For many, Claudio Ranieri deserved a job for life at Leicester.
Player power strikes again as Ranieri unseated at Leicester
What he achieved last season, turning a bunch of mostly journeymen and cast-offs into Premier League champions , was the stuff of dreams and comic books. Ranieri had made the impossible possible, bringing a touch of romanticism back to a sport that has become a cold, hard, money-driven industry in so many ways.
It meant that there was an outpouring of dismay and incredulity when Ranieri's firing was announced on Thursday evening.