'A club at a crossroads' - relegated Leicester in need of rebuild

The banner flown over the King Power Stadium made its point.

'King Power Clueless Sack The Board,' it read, just before Leicester City stepped into the last chance saloon for their game against Liverpool.

A second relegation in three seasons, and instant return to the Championship, was confirmed soon afterwards as Trent Alexander-Arnold's second-half winner put the visitors within three points of the Premier League title.

It has been a calamitous season after last year's Championship triumph, with two managers, four wins and no home league goals for almost five months.

The drop had been coming - Leicester have won just once since December - and there was an air of resignation around the ground, even before Alexander-Arnold's strike.

There are unhappy and disconnected fans, players accused of giving up, and a manager in Ruud van Nistelrooy who, despite his pedigree as a player, has seen the Foxes get worse on his watch.

There were some boos at full-time, but the majority of home fans had already left. Those who stayed offered a smattering of applause, yet it was an empty gesture.

It reflected a club in need of a rebuild but how, and with who, are the biggest questions as Leicester - champions of England nine years ago - face one of their biggest crossroads.

When the Foxes sacked Steve Cooper in October they were 16th, although the cracks were there.

The teething problems in moving away from Enzo Maresca's style - less expansive and working the ball quicker - were just part of the issue.

The departed Maresca, who led them to the Championship title last season before joining Chelsea, was well-liked by the squad and Cooper struggled to connect with players, even if some of the senior members of the squad - including Jamie Vardy - were onside.

There was growing concern from the club that any disconnect would impact their survival prospects, and one of the reasons why they dismissed Cooper.

So, when Van Nistelrooy arrived, his honesty was welcomed, his methods and messages refreshing.

Former Manchester City Elite Development Squad coach Brian Barry-Murphy, who joined as assistant coach, also made an impressive first impression, with the players enjoying the variety and clarity he brought to training.

Yet, since the opening two games - a 3-1 win over West Ham and 2-2 comeback draw with Brighton in December - Leicester have won just four points.

They have equalled their club-record run of defeats (eight) and, despite performances which deserved more and the desire for the Dutchman to succeed, results have fallen off a cliff.

The Foxes were more competitive under Cooper - who sacrificed his beliefs to try to find a way to survive - and they drew a blank just once in his 12 Premier League games.

That is in stark contrast to the lack of goals under Van Nistelrooy - a revered striker for Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Netherlands - and they have scored just six times in the league since the draw with Brighton on 8 December.

Another goalless outing against Liverpool extended the home goal drought to nine league games and 810 minutes - the worst in top-flight history.

Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: "They have some big decisions to make. It has been awful for them. They have been miles off it."

Some players have recently raised concerns over the standard and intensity of training with the drop-off being connected to Leicester's impending relegation, which was becoming increasingly inevitable.

The fall-out with midfielder Harry Winks - Van Nistelrooy has dropped him for the last four games for refusing to agree to stay at the training ground one night a week - emphasises the growing tensions.

When asked about whether he had been able to improve the standards and culture in his five months at the club, Van Nistelrooy was clear.

"When you don't combine them with results it's always hard. There's no negotiation on these standards and I hold everyone accountable on those," the Dutchman said this month.

"I know how I worked from a village of 5,000 people in the middle of nowhere to Manchester United and Real Madrid. I know what is necessary to stay at the highest level and I know there are so many people working at this football club who have the quality to do so. But not enough yet.

"In difficult moments you get to know people and characters very well. I speak about standards and what is needed to perform at the highest level and that's a culture which needs to be created in this club."

Defender Conor Coady has been one trying to raise spirits at the club's Seagrave training base, but it has been an almost impossible task with results - and he admitted Leicester have not been good enough.

"We've took a bit of stick and we'll continue to take stick because it's deserved," said the former England centre-back. "From minute one this season, we haven't been at a level to fully compete in the Premier League and you have to be because it'll chew you up and spit you out."

As the plane's banner suggested, director of football Jon Rudkin and the board have been the target for fans this season.

They see Rudkin as a root cause of their decline in recent seasons. He was, of course, in the same position when the Foxes stunned the world to win the Premier League in 2016, but supporters have made up their minds.

It does not help that the hierarchy rarely speak publicly, allowing supporters to understand and digest the situation.

Chief executive Susan Whelan twice met with the Foxes Trust and the club's Fan Advisory Board in February for candid and constructive meetings but the wider fanbase remain disconnected.

Does chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha decide to make a change at the top, does head of recruitment Martyn Glover's position come under more scrutiny following a number of poor transfer windows, regardless of financial constraints?

Van Nistelrooy's position remains a doubt and it is hard to see a long-term future in the wake of damning statistics.

Defeat against Liverpool leaves him with the unenviable record of having lost 17 of his 22 games, winning just three. He has lost 16 of his last 18 matches in charge, and what manager with that record survives?

Van Nistelrooy, who confirmed there was no date set for talks on his future, said on Sunday: "I'm waiting on the clarity of the club and how they want to continue.

"It is the goal to lead the club. I have to wait on how the club sees things and take it from there.

"The club has to use this time, otherwise you will waste it. In a situation like this you have to sit very carefully with the club to discuss the matters."

Yet sacking a second manager of the season has financial consequences and with money tight, it will be a consideration. Can Leicester financially afford to sack Van Nistelrooy but, going forward, can they afford not to?

There is also an acceptance the squad needs a reset but only three players are out of contract - goalkeepers Daniel Iversen and Danny Ward, and 38-year-old captain Jamie Vardy.

What happens with Vardy - influential at the club as their last remaining title winner and the scorer of 198 goals - remains open, but it's the biggest decision the club has to make in terms of the squad given his reputation and achievements.

It means Leicester must shift big earners to make wholesale changes to a squad which has, in the main, brought them down twice.

Wilfred Ndidi signed a new three-year contract last summer but his appetite for another Championship campaign is likely to have waned and the same will go for defenders Ricardo Pereira and Wout Faes. Although, as part of Leicester's decline, they must find takers.

Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen has been a rare bright spot and will have his admirers, as will Bilal El Khannouss, despite an underwhelming first season in England, while Winks' situation could depend on Van Nistelrooy's exit.

Like every club, Profit and Sustainability Rules will be a concern so sales are inevitable and the threat of possibly further action from the EFL remains.

Leicester escaped a points deduction for a PSR breach in the three years to 30 June 2023, successfully arguing the Premier League had no power to punish them as they were already in the EFL at the time of the charge, and the club remains in talks with the Premier League and EFL.

Yet, they have to fall under some jurisdiction and cannot be left to float.

For now, though, Leicester know they will be a Championship club next season and deep-rooted problems - which pre-date and go beyond Van Nistelrooy - need to be dealt with.

They made an immediate return last time they went down in 2023. This time their short-term future is far less certain.