Leicester fired coach Craig Shakespeare

The English strategist had to leave the hot seat after only four months of signing the contract.

Shakespeare was not given time to revive Leicester. Photo: Reuters

Shakespeare was a name that was much in the spotlight in the second half of last season when he helped Leicester stay in the league. However, the 53-year-old coach was sacked because the team fell into the red zone after the first eight rounds.

A 1-1 draw against West Brom at the King Power Stadium was the final straw. The 2015-16 champions have now gone six Premier League games without a win, a run that has left them 18th. The last time Leicester went six games without a win saw Claudio Ranieri leave just nine months after lifting the trophy.

Shakespeare was under pressure when he succeeded Ranieri last season but guided the team from the relegation zone to 12th place at the end of the season, a feat that earned him a three-year contract with Leicester in June 2017.

In addition to successfully staying in the league, Leicester under Shakespeare is also the only English team to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

This is a somewhat heavy-handed decision by Leicester's board of directors because the team's four losses in the Premier League this season all came against giants Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Last summer, Shakespeare was also unlucky when he was unable to use new signing Adrien Silva because he was 14 seconds late in registering. The team lacked a quality central midfielder after selling Danny Drinkwater to Chelsea.

Shakespeare is the second manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season, the first being Frank de Boer of Crystal Palace.

According to VNE