After an inevitable defeat in Naples, Leicester City were embarrassingly dumped out of the Europa League and into UEFA’s third-tier competition, the Europa Conference League.
Before kick-off, the Foxes were top of their group and only had to avoid defeat to qualify for the next stage. But despite clawing their way back from 2-0 down, they still threw away their position to drop to third. This is a worrying trend for both Leicester fans and Brendan Rodgers, which has been going on for some time now.
Despite last season’s dramatic FA Cup win, there was a bitter taste left in the mouth for foxes fans. With just 15 minutes remaining of the season, Leicester led Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, before Kasper Schmeichel inexplicably punched the ball into his own net and Leicester crumbled to a 4-2 defeat. It was disappointing, to say the least, but given the injury list that Rodgers had to contend with, it was considered poor form to criticise him for finishing fifth and winning a trophy.
The season before was arguably more disappointing considering how Leicester had such a commanding lead over the rest. To finish 5th was baffling but also a clear sign of progress.
At the time of writing, Leicester City are 11th in the Premier League, in the quarter-finals of the Carabao cup, and still in Europe. Hardly a disaster considering it’s only December. But there is a growing feeling of discontent at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester City’s identity crisis
Leicester used to attack teams with pace, bravery, and aggression. These days there is a laborious tone to the passing which is annoying fans. In a recent interview, Rodgers noted that patience is still required, and passes back are not necessarily negative passes. Although he does have a point, with the slow nature of the build-up and repeat cycle of passing it is hard to see where the play is progressing.
With constant formation changes and tactical switches, it does appear that Rodgers is worrying more about the opposition than utilising some of the many riches across his squad. He has been quoted recently saying he prefers a back four but when having the prime opportunity against Chelsea to do just that he opts for a back three that was exposed throughout.
Whilst Leicester’s identity crisis grows, the Northern Irishman’s own mild-mannered and balanced personality seems to be cracking. He recently made the very unsubtle move to label the last two seasons as overachievements. He could probably argue his point a lot better if he wasn’t reportedly one of the highest-paid managers in the Premier League. Which makes his continued failures to turn seemingly insurmountable leads into success an annoyance. Liverpool fans know this only too well.
Embarrassing defending
I don’t want to understate this. So I’ll be very clear. Leicester’s general defending is pathetic and on set-pieces is idiotic. Combining man and zonal marking isn’t an issue if it’s done correctly, which Leicester don’t. Note Antonio Rudiger’s opening goal for Chelsea in November, a player that had already scored against Leicester three times before. With headers.
The German stood next to Kasper Schmeichel’s, completely unmarked, jogged up to the cross, and met the ball with his head while still unmarked. That’s right, not one Leicester player deemed it necessary to mark or even track a player that has constantly scored against them. It’s infuriating. The team doesn’t press hard enough nor defend from the front. This is the tip of the iceberg though and at the time of writing:
- Leicester has the fourth-worst defence in the Premier League
- Have only two clean sheets from all 23 games.
- Trailed in 14 of those games.
You could argue that missing a hugely important player like Wesley Fofana is playing a part, but this has been going on since last season with Fofana playing.
Rodgers believes that he wants to see more aggression on set pieces, but this should really be a simple process of getting players to protect zones and mark danger-men better. It shouldn’t be this hard and has been going on way too long to ignore. But yet he has continued to pick the same players making mistake after mistake. If they’re not learning on the pitch, perhaps they’d be better learning from the bench.
Players mirror their manager
Managers can be beneficiaries of players when they play well, so can they be seen as victims when their players don’t?
Kasper Schmeichel is arguably one of the biggest issues with the defence. His complete lack of interest in claiming crosses is adding pressure to a back-line not capable of defending set-pieces. But will Rodgers drop him for the highly-rated Danny Ward? And what of Caglar Soyuncu? The centre-back has regressed so badly since the latter part of last season. He’s now incapable on crosses, marking players, he consistently makes bad passes, and is a loose cannon waiting to blow at the first sign of trouble. But yet, Rodgers continues to pick him.
There is a lot to be said for being loyal to players but does the gaffer instil any fear into his players? Are they worried about making mistakes? There doesn’t seem to be any change when the same mistakes are made again and again.
Clearly the boss performs meekly on the touchline as well. His mild-mannered approach is commendable and there are no embarrassing grappling of players to the ground or telling fans to “f*** off and die”. But look at the managers at the top of the table and you will see a collection of eclectic and animated coaches who aren’t afraid to show their character ‘warts and all’. They aren’t afraid to dig out their players in interviews and they aren’t afraid to challenge their players to be better.
Is it time to say goodbye?
If we are brutally honest, ‘BR’ should have delivered at least one top four finish in the last two seasons. Not because LCFC has any god-given right to be there but because it was an insurmountable lead and any decent manager should have been able to get those last few points to get them over the line.
City fans know better than any fans in the world what overachievement is. Claudio Ranieri achieved far more with a much weaker squad of players. Leicester City’s squad is now littered with such a rich pool of talent that they should be challenging around the top six. But with a trophy in the bag, we as Leicester fans would be best served to put our pitchforks down. Who is going to come in and get Leicester up the league? Frank Lampard? John Terry? Hardly inspiring.
Rodgers deserves time. He’s a good coach who is currently going through a tough time, if that means that Leicester’s 2021/2022 season is in the wilderness then it might just be something we have to grin and bear. But make no mistake, he needs to fulfil his own potential at a club with the best facilities around. Fail here and dreams of a top job will be a distant memory. Right now, Leicester are underachieving and so is the manager.