Evidently, Leicester City liked what they saw, what they succumbed to twice in the space of 12 days not so long ago.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four-game interim spell at Manchester United was bookended by victories over Leicester, and now the Foxes have handed him the reins. His mission: to keep them in the Premier League.
That was seemingly the task for Steve Cooper, too, with the now former Leicester boss said to have been shocked by the timing of his departure, but rumblings of fallings out and footage from Leicester players’ Christmas party in Copenhagen spoke as loud as their recent, flat displays.
Never mind the fancy dress, including Bob the Builder, the Joker, and Laa-Laa (the yellow Teletubbie), it was the “Enzo I miss u” sign – referencing former boss Enzo Maresca – being held up in the players’ vicinity as they partied which made clear their relationship with Cooper.
Leicester City owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, known as “Top”, is said to have blown his top this week in the aftermath of Cooper’s sacking and the footage emerging from that Saturday night out, which was less than 24 hours after their 2-1 loss to Maresca’s Chelsea.
But as ever, while you can chastise a whole team and berate them for their actions off the pitch and performances on it – the late penalty against Chelsea was their only shot on target – it is way easier to change the coach, and 48-year-old Van Nistelrooy was officially confirmed on Friday night.
With Leicester 16th and one point above the relegation zone, that position would arguably be welcomed come May providing a cushion grows away from the bottom three.
For that to be the case, Leicester will have to defy expectations in December after they end their November at Brentford on Saturday.
Leicester host West Ham, Brighton, Wolves and Manchester City next month, with trips to Newcastle and Liverpool as well, making for three games against teams in the current top five and a six-pointer with fellow strugglers, but now seemingly improving, Wolves.
It is a difficult run, and clearly Leicester felt as though it was important to act now, especially if they had already identified Van Nistelrooy as the man to replace Cooper.
The international break looked to be a period where West Ham or Crystal Palace could make a change, with Van Nistelrooy there for the taking, but positive results for Julen Lopetegui and Oliver Glasner have since calmed the waters – for now – at those two London clubs.
Leicester pounced, and it is a move that goes down as a masterstroke by Van Nistelrooy, who would not have been in the conversation in the summer but put himself in the shop window when becoming one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants at Old Trafford.
There Van Nistelrooy shouldered none of the blame as the Ten Hag era came crumbling down, and he was then there to pick up the scraps and boost his CV, assuming the players would play ball.
And that they did, so what Leicester’s own players can expect is perhaps what they witnessed twice recently, when United ran out 5-2 and 3-0 winners over the Foxes.
Van Nistelrooy was not drastic in his personnel changes, sticking with 4-2-3-1, but he was buoyed by a Bruno Fernandes hot streak – four goals in those four games – and a team who played as though a cloud had lifted.
Whether by chance or because they now had one of the Premier League’s most ruthless strikers in charge, United just so happened to be more efficient in front of goal, scoring 10 times from their 19 shots on target compared to the 21 goals from 82 shots on target under Ten Hag.
They also made more tackles (33) against Leicester than any previous league match this season, and played fewer long passes in their two league games (both 22) under Van Nistelrooy than any previous game this season under Ten Hag.
All this points towards how Leicester could shape up, and certainly their forwards can expect to learn a lot from the man who scored 95 Premier League goals in 150 appearances as a United player.
After first learning the managerial trade under Guus Hiddink at the Netherlands, Van Nistelrooy’s attacking nous then translated to his time at PSV Eindhoven, whom he coached for the 2022-23 season minus the final game – resigning over a dispute, citing “not enough support within the club”.
PSV finished second behind Arne Slot’s Feyenoord that term, but ended the campaign as Eredivisie’s top scorers.
They did so having had fewer shots than both Feyenoord and Ajax, and in keeping with Van Nistelrooy’s own fox-in-the-box qualities as a player, only Ajax’s shots were shorter in distance on average.
Jamie Vardy could be rubbing his hands in anticipation, therefore, and under Van Nistelrooy the whole of Leicester’s attack can expect to see an improvement, having been shot shy – they are 20th for shots in the Premier League – so far this season.
How Van Nistelrooy balances this with defensive duties remains to be seen – his PSV conceded more goals (40) than the other top six clubs that season – and so it certainly represents a gamble from Leicester.
This is Van Nistelrooy’s first permanent gig in the Premier League, with silverware not the goal. It will be more backs to the wall than he has ever experienced as a head coach, but a role equally too good to turn down.
Keep Leicester up and he will strengthen his own credentials, and with a relegation scrap featuring more teams than first anticipated, he has every chance of proving his stock is one on the rise.
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