Andy King reveals possible culprit in Leicester’s terrible set-piece defending

Former Leicester City midfielder Andy King has reflected his thoughts over the recurring set-piece issues that have been persistently affecting the outfit.

Brendan Rodgers must seek a stable solution to fix this prolonging issue. The inconsistent nature of leaking easy goals against any opposition has hurt the side by losing a few easy points. The opponents have understood the fragility that exists in Leicester‘s underbelly. They intently concentrate whenever a set-piece opportunity presents itself.

"“Brendan is the most organized coach I have come across, so he will be spending hours and hours and hours I’m sure along with his staff. It’s Mike Stowell who does a lot of the set pieces, he’s always been brilliant with that. It’s been a freak season where it’s all happened.”– Andy King on Five Live’s Friday Football Social"

The Foxes have unfortunately conceded a Premier League high ten goals from such dead-ball situations in this season thus far. City captain Kasper Schmeichel has recorded only his second clean sheet this season. That goes to show you how easily the backline gets pierced without a moment’s notice.

Is it too late to fix the set-piece problems at Leicester City?

The coming weeks present the East Midlands’ side with a valuable opportunity to add stability in planning better to deal against such fallacies. Two games have got postponed due to the Covid outbreak inside the LCFC camp. Earlier during the international break, the staff worked in close proximity with the players to find and assess the areas where they were struggling. A break now can be judiciously used.

"“I think with where there’s some things you just can’t put your finger on, it’s just one of those now that even before the game where someone is playing Leicester City, a lot of their meetings will be ‘right lads if we can get a set-piece, we’re in with a great chance’. They almost smell blood before the game is started. It’s probably a case of the Leicester lads, every time they concede a corner they’re like ‘right, let’s make sure we really concentrate, and almost you can think about it too much.”– King"

The King Power club’s players know about their inept ability. They are sometimes overthinking about it. Evidently, it leads the backline to switch into an automatic panic mode.

King mentions his concerns about the philosophy remaining intact. The side is unlikely to switch to a man-marking system as they rely on a hybrid of man and zonal marking systems. I believe that both tactical systems work fundamentally in their unique ways. But a hybrid one is not bold enough to contain the threat, especially when the side lacks the right set of players.

Rodgers and his men must continue with their existing tactic if they are not too comfortable to switch it all around with a new philosophy. The players with the defensive instructors need to reformulate how they need to be assessing the problems during a live scenario. It all comes down to a set of hits and trials to see what works and what doesn’t.

"“I’m sure the staff at Leicester they won’t want to change, they need to stick with what they believe in and if that’s the system they’ve got at the moment, they can’t be going ‘lads this week we’re going man to man, this week we’re going to do zonal, this week we’re going to try this’ because the lads won’t know if they’re coming or going. They need to stick to a plan if that’s what it is, let’s sort it out and concentrate on that.”– King"

The Blue army will have to wait and watch if some quick-fix solution materializes during this winter break. This season’s drop in the form will have long-term repercussions whose tremors can be alarming in the subsequent years. It is of critical importance that Leicester City tries its best to win any of the participating competitions. It would help them earn a direct backdoor entry to the UEFA second-tier competitions.