Tuesday 3rd March marks the anniversary of Leicester City manager’s Brendan Rodgers’ first official match in charge of the club.
Since falling to a 2-1 defeat to Watford exactly a year ago, the former Liverpool and Celtic boss has overseen exactly 38 Premier League matches, the equivalent of a full season.
The Northern-Irishman has transformed the Foxes since replacing Claude Puel at the helm, having them challenging in the upper echelons of the table despite a recent tricky run of form. How does Rodgers compare to the rest of his predecessors who have managed Leicester in the Premier League? VAVEL takes a look…
Points the priority
Taking into account all full-time managerial stints, Leicester City have had 11 coaches lead them in the Premier League. Since earning promotion in 2014, Nigel Pearson, Claudio Ranieri, Craig Shakespeare, Puel and Rodgers have taken the reins, whilst Micky Adams, Dave Bassett, Peter Taylor, Martin O’Neill, Mark McGhee and Brian Little have all had stints in charge.
Following the Foxes’ loss to Norwich on Friday night, Rodgers has now earned 67 points, which moves him in fourth-place of the most Premier League points earned at the club behind O’Neill, Ranieri and Puel.
| Manager | Games | Points | Points-per-game |
| Rodgers | 38 | 67 | 1.76 |
| Ranieri | 63 | 102 | 1.62 |
| Shakespeare | 21 | 29 | 1.38 |
| O'Neill | 152 | 204 | 1.34 |
| Puel | 56 | 70 | 1.25 |
| Taylor | 46 | 53 | 1.15 |
| Pearson | 38 | 41 | 1.08 |
| Adams | 42 | 39 | 0.93 |
| McGhee | 24 | 16 | 0.67 |
| Bassett | 26 | 17 | 0.65 |
| Little | 14 | 9 | 0.64 |
The 47-year-old has taken charge of far fewer games however and boasts the best points-per-game count of 1.76, which is ahead of title winner Ranieri’s 1.62 and the best in the club’s history in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Brian Little, who was the first manager to experience Premier League football with the East-Midlanders is bottom of the list at just 0.64 points per match.
Win Rate second to none
In his 38 games in charge, Rodgers has also won an impressive 20 matches which included a club-record run of eight Premier League victories in a row during the current campaign. Only Ranieri and O’Neill won more games in the hotseat. Once again though, it is Rodgers who is ahead when looking at averages.
He currently boasts a win percentage of 53% which is once again in the best of all coaches to have managed Leicester in the Premier League. Ranieri is some way behind at 44% despite the Foxes miraculous title win under the Italian, whilst O’Neill, who led the club to four consecutive top ten finishes sits at 35%. The lowest is Dave Bassett, who racked up a paltry 12% win rate in his 26 matches in charge.
| Manager | Win Rate (%) |
| Rodgers | 53 |
| Ranieri | 44 |
| Shakespeare | 38 |
| O'Neill | 35 |
| Puel | 34 |
| Taylor | 33 |
| Pearson | 29 |
| Adams | 17 |
| Little | 14 |
| McGhee | 13 |
| Bassett | 12 |
Goals Galore
One aspect that Rodgers has massively improved since taking over from Puel is the regularity in which the Foxes find the back of the net. Despite drawing blanks in each of their last three league games, the Foxes have scored 71 goals in Rodgers’ time in charge, meaning they have found the back of the net on 1.87 occasions per game.
| Manager | Goals-per-game |
| Rodgers | 1.87 |
| Shakespeare | 1.62 |
| Ranieri | 1.46 |
| Puel | 1.36 |
| Adams | 1.29 |
| O'Neill | 1.26 |
| Pearson | 1.21 |
| McGhee | 1.08 |
| Little | 1 |
| Taylor | 0.96 |
| Bassett | 0.73 |
This is yet another leading statistic for Rodgers at Leicester. It is an increase of 0.51 goals per game from his predecessor Puel, and is considerably higher than the next highest average that belongs to Craig Shakespeare.
Tighter at the back
On the topic of goals, Leicester are also conceding far fewer under Rodgers. The Foxes have only shipped 0.97 goals per average each game during the Northern-Irishman’s stint thanks to the impressive performances of Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu.
Rodgers once again does not have too much competition in this vain. Two of the most successful managers in the club’s history, O’Neill and Ranieri, are level pegging with 1.29 goals conceded per match. Whilst the East-Midlanders have been less solid in recent weeks, their defensive record under Rodgers is still exemplary.
| Manager | Goals conceded per-game |
| Rodgers | 0.97 |
| O'Neill | 1.29 |
| Ranieri | 1.29 |
| Pearson | 1.45 |
| Taylor | 1.48 |
| Puel | 1.5 |
| Shakespeare | 1.57 |
| Bassett | 1.62 |
| Adams | 1.67 |
| Little | 1.86 |
| McGhee | 1.96 |
Achievements?
It is all well and good comparing statistics but they do not actually mean too much unless tangible results are gained.
It is highly unlikely that Rodgers will repeat the miraculous feat of title winner Ranieri but he is well on track to secure Leicester’s second-highest Premier League finish. The Foxes are currently five points clear of Chelsea and look an excellent bet to finish third. Champions League football would of course be an excellent achievement in the Northern-Irishman’s first full season in charge.
Barring an absolutely horrendous run of form, he will also become the first Leicester City boss to both start and finish a campaign since Ranieri won the league in 2016, indicating the hugely positive influence he has had at the King Power Stadium. These achievements, as well as his statistics, put him right at the top at some of the best managers to have led the club in the Premier League.