RUUD AWAKENING
Back in early November, Manchester United had sacked Erik ten Hag but were waiting for his permanent replacement, Ruben Amorim, to fly in from Portugal. In stepped Ruud van Nistelrooy, a club legend with a promising managerial pedigree, to deliver some interim magic. It worked surprisingly well: while Amorim was clearing his desk at Sporting, Van Nistelrooy went unbeaten in four home games across three competitions. In a further twist, Ruud’s reward for bringing a few feelgood vibes to the husk of Old Trafford was a one-way ticket through Carrington’s overcrowded door marked Do One.
An important caveat for Ruud’s unbeaten run is that half of the games were against Leicester, who were beaten 5-2 in Milk Cup by United and 3-0 in the Premier League. It contributed to the departure of Steve Cooper, who had kept the Foxes above water but turned fans off with his conservative football and whiff of Nottingham Forest. But who to replace him? Perhaps a dashing Dutchman seen wandering towards Manchester airport. If Van Nistelrooy could beat this Leicester side so comprehensively, not once but twice, he must be good.
Leicester’s new manager started off well with four points from two home games, but a trip to Newcastle in mid-December delivered a 4-0 defeat. That began a run of seven straight league losses, home fans quickly turning on Po’ Ruud as Leicester crashed into the bottom three. The Foxes enjoyed a b@ntorious win at Tottenham but Bilal El Khannous’ winner that day (26 January) was their last Premier League goal. It’s now April, with Leicester since racking up eight scoreless league defeats in a row, conceding 21 goals in the process.
Newcastle started the slide towards the trapdoor and may have bolted it shut on Monday, winning 3-0 in a contest with all the intensity of a Sunday afternoon post-roast kickabout. Despite earning an early corner, Leicester still managed to go behind after two minutes, before Fabian Schär showed the Baller League a thing or two with a long-range crossbar assist for Jacob Murphy, who benefited as the entire home defence simply stood and watched on.
So, while Amorim gets a natty retro hoodie to wear on the touchline (Big Sir Jim knocking 20% off as a goodwill gesture) and a soft-rock inspired terrace chant, all Po’ Ruud has are unwanted records – the longest run of league defeats without scoring since 1977, zero home league goals in five months. After Monday’s mismatch, Van Nistelrooy appeared ready to walk before, like Ivan Juric at Southampton, he is pushed out of the exit door when relegation is confirmed. “The most important thing is the club and these players,” Ruud muttered when asked about his future, before zipping up a holdall and firing up the online check-in app.
Whether he is still there or not, Leicester will surely already be down by 3 May when they face Southampton at home – a chance for both sets of owners to stand up and take accountability for dreadful seasons, which Football Daily is confident they’ll take. Still, with the gulf between England’s top two divisions only growing, don’t be surprised if both teams are cruising back towards the Premier League in a year’s time, having failed to learn a single thing.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Simon Burnton will helm our piping hot coverage of Belgium 1-2 England in the Women’s Nations League, with kick-off from 7.30pm (all times BST). Oh, and you might have heard that there’s also Bigger Cup tonight. Rob Smyth is in position for Arsenal 1-3 Real Madrid, while Niall McVeigh will take on Bayern 1-1 Internazionale, with both kick-offs at 8pm.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I was coaching from 18-19 years old and nobody knew. I did things so under the radar that people at the FA didn’t even know” – Jo Potter, Rangers Women’s head coach and former England international, talks to Sophie Downey about her own development, the need for Scotland to do well and winning silverware in the latest edition of Moving the Goalposts.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Regarding yesterday’s news that Brazilian authorities now deem standing on a ball to be a yellow card offence, it just shows how ahead of the game Uefa were. Wayne Rooney famously got a red card for this in 2006. But then he did stand on two of them at once” – Derek McGee.
I was reading the Leicester v Newcastle live blog when I thought of a joke. May I test it with your readers? I figure they, I mean we, are well used to dodgy attempts at comedy. The Newcastle and Leicester managers walk into a bar, leaving the door open behind them. The bartender looks up and says ‘Howe, Ruud!’” – Peter Oh.
Martin Ødegaard needs to be aware of an imposter on the Arsenal bench who sounds a bit like him (yesterday’s Football Daily). I had to press and hold the O on my iPhone to get that special Norwegian Ø you know” – Brian Wealthall (and 1,056 others).
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Peter Oh, who wins a copy of Groundhopper, by Pitch Publishing. Visit their bookshop here. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
Fan protests, football influencers and topless Glazers: yep, it’s David Squires.
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