Burnley faced a huge summer in 2024 following their relegation back to the Championship.
To the surprise of many, Bayern Munich made a move to bring in head coach Vincent Kompany – something which came as a huge shock to the entire footballing world, including key figures at Turf Moor.
That left the Clarets in a difficult position, as they were prepared to back Kompany to lead another promotion push.
In his absence, Burnley had to start again, and a lengthy managerial search ended up with Scott Parker taking charge
Bringing in the former Fulham chief wasn’t a hugely popular call, and it could’ve been very different for Burnley, as they had shown a strong interest in Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Dutch legend was without a club after leaving PSV, and, on paper at least, he seemed a decent fit for the Championship side.
There was an expectation that he would adopt a similar attacking approach to Kompany, with his PSV side having been prolific scorers during his time in charge.
Yet, van Nistelrooy turned down the chance to move to Burnley, instead taking up the assistant manager role at Man Utd.
And, in hindsight, that was a real let off for the club.
That’s because van Nistelrooy has since taken up a managerial job, as he was named as Steve Cooper’s successor at Leicester City back in November.
Sadly, for all connected to the Foxes, it hasn’t worked out at all.
The ex-striker inherited a Leicester side that were outside the relegation zone, but they are now adrift in the bottom three, with a return to the Championship set to be confirmed in a matter of weeks.
Under van Nistelrooy’s guidance, Leicester have picked up seven points from 18 games, and they have incredibly lost 15 of their last 16 games, which includes eight successive home defeats without scoring.
Simply put, van Nistelrooy’s side are breaking records for all the wrong reasons.
As you would expect for a club in disarray, there is more than just the manager to blame.
Recruitment in the summer was poor, and the club had the threat of a points deduction hanging over them for months due to financial mismanagement from the top.
Nevertheless, van Nistelrooy still should’ve done more. It’s hard to see what Leicester are trying to do tactically, as he has changed formation, and their lack of goal threat suggests they don’t have suitable patterns of play in the final third.
As well as that, there has been a lack of basic organisation, whilst he has alienated some of the players who shone last season under Enzo Maresca.
Of course, that doesn’t mean van Nistelrooy would’ve failed at Burnley, as they are one of the better sides in the Championship, but key figures at Turf Moor must be breathing a sigh of relief.
Whilst there has been some criticism of Parker this season, notably the lack of goals, there’s no denying he has built a strong, effective unit that is well-placed to win promotion.
Those defensive foundations also offer hope that Burnley could buck the trend of newly-promoted clubs dropping back down straight away – even if investment is required.
Ultimately, every managerial appointment comes with an element of risk, but as Leicester flounder and Burnley flourish, it’s fair to say that the Clarets will be pleased that they ended up with Parker over van Nistelrooy.
