Who would have thought we would be here? The 2-0 defeat to Manchester United means Leicester City will not play in the Champions League next season after being 14 points ahead of the Red Devils at the start of the year.
Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard confirmed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side tipped the Foxes to the Champions League.
Following City’s 3-0 win over Newcastle United and Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal on New Years Day, there has been a huge shift in fortunes for both sides. United’s final-day victory at King Power Stadium confirmed this and Brendan Rodgers’ side will compete in the Europa League next season.
But it’s not all bad. This season has seen the club finish four places higher than last season, resulting in achieving European football for the 2020/21 season. A clinical first-half of the season, dismantling Southampton 9-0 in the process, followed by our striker has winning the golden boot with 23 goals.
Many have said that qualifying for the Europa League was the target from day one. I would agree. But there will be questions asked about the mentality within the dressing room to let such a huge lead slip and eventually finish fifth.
My main problem falls to the points dropped against sides we should be beating. The 1-1 draw to Norwich City, 2-1 defeat to Southampton and Burnley, the defeats at Norwich and Everton, the draws against Watford and Brighton and the thrashing at AFC Bournemouth all come to mind especially.
Before the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on 21st December, the Foxes went 11 games unbeaten in all competitions. After the back-to-beat defeats to the top two, Leicester have won only SIX Premier League games out of a possible 19.
Two completely contrasting sets of results and that has ultimately been the reasoning to our drop out of the top four.
Would you off take a Europa League spot, a FA Cup quarter-final finish, semi-final of the Carabao Cup and a possibility to finish in the Champions League spot back in August? Of course you would.
As I said, questions will be asked about why the sizzling, sensational and memorising form disappeared after the turn of the year.
Now, the focus diverts to the coming summer. The recruitment needed to maintain the steps taken since Rodgers arrived have to be right. The Foxes faithful will be worried and rightly so. Back in January, there were numerous positions that could have been improved.
Another centre-back was a must. There were a number of names thrown about throughout the month. But Ryan Bennett was brought in on loan. Good enough? For a Champions League club, absolutely not.
The need for another attacking winger that has been a must since Riyad Mahrez’s exit has still not been filled. Harvey Barnes has improved as the season went on and Demarai Gray has done enough, in my opinion, to warrant another contract.
But the choice to splash £30m on Ayoze Perez, to then play him out wide hasn’t worked. Since the restart, the Spaniard has been played behind Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho. If Perez is going to show his worth at the club, he will need to improve his efficiency from out wide or be played as a number 10.
After the defeat to Manchester United, Rodgers spoke about where he would like to add to his squad and claimed the “attacking element of the team” is where he wants to improve. Alongside the defence, I agree with the Foxes manager.
Missing out on Hakim Ziyech from Ajax was a major blow. There are a number of excellent players for the club to bring to the club. The feeling amongst the supporters is, will the right quality be brought?
Despite the negativity, the down in the dump feeling and disappointment of missing out on the Champions League, there is a huge positive feeling amongst the club.
Yes, it’s a shame the team couldn’t finish what they started. But with James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu all missing parts of the run-in, it was a huge task.
Can the Foxes keep hold of their prized assets? Only time can tell. But the club are back in Europe and if the recruitment team can attract top players, the thrill of following Leicester City Football Club will continue.