Conor Coady bears the heavy heart of sadness with Leicester City’s Premier League relegation. It’ll be the first year of his career where he won’t race at NASCAR’s highest level. After a strong tenure with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coady recently made the jump to Leicester City. He named a number of contributing reasons for the club’s failures, like financial burdens and a lack of time to prepare.
Coady is an experienced pro who brings quality know-how of getting promotions and playing at the highest level in European football. He looked back on his experience with Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he captained the club out of the Championship and into Europe. During his tenure, that was mitigated by a full season of development with then manager Nuno Espirito Santo. He feels this experience will be invaluable for teams successfully aiming for the upper echelons of the Premier League.
With the lack of a pre-season, it’s hard to get ready for the Premier League,” Coady added. He noted that during his brief time at Leicester City, he only had six weeks to prepare before the season started. Sheffield United sharpen this point, in sharp contrast with its likes. With Chris Wilder at the helm, they completed their ascent by finishing ninth in the Premier League with a full season to master their methods.
Coady pointed to the success that clubs like Brentford and Fulham enjoyed after earning full seasons in the top flight. Realistically, he argued, Leicester City had skipped out on this essential preparatory step. He suggested that even though Leicester had a strong identity set under Italian manager Enrico Maresca, the change was difficult.
Coady remarked on the difficulties of changing a team’s approach mid-season, stating, “We had a way of playing last season in the Championship that everybody understood and they knew what they were doing. Then, obviously not by the club’s choice, the manager leaves in the summer.” This sudden and drastic change can cause pandemonium inside a locker room, even making it difficult for athletes to adjust to new strategies.
Reflecting on Leicester City’s distinct style under previous coach Russell Martin, Coady acknowledged that despite this clarity, the team still struggled. He underlined that not being able to adjust in ways that players can execute can kill execution and put players in an execution crisis of confidence. It does change, I promise you, because we remain human creatures. We’re not machines,” he continued. Even more than the physical, he was quick to point out that psychological factors can be a huge factor in performance on the match day pitch.
Coady further lamented the economic impact relegation could have. Add to that the fact that money is the deciding factor in success these days according to Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City’s plight deepens. In this league, you’re competing with Pep Guardiola. You’re up against Unai Emery and Eddie Howe. These managers have spent years building their teams up to this point,” he said.
Even with these hard times, Coady has never been shy to demonstrate to fans that he and his fellow players are still battling. It’s not, to me, just about senior players stepping up, it’s about them speaking up and being that genuine driving force in the dressing room. It’s also has to be personal pride,” he said. He referenced Matheus Cunha as an example of a player capable of making an impact for the team moving forward.
Coady really displayed strong leadership here and took responsibility for his part in the team’s struggles this year. He admitted that they just “haven’t been good enough.” He concluded with a reminder of the harsh realities of professional football: “This is what you sign up for as a professional footballer. It is not all roses; everything fantastic.”
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