Leicester City currently sit 12th in the Premier League with four wins from ten games and have earned 13 points.
From the beginning of the season, Claude Puel has been trying to change the culture and playing style from that of a counter-attacking side to a more possession-based team.
Coming into the season, Puel made some bold decisions when he decided to keep club legends Danny Simpson and Andy king out of his Premier League squad.
He justified this decision by claiming they did not fit the style he was trying to implement in addition to having more quality options at their positions.
Over the course of the season fans have become increasingly unhappy with the way Puel’s side have performed. Leicester’s overall possession statistics and style have improved, and certain players like Ben Chilwell, James Maddison and Nampalys Mendy have thrived at times.
However, Leicester still sit mid-table. With the recent run of poor results, some have called for Puel to be sacked.
Finding a Consistent Starting XI
Puel has tinkered with the starting line-up throughout the season. Kasper Schmeichel has been ever-present in goal this season and has played well. Ben Chilwell and Harry Maguire have anchored the defensive unit, but Maguire’s centre-back partner has changed almost every match.
Chilwell has performed admirably this campaign. His marauding runs down the left side have helped City’s attack immensely, and he has been just as solid defensively. His fine form has earned him multiple national team call-up, and has made a fan out of Gareth Southgate with his defensive capabilities.
Maguire has continued to improve upon his solid displays from last year and during the World Cup. He has been solid in the air and confident on the ball. However, the same cannot be said about his partners.
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Wes Morgan is a great reader of the game, and can anticipate moves before they happen. However, at times he appears a step too slow, as evident by his red card at Everton. At 34, he should probably be phased out of the first team.
Jonny Evans has been a mixed bag this season. He has been given fewer minutes than expected in the league, and has at times looked sharp and other times not. The former Manchester United man has struggled and made simple mistakes at times.
Caglar Soyuncu, on the other hand, finally made his senior team debut against West Ham United, and looked strong at times, but reckless at other. If he can learn to time his challenges better, and use his strength to hold up attackers, then he could have a bright future at the King Power stadium.
Daniel Amartey and Ricardo Pereira have split time at right-back this season. While Amartey has had more starts and seems to be a favourite of Puel, he is still a liability in defence at times. Unfortunately for Amartey, he appeared to come down with a nasty injury against West Ham, and could be out for the foreseeable future.
A Solid Midfield
Wilfred Ndidi and Nampalys Mendy have formed a solid partnership this season, even if they are not the most creative pair of midfielders. They have been excellent in breaking up opposition’s attacks, but have struggled at times to add something going forward. Vicente Iborra has also started this season, coming in for Mendy in order to help provide some creativity in the midfield.
James Maddison has arguably been Leicester’s best player this season. The 21-year-old has been Leicester’s only creative outlet at times. Even with the burden of being the side’s main creative midfielder, he has been able to find the pockets of space to send his team forward. He even earned himself a call-up to the national team; however he didn’t make it off the bench for either game.
Leicester’s wing contributions have been far and few in between. Due to Puel’s insistence on playing with three attacking midfielders and one striker, Kelechi Iheanacho has been forced out on the wing for most of his starts, thus limiting his effectiveness. Demarai Gray had a solid start to the season before going down with a brutal ankle injury in the Carabao Cup.
Summer signing Richad Ghezzal has not made as much impact as the club would have hoped. To be fair to him, he hasn’t been given a ton of playing time, but when he has come in as a substitute, and when handed a start, he has not been effective.
He seems to try and take on entire defences at times, when there is an easier shorter pass he could play. Marc Albrighton has also seem sporadic time on the wing this season. The veteran winger’s playing style is not as effective as it used to be. Due to the formation Leicester use, he hardly has any options to pick out in the box when he does get a chance to whip in a cross.
A Lack of Attacking Options
Jamie Vardy has had a decent start to the season, having scored three goals over eight appearances. However, with Vardy picking up a red card against Wolves earlier this season, Leicester’s attacking options looked a little thin.
Iheanacho has at times been forced out wide where he is less effective. Although he is young, Iheanacho has immense amounts of talent, and if Puel is able to utilise him well, he could start scoring more often, and take some of the pressure off of Vardy.
In addition, whoever has been playing up top for Leicester this season has usually been isolated. For example, last week against Arsenal, Vardy a total of 11 touches in the entire game!
It has been a similar story against other teams in the “big-six”, with Vardy and Iheanacho struggling to find time on the ball due to the dominance of the other sides.
Overall Analysis
If Claude Puel wants to have success at Leicester, he needs to create a solid centre-back partnership for Maguire. Puel should put his faith in Evans or Soyuncu, and run with them.
In addition, Leicester have struggled to break down sides this season. Even though fans believe a back three formation may be better suited than a back four, Leicester should stick with a back four. A 4-2-3-1 is better suited to Leicester, and gives wide players such as Gray, Albrighton and Ghezzal greater opportunities to thrive.
Leicester should have had more than 13 points from 10 games. There have been encouraging signs that Puel’s process is taking shape. For example, Leicester played extremely well at Manchester United, and in the first half against Arsenal. The Foxes stuck to their game-plan and tried to have more possession, and play the ball out of the back more often. Unfortunately, chances just didn’t fall their way in either game.
However ,some decisions involving the starting line-up have confused the fans. Continually putting faith in Wes Morgan potentially cost Leicester in the games against AFC Bournemouth and Everton. Fans and pundits may argue that a win against Bournemouth, and a draw at Everton are necessary in order to challenge for a European place this season.
The Leicester faithful may have a right to be upset, but Claude Puel does not deserve to be sacked at this point.