Leicester City must hate what’s happening at Cardiff City right now | OneFootball

Leicester's woes are being compounded by what their former first-team coach is doing at Cardiff City

Leicester City fell back into the Championship's bottom three after a brief midweek escape, as they were unable to follow up their win over Bristol City against QPR.

The out-of-form Hoops, who hadn't scored in nearly seven hours of Championship football, netted three times in a 3-1 win at the King Power Stadium, and that, paired with a first win of 2026 for West Brom, and another point on the board for Oxford United, has Leicester once again worrying about their second-tier status.

It's been a campaign mired with issues off-field for the Foxes, as the former Premier League champions were finally sanctioned for breaching EFL financial rules and deducted six points, but even without that deduction, Leicester would be just five points above the drop zone.

The Marti Cifuentes experiment didn't work, and now, famed relegation specialist Gary Rowett is in charge, with Foxes fans wondering how it's been allowed to get to this situation.

Especially when, in League One, their former first-team coach is excelling with a bright, young squad, who could be replacing Leicester in the Championship next season.

Brian Barry-Murphy left Leicester for Cardiff this past summer and has been exceptional

Last season was one to forget for Leicester, too. Their Premier League survival bid never really got out of first gear, with Steve Cooper dismissed just months into the campaign, and Ruud van Nistelrooy failing to get a tune out of the side from December onwards.

They became the first side in Premier League history to go nine games without scoring at home and were relegated with five games remaining. In the dugout next to van Nistelrooy was current Cardiff City boss, Brian Barry-Murphy.

Barry-Murphy had left Manchester City's academy just four months before joining Leicester, where he was in charge for three years and oversaw the development of the likes of Cole Palmer, Oscar Bobb, Liam Delap and more.

But his time at Leicester was short-lived, as he took a permanent role at Cardiff in the summer, marking his first in senior management since he left Rochdale in 2021. There, he oversaw a young, entertaining side battling to stay in League One.

Now, in South Wales, he's overseeing a young, entertaining side who have the skillset to challenge at the top of the third tier, and a return to the Championship looks imminent for the Bluebirds.

Barry-Murphy has also adapted his managerial style over the years when he has been away from senior management, too, and has two Manager of the Month awards to his name so far this season. If it weren't for the brilliant job Michael Skubala was doing at Lincoln City, he'd be a shoo-in for Manager of the Season.

The Bluebirds have scored the most goals in League One, kept the most possession, created the most big chances and kept the second-most clean sheets. They've been utterly dominant at times, due to a bright, young squad filled to the brim with talent, but also due to the way that they have been coached by the 47-year-old.

Leicester City should have promoted Brian Barry-Murphy when they had the chance

It was always a case of 'when, not if' when it came to van Nistelrooy's departure as Leicester manager, but when the decision was finally made on June 27, Barry-Murphy had already been snapped up by Cardiff 11 days earlier.

The Foxes must be kicking themselves that they didn't act sooner in making a managerial decision, especially now knowing that, in hindsight, Marti Cifuentes wasn't ready to take on a major Championship job after a season-and-a-half of stabilising QPR, whereas Barry-Murphy evidently was.

Now, Leicester are on their second manager this season, and may be on the lookout again in the summer, as new boss Gary Rowett, who is only on a deal until the end of the season, stated that he'd be happy to "walk off into the sunset" after his contract ends.

If Leicester had just acted sooner and offered Barry-Muprhy the role in the summer, the club likely wouldn't be in a position where they'd be possibly preparing for life in League One, and they definitely wouldn't be searching for a potential third new manager in the space of 12 months.

The future currently looks brighter for the side second in League One compared to the one second-bottom in the Championship, but it could all have been different had Barry-Murphy been at Leicester instead of Cardiff.