Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers claims the club are not their usual selves and have not had the help they needed in the transfer market. His comments come after the Foxes yet again suffered another Premier League defeat. A 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Thursday night saw leaves the Foxes at the bottom of the Premier League.
After losing goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and defender Wesley Fofana, the 2015-16 Premier League champions waited until deadline day to make their only signing of the summer, having spent a £15 million to sign defender Wout Faes from Reims.
Prior to their game against Manchester United, Foxes chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha wrote a letter to the club’s fans, saying that the club’s financial position is “entirely secure and fully backed by his personal commitment.”
Srivaddhanaprabha also said that transfer spending had to be as limited as possible to ensure the club complies with financial sustainability regulations.
But with Leicester suffering a woeful start to the season and his job as manager coming under much scrutiny, Brendan Rodgers has now risked a confrontation with the owner by criticizing the club’s lack of recruitment in public.
Rodgers complains about lack of transfer backing
A disappointed Rodgers did not hold back in his criticism of the club’s transfer activity or lack of it and made his thoughts clearly known after the Foxes suffered their fourth consecutive loss of the season against Manchester United.
“With the greatest respect, we have not had the help in the market this team needed,” Rodgers said. “To watch clubs in the top five leagues add players and we haven’t been able to do has been difficult. We needed help and I haven’t been able to get that.
“When you want to compete — I came to Leicester to compete and I was initially able to do that — you have to add quality. But in the last two windows, we haven’t been able to do that.
“I would love to have added five or six players, but if you can’t do it, I have to respect that and work with what we have. But this isn’t the club that it was two years ago. That’s the reality. We haven’t brought any new players in, bar one late on, in the last two windows and that’s a replacement. So these players need the supporters. It’s a moment that’s really important.”
Rodgers glad the transfer window is over
Having lost Fofana against his will, Rodgers also admitted his disappointment at losing the Frenchman but was glad the transfer sage is now over.
“It has been a huge distraction,” he said. “It is destabilizing for the group and the mentality, but these are a good bunch of guys. Once we get the win, confidence will grow and they will be fine.
Leicester will now take on Brighton at the Amex Stadium next, as they battle to record their first win of the campaign.
