'An incredible man, but that doesn't make you a great manager'
Former Leicester goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell believes the club's players need a different style of management to what Ruud van Nistelrooy offers.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's 'When You're Smiling' podcast, Stowell said he believes the Dutch boss was more of a friend than a coach to players.
He said: "It feels different this season. It was almost doomed to fail early on, and just the manner in which they've gone down is disappointing.
"Two years ago under Brendan Rodgers, that was a shock to end up going down. I wouldn't say there was inevitability about this team going down though.
"Who knows what would have happened if we didn't sack Steve Cooper. For me, he came with baggage but that shouldn't be the case.
"There was no reason for me to think Leicester were going down and they had to sack Cooper.
"I've met Ruud van Nistelrooy and he's a lovely bloke. But I get the feeling he was the players' friend rather than the players' coach.
"I feel they needed someone in there that would drive them rather than befriend them.
"He is an incredible man, but that doesn't make you a great manager."
Listen to the full podcast here
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dutch Government Collapses After Right-Wing Party Exits
Leader of far-right party PVV, Geert Wilders, speaks to the media after he leaves the Dutch government coalition in The Hague, June 3. Credit - Robin van Lonkhuijsen—ANP/Getty Images The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving the administration without a parliamentary majority and plunging the Netherlands into political uncertainty. Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent who took office last July, has resigned from his role in the wake of the collapse. The government's fall after less than a year in power is expected to trigger snap elections, although experts say a vote before October is unlikely and the process of forming a new government could take months. Without PVV's 37 seats in the House of Representatives, the coalition government now only has 51 seats out of 150. Wilders' party won the previous general election in November 2023 in a shock result, signaling a significant shift to the right in the Netherlands that has been echoed in other elections across Europe over the last year, including in Germany, France, and the European Parliament. Wilders, 61, is one of the most prominent and polarizing figures in Dutch politics. Originally from Venlo in the south of the Netherlands, Wilders is a seasoned politician, first joining the field in 1990 as an assistant to Frits Bolkestein, a centre-right politician and then-leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), before securing his first elected position in 1997 as a VVD city councillor in Utrecht. He was elected to the House of Representatives a year later, and has gone on to become the longest serving lawmaker in Dutch politics. In 2004, he left the VVD and formed his own party, later renamed PVV, which he currently leads. Anti-immigration policy is at the top of Wilders' agenda. His manifesto during the 2023 general election included a ban on all mosques, Islamic schools, the use of Qurans, and anyone wearing a Hijab entering government buildings in the Netherlands. The manifesto also said the PVV wants to reduce non-Western immigration and implement a 'general asylum freeze.' Wilders' speeches have been marked by hardline anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric as well: In late 2016, a panel of judges found him guilty of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans over comments he made in a post-election address in 2014; months later, ahead of parliamentary elections in 2017, Wilders described some Moroccans in the Netherlands as 'scum.' As of January 2024, just under 3 million people in the Netherlands were born abroad, 176,000 thousand of whom were born in Morocco. One or both of another 250,000 residents' parents were also born in Morocco. Wilders has been calling for the Dutch government to implement his party's 10-point plan, which includes slashing migration, turning away asylum seekers, and returning thousands of Syrians back to their home country. He has also been calling for changes to the 'Main Outline Agreement' signed when the government coalition formed last year. On Tuesday morning, after walking out of a meeting of coalition party leaders, Wilders said in a post on X: 'No signature for our asylum plans. No changes to the Main Outline Agreement. PVV leaves the coalition.' Wilders' announcement that his PVV party will be leaving the coalition means that any party members holding ministerial positions in the cabinet will leave, while remaining ministers from three other parties will continue as part of a caretaker cabinet. After Prime Minister Schoof's resignation on Tuesday, a general election is likely to be called as the current government will struggle to function with a minority in the House of Representatives. The ruling coalition comprised four parties: PVV (37 seats), VVD (24 seats), NSC (20 seats), and BBB (7 seats), which together held 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. With PVV's withdrawal, the coalition loses its majority, retaining only 51 seats. Based on previous election timeframes, Reuters reported that an election before October is unlikely, and forming a new government in the meantime could take months due to the country's fractured politics. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, whose party formed part of the government coalition, called for elections 'as soon as possible' in a post on X, adding that the Netherlands needs a strong cabinet to 'continue to deliver on the right-wing policies that the voters voted for.' Earlier on Tuesday, Yesilgöz-Zegerius said in a separate post: 'Wilders is putting his own interests above the interests of our country by walking away … Everything that could be done, we were already going to do. Everything we had already agreed upon.' Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tuesday's Mini-Report, 6.3.25
Today's edition of quick hits. * In Gaza: 'More than two dozen people were killed early Tuesday after the Israeli military opened fire close to a controversial aid distribution point in southern Gaza, local health officials said, the third time in three days that Palestinians were killed in the area.' * A new day in South Korea: 'A liberal lawyer has ousted South Korea's troubled ruling party's presidential candidate on Tuesday, ending months of political instability that began with a botched declaration of martial law. Lee Jae-myung will be sworn into office Wednesday after his conservative rival, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, conceded the race.' * A step backwards in Poland: 'Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland's weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.' * Political uncertainty in the Netherlands: 'Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders' PVV party left the governing coalition Tuesday, in a move that is set to topple the right-wing government and will likely lead to new elections. Wilders said his coalition partners were not willing to support his ideas on halting asylum migration.' * An overdue breakthrough in Tulsa: 'The city of Tulsa, home to one of the most horrifying racial-terror massacres in U.S. history and the people who tried to cover it up, has announced a $105 million reparations package that will put dollars and actions toward redress.' * Difficult diplomacy: 'The Trump administration is proposing an arrangement that would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium at low levels while the United States and other countries work out a more detailed plan intended to block Iran's path to a nuclear weapon but give it access to fuel for new nuclear power plants.' * It'll be interesting to see how long this pause lasts: 'The Department of Education has not gone through with a plan to garnish Social Security checks over defaulted loans, a department spokesperson told The Hill. 'The Department has not offset any social security benefits since restarting collections on May 5, and has put a pause on any future social security offsets,' Ellen Keast, the spokesperson, said.' * A struggling cultural institution: 'Sales of subscriptions for the coming season of programming at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are down by about $1.6 million, or roughly 36 percent, compared with last year.' See you tomorrow. This article was originally published on
Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
Dutch Government Collapses After Right-Wing Leader Wilders Walks Out
The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving the administration without a parliamentary majority and plunging the Netherlands into political uncertainty. Prime Minister Dick Schoof, an independent who took office last July, has resigned from his role in the wake of the collapse. The government's fall after less than a year in power is expected to trigger snap elections, although experts say a vote before October is unlikely and the process of forming a new government could take months. Without PVV's 37 seats in the House of Representatives, the coalition government now only has 51 seats out of 150. Wilders' party won the previous general election in November 2023 in a shock result, signaling a significant shift to the right in the Netherlands that has been echoed in other elections across Europe over the last year, including in Germany, France, and the European Parliament. Who is Geert Wilders? Wilders, 61, is one of the most prominent and polarizing figures in Dutch politics. Originally from Venlo in the south of the Netherlands, Wilders is a seasoned politician, first joining the field in 1990 as an assistant to Frits Bolkestein, a centre-right politician and then-leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), before securing his first elected position in 1997 as a VVD city councillor in Utrecht. He was elected to the House of Representatives a year later, and has gone on to become the longest serving lawmaker in Dutch politics. In 2004, he left the VVD and formed his own party, later renamed PVV, which he currently leads. Anti-immigration policy is at the top of Wilders' agenda. His manifesto during the 2023 general election included a ban on all mosques, Islamic schools, the use of Qurans, and anyone wearing a Hijab entering government buildings in the Netherlands. The manifesto also said the PVV wants to reduce non-Western immigration and implement a 'general asylum freeze.' Wilders' speeches have been marked by hardline anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric as well: In late 2016, a panel of judges found him guilty of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans over comments he made in a post-election address in 2014; months later, ahead of parliamentary elections in 2017, Wilders described some Moroccans in the Netherlands as 'scum.' As of January 2024, just under 3 million people in the Netherlands were born abroad, 176,000 thousand of whom were born in Morocco. One or both of another 250,000 residents ' parents were also born in Morocco. Wilders has been calling for the Dutch government to implement his party's 10-point plan, which includes slashing migration, turning away asylum seekers, and returning thousands of Syrians back to their home country. He has also been calling for changes to the 'Main Outline Agreement' signed when the government coalition formed last year. On Tuesday morning, after walking out of a meeting of coalition party leaders, Wilders said in a post on X: 'No signature for our asylum plans. No changes to the Main Outline Agreement. PVV leaves the coalition.' What could happen next? Wilders' announcement that his PVV party will be leaving the coalition means that any party members holding ministerial positions in the cabinet will leave, while remaining ministers from three other parties will continue as part of a caretaker cabinet. After Prime Minister Schoof's resignation on Tuesday, a general election is likely to be called as the current government will struggle to function with a minority in the House of Representatives. The ruling coalition comprised four parties: PVV (37 seats), VVD (24 seats), NSC (20 seats), and BBB (7 seats), which together held 88 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. With PVV's withdrawal, the coalition loses its majority, retaining only 51 seats. Based on previous election timeframes, Reuters reported that an election before October is unlikely, and forming a new government in the meantime could take months due to the country's fractured politics. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, whose party formed part of the government coalition, called for elections 'as soon as possible' in a post on X, adding that the Netherlands needs a strong cabinet to 'continue to deliver on the right-wing policies that the voters voted for.' Earlier on Tuesday, Yesilgöz-Zegerius said in a separate post: 'Wilders is putting his own interests above the interests of our country by walking away … Everything that could be done, we were already going to do. Everything we had already agreed upon.'
