Ruud van Nistelrooy must be sacked by Leicester City after making baffling decision against West Ham

Add as preferred source on Google

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s appointment has been a complete disaster, with no sign of positive light at Leicester City under his guidance.

When Leicester sacked Steve Cooper in November and replaced the Welshman with Van Nistelrooy, many fans were behind the decision.

Cooper was blasted for his negative style of football, while the Dutchman earned glowing reviews at PSV for his exciting, attacking style.

Unfortunately, after three months in charge of Leicester, it’s become clear that Van Nistelrooy is out of his depth tactically in the Premier League.

Leicester’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Thursday night was the 11th they’d tasted in the past 12 league matches, condemning them to the fate of relegation.

Fans called for Van Nistelrooy to be sacked for the second game running, and one decision in the loss against the Hammers highlights why.

• READ MORE: Van Nistelrooy will be axed, Vestergaard is woeful and more – five things learned from West Ham vs Leicester

Ruud van Nistelrooy made no substitutes at half-time vs West Ham

Leicester suffered a 4-0 thrashing against Brentford a week ago as the Foxes were carved open at will by the dangerous Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

In an attempt to tighten up their defence, Van Nistelrooy went more conservative against the Hammers, surrendering possession instead of pressing high.

As a result, Leicester were camped in their own half for most of the first period, inviting pressure from the hosts who dominated proceedings.

West Ham took the lead in the 21st minute through Tomas Soucek, and then Jarrod Bowen’s deflected strike handed them a two-goal cushion on the stroke of half-time.

Admittedly, both of those goals were avoidable from a Leicester perspective, as some comical defending took the game away from the visitors before half-time.

The majority of Van Nistelrooy’s players were woeful in the first 45, making only one entry into the final third.

Yet, the Leicester manager opted against making a substitution or a tweak in the system at the interval, going into the second half with the same game plan.

It was perhaps a show of faith from Van Nistelrooy in the players on the pitch, but he should have made at least a couple of substitutions, with it becoming clear that he isn’t up to the level tactically.

• READ MORE: Leicester City fans in complete agreement about Mads Hermansen after West Ham, it’s hard to argue

Leicester unlikely to sack Van Nistelrooy

Leicester have gone on a horrid run since changing manager. A return of just two wins in 13 league matches under Van Nistelrooy tells its own story and explains why he deserves to be axed.

But the Leicester owners said they won’t sack Van Nistelrooy, as getting rid of another manager would cost the club too much financially, especially with PSR issues hanging over their heads.

With only 11 matches left in the season, the Foxes are on just 17 points and five adrift of safety. No club has survived in the Premier League with that total of points after 27 matches.

So, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Newcastle United in their next four, 17th-place Wolves have a chance to pull away from danger while leaving Leicester marooned in the bottom three.

On the evidence of their results across the last few months, it’s impossible to see them taking any points from those fixtures, with not even the most optimistic of fans able to see a way out.