We would love to see Claudio Ranieri do a Kevin Keegan.
You know what we mean.
Headphones on the head, his team crumbling under the pressure after a verbal missiles lobbed in his side’s direction as they see their lead at the top of of the Premier League table collapse.
Newcastle were inexperienced at leading a title charge in the 1990s, they had players who never been there before, and eventually it all became too much as Alex Ferguson sought to exploit their naivety with some carefully planned words in the media.
Ferguson was an expert at it, and several managers, including Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez, fell for his so called ‘mind-games’ over the years.
But Fergie is gone now, and Jamie Carragher feels his absence, as well as his psychological protege Jose Mourinho, has been a key reason for Leicester City’s rise this season.
The ex-Liverpool defender writes in today’s Daily Mail that Leicester can sit on top of the table without the fear of being subjected to any major scrutiny from their rivals in London or Manchester, because Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini are too nice to engage in any verbal jousting.
“Another big factor is the absence of Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho. Can you imagine if they were involved in this title race? The mind games would have started long ago, with questions about Leicester’s psychological strength and remarks that would increase scrutiny on the squad.
“Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini will not do the same. They are both nice men and don’t use their press conferences to launch verbal grenades in the way Ferguson and Mourinho would. It isn’t their style to apply that kind of pressure.”
Carragher also feels that no-one has taken Leicester City seriously this season and that has been key to most sides downfall against the most unlikely of title challengers.
Ferguson or Mourinho would surely have mentioned the club’s fixture list or easy ride from referees so far this season to spark any conversation about the Premier League leaders.
Instead, Manuel Pellegrini is now a lame-duck manager while Wenger is preparing his list of excuses for another season of failure.
