Lessons from Leicester City’s Past Management Mistakes, Marti Cifuentes Exam Papers Prepared

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In a recent article at this website, we gave our thorough thoughts on the club. We discussed how it has been in the past. We also shared insights on how it will be going forward. Any manager trying to ignore these vital factors will be punished and left with struggles and negative results.

Brendan Rodgers had no idea of those factors and he challenged them. What he ended up with was a team in heavy decline. Marti Cifuentes is the new manager at Leicester. Hopefully he understands the limits of this football club and how he should get the results he is looking for.

A previous manager to mention in this scenario is Micky Adams. He worked inside those limits, with a similar budget or even worse conditions financially. This was in the first season at The King Power Stadium, then known as The Walkers Stadium. Despite those difficulties, he managed to build a good and solid team. The set up was based on what has always been the core of success at Leicester.

This is what to look for when new managers arrive at Leicester. We believe these limits were also very much in place for the team and squad winning the Premier League. Claudio Ranieri left this idea and platform of those foundations. He ended up with a heavy decline in league results. He had his ideas on what needed strengthening. He did not ship out players he believed were no longer good enough. He made a salad very strange and untasty. To bring in Ahmed Musa and keep Riyad Mahrez was a shocker. There was no plan or idea on how to use both Musa and Mahrez in the same team. This left Musa in the shed.

Back to Micky Adams. He had no chance to stretch anything and within those limits he worked wonders. Leicester managed promotion back to the Premier League. Then Adams went berserk. He made several additions to the squad. He ignored the fact he still had a large number of players on heavy deals. It would have been a difficult season anyway. Carrying dead weight and having horses on the field without feeding them correctly, adds to the challenge. It’s important to have a plan balancing out your total of players. Understanding the hierarchy in the dressing room, along with the consideration of contract lengths and age. Adams and his DOF, Dave Bassett, created a total mess. Leicester were relegated, starting a new reshuffle of players in the next summer, ending in goodbye’s to Adams and Bassett.

Jordan gets his first of 25/26 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/90PoCr2PsY
— Leicester City (@LCFC) September 14, 2025

This summer we have seen what we often see every summer, fans demanding new players and better players. They are always happy to see a new face. The loan signing of Julian Carranza looks a strange one. He can become what Odsonne Eduouard was last season. This is just waste of money in wages, having Jordan Ayew and Patson Daka at the club. Why add a third striker. On emergency Stephy Mavididi or Abdul Fatawu, even Jeremy Monga can be that striker option. Nathan Opoku was sent out on loan to Newport County. He has a better track record in Belgian top flight football than Carranza had in Holland. So this is one move made outside the frame of the limits to success at Leicester.

Another such move is the goalkeeper signing of Fran Vieites. This is one of those not to understand. He might be a better goalkeeper than Jacub Stolarczyk, but at the moment Jacub is the one to trust. A manager will possibly look at competition as the main reason for this. The young Leicester goalkeeper is under pressure.

Yesterday Jacub struggled. If you look at his path to become first choice at this football club, it’s not been straight forward. He has been out on loan, he has been a number four or even fifth choice. He will need this season to get that mark of being good enough. To see him back on the bench would most certainly be his final at Leicester. Marti Cifuentes is flirting with uncertainty. Having that in a season chasing promotion, looks far from in line with previous promotional seasons. Leicester have never won promotion from the second tier with uncertainty in the goalkeeper role.

This is another decision made far from the roots of this club’s goalkeeper achievements. The foundations for legends like Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and Mark Wallington were built on trust and ambition. This trust and ambition also drove Kasey Keller, Tim Flowers, Ian Walker, Kasper Schmeichel and Mads Hermansen in that direction. They were pushed forward to become steady, concrete, number ones. They had all the ability and talent to get there, not being much in and out of the team. Fran Vieites is looking for the first team gloves. We believe Marti Cifuentes will give him those gloves. This decision leaves Jacub Stolarczyk in doubts. This is far from how Leicester have nursed forward their goalkeepers in the past. Vieites has joined Leicester on those terms. That might upset Jacub Stolarczyk. He is possibly waiting for the axe to be thrown at him. This is because he lacks some of the special attributes Cifuentes will look for in a goalkeeper choice going forward.

A change of first team goalkeepers during a season will always upset your stability. It will also affect you trying to get points on board. Vieites is not speaking English fluently, Jacub is. Mads and Kasper were also fluent in English. You can’t communicate with your defence in Spanish at this football club.

The use of Harry Winks is also a riddle. Looks like Marti Cifuentes has no clear vision on the former England international and Champions League finalist. Cifuentes juggles the midfield around having played Bouba Soumare as his main man. Oliver Skipp is in there. Hamza Choudhury showed yesterday he can really do the defensive job in this midfield area. His defensive performance is much better than the rest, having tackling ability in place. Additionally, he is very pacy and hard working over shorter distances.

The back four is also at the moment a bit fragile and not one that has the correct setting. To have Wout Faes on the bench is luxury in The Championship. Victor Kristiansen is a misunderstood player at Leicester. He is not a left back. He is a good left flank alternative, when playing with three central defenders. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Steve Cooper sent him to slaughter last season. Leicester did not have the ideal left back alternative when playing with four defenders. A right footed James Justin was the best alternative.

Marti Cifuentes is not totally out of the correct framework. However, his ideas and plans for certain players will be heavily tested. Talking up one individual will upset another. Jordan Ayew is one that has shined so far this season. He is not a typical target man. He is captain of his national team, Ghana. Seeing Hamza Choudhury with the armband shows how strange it all can be. Ayew (34) is a natural leader, but at this point at Leicester he is not seen as that. He is not really a long term option. He could be one player leaving when this season is over. He might have his struggles at 35, playing in Premier League, if a promotion is settled.

The homegrown impact is important and will always be at this football club. David Nish, Peter Shilton, Steve Whitworth, Graham Cross and Gary Lineker are all fantastic examples from the past. They were players coming up through the youth ranks in the far past, getting to the top stage of football. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harvey Barnes, Kasey McAteer, Ben Chilwell, Hamza Choudhury, and Luke Thomas are other locals. Some have been sold on to new clubs, others have stayed. The next generation of young talents is vital for this football club. It shows a lack of trust when Jeremy Monga was left on the bench yesterday, not getting a look in. This is a major warning sign and cannot continue.

Monga played brilliantly for England U19’s last week. He needs to be a trusted member and not overlooked. If Marti Cifuentes instead starts to play Bobby De Cordova-Reid and other alternatives, he will upset the youngster. A bold move yesterday could have won Leicester the match. Jeremy Monga would have torn this fragile Oxford defence to pieces.

Still early days and large positives, but very excited to follow the next steps of Marti Cifuentes. Hopefully he makes his path towards a settlement in line with the core foundations of building success at Leicester.

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