Leicester City find themselves in deep, deep trouble this season. Negligence is a non-negotiable part of the King Power's negligible attitude towards the LE2 outfit's plight. Wow, that was a tongue twister! Anyway, systemic failures have left the Foxes shivering in the EFL Championship's lower reaches.
Problems away from the field of play obviously affect squad quality and those on the pitch, creating a vacuum of leadership and a brittle roster. Perhaps that is why City have ended up with a young, inexperienced goalkeeper on their substitutes' bench for a wildly important clash with Ipswich Town.
Judging the youthful Harry French is impossible because he hasn't featured yet. But the 20-year-old's sudden elevation is most likely a symptom of a season in freefall.
Standing at a commanding 6'3", he's a Mansfield-born left-footer. French has enjoyed a reportedly steady, if quiet, presence for the Under-21s.
A modern 'keeper by trade, French possesses a refined distribution and sharp reflexes, but remains a prospect rather than a proven entity. He was previously on loan at Boston United.
A surprise addition to the Foxes bench: Harry French and Leicester City's crisis
Why is the Englishman among the LCFC subs? The vacancy exists because Gary Rowett evidently finds veteran Fran Vieites untrustworthy following amid no injury reporting.
"There's no word on the Spaniard just yet, but no injury has been reported.Leicester Mercury
So French comes in, as number 51, and will be making his senior debut if he gets onto the pitch."
While the reliable Asmir Begovic remains sidelined with injury. To compound the misery, highly-rated Under-21s stopper Stevie Bausor is also confined to the treatment room.
Left with no senior safety net, Rowett has reached into the developmental depths to find French. In a season defined by administrative apathy and on-pitch anxiety, a youthful debutant-in-waiting now stands as the only thing between a Jakub Stolarczyk mishap and total goalkeeping catastrophe.
The latter has seen his star descend in recent months. Losing his place to the veteran Bosnian.