Incidentally, the 2016 champions were also the only promoted side who went into the season with another manager than the one who oversaw the promotion winning season and the sacking caught a few people off guard, Alan Smith tells Tribalfootball.
“I think it surprised everybody, really. They aren't in a disastrous position, really, sitting just outside the drop zone as you'd probably expect from a team of what Leicester have got in terms of players. Something might have gone on behind the scenes that we don't know about and if so, they’ve made an early call on it and now they've got to make the right call on his replacement,” states the former Leicester- and Arsenal-striker.
Now doing co-comms on Sky Sports, Smith raises the question whether Cooper was the right choice in the first place.
“If a club comes for you, it's a difficult one to turn down and he obviously wanted to get back into football. The supporters never really took to him, though because of his Nottingham Forest past, but you know, there were times last season when they didn't show a lot of love to Enzo Maresca and his style of play. If they’d won a few more games, I don't think the fans would have been too bothered.”
Rumours emerged during Sunday that a few Leicester players had a Christmas party at a night club in Copenhagen with a signpost saying; “Enzo we miss U”. An indication of an unrest within the squad?
“You do hear these kinds of things, don't you? You're never quite sure. There'll be dissatisfaction with certain players if they're not in the team. There'll be little rumblings if they're losing games. In a successful side, normally you don't get too many complaints, so it’s a tough one to call, but you can't allow the players to be dictating to that extent.”
A former opponent of Smith, the Danish Scouser Jan Molby, believes Steve Cooper is not a Premier League-manager, but “Smithy” doesn’t quite agree.
“He got Forest promoted and then he kept them in the Premier League and with the added complication of having ‘a 1000’ players. So, I wouldn't say he's incapable of coaching in the top flight.”
Unwise to criticise refereeing decisions
With Cooper sidelined for the foreseeable future, at least he won’t have to moan about referees on a weekly basis.
”I was disappointed, actually, when I heard his post-match comments at the weekend after the Chelsea defeat. I didn't think he would stoop to that level where he's talking about Andy Madley and how they've had him four times recently and he's never been good for them.
“I don't know what he was suggesting, but VAR looked at the decisions that went against Leicester on the day, and they were the correct ones. I thought when you're going down that road, things are getting a bit desperate and it surprised me that he chose to do that. It was unwise, I think.”
Graham Potter has emerged as an early frontrunner to take over at the King Power Stadium, and Smith believes the former Brighton boss would be a good choice.
“He’s been out of the game for a while now and he's clearly a good coach. You can't overlook what he did at Brighton and before that. Whether he thinks this is the right move at the right time, if he's offered it, is another thing. I believe he turned it down or at least deliberated too long when there was a points deduction hanging over the club. He would be a progressive appointment.
“Of course, David Moyes is also available. That wouldn't be a bad appointment either because of his vast experience and ability as a manager. It will certainly be interesting to see who they appoint,” states Smith who managed 200 games for the Foxes himself between 1982 and 1987. He played 64 games more for Arsenal after making the switch and he’s mightily impressed by how Martin Odegaard has performed for his former club after his injury.
“He's the players that makes the team tick. The one who can create chances he's come back into the side almost at top form which is not easy at all when you've been out for a number of weeks. Fitness wise it normally takes you three or four games or at least it did for me to get back to 100% but he's hit the ground running. So, they do need to keep him fit and playing, no doubt about that.”
Alan Smith was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Mega Dice