Claudio Ranieri has improved Leicester’s image while striking a blow for older managers

FOOTBALL MATTERS: Butland beginning to compete with Hart; not much on offer in January sales

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri (Getty Images)

Take a look at Claudio Ranieri’s managerial honours list and it is perhaps understandable that his appointment as Leicester City manager last July prompted Gary Lineker, one of the club’s most celebrated former players, to react with such obvious dismay.

“Claudio Ranieri? Really?” Lineker tweeted, before adding that “this is an uninspired choice by Leicester,” and “it’s amazing how the same old names keep getting a go on the managerial merry-go-round.”

Lineker is not the only one to be eating his words right now about the Italian who has, quite remarkably, hoisted Leicester into the Premier League title race and kept them there to the extent that they are now genuine contenders.

But Lineker’s initial reaction was shared by many because Ranieri arrived at the King Power Stadium having seemingly been dragged from the check-in queue for a one-way trip to the managerial twilight zone occupied by the likes of Ron Atkinson, Dave Bassett and Alan Curbishley – a yesterday’s man who was the living embodiment of that old Likely Lads lyric which states that “the only thing to look forward to is the past”.

Not that Ranieri’s past was actually up to much.

Despite Leicester vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha heralding him as “one of the world’s elite managers” when announcing Ranieri’s arrival on a three-year contract as Nigel Pearson’s successor last summer, the reality is that the 64-year-old had sustained his top-level coaching career, despite winning nothing more glittering than domestic cups in Italy and Spain with Fiorentina and Valencia respectively.

There have been no league titles, just a few near misses, most notably the Champions League semi-final defeat with Chelsea in 2004, when his team threw away a strong second-leg position against Monaco due largely to Ranieri’s inexplicable tactical changes when his “Tinkerman” nickname became set in stone for ever.

That he arrived at Leicester just a few months after being sacked by Greece in the wake of a humiliating Euro 2016 qualifying defeat at home to the Faroe Islands made his return to the Premier League even more inexplicable, but who is laughing at Leicester now?

Harry Redknapp, out of work since leaving Queen’s Park Rangers last February, was another who questioned Ranieri’s appointment, claiming to be “surprised that he can walk back into the Premier League”, but perhaps that contingent of grumbling British managers who are currently practising their golf swings or topping up suntans in Dubai should now regard Ranieri as an inspiration.

There are more than a few of those managers who would be viewed as damaged goods by potential employers, but Ranieri is showing them all – managers and chairmen – there can be a way back.

At 58, Curbishley is incredibly young for a manager to be washed up and overlooked, yet he is no longer even mentioned when jobs become available, despite an impressive record at Charlton before walking into a storm at West Ham.

David Moyes, at 52, has been burned by his 10 months at Manchester United and subsequent failure to revive Real Sociedad, with his reputation as a long-term builder perhaps viewed as outdated in this era of quick fixes and “five defeats and you’re out”.

Kevin Keegan and Glenn Hoddle have also dropped off the radar, despite rising to the position of England manager after breathing new life into Newcastle and Chelsea respectively before falling out of favour for shortcomings much less startling than losing at home to the Faroes.

Maybe Ranieri’s humility is the key. With Leicester having to perform their own great escape to survive in the top flight under Pearson last season, the job may not have been quite so appealing to those who regard the Premier League as their natural habitat. But Ranieri has taken his opportunity and been big enough and wise enough largely to stand back and leave Pearson’s team alone.

Leicester City walk off the field after their draw with Aston Villa (Getty Images)

Other than hand Riyad Mahrez a freer role to cause the havoc he has created in tandem with Jamie Vardy this season, Ranieri’s influence on the team has been light. He has acknowledged the talent-spotting of Steve Walsh, Leicester’s head of recruitment who worked under Ranieri at Chelsea, and trusted his judgement on the likes of N’Golo Kante and Shinji Okazaki – two players who have been crucial this season, yet who were signed up by Walsh.

Ranieri has placed his faith in Vardy, speaking glowingly of the striker’s talent, and been rewarded with 15 goals this season.

Yet having inherited a team built by the archetypal English manager in Pearson, Ranieri’s smartest decision to date has been simply to allow his players to do what they are good at without imposing his own philosophy on the squad.

Too many managers allow themselves to believe that their way is the only way, making change for the sake of change and then wondering why what worked for them elsewhere no longer works with a new group of players.

Ranieri has learned from his experience at Chelsea, realised that the tinkering was ultimately self-defeating and one of the reasons why owner Roman Abramovich’s patience ran out. He has proved Leicester’s ambitious Thai owners to be right in backing his credentials, however underwhelming they appeared to be at the time.

With the club desperate to grow their brand and reputation in the Far East, Ranieri’s charming persona and the kudos that comes with managing some of the top clubs in the biggest leagues ensured he was a much more comfortable fit for the image-conscious Thais than a brash former centre-half prone to unhelpful outspoken comments.

Image matters. Look how Chelsea were perceived with Jose Mourinho in charge, while even Manchester United’s image has taken a battering, with Adidas raising eyebrows at the entertainment being provided by Louis van Gaal.

Ranieri has been low-maintenance, but with a high dividend and the £1.5m Premier League survival bonus in his contract will have been the easiest cheque ever written by the Leicester owners.

They are the ones who are laughing now, saying that yes, really, Claudio Ranieri is the manager who has taken Leicester City to the top of the league, only denied first position by Arsenal on goal difference. And if Ranieri can come back from the twilight zone, there are plenty of British managers who should choose to follow his lead.

Butland provides some real competition for Hart at last

Joe Hart has been England’s first-choice goalkeeper for approaching six years now and has enjoyed a free run at the position, both in and out of form, due to the lack of top-quality competition during those years.

But, as Jack Butland proved during Stoke’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, England now possess a genuine rival to Hart and the 22-year-old will push the Manchester City goalkeeper all the way from this point on, something which will only make England stronger at Euro 2016.

There are few bargains to be found in the January sales

It has been a quiet January transfer window so far, certainly at the top end of the market, but consider the success of two of the biggest deals of the last two winter windows and perhaps it is no surprise that clubs are being cautious.

Wilfried Bony, a £28m buy 12 months ago, cannot get a game or goal for Manchester City, while Juan Mata’s £37.1m fee at Manchester United has not been enough to prevent him being dropped in favour of Jesse Lingard.

Sometimes, it really is best to wait for the right deal in the summer.