As winter faded into chilly spring, Leicester City were still in the mix for Champions League football. The £40m carrot of UCL money was tantalisingly close for the Foxes, as well as those famous European nights. Without the inconvenience of the Europa League, LCFC now could focus on finishing strongly in both league and FA Cup…
If you haven’t checked out Part 1 or Part 2, read these by clicking on the link so you can go through the review in order.
March
Monthly record: 4-3-1-0; GF: 11; GA: 3
Overall league record: 29-17-5-7; GF: 53; GA: 32
Cumulative record (all competitions): 42-25-7-10; GF: 78; GA: 43
League position at end of the month: 3rd
Monthly Grade: A
Results
Burnley 1-1 Leicester
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Leicester
Leicester 5-0 Sheffield United
Leicester 3-1 Manchester United (FA Cup QF)
When Leicester’s team sheet for the Burnley match came out on a chilly Wednesday night, Foxes fans were undoubtedly filled with dread. Nevertheless, the much-maligned Kelechi Iheanacho came up with a superb volley to rescue an error-strewn first-half performance. Alongside an exceptional goalkeeping display from Schmeichel, a battered and bruised Leicester City managed to escape Turf Moor with a point.
A terrible start on the South Coast raised further questions of Rodgers’ side, with the Foxes at sixes and sevens throughout the first 45. Fortunately, the Foxes improved after the break with a delightful no-look Tielemans pass setting up Iheanacho to finish clinically. Soon after, all the worries were forgotten (briefly) as Daniel Amartey popped up with a rare winner from a set-piece, the rarest of commodities.
By the end of March, spirits had significantly risen after a thrashing of whipping boys Sheffield United and a demolition of Manchester United in the cup. Given LCFC’s terrible record against the Red Devils and their FA Cup drought, such a victory was all the sweeter with a trip to Wembley guaranteed at the very least.
Despite the concerning form of Jamie Vardy, the phoenix-like resurgence of Kelechi ‘Seniorman’ Iheanacho was a pleasant surprise and a much-needed boost for a Foxes side short of attacking options. Suddenly it seemed like Rodgers had halted a potential rot and that the side were well-equipped to make good last season’s shortcomings.
April
Monthly record: 6-3-1-2; GF: 8; GA: 7
Overall league record: 34-19-6-9; GF: 61; GA: 39
Cumulative record (all competitions): 48-28-8-12; GF: 86; GA: 50
League position at end of the month: 3rd
Monthly Grade: C
Results
Leicester 0-2 Manchester City
West Ham United 3-2 Leicester
Leicester 1-0 Southampton (FA Cup SF)
Leicester 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
Leicester 2-1 Crystal Palace
Southampton 1-1 Leicester
Speaking too soon or getting hopes too high is a mistake made far too often in football and once again this proved to be the case. Losing to Manchester City was disappointing yet there was no shame in defeat to the champions-elect.
What was more concerning was the loss to West Ham and the off-the-pitch issues surrounding it. Goodness knows what was going through the mind of Ayoze Pérez, Maddison and the other players deciding to have an illegal house party. Not only did the team miss the creativity of the aforementioned duo, but the psychological impact on the squad was evident.
Even a spirited comeback spearheaded by Albrighton and Iheanacho failed to remove the bitter taste left by such actions. Once again, such drama gave the circling vultures in the media a chance to pick away at Leicester’s credentials, with the mentality of the side being attacked from every angle.
Showing his credentials, Rodgers seemingly rallied the troops and reintegrated the miscreants into the side, with the Foxes earning three straight wins followed by a point at 10-man Southampton. The caveat of this was that none of these performances were totally convincing, and were against desperately poor opposition. Having said this, the level of spirit shown to bounce back from adversity was admirable and allowed Leicester fans to dream of a potential FA Cup and top four ‘double’.
A magical May for Leicester City (but also heartbreak)
Monthly record: 5-2-0-3; GF: 8; GA: 11
Overall league record: 34-19-6-9; GF: 68; GA: 50
Cumulative record (all competitions): 53-30-8-15; GF: 94; GA: 61
League position at end of the month: 3rd
Monthly Grade: A (purely because of the FA Cup final win)
Results
Leicester 2-4 Newcastle United
Manchester United 1-2 Leicester
Chelsea 0-1 Leicester (FA Cup final)
Chelsea 2-1 Leicester
Leicester 2-4 Tottenham Hotspur
Starting the month in a terrible fashion, Leicester City put in their worst performance of the season. Conceding four goals to a Steve Bruce side is the stuff of nightmares, but in truth, Newcastle deserved even more. Another late flurry from the Foxes merely painted a thin coating of respectability on the scoreline.
Yet the game that followed partly juxtaposed cries of doomsday, with victory against a second-string Manchester United side. This was the perfect appetizer to the showcase main of the FA Cup final.
What a magical day it was, with the winner, a Youri Tielemans thunderbolt, sending the 6,000 Foxes fans into raptures. The victory was achieved most dramatically, with two world-class saves from Kasper and VAR drama to snatch an equaliser from Chelsea and Ben Chilwell’s grasp.
The BBC’s coverage of the game was so biased that it garnered 124 complaints from sad Chelsea fans. In the eyes of FoL, this is extremely ironic given the general focus on the bigger sides by pundits.
Unfortunately, rather than being shaken, Chelsea seemed intent on revenge in the league fixture and Leicester hardly got a kick. Whilst the blame can be scapegoated onto the now-unpopular Ayoze Peréz who missed a glorious chance, the whole team performance was simply not up to scratch.
On the final day, what could have been a fairytale ending in front of the fans was crushed by a Spurs side with little to play for. Despite leading 2-1 with just 15, yes fifteen minutes to go, LCFC contrived to lose 4-2, when all they needed was a win due to Chelsea losing. So many ifs, buts and maybes; yet the only absolute was Leicester City finishing in 5th and outside the top four.
Conclusions from the season and looking ahead
Overall season grade: B+
From browsing LCFC Twitter after the Spurs game, it is clear to see fans take one of three perspectives. On one side, you have the ‘we were in league one in 2008/9’ view, which seeks to bring perspective to the party. On the other side stand the ‘we bottled top four again, it’s the end of the world’ camp. Finally, some take a view between both extremes, which is probably the sensible approach.
It is without a doubt that LCFC have progressed significantly since the arrival of our brilliant Thai owners and that some perspective is needed. It’s also true that many fans (especially of a younger age) have become accustomed to success without seeing the lean times the club has experienced such as administration in 2003.
Nevertheless, football is a fast-moving game and there is little room for sentiment, you tell Claudio Ranieri that. To be successful, ambition and hunger for more and more are needed and the comments of Khun Top help outline that vision.
With only the eighth-highest wage bill and the 10th highest budget in the league, LCFC are overachieving, this is a fact. Leicester City have had a great season and won a trophy. Even the Spurs game doesn’t take away from this. What is more disappointing is the manner of the defeat, which sums up Rodgers’ undeserved reputation as a ‘nearly man’ who can’t get his sides over the line.
Brendan Rodgers is right when he says what matters is where you finish after 38 games. There have been several flashpoints that have arguably been the demise of Leicester City’s top-four hopes, yet this ultimately boils down to three main issues.
Firstly injuries, which have largely been outside of Rodgers’ control but could at times have been managed better. Secondly, the terrible home form, with Leicester losing nine of 12 defeats at the KPS. Hopefully, the relaying of the pitch, along with the potential return of supporters, will alleviate this.
Finally, the inability to break down the deep-block or make the most of set-pieces is a tactical conundrum for Rodgers to work on over pre-season. Progress can hopefully be made in these areas, which would be in keeping with the general trend under the Northern Irishman.
Moving forward- an ideal transfer window for LCFC
Brendan Rodgers is a big advocate of using failure as a means to eventual success, but there are only so many times in football this can carry on, until either the fans or players lose patience. Therefore Leicester City need to strengthen in key positions to consolidate their progress.
An ideal and realistic transfer window for LCFC according to FoL would be as such:
A striker to ‘replace’ Jamie Vardy (Odsonne Edouard)
A match-winning right-winger
A reliable backup left-back (Ryan Bertrand)
A quality midfielder who can challenge Ndidi and Tielemans (Boubakary Soumaré)
A left-winger to compete with Harvey Barnes
Three of these are already close to completion if reports are to be believed, with the other positions hopefully to be filled sooner rather than later. In terms of outgoings, fringe players such as Choudhury and Ünder are likely to make way, with Peréz and Praet also potential leavers. If these ambitions are fulfilled, then Leicester City fans can look forward to another exciting season.