The Stick to Football podcast panel reacts to Jamie Vardy’s statement on Leicester’s relegation issued earlier this week.
Jamie Vardy issued a heartfelt apology on social media following Leicester City’s relegation from the Premier League, confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on April 20th.
He described the 2024/25 season as a “total embarrassment” and a “shitshow,” expressing anger and sadness over the team’s performance.
Vardy, who scored seven goals in 31 league appearances, took personal responsibility, and acknowledged the fans’ pain, apologising for the team’s miserable campaign, which saw Leicester lose 23 matches and go nine consecutive home games without scoring, an English record.
In this episode of Stick to Football, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Jill Scott, Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright dive into all the latest from the football world.
The panel takes a close look at a number of topics, and spent a few minutes giving their take on Vardy, Leicester, relegation and next season.
UPDATE: Leicester can confirm legendary striker Jamie Vardy will leave Leicester City this summer after 13 seasons that have seen him become their greatest-ever player.
Goodbye to the GOAT đ pic.twitter.com/romej28Kbr
— Leicester City (@LCFC) April 24, 2025
Jamie Vardy speaks on his decision to leave Leicester after 13 seasons at the club
TIMESTAMPS FOR LATEST EPISODE:
00:00 – Intro
02:00 – Arsenal and UCL Chances
15:13 – Myles Lewis-Skelly
17:00 – Aston Villa
26:00 – Ollie Watkins
34:26 – Leicester City Relegated & Jamie Vardy
42:10 – Liverpool & Trent AA
01:02:48 – Super 6
01:05:33 – Final Thoughts and Upcoming Matches
Gary Neville: Leicester went down at the weekend and Jamie Vardy put this statement out on you probably seen it on Twitter or social media yesterday
Jamie Vardy’s statement:
âAt this point, I donât even know what to say. No words I have can ever express my feelings of anger and sadness with the way this season has gone. There are no excuses.
âCollectively, as players and as a club, we failed. There is simply no hiding, and I refuse to entertain any suggestion of doing so.
âHaving been at this club for so long, weâve experienced so many highs and successes and this season has been nothing but miserable and for me personally, a total embarrassment. It hurts, and I know youâre feeling it too.
âTo the fans: Iâm sorry. Sorry we havenât performed, and sorry we end the 2025 season with such a s**t show.â
Gary Neville: It’s a strong statement that
Jill and Ian: Yeah
Jill: I didn’t mind it though, I didn’t mind it I think it’s his way of getting a message to the fans. Obviously they take so much abuse on social media why can’t they use their platform and what I liked is he’s not blaming them. It’s a collective thing
Roy: Why do they don’t wait till the end of the season or um obviously we have to look in the mirror, you look at the mirror every evening You look at yourself what you’re doing at your club with your life Why is the end of the season when you’ve had a bad season go oh we need to start looking at ourselves bit isn’t it
Ian: You know something you you he gives me an impression Jamie that he he won’t take things are not going right in training that he’ll probably speak up about it, I agree with you Roy where you think you could have said something earlier before they got to this place but I’m glad to see him put something like that out simply because he’s hurting
Roy: When the previous manager left and they’ve got some senior players of Vardy and Connor Coady you know they’re listen all good pros don’t played at a good level for many a year when Steve Cooper was there was Cooper there what three four months when he left I remember Conor Coady got interviewed he went oh we probably just needed a new voice you’re like a new voice he’s fucking been there three or four months just like nonsense kind of statements going oh we need to look in the mirror come on I don’t just mean I don’t mean the Leicester teams every time a team has a difficult spell or a play go.. we need to start looking at ourselves It’s a bit late for that now isn’t it
Gary: Will Vardy carry on playing or do you think he’ll carry…
Roy: If I was your manager, Leicester if I was Ruud I No I think it’s time now I think for him to stop. He can go on and play what age is he now
Jill and Gary: 38
Roy: Like he’s been up against obviously he can’t stretch teams anymore and he’s not getting great service at Leicester. Yeah when did they know two years ago thought definitely do the business in a Championship and he’s probably still their leading goal scorer but if you’re trying to get Leicester back to compete and getting back up next year and maybe sometimes you do have to move some of these older players on and go listen we need a kind of a rebuild isn’t it
Ian: They need they they need I thought that something like Patson Daka I thought that they they expected him to kick on a lot more than he has done obviously it’s not happened you know when you look at Odsonne Ădouard you know
Roy: He’s not been involved
Ian: So you’re looking at someone like Jamie Vardy, he probably will be there next year and then you do need to bring that player in that he can kind of shepherd through because at the moment you think
Roy: It’s a strange old fit Ruud in Leicester, I still can’t, I don’t know I could be wrong I don’t know. When you’re obviously when you’re not winning it doesn’t look right But I’m even at the end of the game I’m looking at Ruud and will he be there and it just seems a strange old
Jill: Do you think he won’t be there do you not think he’ll have a chance to bring in his players and build his kind of…
Carragher: I mean the results have been poor haven’t I mean I know it’s not a great squad I get that probably you know the conditions around the club and all that but I’m not sure
Roy: He just seen the fit with him I don’t listen, the dynamic, his personality with the club who knows there’s issues at Leicester and there was going back to pre-season there was a lot of hanging over them but they were going to get points deductions and managers were almost avoiding it weren’t they
Carragher: Still might actually happen
Ian: I feel for Leicester
Roy: Yeah but more so going to the Premiership if you lose six or 10 points you’re definitely going down any other manager I thought well I’ve got to give this a bit of a chance
Gary: The anger at Leicester seems to be not with the ownership, it’s with the actual sporting directors you know and
Ian: They don’t speak to anyone They don’t speak to the fans don’t know anything and then you’re looking at it and it’s like Jamie said is a shitshow and they don’t know anything so of course they’re going to be upset
Roy: Leicester have, if you start looking over the last 10 or 15 years what they’ve done it’s been unbelievable, so don’t panic also you going down cuz it went down a couple years ago then the manager shooting jump ship by the way they bring him in he does really well and they’re playing a certain brand of football in the Championship and he’s gone very very quickly so things have gone against them on that side of it but they’re more than capable of going down whether it’s Ruud, there some other man going, you’re more capable of bouncing back next year I think don’t panic either
Ian: Yeah the fans are not confident that this management level are going to bring him and you do feel for him especially if all this PSR gets involved with Leicester you do feel like well
Roy: Yeah that’s always hanging over
Ian: Tough one Leicester coming back at some stage see I know we’ve seen…
Roy: But they can bounce back isn’t it. They can bounce back next year they can be in the bigs they got some decent young players and you’ll be saying that for any team gets relegated you certainly be thinking they’;; certainly be in the top six competing obviously the idea you want to go up automatic
Ian: I definitely have Jamie Vardy involved if next season from Leicester just to keep it going even if it’s off the
Roy: But then you get promoted you know what you hang on to him
Ian: I don’t think you do but you got to use him in there. I think Roy you have to use him
Roy: Yeah there’s no doubt he scored goals in the Championship I get it but there comes a point as well you have to say to a player listen come on
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Leicester City ‘draw up shortlist of possible candidates’ if they sack Ruud van Nistelrooy
Gary: I’d be surprised if Ruud stay looking at what he did a couple of weeks ago with the incident with Winks and Jannik Vestergaard, for two players like that I suspect there were other players also that were living away and some of them have obviously complied with it and started to stay near and some of them obviously have said no I’m not moving I think that he was calling out the professionalism in the squad that it should I completely agree with him I completely agree with it’s a joke
Roy: So yeah but I’d rather Ruud do that and sometime lose players than hander to players all the time and that’s part of management Obviously if these lads are doing the business every week they live where you want yeah live in Scotland but if you’re losing Gary you know, you’re losing you do have to start looking lads we spoke here a few months ago a couple of weeks ago about players not being professional and traveling If you’re a manager that’s your job to go lads are you like have you really
Carragher: You’re getting paid a load of dough. It’s not like you should never be more than sort of half an hour 40 minutes
Ian: It’s not like they’re staying in some little little khazi gaff. They’ve got unbelievable place Leicester training ground.
Roy: I mean if you’re a manager if they sorry if these players are at the club and Ruud comes in, a new manager they’re up against it and you say lad you might have to stay up we’re not saying live in Leicester and uproot your family but could you stay up one two nights a week?. If you were a player you’d be going of course I would I’m embarrassed you’re asking me I’m embarrassed you’ve had to come to that stage.
Gary: I’m surprised that the two players say m I’m not listen I mean
Roy: If it’s true
Ian: I don’t care what if I’m Ruud I’m doing exactly the same
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