After just three league games this season, one Premier League manager is already facing pressure.
The 2024/25 Premier League season is underway and already their is speculation over managers. (Image: Getty)
Many first team players of Leicester City are allegedly plotting to overthrow manager Steve Cooper due to his methods. This summer, Cooper succeeded Enzo Maresca, the current Chelsea manager, who had guided the Foxes to the Championship title.
Cooper’s tenure started off with a respectable home draw against Tottenham, but following consecutive losses, the pressure has mounted.
His team fell to a 2-1 defeat at Fulham and then suffered a 1-0 loss at home against Aston Villa, leaving them in 15th place in the standings heading into their Saturday trip to Crystal Palace.
Furthermore, The Sun claims that Cooper’s easygoing style is making it difficult for Leicester’s veteran players to adjust. In contrast to Maresca’s dictatorial style, the former Swansea and Nottingham Forest manager is well known for letting his team provide their own ideas for training and tactics.
It’s also rumoured that he discussed prospective recruits with the team. Many players are confused by this since they are not accustomed to a manager who is willing to share his responsibilities and solicit feedback.
According to reports, Cooper is calm about the circumstance and ready to acknowledge that his team will need some time to adjust to his leadership style. However, a loss at Selhurst Park this weekend is probably going to raise some red flags before what is already being regarded as a pivotal match against Everton that is scheduled for the following week.
During the international break, Cooper and the team received a great lift when they found out they would not lose points despite being accused of breaking the Profitability and Sustainability Rules. The 44-year-old has now expressed anger, nevertheless, at the fact that the decision was made after the summer transfer market had closed.
“It is obviously a positive thing for the club and the supporters to have clarity,” he stated, claiming that the problem had an impact on his efforts in the market. That must have been the main way you dealt with the uncertainty in the club.
“I think I’m a little frustrated because I wish some things had gone differently during the transfer window. Perhaps we could have made different choices or spent more or less money. Therefore, there is a part of me that feels like it would have been better if it had happened a little earlier.
After taking Forest to the top division in the 2021–2022 season, Cooper is now employed for the second time in the Premier League at Leicester. He dutifully led the team to victory in their first major season since 1998–1999, but with the team facing relegation last December, he was fired.
He had previously played for Swansea for two seasons, helping them to consecutive Championship play-offs. The former Welsh league player has also coached England’s under-17 team, helping them to win the 2017 age group World Cup.
