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The controversial sacking of Claudio Ranieri by Leicester City has made us, once again, ponder loyalties in football - those of its clubs and their owners, its players and its fans.

In May, Leicester toured the city in an open-top bus with ‘Champions’ emblazoned on it. Nine months later, Ranieri has been thrown beneath it, with the club’s Premier League status at risk.

Leicester have traditionally yo-yoed between the top two divisions, even slipping down to the third tier in 2008, and had been out of the Premier League for ten years prior to their return.

And then, from nowhere, they won the league, and have progressed to the Champions League Round of 16. Ranieri led them to the type of glory that fans of most of the other 91 league clubs can only dream of.

In the long-term, would it really matter if they went back down to a division in which they have spent half of their history? Their financial future is secure, the league win bringing exposure to markets that were previously impenetrable.

They have prestige, they have a enhanced fan-base, they have some good players (and some good upcoming players).

They can return to being a yo-yo club that occasionally punches above their weight, whilst maintaining loyalty to the man who made Wes Morgan into a Premier League champion, right?

The riches of the Premier League say otherwise. So terrified are clubs of losing their Premier League status and the cash that comes with it that the trigger finger sees action, regardless of what has gone before.

But would Daniel Levy react in the same way as Leicester’s Chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha?

I suppose the fundamental difference is that Mauricio Pochettino is building a project, embedding a philosophy, overseeing a cultural change.

Whereas Ranieri was, in many ways, never going to be anything more than a short-term punt, having jumped from club to club, never staying anywhere beyond four years in his thirty years as a manager.

That he achieved what he achieved was remarkable, and so much has been and will be written about the title win, and the factors that combined to create the perfect storm.

Pochettino’s strategies and goals are more long-term… and they have to be given the differences in stature and expectations of the two clubs.

And yet after a fifth-placed finish in André Villas-Boas’ first season, Daniel Levy was happy to press the button with the club seventh in the Premier League and having won all six of their Europa League group games.

That perhaps speaks more to AVB than Levy, but the point stands to some extent - any dip is scrutinised.

As Spurs fans, we mock elements of Arsenal’s fanbase for their treatment of Arsene Wenger, the longest-serving and most successful manager in their history.

Granted, he is not winning them too many trophies these days, but at the very least he is a safe pair of hands that will not let them dip below fourth, and will generally dish up attractive football.

Why ruin his legacy with a sacking? The pursuit of happiness and bragging rights for fans, the pursuit of money for the owners.

We always want more; that greed that often follows success. It’s so easy to shift expectations too quickly and to suddenly want to gorge on all that is not necessarily owed to us.

A slow-build creates structures and stability, and hopefully provides longevity. Whereas trying to do too much, too soon can be damaging (see: ‘Doing a Leeds’).

The thought that Pochettino’s three years of building a team, a system, a unified front, and relationships throughout the club could suddenly come crashing down with a poor run of results is not a pleasant one, but is quite likely a reality.

Some fans got tetchy at the beginning of this season when the style of football was not what we had become accustomed to. The lunatic fringe were tweeting ‘#PochOut’. Pochettino, of course, soon turned draws into wins and the swaggering style returned in spades.

But a run of five games without a win and the Negative Normans will be booting up their laptops again, writing caps lock blog comments, booking planes to trail banners above White Hart Lane, and trying to create a sense of crisis.

Of course, Spurs are on the up at the moment, and such a significant drop-off is highly unlikely. Pochettino is steering the ship in the steadiest and most competent of ways - in all likelihood, he’s the most talented manager we have had in my adult life.

But playing at Wembley is going to be challenging for all concerned and I would hope that some leeway is given next season. A dip should be expected, planned for, and accepted by all concerned. Maintaining the status quo would be a success.