Why rudkin chants are growing louder as leicester cvs come into spotlight

This was a game that needed to be won and Ruud van Nistelrooy knew it. Improved performances over recent weeks had come against a series of sides Leicester City were not expected to beat,

but Crystal Palace at home is, for any relegation battler, a huge opportunity to claim three points. Yet City lost for the sixth Premier League game in a row. A demoralised Van Nistelrooy

found it hard to disguise his disappointment, describing the result as the “lowest we’ve felt”. Six straight losses matches the worst run from City’s last relegation season. It’s now four

points from a possible 24 under van Nistelrooy, a dreadful run. But it doesn’t feel like he is being turned on yet. Broadly, this was still another decent performance. A shot count of 21 to

nine in City’s favour is the widest margin they’ve enjoyed in a Premier League game for 73 matches. The feeling is that, between the two boxes, van Nistelrooy has made City a better team and

that’s helping him to retain support from the stands. But there’s only so long that goodwill will remain when the results are as bad as they have been. City have lost their finishing touch

at the wrong time, but that will right itself as long as they keep creating chances. The issue for van Nistelrooy is that, despite cutting down on the number of opportunities his side

concedes, they’re still giving up a handful of really good ones every match. A defeat is always possible in such scenarios. They cannot rely on poor finishing from the opposition to keep

themselves in the division. City have to assume that their opponents will score every good chance they get, and so they have to stop giving them up. It will be van Nistelrooy's downfall

is he doesn't correct it. But partly because of the evident improvements, and partly because of the infancy of his tenure, the blame is not yet being sent van Nistelrooy’s way. It’s

only increasing the anger being directed towards the board, and in particular director of football Jon Rudkin. The chants calling for Rudkin’s removal were louder than ever on Wednesday

night. Because van Nistelrooy has the team playing better and yet they’re still losing, the quality of the squad is being questioned. That ultimately falls at Rudkin’s lap. Every member of

City’s back four on Wednesday night was part of the team that got relegated two seasons ago. Oliver Skipp, a £20m signing, isn’t good enough to start. Caleb Okoli, a £15m signing, can’t make

the bench. The loan deal for Odsonne Edouard was a waste and is now blocking potential other arrivals. City may have avoided a charge over Profit and Sustainability Rules, but such has been

the financial issues behind the scenes, they’re still up against it. Hence, their only January signing so far has arrived for £3m. Any praise that Rudkin might deserve for his involvement

in a good managerial appointment gets washed over If van Nistelrooy does not have the tools to get points. If the Dutchman is making the team better but they still can’t buy a point, then

that only reflects badly on those that put the squad together. It does not seem like that’s lost on fans. DEFENCE'S CVS IN SPOTLIGHT AS TWO GOALS CONCEDED AGAIN That’s now 16 games in

21 this season that City have conceded at least two goals. It puts the back-line in the spotlight once again. Previous criticisms of the defence have focused on the players’ performances as

individuals or as a unit. That was still partly the case on Wednesday, particularly over Jannik Vestergaard, who let Jean-Philippe Mateta, hardly the most fleet-footed of strikers, peel off

him far too easily for the Palace opener. That’s now one win in 18 Premier League starts for City for the Dane. But really, this time the focus was on why the club are fielding a defence

that were all involved in a relegation campaign two seasons ago. As mentioned, it doesn’t reflect well on the hierarchy that that is the case. It doesn’t sound like Woyo Coulibaly is going

to change the make-up of the back four either. Van Nistelrooy has said the Frenchman has been signed as “cover” at right-back. But having relegations on their CV doesn’t automatically mean

they are bad defenders. Andy Robertson went down with Hull and has since won the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool. James Justin was part of a team that finished fifth

twice. Victor Kristiansen qualified for the Champions League last season. Vestergaard and Wout Faes have both represented their countries at major international tournaments, the former

reaching the semi-finals with Denmark. If anything, they should all have something to prove. They’ve got one relegation to their name, they should be keen to show that that was an anomaly.

But from an outsider perspective, it’s perhaps difficult to have faith in a back-line that is known to have failed once before. A marquee signing for the centre of defence may change that

perception, but City may not be able to afford one that could make that much of a difference. WHAT CONFIDENT YOUNG TALENTS NEED TO BE TOLD While 21 shots marked the most City have taken in a

Premier League match this season, there are lessons to be learned. Sometimes it’s better not to shoot. The trio behind Jamie Vardy all played reasonably well in the first half, but their

decision-making was sometimes lacking. Stephy Mavididi, selfish at first, improved quickly and began setting up good chances for the number nine. But Bilal El Khannouss and Facundo

Buonanotte were both guilty of trying their luck from distance when patience was required. It’s part of the problem with having confident attackers. El Khannouss and Buonanotte should have

belief in their own abilities. They’re both exceptionally-talented footballers. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to score from 30 yards out. They are good enough to break teams down and

create better-quality opportunities. They need to be reminded of that so that they think differently the next time they go to line one up from range. VARDY'S MISSES ARE NOT A PROBLEM

Vardy started the season in excellent form, scoring six goals from 18 shots. In the 18 shots he’s had since then, he’s not found the net once. His misses against Palace led some supporters

to question if he should be dropped. But that wouldn’t make sense. Vardy can finish, there’s no doubt about that. He’ll find his touch again in the box soon. The problem comes when Vardy is

not even getting into the positions to enjoy such opportunities. That’s far from the case at the moment. While those first 18 shots came from 14 appearances, his last 18 shots have come in

five games. Not since May 2022 has he had more shots in a Premier League game than the six he had against Palace. Vardy is not the problem at the minute, even if he underperformed on

Wednesday night. Keep creating chances for him, and the goals will start coming again. TABLE BRINGS GOOD NEWS The good news, if there is any, is that City have not lost ground on Wolves and

Everton. Their defeats on Tuesday night mean City remain within a win of both. So while a defeat to Palace feels costly, and it’s easier to think that relegation is now far more likely than

not, the table shows there’s plenty to fight for. If van Nistelrooy wants to pick himself and the squad up from the “lowest” they’ve felt, then they could take a quick glance at the

standings. WHERE DO YOU THINK CITY WILL FINISH THIS SEASON? CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY.