Leicester City’s defensive frailties could be Claude Puel’s undoing

The shemozzle that Claude Puel finds himself in is no peripeteia, it had been coming for some time.

Tempers were flaring back in the East Midlands – and in a certain section of the Vitality Stadium – as Leicester City got blown to smithereens at the hands of a ruthless Bournemouth, conceding their 56th, 57th, 58th, and 59th goal in 41 matches under Puel in the process. They themselves found the net for the 68th and 69th time during the Frenchman’s short reign, but the goals were only as useful as Islam Slimani was in royal blue. This is exactly what the problem is.

Leicester’s goalscoring record is decent by anyone’s standards, so is the football that they play in the final third; however, what they do – or what they don’t – back at the Kasper Schmeichel end often gives the fantods to their faithful, and points to their opponents. It’s something that has been inherent since the last season, when Leicester ended up with the fourth worst defensive record in the Premier League, shipping a staggering 60 goals. Based on what we saw from them on Saturday, that tally could quite easily be matched or even bettered.

So what is the reason behind this incessant leaking? Is it wise to simply put all the blame on Puel, his methods, his tactics and his team selection? As cannot be said enough, no. It’s not to say that he completely gets away with his side’s shortcomings. You can ask for his head for picking Wes Morgan, but that’s the only bit where he is the one completely responsible.

He doesn’t have to come up with a mea culpa for Ricardo Pereira or Ben Chilwell’s defensive deficiencies, working on which forms a good part of his project; he doesn’t have to come up with a mea culpa for the fact that right from the beginning of his tenure, the only quality defensive options available to him have been Harry Maguire and Wilfred Ndidi. Even after the signings of Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu, it’s still true, as none of the two have any guarantees on the table, at least for now. Soyuncu has been touted by many as the ideal long-term partner for Maguire, but even he will take his time to come good – if he does at all – like anyone else either side of him.

And that takes us to the all important question: does Puel have time? The owners backed him not too long ago, but we do know how notorious they are. If they could sack Claudio Ranieri, the club’s greatest ever, then the guilty party here has mostly been battling critics for as long as anyone can remember.

Without a smidgen of doubt, Leicester’s attacking side has seen plenty of progress, and that alone is worthy of buying the former Southampton boss more time, but while the state of the defending continues to be what it currently is, he will continue to crave for job security the same way a God does ichor.