Leicester City dey find demsef for serious wahala dis season. As dem dey play Portsmouth for Fratton Park dis Saturday, dey dey five points away from safety with just four matches remain. Na serious situation wey make fans dey fear say dem go drop to League One for first time since 2009.
Ten years ago for dis same day, Leicester dey top Premier League table as dem dey cruise to historic title win. Now, dey dey struggle for Championship relegation zone. Even with FA Cup win just five years back, dey dey face back-to-back relegation.
De six-point deduction wey dem get no help matters at all. But even with all de financial wahala wey mismanagement bring, dis squad still dey perform well below wetin people expect. Tommy Smith for Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast talk say “Leicester are in trouble. I’ll be totally honest, I think they’re done.”
De main problem na consistency. Since Gary Rowett come take over, too many draws dey happen. For dis stage of season, draws no dey help you at all. You go prefer win and lose than draw three or four matches. Leicester just no get enough fight for now, and time dey run out.
Dis weekend match for Fratton Park na huge one for dem. But even if dem win, dem still need two more wins from de last three matches. No be easy thing for team wey no dey win games regularly.
Leicester fan Elliot Sumner talk say dis season unravel in ways few people expect. De first big mistake na failure to recruit experienced striker after Jamie Vardy leave. Dat decision really cost dem. But still, dis side suppose dey push for play-offs at least.
Another big issue na lack of visible passion. Too many times, performances dey flat and players dey look lazy sometimes. Reports of fractured dressing room only confirm wetin dey clear for pitch: disconnection, low morale, and squad wey no look united.
De problems dey run deeper than just players. Much of de frustration dey direct to de board. De owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, dey largely absent, no dey communicate with supporters or maintain relationship wey he promise to build before.
Dis silence only widen de gap between club and fans. Meanwhile, too much authority dey give Jon Rudkin, whose recruitment decisions and willingness to overpay players contribute significantly to club current decline.
Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett talk say Leicester go see significant hit in income if dem go League One. Revenues go fall by around 50 percent compared with Championship. Dem go dey earn less than one-third of wetin dem dey earn for Premier League dis time last year.
For club wey win Premier League ten years ago and FA Cup just five years back, dis income collapse go dey particularly sharp. While dem dey enjoy annual revenues of £187m for top division, e go likely be just over £100m by end of dis Championship season, and go fall to predicted £60m per year for League One.
Despite de crash in income, e still go make Leicester far-and-away de biggest earners for dat division next season. Average revenues of League One club na one-sixth of Leicester own, at around £10m.
Leicester speedy fall from grace go at least mean dem get some cushion financially as result of dem Premier League parachute payments. Dat entitlement no go change, even if club suffer second consecutive demotion.
But dose parachute payments dey reduce over time, so dat too go dey much lower – around £10m lower for Leicester case – for next season. Any club wey drop from top division receive roughly 55 percent of dem Premier League entitlement for year one, 45 percent for year two, and 20 percent for year three.
Dat mean even if Leicester bounce back to Championship at first attempt for next 12 months, dem parachute payments go drop still further for start of 2027/28 season.
Leicester wage bill go have to fall by about 30-40 percent. Some of dat go happen naturally with relegation clauses for players contracts. But dem go likely see huge churn for squad, with large numbers of players becoming unaffordable for League One club.
De most obvious one na Abdul Fatawu, who Leicester for don cash in for around £35m when dem get relegated from Premier League last summer. Number of top tier clubs for ready to pay dat for am dat time. Now, if Leicester dey League One, him market value go likely dey much lower – maybe £10m-15m lower for any potential buyer.
For de match itself, Portsmouth get back-to-back victories and dey four points clear of danger. Dem beat Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town recently. Conor Chaplin, Conor Shaughnessy and Colby Bishop all contribute to dose wins.
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho dey warn him team against complacency as dem prepare to host Leicester for first time since 2011. De last three meetings between dose two teams all end 1-1, and Portsmouth get five-game unbeaten run against Leicester.
Leicester loss dem appeal against six-point deduction earlier dis month. Dem dey on brink of suffering back-to-back relegations after winning just once for dem last 16 league games. Gary Rowett fail to spark upturn since he take over for February.
De Foxes play out three consecutive draws before dem fall to narrow 1-0 loss against Swansea City. Zan Vipotnik 53rd-minute effort prove enough to condemn Leicester to dem sixth defeat for eight home games.
Leicester get defensive problems with Ben Nelson, Caleb Okoli and Victor Kristiansen all unavailable. Midfielder Jordan James return from injury to feature as substitute against Swansea, but de Wales international still dey struggle with heel issue.
Portsmouth no fit call upon Zak Swanson, Mark Kosznovszky, Josh Murphy and Gustavo Caballero due to injury. Midfielder Ebou Adams, who dey sidelined for last four games, dey race against time to prove him fitness.
As de match start for Fratton Park, atmosphere dey electric. Both sets of fans dey in fine voice. Dan George for BBC Sport report say “This feels huge, both sides fighting for Championship survival in the sunshine at Fratton.”
Portsmouth start fast, sending bodies forward into space and putting early pressure on Foxes with dangerous corners. Leicester show hint of nerves for opening moments, losing ball carelessly on few occasions.
De Foxes fans dey make good noise though, with “champions of England, you’ll never sing that” chant wey dey ring out from away end. Portsmouth win English first division for both 1949 and 1950, but dat na many years ago.
Portsmouth winger Keshi Anderson force off for opening minutes with hamstring injury. Adrian Segecic come on instead. No ideal for home side to make change dis early.
Leicester get nice move down dem right. Ball dey play in low for area for Patson Daka and he go down under Conor Shaughnessy challenge. De referee no show interest.
De situation dey look bleak for Leicester. As one fan talk, “No win today, and whilst it may not be mathematically decided today, that’s it for me, and nothing less than Leicester deserve for a really poor season.”
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