Premier League twists and turns will simply not stop during the 2022/23 domestic campaign, and having recently parted company with former Swansea City and Liverpool gaffer, Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City have somewhat no surprisingly announce that former Walsall, Brentford and Aston Villa boss, Dean Smith, is the man that will now take them forward until at least the end of the current season.
It has been a testing old season for Leicester City fans and few in the wider world of football would blame them for taking a short break and seeking a distraction like bingo as they let Smith get his feet under the desk this week, but they will certainly be hoping Smith marks his card here. And just like football online bingo is very popular in the UK. Trying to find the best place to play bingo online can be a bit of a nightmare, much like trying to find the right managers at Premier League teams really.
50 year old Rodgers had decent success at the King Power Stadium when you consider his time and years in charge, but things seemed to turn particularly sour last summer when it appeared he was not suitably backed in the transfer market by their owners. The owners, would of course, point to previous spending and a need to balance the books for Financial Fair Play reasons.
It also cannot be denied that The Foxes have had a woeful 2022/23 campaign. Having spent a good few years battling away at the upper reaches of the table, Rodgers had left them in 19th place in the table, stuck on 25 points and they have lost four of their last five games.
Smith's record at Villa is to be admired, the historic ten game winning run that took them to promotion in his first half a season in effect, needs praise. He then kept them up and improved their league position, but things went wrong for Smith when the club sold Jack Grealish (the centre piece of his attacking intent and arguably the club talisman) and the players brought to try and replace him, struggled to find their feet and form.
Ultimately he could not find a reliable alternative answer and results spiralled, and having received his own marching orders at B6, he did not really fair much better at Norwich City, and that relationship also soon soured. He left Carrow Road earlier in the campaign.
In some senses, Leicester is a surprise move for Smith right now, but it could be a good fit when you consider Claudio Ranieri's previous style and Dean Smith's tendency to want quick, speedy attacks and James Maddison will undoubtedly play a key role for him moving forward.
With eight games remaining in the campaign though, the 52 year olds future in Leicester will largely hang on whether or not he can help drag them out of the relegation zone, as time is swiftly running out at this late stage of the year.
"The challenge in front of us is clear, but it's one myself and my coaching team have experienced before. With the quality in this squad and the number of games remaining, it's very much achievable."
It will not be an easy start for the former centre half though, his opening game next Saturday is against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side but his appointment does see Craig Shakespeare return to the club as assistant (the role he occupied under Ranieri), and former England captain John Terry rejoins Smith's backroom team in the role of coach, after his own spell at Villa Park came to an end.
It will be an interesting eight games for Foxes fans.
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