Friday 24 February 2017 14:37, UK
Paul Merson says neutral football fans will want to see Leicester relegated this season after their "average" players "stuck the knife" into Claudio Ranieri.
The Premier League champions announced on Thursday evening that they had parted company with their title-winning manager after a run of six games without a win or a goal in the Premier League since the turn of the year.
But Sky Sports expert Merson is not happy with the actions of the players - and the decision of the board.
"It's an absolute joke," he told Sky Sports News HQ.
"I think it's disgusting, I really do. This man has come in to Leicester and won the league.
"He has worked with world-class players in his career and been to big football clubs. He has the bottle to go and play 4-4-2, which is very unusual in this day and age in the Premier League, and they go and win the league.
"He makes average footballers into world stars, being touted around for the Ballon d'Or and things like that, and then you read in the papers they have the audacity to go to the chairman and say it ain't working.
"I played the game for 20 years and in my wildest dreams I wouldn't have done that.
"It beats me. I feel for the bloke, I really do; average footballers going in and sticking the knife in the back of a manager who made them stars."
He added: "Unless you're a Leicester fan, I don't see too many people in the country who will want them to stay up now.
"Last year, we loved watching them. This year, I think everybody will want them to go down."
Former Leicester player Roberto Mancini, who guided Manchester City to the Premier League title in 2012, was installed as an early favourite to replace Ranieri.
But Merson is not convinced by that idea, arguing they need to appoint a survival specialist like Crystal Palace did when they appointed Sam Allardyce in December.
"People talk about Mancini, but he's never been in a relegation scrap," he said.
"You've got to get someone who has. The man I would have put in would have been Sam Allardyce. I know where Palace are, but they won't be going down with Sam Allardyce in charge, believe me. For me, that is the biggest cert ever.
"They will stay up because Sam Allardyce is there. When push comes to shove, at the end of the season he will sit 10 people behind the ball at home and get a 0-0 draw. Other managers won't do that and think 'I've got to attack, attack, attack.'
"This is a big decision, because I think they will get relegated."
