Following a long, drawn-out process, Leicester have finally been hit by a six-point deduction. The result has seen them drop to 20th place, and now level with West Brom, who are in the drop zone. It’s the second consecutive year where the Foxes tussled with PSR, as they were able to get away with it back in 2024. However, in the present day, it’s even worse, with City now embroiled in a fight to stay in the division and not drop down to League One for a second time in their history.
Leicester Points Deduction Confirmed Following PSR Battle
What Happened?
As now confirmed by the club, the points deduction has been decided. This was following the case brought by the Premier League to an independent commission over breaches of PSR for the 2023/24 season. This was, of course, the campaign following relegation, where City brought in the likes of Harry Winks, Conor Coady, Mads Hermansen and several other loans. It proved worth it in the end with the squad securing promotion at the first time of asking, although, in the long term, the club remains a mess.
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In John Percy’s article about the news, even more worrying information came to light. For instance, the Foxes were still paying both Steve Cooper and Ruud Van Nistelrooy their contracts, which were worth a combined total of over £7 million. This financial mismanagement is staggering, especially considering they could have steered away from Cooper in the summer, as his connection with Nottingham Forest was always going to boil over. In addition to this, Percy also acknowledged the financial mishaps in other areas. Wages were a major issue, with the wages-to-turnover ratio standing at 116%, which is the highest in Premier League history.
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Overall, it’s a sad state of affairs for a teamthat once dreamed of consistently challenging the Premier League juggernauts. A combination of bad decisions, external factors and senior figures out of their depth has certainly played its part, and could now lead City into the third tier of English football. In terms of the future, the club say that they will weigh up their options, as appealing could lead to an even harsher punishment. With numbers discussed going as high as a 20-point deduction, it’s a bittersweet feeling for City supporters as six points is still manageable.
How Does the Point Deduction Affect Leicester?
As mentioned previously, Leicester now sit in 20th place in the second tier with 32 points. By looking at their recent form, it’s hard to see whether they can mount a run to take them out of this relegation dogfight. They have picked up just one win in January, and even that wasn’t convincing as a moment of magic from Abdul Fatawu covered over the cracks of another poor performance. Since then, they have lost on three occasions, and if not for Jannik Vestergaard’s late equaliser away at Wrexham, it could have been four.
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Whilst the league is as close as ever this season, their players don’t have the fight or will to grind out points. It’s similar to the two Premier League relegations, where players down tools and aren’t up for the scrappy games. Furthermore, the lack of commitment is even more likely given the fact that several players are out of contract in the summer, and have no intention of remaining at the King Power. Although this is the lowest the Foxes has slipped this season, it’s hard to say it hasn’t been coming.
They leak goals, and can’t create high-quality chances; a recipe for disaster which has haunted them for the last 12 months. On the expected goals table, they sit 23rd, which is a fairly good indication of how poor their underlying data is before the likes of Jordan James and Fatawu bail them out with moments of magic.
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With no permanent manager and somewhat of an injury crisis, it’s tough to see a club in such disarray picking up form. Birmingham City are up next, and if Leicester can’t manage to get a result, then the likelihood of relegation inches closer and closer.
