Leicester: Anger, toxicity and growing disconnect - what next for Foxes? - Voice of Asia

Just 27 minutes into Friday's match against Brentford, Leicester City were already down 0-2 and looked to be crumbling, with some fans having had enough. A 0-4 thrashing and a new English top-flight record of six consecutive home league defeats without scoring – fueled growing local unease, where apathy seemed to outweigh anger.

The half-hearted protests from fans during last weekend's 0-2 loss to Arsenal at the King Power Stadium highlighted the difficulty of sustaining organized resistance. However, in the face of the disastrous performance against Brentford, fans voted with their feet, with a mass exodus occurring after Christian Norgaard made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute, a loss that left Leicester second-to-last in the standings.

Captain Jamie Vardy stated, "There's nothing we can do about it, everyone's entitled to their opinion, and the fans are doing that. That's their right, we've just got to concentrate on the football, that's the only thing we can do." Leicester fans are not indifferent to the current situation; they care deeply, but they feel frustrated and disheartened, stemming from a disconnect with the club.

Protests, over two months without a home league goal, and 10 losses in 11 games have pushed Leicester City to the brink of a return to the Championship. Where should Leicester go from here? Since taking over from Steve Cooper, manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has lost 11 of his 15 games, failing to reverse the downward trend. He left his role as assistant coach at Manchester United in November, just weeks after Ruben Amorim took over.

Leicester hoped he could bring a new direction, and while they secured four points from his first two games against West Ham United and Brighton, their form has since plummeted. A 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur last month ended a run of seven straight league defeats and prevented Leicester from matching their losing streak record. But they failed to build on that win, losing all four subsequent matches, including a 0-4 thrashing by Everton, who displayed a strong desire to stay up.

The 0-4 defeat to Brentford – which could have been worse – led Van Nistelrooy to admit that his team now faces a tough relegation battle, almost questioning their strength. The Dutchman said, "You have to admit it's a huge setback. Overall, the gap in overall level between Brentford and us was huge, which is worrying for our future hopes."

"With the squad we have, staying in the Premier League requires climbing a very, very, very high mountain, that's the reality. Today's situation illustrates this. The situation we are in is worrying, and the mountain we have to climb is huge." The former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker has been under a lot of pressure since joining Leicester, but despite the lack of wins, he has left a positive impression on the team.

Sources close to the first team told BBC Sport that even those who don't play regularly recognize his influence. His instructions are clear – something the team didn't feel under Cooper – and they like him as a person. Van Nistelrooy's achievements in his playing career – winning the Premier League, two La Liga titles, and two Eredivisie titles, as a feared striker in world football – meant he earned instant respect.

Van Nistelrooy seems to have been emphasizing team unity, but it is recognized that positivity on the training ground is meaningless if it cannot be translated into wins on the pitch. This unity contrasted sharply with the atmosphere at the King Power Stadium during the loss to Arsenal, when fans expressed dissatisfaction with the club's management, particularly director of football Jon Rudkin.

A planned protest called "Project Restart" failed to gain traction, but as Leicester collapsed against Brentford, more dissent emerged. Chants against Rudkin and the board, as well as fans leaving after goals, highlighted growing frustration. In the loss to Everton, after conceding a goal in just 10 seconds, away fans quickly began chanting "We're going down."

Overall, Van Nistelrooy has avoided becoming the focus of fan rebellion, although he was mocked for his decision to substitute Bilal El Khannouss in the loss to Fulham. However, the Dutchman will be the one answering the questions, while fans and the media are more willing to ask questions of Rudkin or CEO Susan Whelan. It has never been the club's style to have board-level people speak publicly, even when Leicester won the Premier League, they remained silent. No one was basking in the glory back then, so it's unfair to say they are hiding in the shadows now.

The disconnect between the club and fans is growing, as evidenced by Friday's situation. Whelan and club directors met last week with Leicester City Supporters Trust co-chairs Lynn Wyeth and Steve Moulds, members of the fan engagement team, and fan representatives from the Leicester City Fan Advisory Board for a frank discussion.

Wyeth said, "When things go wrong, you need some leadership. You need someone to stand up and reassure us. The lack of communication has led to frustration, anger, and toxicity at games. Other fans can't understand this. They say, 'Leicester fans are so ungrateful, they are so entitled. They think because they won a Premier League title, they don't know how lucky they are with their owners'."

"It's not about that. We are very grateful for everything this family (the owner Srivaddhanaprabha family) has done and the good times we have experienced, but the problem is how bad things have become in the past few years." Van Nistelrooy has a responsibility to make the most of the players he has, but none of Leicester's summer signings have made a sustained impact.

Midfielder Oliver Skipp, signed from Tottenham Hotspur for £20 million, has struggled to find form, while defender Caleb Okoli, who joined from Atalanta for £15 million, only made his first start under the Dutchman last week. Moroccan attacker El Khannouss, who joined from Genk for £21 million, has shown some potential – including the winning goal against Tottenham – but is still new to the Premier League.

Odsonne Edouard has only made four substitute appearances in the top flight, the forward's move from Crystal Palace has been pointless and occupies an important loan spot, while right-back Woyo Coulibaly is the only player to have joined in January. "It's hard to judge him (Van Nistelrooy) because he doesn't have the right squad," Wyeth added. "Their squad wasn't good enough to stay up last time, and our players are worse now."

Despite their poor form, Leicester are not completely cut adrift in the standings. They are level on points with 18th-placed Ipswich and only two points behind 17th-placed Wolves, although they have played one game more than both teams. Wes Morgan, the captain who led Leicester to the Premier League title and also helped them avoid relegation in the 2013-14 season, believes they can turn things around again.

"It's been proven that it can be done (teams can get out of relegation battles). I was part of a team that did it," he said. "I believe the fans are disappointed with how things have gone in recent weeks. Things can change, and we know it's happened in the past. It's not too late yet."