Farewell to Fulham for Claudio Ranieri, he will always have Leicester


Dilly-ding dilly-dong man unable to retrieve the magic from his well-travelled suitcase but Fulham should have known relegation battles are not the Italian’s forte

Claudio Ranieri will always be remembered with affection in England – his 2016 title win with Leicester was by some distance the greatest against-the-odds triumph the Premier League has witnessed – though a manager who has made 18 exits in five countries ought to know better than most that fairytales happen only once in a lifetime.

There was no dilly-ding dilly-dong at Fulham, just the relegation clock ticking away in the background. The pizza-based incentives that supposedly came in handy at Leicester never really surfaced in London; with three wins in 17 games in all competitions there was barely anything solid enough to celebrate. Ranieri remains a charming man and an intelligent coach but he is not a lucky charm after all.

Related: Claudio Ranieri sacked as Fulham manager after 16 Premier League games

Bad start

Continue reading...