Inside the crisis at Leicester: Why there are fears Ruud van Nistelrooy could quit and how problems of their own making - led by a dithering regime - are sending them towards the drop
Inside the crisis at Leicester: Why there are fears Ruud van Nistelrooy could quit and how problems of their own making - led by a dithering regime - are sending them towards the drop
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After Leicester had subsided to defeat against Crystal Palace on January 15, a few senior players had seen enough. With the rest of the team back in the dressing room at the King Power Stadium, it was explained to them in forceful terms that the Foxes were sleepwalking towards the drop.
![[Ruud van Nistelrooy's side have suffered seven straight losses and his mood has darkened]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/25/21/94516585-14324299-image-a-156_1737841473598.jpg)
Keep doing this and we are going down again, went the general message. Though boss Ruud van Nistelrooy added his thoughts, this inquest was player-led. The trigger is thought to have been Palace's second goal, where Marc Guehi had ambled forward unnoticed to volley home at the far post.
![[Director of football Jon Rudkin and other board members have felt the fury from the stands]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/25/21/94516597-14324299-image-a-157_1737841480357.jpg)
Why had the shouts from the bench - 'Pick up the six!' (Guehi's shirt number) - not been heeded? Why was young winger Kasey McAteer tasked with marking Guehi, a far stronger player? It was the last straw. Unfortunately, the chat made not a shred of difference. Four days later, Leicester were even worse as they lost 2-0 at home to Fulham, a seventh straight defeat under Van Nistelrooy. This time the fans' patience snapped as director of football Jon Rudkin, along with other board members and Van Nistelrooy, felt the full force of their fury.
![[A dressing room inquest was held after the 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, led by the players]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/25/21/94516559-14324299-image-a-158_1737841489610.jpg)
As Mail Sport revealed on Friday, matters reached boiling point again in the changing room after the 2-0 home defeat by Fulham as Van Nistelrooy turned on Facundo Buonanotte, who had performed sloppily as a second-half substitute. The duo are said to have had a fractious exchange in Spanish, which Van Nistelrooy speaks fluently after playing for Real Madrid and Malaga.
![[The inquest followed Marc Guehi ambling unnoticed at the back post to volley into the net]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/25/23/94518707-14324299-image-a-5_1737848699969.jpg)
