince Khun Top to stick with him. After five managers over the past three seasons, Leicester need stability.

But would the disgruntled fanbase get behind Van Nistelrooy after such a disastrous run of results?

Their anger has mainly been aimed at the club’s board, but there have been dissenting voices inside the ground towards Van Nistelrooy. Many want a fresh start under a new manager to exorcise the demons of this season.

There is the prospect that Van Nistelrooy could walk away, but sacking two managers and their backroom teams in the same financial year would cause more profit and sustainability (PSR) issues. Yet, the most important thing is having the right manager in place early to begin the work to get Leicester in shape for a promotion challenge.

With lingering PSR concerns and possible EFL sanctions next season, if the club decide to back Van Nistelrooy, there could be limits on how much they actually can. Regardless, a decision on who will be leading the club this season must be made early.

The only glimmer of a positive from an early relegation is that the club has certainty on which division they will be in next season and what work needs to be done. They have a small advantage over many of their rivals in the Championship next season, who are still embroiled in the current campaign.

Leicester seem to be back to square one; a club with aspirations of being a Premier League club but struggling to make it a reality again, just as they were a decade ago.

All the achievements in between must feel like a surreal dream to many supporters. To many more, it has become a nightmare. The fairytale is well and truly over.

The structure and systems that served them so well during those good times are now open to scrutiny and supporters want serious change — not just in the dugout, but at the very top.

The Foxes Trust, whose membership has grown substantially in recent years with fans wanting to have a voice, have again issued a statement calling for answers and accountability.

The Leicester fanbase want and deserve those answers, or the disconnect and division around the club will continue.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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